1. Before Writing

• Make sure you are familiar with the exam requirements (see below).

• Read the instructions carefully.

• Decide your position (your personal opinion).

• Think of a third point you can add to the two given.

• Make a plan, deciding what ideas will be included in each paragraph.

• Choose connectors to avoid repetition.

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2. While Writing

• Stick to your plan and keep your ideas logical.

• Make sure your layout is clear.

• Be concise — avoid going on a tangent.

• Use a neutral/formal style.

• Support your ideas with reasons and examples.

• Use varied sentence lengths.

• Include a range of grammar and vocabulary.

• Revise your work carefully, as if you were an editor.

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3. Useful Language for Essays

Starting

• Many people think/feel that…
• It is often said that…
• It is widely believed that…
• In recent years, the topic of … has become increasingly important
• The question of whether… has caused a great deal of debate.
• While some people argue that…, others believe the opposite.

Organising ideas: paragraph-to-paragraph linking phrases

🔹 Introducing a new idea/paragraph

• Firstly (Secondly / Thirdly)
• First of all
• To begin with
• One important point to consider is

🔹 To move to the next main point

•  Another key aspect is…
• Another important point to mention is…
• A further aspect worth considering is…
• In addition to this,

🔹 To show contrast between paragraphs

• However,
• On the other hand,
• Despite this,
• Even though the previous point is important,
• Although / Even though …
• While it is true that…
• In contrast,

🔹 To add supporting ideas

• What is more,
• Furthermore,
• Besides this,
• Moreover,
• In addition,

🔹 To show cause/effect between paragraphs

• As a result,
• Therefore,
• Because of this,

🔹 To link to your conclusion

• Taking all these points into account,
• All things considered,
• For these reasons,

Other functions

🔹 Giving examples

• For example,
• For instance,
• Such as
• Like

🔹 Giving your opinion

• In my opinion,
• I believe that …
• From my point of view,
• Personally, I think
• The way I see it,

🔹 Concluding

• In conclusion,
• To sum up,
• All things considered,
• To conclude, it seems clear that…

4. Training for Exam Day

After writing an essay, consider these questions before handing it in:

Content

• Have you included everything you are asked to?

• Is your writing too long or too short?

Communicative Achievement

• Have you justified each point?

• Have you started the essay with an appropriate phrase?

• Have you expressed your opinion in both the introduction and conclusion (using different words)?

• Have you used an appropriate register?

Organisation

• Is your writing divided into clear paragraphs?

• Have you used linking words to connect ideas and paragraphs?

Language

• Have you checked spelling carefully?

• Have you used a range of grammar structures and vocabulary?

• Have you avoided repetition?

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5. What happens if I write words over the limit?

If you write significantly over the limit, the examiner may:

• consider some content irrelevant, so Content can be lowered

• judge the answer as less concise or less controlled, affecting Communicative Achievement

• notice more mistakes because longer texts usually contain more errors, affecting Language

Safe margin

• Up to ~210 words: this should be fine, if everything is relevant.

• 210–240 words: risky — examiners may ignore the extra part or lower Content.

• 240+ words: very likely to lose marks.

6. A sample model with an exercise

B2-First for schools essay

Task: read through the essay and guess what the task and prompts are. Then click on the key button to check your answers.

B2-First for Schools essay

Prompt:

____________________________________________________ Do you agree?

Notes:

1. ________________
2. ________________
3. ________________

Essay sample

It is often said that cycling is the optimal form of transport in cities. Although I agree to some extent, I believe several factors must be taken into consideration, as bicycles are not ideal for everyone.

Firstly, riding a bike regularly has a positive impact on our health, not only physically but also mentally. There is no doubt that we live in an increasingly sedentary world. Consequently, the additional exercise cycling offers would be far more advantageous for our fitness than sitting in a car or using public transport.

Furthermore, using a bicycle contributes to a cleaner environment because it reduces pollution, improving cities’ air quality. In addition, having fewer vehicles on the roads would also decrease noise levels.

Having said that, cyclists are exposed to multiple dangers. An example of this is the lack of cycle paths, which pushes them to use the road, where they may encounter reckless drivers who fail to respect safety distances. As a result, accidents can lead to serious injuries.

On balance, I would say urban areas would certainly benefit from encouraging more cycling, but appropriate safety measures must be implemented to create a wider and more secure network of bike lanes.

KEY ⊕

7. Important Resource: Cambridge Self-Study Writing Activities PDF

Additionally, get a copy of this PDF document and go through it carefully:
B2 First for Schools – Self-Study Writing Activities (Part 1)

This guide is packed with golden information for Writing Part 1.

Here are some Key Takeaways 

1. Format & Requirements

   • Writing Part 1 is always an opinion essay.

   • You are given two ideas in the prompt, and you must add one original idea of your own.

   • You must clearly state your opinion and support it with reasons.

   • The required length is 140-190 words.

   • Time-management tip: spend ~40 minutes on this task, because Part 1 and Part 2 of Writing are equally weighted and you have 80 minutes in total.

2. Assessment Criteria
   Your essay is assessed on four criteria:

   • Content: how well you answer the task.Communicative Achievement: appropriateness of style (formal vs informal) and how well you communicate for the essay.

   • Organisation: logical structure, paragraphing, use of linking words.

   • Language: grammar range, vocabulary range, and accuracy.

3. Useful Language / Phrases
   The PDF gives a lot of functional phrases to help with typical essay functions: 
4. Planning Techniques

• • Use a mind map to develop the two given ideas and your own third idea.

  • Make sure to fully develop each idea (with reasons, examples) in your notes before writing.

  • Plan the structure: decide the order of points, how they connect, and paragraphing. 

  • A strong plan helps with the Organisation score.

  • If you make a plan on exam paper, cross it out before handing in, so the examiner only grades your essay.

Why These Points Are “Golden”

• Knowing the exam format and word count helps you avoid basic mistakes (too short / too long).

• Understanding how you’re graded (the four criteria) lets you focus your practice on the areas that matter.

• Having a bank of useful phrases means you don’t waste time trying to think of how to link ideas in the exam.

• Planning with a mind map is a powerful way to make sure your essay is coherent and well-organised.

• Self-evaluation helps you learn from your writing, rather than writing blindly.

 

Thanks for reading!