A prompt tells you both what to write about and what to do with the information. “Describe,” “explain” and “recommend” require different kinds of content even when they concern the same event.
The task-analysis and planning sections of Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets connect purpose, reader and structure. This guide turns those questions into a practical paragraph plan.
Turn each instruction into a writing job
To describe a workshop, select its relevant features. To explain why it was useful, connect those features to a benefit. To recommend an improvement, propose a change and show what it would address.
Original planning task
Describe a fictional study workshop, explain which activity helped you most and recommend one improvement.
Plan: small-group practice — feedback on examples — clearer written instructions next time.
Develop the recommendation
Weak: “The workshop should be better.”
More useful: “A short instruction sheet would help participants begin each activity without waiting for the tutor to repeat the directions.”
The revision identifies both the proposed change and the problem it would address.
Order ideas so the reader has enough context
Explain the activity before evaluating it. Describe the problem before proposing a solution. This makes the relationship clear without relying on a string of formal linking phrases.
Use structure flexibly
Your plan is a guide, not a rule that every task needs exactly the same number of paragraphs. Closely related points may fit together; a new purpose may deserve a separate paragraph. Follow the conventions of the requested text type.
After drafting, write a short label beside each paragraph. If two paragraphs do exactly the same job, consider combining them. If one instruction has no corresponding paragraph or sentence, add the missing content rather than an unrelated example.
Explore Cambridge B2 First Writing — Course 6 to see the course outline, current availability and enrolment options. Use the worked exercise above to identify a skill you would like to practise next.
Your next step
Cambridge B2 First Writing — Course 6
Explore the complete course outline and related practice topics.
Source: Camebridge b2 - 149.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.