Problem: many B2 First candidates choose their Part 2 task by comfort and then write every text type in the same voice — the complaint letter sounds like an essay, the review reads like a story summary, the article never addresses its reader. Answer in brief: Part 1 is always a compulsory opinion essay (both printed notes plus one idea of your own, 140–190 words); Part 2 is one task of your choice, and the mark comes from shaping it to its purpose, reader and layout. Decide purpose, reader and required points before you write a word, pick the task whose reader you can address most naturally, and keep each answer inside 140–190 words. This guide teaches that choose-and-shape method with short exact excerpts from Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets (Jobin Thomas) and three complete new model answers with exact word counts.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this article you will be able to: cover both printed notes plus your own third idea in the compulsory Part 1 essay; choose the Part 2 task whose reader and purpose suit you best; reshape the same basic letter form for complaints, apologies, thanks, advice, description and requests; frame articles, reviews and reports differently from one another; and hold every answer inside 140–190 words while checking it against Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language.
- Pick a Part 2 task by reader and purpose, not by habit.
- Write the six letter purposes this book trains, each in its own register.
- Keep finished past events in past tenses, prefer active verbs for natural processes, and check every figure you cite.
- Mark your own scripts against the four official criteria.
What the exam asks — and what this book contains
The official B2 First format gives Writing 1 hour 20 minutes and two equally weighted parts: a compulsory essay in Part 1, where you give an opinion with reasons, and one task of your choice in Part 2 — articles, essays, letters or emails, and reviews — each answer 140–190 words. Every script is assessed against four subscales: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language. Those facts are paraphrased from the official format page and handbook linked under Sources below; how you divide the 80 minutes between the two answers is your own tactical decision, not an official rule.
The source book, Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets (Jobin Thomas, ©2025), trains this paper through 50 complete exam sets. After an introduction covering the timing, the two parts, the word limit, the four marking criteria and a ten-step study approach, it presents the sets. Each set follows the same shape: one compulsory Part 1 essay with two printed notes plus your own idea, then a Part 2 choice of three tasks, and finally an answer key with one sample answer per task. Every sample carries a stated word count (the labels across the key run from 160 to 181 words, all inside the 140–190 band), a short commentary under the four criteria headings, and a Band 5 label.
Three honest notes about this edition, each with practical consequences. First, the introduction says Part 2 options may include an article, email or letter, review, or report, but every one of the 50 sets offers an article, a letter and a third task — a review in 47 sets and a report in Sets 1, 3 and 5 — so use the book’s letter models for the whole letter-and-email family and treat the three report sets as bonus practice. Second, topics recur across the 50 sets in variant forms: friendship appears in Sets 7, 26 and 50; part-time jobs in Sets 10, 27 and 49; school subjects in Sets 6 and 30; free time in Sets 11, 28 and 44. Treat that as a feature, not a flaw: the second time a topic appears, you must argue it with fresh points, which is exactly what the exam rewards. Third, all 200 samples are labelled Band 5. Read them as strong study models showing what full-criteria coverage looks like, not as a promise about any particular score.
The choose-and-shape method
The book’s own Step 2 names the three questions that decide everything: what is the purpose of the text, who is the target reader, and which points must be covered. The choose-and-shape method applies those three questions twice — once to choose the Part 2 task, once to shape the answer.
| Question | What to ask | How it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Am I complaining, thanking, describing, or recommending? | Pick the task whose purpose verbs match words you can already use |
| Reader | Manager, friend, teacher, or magazine audience? | Pick the reader whose register you control best |
| Points | Can I say something real about every bullet? | Never pick a task with a bullet you cannot fill |
Two rules keep the choice honest. First, decide in two minutes, then commit: a good answer to your second-best task type beats a hesitant answer to your favourite. Second, rotate deliberately across practice sessions — if you always pick the friendly letter to a friend, you never train the formal complaint, and the exam may offer exactly the task you avoided. The shaping half of the method is covered in the next two sections: the essay frame first, then the six letter purposes.
Worked essay: Set 1 on technology in education
Set 1 opens the bank with a clear topic, which makes it ideal for learning the essay frame. Here is the exact task, a short exact excerpt of the key’s sample, and what the comparison should teach you.
The exact Set 1 essay task
Task given faithfully from the source book (bullet layout condensed). “In your English class you have been talking about technology in education. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay. Write an essay using all the notes and giving reasons for your point of view. Some people say that technology makes learning easier for students. Do you agree? Write about: Access to information; Motivation; … (your own idea). Write your essay in 140–190 words.”
What the Band 5 sample does
Exact short excerpt from the source book’s sample answer. “Technology has become an essential part of education, and many people believe it makes learning easier. I agree with this opinion for several reasons.”
The full sample (stated at 181 words) then gives one paragraph each to access to information, motivation and a third idea of its own — preparation for working life — closing with a balanced conclusion. The book’s commentary credits full Content coverage, a formal register held throughout, an introduction–three-points–conclusion shape, and varied grammar including passives. Notice the two moves worth copying in every essay you write. The opening sentence restates the question and takes a position in two clauses, so Content is secure from the first line. Each body paragraph starts with a sequencing linker — firstly, secondly, finally — so Organisation is visible even to a tired examiner.
Letters that change shape: six purposes, one form
All 50 sets include a letter, but no two letter situations want the same voice. The table below groups the book’s letters into six purposes; learn one frame per purpose and the choice step becomes easy, because you can hear which frame fits before you start.
| Purpose | Reader | Example set |
|---|---|---|
| Complain + request action | Manager, shop, company | Set 1 (youth hostel), Set 4 (trainers) |
| Apologise + offer repair | Neighbour, teacher, friend, librarian | Set 9 (neighbour’s bike), Set 15 (lost laptop files), Set 23 (teacher’s book) |
| Thank + invite or suggest | Host family, friend, cousin, teacher | Set 5 (host family), Set 13 (exchange family), Set 18 (cousin) |
| Advise + encourage | Friend, visitor | Set 2 (visiting friend), Set 7 (learning English) |
| Describe + invite along | Friend, cousin, aunt | Set 12 (sports competition), Set 30 (cooking class), Set 34 (photography course) |
| Explain a loss + ask for help | Librarian, bus company | Set 3 (library book), Set 28 (wallet on the bus) |
Frame 1: the formal complaint
Exact excerpt from the source book (Set 1 letter task). “You recently stayed at a youth hostel that you booked online. You were very disappointed with your experience. Write a letter to the manager of the hostel explaining the problems you faced, how you felt, and what you would like the hostel to do about it.”
Exact short excerpt from the source book’s sample answer. “Dear Manager, I am writing to express my disappointment with my recent stay at your youth hostel.”
The full sample (stated at 168 words) then follows the classic complaint arc: problems, feelings, requested action, polite closing. Copy its skeleton for any complaint: I am writing to express… / Firstly… Secondly… / I felt… / I would therefore like to request… / I hope you will… / Yours sincerely. Note the register markers — no contractions, therefore, compensation — which signal Communicative Achievement to the examiner. A complaint to a friend would fail here; the reader is a manager, so the tone stays formal throughout.
Frame 2: the apology with an offer
Task summarised faithfully from the source book (Set 9 letter task). You borrowed your neighbour’s bike, damaged it by accident, and must apologise, explain what happened, and offer to pay for the repair.
The apology frame has four beats: admit it plainly (I am very sorry about…), explain briefly without making excuses (While I was…), offer a concrete repair (I would like to pay for…), and close warmly (I hope this has not caused you too much trouble). The danger is spending the whole letter on the story and forgetting the offer — but the offer is the point the task asks for, so give it its own sentence, even its own paragraph.
Frame 3: thanks plus invitation
Task summarised faithfully from the source book (Set 5 letter task). You stayed with a host family during a summer course; thank them, describe what you enjoyed most, and explain how the stay helped your English.
Thank-you letters fail when they only say thank you three times. The frame is: specific thanks (Thank you for… especially…), one vivid enjoyed moment, the effect on you, and a forward step — an invitation, a promise to write, or news of how you used what you learned. Specific detail is what separates a Band 5 thank-you from a Band 3 one: name the meal, the trip, the conversation, not just “everything”.
Frame 4: advice and encouragement
Task summarised faithfully from the source book (Set 7 letter task). A friend has asked for advice about learning English; suggest ways to improve, give encouragement, and explain how you learned.
Advice letters need softeners, or they sound like orders. The frame runs on You could… / It might help to… / If I were you, I’d… / Don’t worry if…, with one personal example proving the advice worked for you. Encouragement is a scored point here, not decoration: one sentence telling the friend they can succeed answers the task directly.
Frames 5 and 6: article, review and report at a glance
The non-letter options need different shapes. An article opens with a hook for magazine readers — a question, a surprising statement, a shared experience — and closes by speaking to the reader directly (So if you are thinking of…, as the Set 1 article sample does). A review always does three jobs: describe, evaluate both sides, recommend or not. A report (Sets 1, 3 and 5) uses headings — Introduction, Findings, Conclusion — stays factual and impersonal, and ends with a recommendation; it never chats with the reader the way an article does. Choosing well means knowing which of these shapes you can produce under time pressure.
Practice bank: four tasks with answers
Attempt each task closed-book in about 40 minutes (5–7 minutes planning, 25–28 writing, 5 checking), then compare against the answer. Tasks 1–3 have complete new model answers; Task 4 has guided answer support. All names, places and situations below are fictional.
Practice 1: essay, adapted from Set 4 (environment)
Adapted task (same requirements as the source book’s Set 4 essay, reworded). In your English class you have been discussing environmental issues. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay. Do you think young people should take more responsibility for protecting the environment? Write about: everyday habits, education, and one idea of your own. Write your essay in 140–190 words.
Show new model answer and commentary
Young people are often told that the environment is their responsibility, and I largely agree, although adults must play their part too.
Firstly, everyday habits matter more than many teenagers realise. Turning off lights, recycling properly and walking for short journeys all reduce waste and pollution. When millions of young people take these small steps together, the effect is considerable. Schools can help by running recycling projects that make such habits normal from an early age.
Secondly, education gives young people the knowledge to act wisely. Schools that explain climate issues clearly help students understand why their choices matter, and informed students are more likely to support greener policies in future.
Finally, young people influence their families. A teenager who questions plastic packaging at home can change a whole household’s shopping habits.
In conclusion, young people should accept real responsibility for the environment through their habits, their learning and their influence on others.
(153 words, counted by script)
Commentary. Content: all three points covered, with the own idea (family influence) clearly added. Communicative Achievement: formal essay register held, position stated and maintained. Organisation: five short paragraphs with firstly / secondly / finally / in conclusion. Language: range without risk — considerable, informed, a conditional-free complex sentence variety, all accurate. Compare your attempt criterion by criterion before reading on.
Practice 2: new complaint letter (fictional situation)
New task. You recently bought an electric kettle from an online shop, but it stopped working after three days. Write a letter to the shop’s customer service team explaining the problem, describing how you feel, and saying what you would like them to do. Write your letter in 140–190 words.
Show new model answer and commentary
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with an electric kettle I purchased from your online store last week.
The kettle worked normally for three days, but on the fourth morning it would not switch on at all. I checked the socket and the instructions carefully, so I am confident the fault is in the product itself. As I chose your shop because of its reputation for quality, this failure has left me both disappointed and inconvenienced, since I now have no kettle at home.
I would therefore like to request a replacement kettle of the same model, or a full refund if a replacement is unavailable. I can return the faulty item by post whenever convenient.
I hope you will deal with this matter promptly and ensure that other customers do not receive faulty goods.
Yours faithfully,
Elena Marsh (fictional name)
(146 words, counted by script)
Commentary. Content: problem, feelings and requested action all present. Communicative Achievement: formal throughout — Sir or Madam / Yours faithfully, no contractions, polite request forms. Organisation: one job per paragraph. Language: dissatisfaction, inconvenienced, promptly; past simple for the finished fault and present perfect only for the continuing result (has left me…). Notice Dear Sir or Madam pairs with Yours faithfully, while Dear Manager would pair with Yours sincerely.
Practice 3: new review (fictional book)
New task. You have just finished reading a short-story collection called River Lights (a fictional title for this exercise). Write a review for your school magazine describing the stories, saying what you enjoyed and what you found less good, and recommending whether other students should read it. Write your review in 140–190 words.
Show new model answer and commentary
A Book Worth an Evening: River Lights
River Lights is a collection of eight short stories, all set in small riverside towns. Each story follows a different young person facing a difficult choice, from leaving home for the first time to telling the truth after a mistake.
What I enjoyed most was the dialogue, which sounds natural and often funny. The stories are short enough to finish in one sitting, and the endings are surprising without being confusing. My only criticism is that two of the middle stories feel rather similar in setting, so the collection dips slightly halfway through.
Despite that weakness, I would strongly recommend this book to other students. The language is clear but not boring, and each story gives you something real to think about afterwards. It is the kind of book you finish quickly and remember for a long time. If you want fiction that respects your intelligence, start here.
(155 words, counted by script)
Commentary. Content: description, two-sided evaluation and a clear recommendation all present. Communicative Achievement: lively review register — title headline, direct address to the reader, evaluative adjectives (surprising, slightly, strongly). Organisation: describe, evaluate, recommend. Language: concessive structures (Despite that weakness…, short enough to…) show range. Note the balanced verdict: a review that praises everything looks unthinking, and one that only complains answers only half the task.
Practice 4: report plan, using Set 1 (school canteen)
Task summarised faithfully from the source book (Set 1 report task). Your class has been asked to write a report for the headteacher about the school canteen: describe what students like and dislike about it, and make suggestions for improvements. Write your report in 140–190 words.
Show guided answer support
Do not write this one as an article. A report needs headings, facts and a recommendation — no rhetorical questions, no chatting with the reader. A strong plan looks like this:
- Introduction: one sentence stating the report’s aim (This report aims to present students’ opinions…).
- Findings — likes: two facts, e.g. convenient location, friendly staff.
- Findings — dislikes: two facts, e.g. repeated weekly menu, unclear ingredient information.
- Conclusion: overall judgement plus one or two concrete suggestions (a rotating menu, clearer labelling).
Useful impersonal frames: Many students appreciate… / Students complain about… / It is recommended that…. The book’s own sample (stated at 178 words) follows exactly this shape, closing with Overall, students enjoy using the canteen, but with some changes it could become much more popular and effective — description first, judgement last. Check your draft: headings present, no contractions, every bullet of the task answered, 140–190 words.
Error clinic: six faults and their fixes
Each fault below shows a wrong version, why it fails, and a corrected version. Short invented sentences are used only to isolate the fault; the full models above show the correct forms in real answers.
1. Finished past events written in the present perfect
Wrong: By 2019, the town’s old market hall has been converted into a library. Why it fails: By 2019 marks a finished moment in the past, so the present perfect (has been converted) mismatches the time frame. Fixed: By 2019, the town’s old market hall had been converted into a library. Use the past perfect — or plain past simple — for completed history, and keep the present perfect for results that continue into the present.
2. Passive voice where a natural process needs an active verb
Wrong: The river was flowed through the town centre. Why it fails: flow is intransitive here — the river does the flowing, and no agent performs it — so a passive construction is ungrammatical. Fixed: The river flowed through the town centre. Passive is a tool for actions done by someone (The hall was converted), not a default style; natural processes usually take active intransitive verbs.
3. Figures cited but never checked
Wrong: Both coal and gas exceed 25 units. Why it fails: check the arithmetic before claiming anything. Fixed: with fictional figures of coal 25, gas 20, renewables 15 and nuclear 10, renewables plus nuclear total exactly 25 — equal to coal, not below it — while gas at 20 is smaller than 25. So neither fuel exceeds 25, and coal equals the combined pair. In the exam the figures come from the task; never add percentages, trends like steadily, dates or agents the input did not supply — describe only what is there, and check every total.
4. Essay voice inside a letter
Wrong: Dear Manager, firstly, the room was dirty. Secondly… In conclusion, give me a refund. Why it fails: essay linkers plus a blunt demand break Communicative Achievement — a manager is not a teacher marking an argument. Fixed: Dear Manager, I am writing to express my disappointment… Firstly, the room was not clean… I would therefore like to request a refund… I hope you will take my complaint seriously. Yours sincerely. Keep essay frames for essays; letters need greetings, polite request forms and matching sign-offs.
5. A required point silently dropped
Wrong: an essay on technology in education that discusses access and motivation brilliantly but never adds the writer’s own third idea. Why it fails: Content marks require all parts of the task, and the missing own idea caps the score whatever the language quality. Fixed: plan three body paragraphs before writing — note 1, note 2, own idea — and tick each off in the checking pass. The same applies to letters: problems, feelings and requested action must each appear.
6. Answers outside the 140–190 band
Wrong: stopping at 118 words because the ideas feel finished, or running to 230 words for safety. Why it fails: too few words usually means underdeveloped ideas; too many wastes time and invites error, and both risk the reader’s patience. Fixed: count during practice until you can feel the length — roughly 9–12 sentences at B2 level — and use the final five minutes to add one developed sentence or cut one repeated one. All three new models above sit inside the band; use them as length references.
Independent timed task and self-check
New independent task (fictional situation). Your school magazine is asking for articles on: “A challenge that made me stronger.” Describe the challenge, explain how you overcame it, and say why it was important. Write your article in 140–190 words in 40 minutes.
Show self-check guidance
Mark your article against these checks before you consider it finished:
- Content: challenge described, overcoming explained, importance stated.
- Communicative Achievement: article voice — an opening hook and at least one direct address to the reader, contractions allowed.
- Organisation: clear opening, middle and closing; one idea per paragraph.
- Language: past tenses for the finished challenge (had faced, overcame), present tenses for the lesson that continues; no invented facts presented as real.
- Length: 140–190 words by actual count.
If any check fails, rewrite only the failing paragraph — that single-paragraph rewrite is the highest-value five minutes in writing practice.
Study sequence with the book
Use the book’s 50 sets in this order across four weeks, about four sessions per week:
- Week 1 — essays: Sets 1–5, Part 1 only. Plan three paragraphs (note 1, note 2, own idea) and compare each attempt with the key’s sample and commentary.
- Week 2 — letters: Sets 1–12, letters only, grouped by purpose: complaints (1, 4), apologies (9, 15), thanks (5, 11), advice (2, 7), description (8, 12). Write one frame dictionary entry per purpose. Set 3 is an explanation-with-offer to the school librarian (explain what happened, say how you feel, suggest what you can do), not an apology, so it is studied with the loss-and-help group rather than here; Sets 9 and 15 both explicitly ask for an apology with an offer, which is why they pair together.
- Week 3 — articles and reviews: alternate one article and one review per session from Sets 6–20, checking hook versus headline and description–evaluation–recommendation shape.
- Week 4 — mixed papers: full 80-minute papers from Sets 21–30 (essay plus your weaker Part 2 type), then revisit the variant topics — friendship (7, 26, 50), part-time jobs (10, 27, 49), free time (11, 28, 44) — arguing each second appearance with fresh points.
Keep a one-line log per set: date, task type, weakest criterion, one fix applied. When a variant topic returns, your log shows exactly what to do differently.
FAQs
Which Part 2 task should I choose in the exam?
The one whose reader you can address and whose bullets you can all fill — not the one you practised most. Decide in two minutes using purpose, reader and points, then commit.
Can I write fewer than 140 or more than 190 words?
Stay inside 140–190. Shorter answers usually underdevelop ideas; longer ones waste time and invite error. Every sample in this book sits between 160 and 181 words.
How formal should my letter be?
Match the reader: managers, shops and companies get formal language with no contractions and Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully; friends and cousins get a warm, natural tone. The task always names the reader — that is your register instruction.
Do I need report practice if my exam may not include it?
Only three sets in this book (1, 3 and 5) offer a report, and the current paper’s Part 2 centres on articles, letters or emails, and reviews. Train reports lightly for structure discipline — headings, facts, recommendation — and spend most time on the three main types.
Are the book’s Band 5 samples a score promise?
No. They are strong study models showing what full coverage of the four criteria looks like. Use them to compare and rewrite, not to predict a grade.
What if my practice topics repeat?
They will — friendship, jobs and free time each return three times in different forms. Treat each return as a second chance: reuse nothing, argue with fresh points, and beat your own log entry.
The matching book
Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets (Jobin Thomas) gives you what this article teaches you to use: 50 complete exam sets, each with a compulsory essay plus an article, letter and review-or-report choice, followed by Band 5 sample answers with word counts and criterion-by-criterion commentaries. Work through it with the choose-and-shape method above — pick by reader and purpose, shape by text type, check against the four criteria — and the volume becomes training rather than repetition.
Cambridge B2 First Writing — Book 6 (product page)
Keep practising with Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets
Enjoyed this guide? Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets takes you further, with deeper explanations, more practice tasks and complete model answers. Continue practising with the full book →
Sources and editorial note
- Exam format paraphrased from the official B2 First format page: Cambridge English — B2 First format (Writing: 1 hour 20 minutes, 2 parts; Part 1 compulsory opinion essay; Part 2 choice including articles, essays, letters/emails and reviews; 140–190 words), fetched September 2026, with the official B2 First handbook (PDF).
- Source book: Cambridge B2 First Writing Preparation Book Featuring 50 Sets, Jobin Thomas, EPUB edition, read read-only. Set tasks and sample openings quoted or faithfully summarised exactly as labelled; all other practice tasks and the three full model answers are newly written for this article, with one task adapted from Set 4 as labelled.
- Editorial note: where the book’s introduction describes Part 2 options more broadly than the 50 sets provide (letters standing in for the email/letter family; reports in three sets only), this is taught openly above rather than hidden. Short invented sentences in the error clinic isolate single faults and are not presented as exam content.