The B1 Preliminary article gives you a title and two questions from a magazine or website, and asks for about 100 words. The task is not an essay: you are writing to readers who are expected to have opinions of their own, so the article that scores well speaks to them directly and answers both questions clearly.
The prompt always contains two direct questions. Underline them and write one word beside each. Those two words are your two middle paragraphs, and nothing else needs planning.
Pick the view you have more words for, not the one you actually hold. You are assessed on the English, not on the sincerity of your position.
‘Do you ever check your phone before you get out of bed?’ starts an article. ‘In this article I will talk about phones’ wastes fifteen words.
Every opinion gets two sentences: ‘I think cooking at home is better. Last month I cooked every evening and spent half what I usually do.’ The example is where the tenses and vocabulary show.
‘What about you?’, ‘Try it for a week and see.’ One or two direct addresses make it an article rather than a school composition.
Opening, question one, question two, close. Four small blocks on the page communicate organisation before a single sentence is read.
A last line that recommends, predicts or asks — ‘Give it a try, you might be surprised’ — closes the piece. Stopping mid-idea because you hit 100 words reads as unfinished.
Before you check grammar, reread the prompt and confirm both questions really got an answer. This is the single most common lost mark in Part 2.
Not thisIn this article I am going to write about music and I will explain my opinion about music.
ThisDo you listen to music while you work? I can’t concentrate without it.
Announcing the topic repeats the title and uses a tenth of the words. Articles start with content.
Not thisI think that the people should does more sport.
ThisI think people should do more sport.
Two errors candidates repeat: ‘the people’ for people in general, and a modal followed by ‘does’ instead of the bare infinitive.
Not thisThe article answered one question in detail and never mentioned the second.
ThisBoth questions got at least two sentences each.
The task states two questions, and a missing one is marked as missing content regardless of how good the rest is.
Not thisNowadays the technology is very important in our life.
ThisTechnology matters more now than it did ten years ago.
‘Nowadays… very important’ is filler that says nothing. Concrete comparison says something and shows a tense.
Not thisI am interesting in cooking because it is very interested.
ThisI’m interested in cooking because it’s so satisfying.
The -ed/-ing adjective pair is reversed. The person feels -ed; the thing is -ing.
Not thisFirstly. Secondly. Finally. In conclusion.
ThisOne or two linkers, used where they are needed.
Essay signposting in a 100-word article crowds out the content and sounds learned by heart.
Not thisEverybody have their own opinion.
ThisEverybody has their own opinion.
‘Everybody’ takes a singular verb even though it refers to many people.
40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.
2Complete with one adverb introducing your own view.
6Complete with one verb in the present simple.
7The prompt asks: ‘What is your favourite way to relax, and why do you think it works?’ Write two sentences answering both parts.
One good answer
My favourite way to relax is walking by the river after work. It works because I leave my phone in my bag, and by the time I get home I have stopped thinking about the day.
8Complete with one noun.
10Complete with one noun.
12Complete with one preposition.
14Complete with one adjective.
16Complete with the past simple of one verb.
17Write one sentence that speaks directly to the reader in an article about sleep.
One good answer
How many times did you look at your phone last night before you finally went to sleep?
19Complete with one noun.
21Complete with one verb in the present simple.
23Complete with one verb in its base form.
25The title is ‘Is homework useful?’ and the questions are ‘How much homework do you get?’ and ‘Does it help you learn?’ Write the two words you would note in your plan.
One good answer
Amount; helps or not — one paragraph saying roughly how much I get each week, and one saying whether it actually helps and why.
26Complete with one verb in the past.
29Complete with one noun.
31Complete with one word.
34Complete with the -ing form of one verb.
35Write one closing sentence for an article about learning a language.
One good answer
Start with ten minutes a day rather than a two-hour class at the weekend, and see where you are in a month.
36Complete with one preposition.
38Complete with one verb in the present simple.
Note
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The task usually supplies one. If it does, do not copy it out again as your first sentence — start with your content instead.
Friendlier than an essay, more careful than a message to a friend. Contractions are fine, slang is not, and speaking to the reader once or twice is expected.
Write about whatever you can explain in English. The marks are for the language and the organisation, and a view you can support with an example beats a view you hold but cannot describe.
For most candidates, yes, because the two questions hand you a structure. Choose the story only if you have practised it and enjoy narrative tenses.
One per opinion is enough. Two short concrete examples in 100 words is the level of detail that separates a good article from a list of general statements.