The B2 First article is a Part 2 option written for the readers of a magazine or website. It is the friendliest task on the paper: you may address the reader directly, ask questions and use a lively title. What it still needs is a clear plan and every point in the task covered.
The task always names the publication and its readers, for example an international student magazine. That decides how much you explain and how formal you sound.
Most article tasks contain two questions. Make each one a paragraph, add an introduction and a closing paragraph, and the plan is done.
Four or five words, not a sentence: ‘Three days without my phone’. A title is not compulsory, but it signals genre and costs almost nothing.
‘Have you ever tried to spend a whole day without looking at a screen?’ pulls the reader in and sets up the rest of the piece in one line.
Direct address is one of the clearest genre signals in an article. Two or three uses across the piece is enough; more becomes a lecture.
Articles persuade with detail. A named example, a number or a short story stops the piece from becoming a list of generalisations.
Your own experience is welcome, but it has to illustrate the point in the task. A paragraph about your holiday that never returns to the question loses content marks.
‘So the next time you have a free Saturday, leave the phone at home and see what happens.’ A closing instruction reads as a finished article.
The friendly style tempts candidates into ‘gonna’, ‘stuff’ and ‘a lot of things’. Replace them with ordinary neutral words rather than very formal ones.
Paragraph breaks, capital letters in the title, question marks, and the tense of your example story. These are quick wins on organisation and language.
Not thisDear readers, I am writing this article to tell you about ...
ThisHave you ever wondered how much of your day disappears into a screen?
An article is not a letter and does not need a greeting. Opening with a question reaches the reader faster and signals the right genre.
Not thisIn conclusion, this essay has shown that hobbies are important.
ThisSo why not pick one and start this weekend?
Essay conclusions in an article task confuse the genre. The article should end with a recommendation or a question, not a summary of an argument.
Not thisIt was a really cool experience and stuff.
ThisIt was one of the most enjoyable weekends I have had.
Semi-formal means friendly but controlled. Vague fillers cost communicative achievement marks without saving any time.
Not thisFirstly ... Secondly ... Thirdly ... Finally ...
ThisTo start with ... What is more ... The best part, though, is ...
Rigid essay linking makes an article read like a report. Articles link with conversational connectors.
Not thisWriting about only one of the two questions in the task.
ThisGiving each question in the task its own paragraph.
The task content is not a suggestion. Every question in the prompt has to be answered somewhere in the piece.
Not thisA title of fifteen words explaining the whole article.
ThisA title of four or five words that makes the reader curious.
A long title reads as a sentence and uses words you need elsewhere. Short titles are the genre norm.
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.
1Complete with one verb in the past participle.
3Complete with one plural noun.
4Complete with one verb.
7Complete with one adjective.
9Complete with one word.
10Write the first two sentences of an article called ‘The hobby I never expected to keep’.
One good answer
Have you ever started something just to fill a rainy Sunday and then found you could not stop? That is exactly how I ended up spending every spare evening at a pottery class.
11Complete with one word.
13Complete with one noun.
15Complete with one word.
17Complete with one word.
19Complete with one noun.
21Complete with one word.
23Complete with one -ing form.
25Complete with one noun.
27Complete with one verb.
29Complete with one adjective.
31Complete with one verb.
33Complete with one noun.
35Complete with one linking word introducing contrast. It begins with ‘a’.
38Write a closing paragraph of two sentences for an article recommending a local walking route.
One good answer
The route takes about two hours and needs nothing more than a pair of ordinary trainers and a bottle of water. So the next time the forecast looks reasonable, take the early bus to the bridge and walk back along the river: you will see a side of the town that most visitors miss entirely.
39Rewrite this sentence in article style: ‘It is considered by many individuals that reading is beneficial.’
One good answer
Most of us know that reading is good for us, and yet how many books have you actually finished this year?
40Explain in two sentences how an article differs from the Part 1 essay.
One good answer
An essay argues a case for a teacher in a neutral to formal register and reaches a reasoned conclusion. An article speaks to the readers of a magazine, uses questions, direct address and concrete examples, and ends with a recommendation rather than a summary.
Note
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It is not compulsory, but a short title is expected in the genre and helps the examiner see that you have recognised the task. Four or five words is plenty.
Yes. Nobody checks whether your pottery class exists, and specific invented detail scores better than vague truth.
Contractions and questions are fine; slang, abbreviations and text language are not. Aim for the level of a well-written student magazine.
No. Headings belong to the report. An article uses paragraphs and links them with conversational connectors.
No, but it is the task where candidates most often lose focus. Keep the task questions visible while you write and check at the end that each one is answered.
Enough to illustrate, not enough to take over. One short example per paragraph keeps the piece lively without pushing out the content the task asked for.