Do you need to be creative to pass the B2 First writing exam? No. No you don't. Well
maybe a little bit? But don't worry because if you struggle with creativity
then this video is for you! My name is Toby, this is SMASH English and here is
everything you need to know if you are not creative to pass the B2 First Writing exam.
Part one of the B2 First writing exam consists of writing an essay. The B2 First essay requires you
to write an essay about a topic including three prompts. Two of these prompts are given to you
and one of them you must invent yourself in your head. Now, does this require creativity? No, no,
no. Because the topic of the essay will always be about something boring that you have read about
during your exam preparation: education, the environment, sports, family, going on holiday,
learning a language. Seriously, if you have been following an english textbook then you will be
bored to death of these topics and trust me you will not need creativity. Creating your own
prompt is one of the easiest things you can do! I promise. So we have established that creating your
own prompt is not difficult and does not require creativity, what about writing the essay itself?
Do you need to be creative to write an essay? Maybe in general you do but at the B2 First level
no no no! You don't. Especially if you follow my structure. I have literally planned out everything
for you and it requires zero creativity! Right here! For your introduction you need to write one
general sentence about the topic. This means that you need to think of one sentence about something.
Just one. You don't need to be creative to do that! Seriously you can practice this alone all
the time in your head. Think of one sentence about the environment. One sentence about the importance
of family. One sentence about technology today. One sentence about public transport. Just look
at things and say "Can I think of one sentence about this thing?" Of course you can. You don't
need to be creative to do that. I promise. You don't. The essay itself must be between
140 and 190 words. If you follow my structure that amounts to about three sentences for each prompt.
I promise you can write three sentences about each prompt and some of those sentences I have already
written for you in my structure. So do you need to be creative? No. Just do what I say and you'll be
fine! I promise! See!? I'm promising! Look at this face! Don't you trust this face? And lastly you
need to write your conclusion and your conclusion just summarizes what you have already written
and then gives your opinion and you don't need to be creative to present your opinion. So again
do you need to be creative to write an essay for the B2 First Cambridge exam? No. If anything
being creative could be a negative because the more creative you are the more likely you are
to move away from the topic and start including irrelevant information and if you do that the
examiners get very very angry and they give you less marks so maybe when you're writing your essay
don't be creative, just follow the structure, follow the rules and get high marks! Yes? Yes!
Now part two of the writing exam is different because you choose which writing task you
want to do. You could choose to write an informal or formal letter or email, or
a report, or an article, or a review or if you are doing B2 First for schools you could write
a story. So the question is: do you need to be creative to do part
two of the B2 First writing exam? And the answer is: it's your choice. Yes.
Your choice. If you are a creative person and taking B2 First for schools then obviously writing
a story is a fantastic option for you because you can use narrative tenses, adjectives and invent
a situation in your head and explain that to the reader. If you are not taking B2 First for schools
and you are very creative then maybe consider writing an article, or a review where you need to
grab the reader's attention. Where you need to use colorful language so they want to read more. Where
you can use phrasal verbs and idioms and boy oh boy oh boy we can construct something magnificent!
But what if you don't want to do that? Well write a report. Because a report is very very boring.
Seriously a report is mostly structure and if you follow the structure you will do well. A
report isn't so much about what you write but how you write it and how you organize your ideas and
your text. The trick is reading the question and applying it to the structure and this is not about
creativity. This is about exam technique and if you want to learn all about writing a report then
watch this here! A formal letter may also be a good idea if you are not a creative person.
This is because formal structures are easy to remember and you can simply reproduce them when
you enter the examination room. You don't need to use phrasal verbs or idioms. Just remember these
formal expressions and you'll be fine. Again the key is practice. The key is reading a question,
understanding what that question is asking you to do and then applying that to a structure that you
already have in your head because you've practiced a lot. Learn all about that right here! So do you
need to be creative to pass the B2 First writing exam? Well no. No you don't. And actually when
you're writing an essay being creative could hurt you because you may include irrelevant information
and the examiners will punish you for it. When it comes to part two if you're creative, sure,
write a story, an article, a review about a magnificent imaginary product, that's fine!
If you're not, write a report or a formal letter where creativity is not that important. The trick
is understanding the structures, understanding the questions and being able to apply each question
to a specific structure that you have already learned. Yes? Yes! Hope that was helpful! If
you liked the video don't forget to SMASH that like button, subscribe if you haven't already,
leave a comment down below! My name is Toby and this was SMASH English....