B1 WRITING / SPEAKING EXAM Tips

GENERAL TIPS
- Make sure you understand what you have to do. Read the rubric carefully at least twice.
- Set up a time schedule to answer, review, and edit.

- Before you start writing/speaking, plan what you are going to write/say carefully: ideas, grammar,
vocabulary, etc. Writing/Speaking in the hope that the right answer will somehow turn up is time-consuming
and usually futile.

- Be positive. Focus on what you know about the question, not on what you don't know.

- Don´t copy exact words from the question in your answer

- Support your points/ideas with examples and/or reasons.

- Make sure you answer everything the question is asking.

- Remember teachers are influenced by compactness, completeness, and clarity of a neat and organized
answer.

- Remember redundancy is not welcome: use synonyms and different grammar structures to avoid it.

- Respect word count/speaking time.

- When speaking, it is very important to use the right pronunciation, tone of voice, intonation, rhythm, and
stress.
- Try to include linking words both in your speech and writing.
- Revise tips and connectors given in Guidelines for Effective Writing.

WRITING: TYPES OF TEXTS, TIPS, AND SAMPLES

Magazine or newspaper article
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/sites/teens/files/a_magazine_article_-_exercises.pdf

An opinion essay
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/opinion-essay

http://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=9047

How to begin an essay: 13 engaging strategies

https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-begin-an-essay-
1690495?utm_campaign=grammartip&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cn_nl&utm_content=9564771&utm_term=

Some essay writing samples from B1 students

http://host.uniroma3.it/linguisti/lcs-ingles/Roma3/Writing_Samples.html

For and against (advantages and disadvantages) essay

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/and-against-essay

http://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=7367
Narrative text/Short Story (anecdote, a time when, a funny experience…)
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/short-story

Description of a place/person
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/someone-i-admire

http://writingeoi.blogspot.com.es/p/descriptive-composition.html

A review (book, film, website)

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/website-review

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/skyfall-film-review

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/graded-reading/life-pi-book-review-level-2

Formal letter/email (complaint, application…)

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/more-formal-email

Informal letter/email
http://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=2564

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/invitation-party

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/email-new-friend

A forum/blog post
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/how-write-a-good-blog

HOW TO REDUCE OR EXPAND WORD COUNT WITHOUT LOSING THE SUBSTANCE OF YOUR WRITING.
1. Eliminate articles, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, and other descriptors when possible. You
can also replace pairs of words (i.e. adverb + verb) with single words.
I walked quickly. I rushed. tea from China Chinese tea

“Of” is frequently an easy word to delete. You can often avoid using “of” just by changing the word order.

a writer of fiction a fiction writer a teacher of Maths a Maths teacher

2. Delete connectives or use shorter options.

I like travelling, but I hate watching TV. I like travelling. I hate watching TV.

In addition = Additionally, Moreover, Furthermore; In particular = Specifically; As a result, As a consequence =

Therefore, Consequently; On the other hand= Additionally OR In contrast

3. Replace phrases with words that convey the same idea, and phrasal verbs with one-word options.
I asked my father to lend me his car last night, but he said I couldn´t have it. (18)

I asked my father to lend me his car yesterday, but he refused. (13)

I had a wonderful day last Sunday. (7) Last Sunday was wonderful. (4)

The meeting will carry on. The meeting will continue.

4. Eliminate redundancy. Delete sequences of words and use one word that summarises the list. You can
also try to find parts of your writing that say the same thing twice.
There is a table, four chairs, a fridge, a dishwasher, and lots of cabinets in my kitchen. (17)

There is some nice furniture and appliances in my kitchen. (10)

5. Leave out relative clauses.

Note: Choose carefully what you are going to delete/replace from your writing not to make it sound dull and poor.
Adjectives, adverbs, connectors, relative clauses, etc., usually help you make your writing richer and more interesting
to read. Pick only those you think are not necessary or relevant.

To expand your writing, do exactly the opposite as recommended above.

SPEAKING: strategies to communicate better

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON´T KNOW AN EXACT WORD

General words
If you can’t remember the word ‘surgeon’, you could say a more general word like ‘doctor’.

Examples
If you don’t know the word ‘cutlery’, you could give examples such as ‘knife, fork and spoon’.

Relative clauses to give a description

(It’s a person who ... / thing that ... / place where ...)

If you don’t know the word ‘briefcase’, you could say ‘It’s a thing that people use to carry papers to work’.

Describe the purpose or function (It’s used to + infinitive / for + -ing)

If you don’t know the word ‘scissors’, you could say ‘They are used to cut paper’.

Synonyms
If you don’t know the word ‘tiny’, you could say ‘very small’.

Antonyms (opposite words)

If you don’t know the word ‘weak’, you could say ‘not strong’.

Approximations (It’s a kind of ... / It’s a sort of ...)

If you don’t know the word ‘bungalow’, you could say ‘It’s a kind of house’ or ‘It’s a sort of house’.

USEFUL PHRASES AND CONVERSATION FILLERS

(see next page)

Listen to conversation fillers on

https://www.dawayingles.com/frases-hechas-en-ingles-
heydave-020/
IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING: USEFUL PHRASES AND good news bad news
CONVERSATION FILLERS How fantastic/terrific/wonderful! How terrible/sad/awful
Giving your opinion That´s great/wonderful news! I´m sorry to hear that.
I (don´t) think... // I (don´t) believe What a great idea! // I´m glad to hear that.
(But) In my opinion, // For me, // To be honest, Congratulations!
Personally, I think ... // I think it depends (on …)
Asking for someone’s opinion/Giving the floor Asking permission Giving/denying permission
Do / Don´t you agree/think? Do you mind if I…? Sure (go ahead). // Yes, of course.
What do you think (about this)?
Can I…? Yes, please do. // Well, all right.
Do you think that’s right? // What’s your view/opinion?
Do you mind if I…? No, please don´t. // Of course not.
Are you OK with that?
I´m sorry, but that´s not possible/you can´t
Questions tags (Isn´t it?, Do you?, Have you?...)
Making requests
Agreeing
Can you…? // Would you mind (-ing) …?
That’s right! // Absolutely! // Definitely! // Exactly!
Could you do me a big favour? // Do you think you could…?
Me too! // Me neither! // Yes, I agree!
Disagreeing Accepting /rejecting requests
I don’t agree! // I (totally) disagree! Sure. // Sure. Anything. What do you need?
Absolutely not! // No way! Not at all. // No problem (at all).
That’s not right! // I’m not sure about that. I´m afraid that´s not possible.
Oh, sorry, but… // Well, the problem is that…
Making suggestions
Why don’t we/you ... (+ verb without ‘to’)? Saying Thank you
Shall we ... (+ verb without ‘to’) ? Thanks (for your help.) // Thanks so much.
Would you like to ... (+ verb) ? Thank you very much indeed. // I appreciate your help.
Let’s ... (+ verb without ‘to’) Thanks a lot. // Great, thank you. //Thanks a lot. You have
What about ... (+ -ing) ? been very helpful.
How about ... (+ -ing) ? Possible answers to Thank you.
Responding to suggestions You’re welcome. // Not at all. // It’s my pleasure
Yes, OK. // That’s a good idea. // That sounds great! My pleasure. It was nothing. // Don’t mention it.
No, I don’t think so. // I’m not sure about that. I’m happy to help. // Anytime.
I’d prefer to ... (+ verb). It's/That's all right. // No problem.

Expressing likes Apologising

I like/love/adore/enjoy… // I ‘m crazy/mad about… I (must / ´d like to) apologize for...
I’m keen on… // I´m (very) fond of… (usually used to talk I am so/ terribly sorry for... // It's all my fault.
about food and people) Please, forgive me/excuse me for...
Expressing dislikes Please, accept my apologies for...
I don’t like… // I (really) dislike/hate/detest... Accepting apologies
I can’t bear/stand... That's all right. // That´s ok. // Never mind.
If you neither like nor dislike something Don't apologize. // It doesn't matter. // Don´t worry about it.
I don't mind. I (quite) understand. // Forget about it.

Advantages and disadvantages/Pros and cons When you don’t understand

The first advantage of X is … I don’t understand. // Could you repeat/explain/say that?
There are many advantages to … and one of them is… I´m not sure what you mean // What do you mean(,
The positive aspects/points of … are … exactly)?
Another advantage/positive aspect/point is … Explain what you mean
The benefits/ advantages (of …) are far more than the What I mean is ... // In other words // For example
disadvantages.
The first disadvantage of … is ….. Avoid silence and get time to think
There are many negative aspects and one of them is… So … // Well ... // (Well,) let me think // You see,…//
The drawbacks are… // Another disadvantage is … I mean… // That´s a(n) good/interesting/difficult question.
The disadvantages are far more than the positive aspects in Anyway, …// How can I say/put it?
this case.
Start the dialogue
Reacting to what people say Hello, I think we have/need to talk (about)…// As you know
something surprising something interesting // There is something we need to talk about/discuss. // I´d
You´re kidding/joking. How interesting! That´s like to have a word with you (about)… // I need/want to tell
I don´t/can´t believe it. Interesting! // Really? you that…
How amazing! Direct the conversation to the topic
By the way,… // Speaking of… // That reminds me of …