writing article b1 examples

Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET): How to write an article in 2021

• Mandatory task: no
• Word count: around 100 words
• Main characteristics: title, interesting/engaging language
• Structure: introduction, main paragraphs, ending
• Language: interesting adjectives & adverbs, questions

Home or cinema – How do you watch your favourite films? I know many people who love animated or romantic films, but for me, there is nothing better than an amazing drama or adventure movie like ‘Indiana Jones’ because I’m a big fan of stories with a fascinating plot. In my opinion, watching a film at home isn’t the same as going to the cinema to enjoy a great movie on a huge screen with popcorn and cola. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would go every week. So, if you want to give me some money to go to the cinema more often, or to tell me which you prefer – the cinema or the TV screen, leave a comment.

Introduction

In the PET exam you always have to write an email, but you can choose if you want to write an article or a story.

In an article task you get the topic from a website or magazine and there is some information or questions that you have to write about. Also, your language should normally be between neutral and informal.

>>> Find out how to write an amazing email for PET here. <<<

>>> For great information on PET story writing click here. <<<

What does a typical article task look like?

In every writing task in the PET exam there are a few things you have to analyse before you can start to put your pen to paper.

• What is the situation?
• What do I have to include in my article?
• Who is going to read my article?

It is really important and helpful to answer these question first because you get a lot of useful information so writing the article becomes easier from the beginning.

A typical article task might look like the one below:

Now that we have a task, let’s answer the questions from earlier.

Firstly, your article needs to be about films and secondly, there are two main questions that you have to answer in your text (films you enjoy [1] and if you prefer going to the cinema or watching films at home with reasons [2]).

Last but not least, the readers of the English-language website are the people you write your article for. That means your language should be neutral to informal because it is not for your friends, but neither for your boss or teacher.

In neutral English you can use contractions like ‘I’m’ or ‘she’s’, phrasal verbs or informal punctuation (e.g. ‘!’), but no slang words or anything that is not in the dictionary.

How to organise your article

You can always organise your articles in a similar way. This makes it a lot easier for you because you will know how to complete this kind of writing task step by step.

In the last part we saw that there are normally two main questions that you have to cover. In our example the two questions are:

• What kind of films do you enjoy?
• Do you prefer watching them at the cinema or at home? Why?

As there are two main points it is probably a good idea to have two main paragraphs in your article. In addition, you should always have an title and a final sentence so we get to four parts in total :

Final sentence

This works for every article writing task so you can relax and really focus on what you want to say instead of worrying about the structure of your text.

Always make a plan

It happens too often that students have bad writing tasks or make unnecessary mistakes because they just start to write instead of taking just a few minutes to think about their article first.

If you plan your article, you can save a lot of time because you know exactly what the different parts of your text are and what you want to include.

Don’t make the same mistake. Plan your writing tasks and be ready.

The different parts of an article

In this part I’m going to show you examples of the different parts of a PET article. As I said before, every article uses a similar structure so you just have to adapt it to the topic of your specific task.

Look at the task again and remember what we have to do. With this in mind, are you ready?

Every good article has a title . When you read a newspaper, magazine or website you always find titles (and sometimes even subheadings) at the top of an article.

Try to make the title interesting so the reader wants to see what you have to say. For example, in our task from earlier we could choose one of the following ideas:

• Films I like (and how I watch them)
• How to best watch the films you love
• Home or cinema – How do you watch your favourite films?

You can see that the topic is clear and it creates some interest for the reader. However, don’t feel stressed. If you just use the title “Films”, you won’t lose any marks . It is more important to give your article some kind of title.

Main paragraphs

The main paragraphs are the most important pieces of your article and you should always think about these two things:

• Does the paragraph talk about about one of the main questions in the task?
• Do I use good language (neutral/informal, linking words, good grammar and interesting vocabulary)?

One of the most important things in the PET Writing exam is that you have to answer the questions in the task very clearly. Don’t talk about things that are unrelated, but focus on the topic . An example for one of the main paragraphs could look like this:

I know many people who love animated or romantic films, but for me, there is nothing better than an amazing drama or adventure movie like ‘Indiana Jones’ because I’m a big fan of stories with a fascinating plot. In my opinion, watching a film at home isn’t the same as going to the cinema to enjoy a great movie on a huge screen with popcorn and cola. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would go every week.

You can see that I answered the question about what films I enjoy. I only focused on the question and gave some examples .

In the first paragraph I talk about film genres (animated, romantic, drama, adventure) as well as one specific film (Indiana Jones). I also tried to include some interesting grammar (I know many people who…, nothing better than) and vocabulary (amazing drama, I’m a big fan of…, fascinating plot). On top of that, I used different linking words to connect my ideas (who, but, because).

In the second paragraph I say how I prefer watching a film (going to the cinema) and I explain why (huge screen, popcorn and cola). I also included a conditional sentence for good grammar (If it wasn’t so expensive, I would go every week.).

This sounds like a lot of information, but is you practise regularly, it will become easier and easier for you to do the same.

As soon as you finish your main paragraphs, you should end your article with a nice final sentence. It can be a little bit funny or surprising, but you can also just summarise your article. Remember, the more interesting your article is, the better it is for your marks .

So, if you want to give me some money to go to the cinema more often, or to tell me which you prefer – the cinema or the TV screen, leave a comment.

In my final sentence I try to be funny (I’m not a very good comedian 🙂 ) and I speak directly to the reader . This is a good way of making your article more interesting because the reader feels as if they are part of the text.

Before we finish this post, think about the other parts of B1 Preliminary as well. Apart from Writing, one of the most difficult papers is Reading. I have written posts for each task and I definitely recommend having a look at them too. Just check the pictures below.

Start to practise today

Don’t wait until the last minute to practise your writing skills. Start today and practise as much as you can. Use the information in this article to help you improve yours.

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think about writing articles.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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24 Comments

Your tips have always helped me to prepare myself for a session in a very effective way. Thank you!

Hi Zameena,

You’re very welcome. 🙂

Please keep giving teachers this supprt!

Thank you so much for such a useful post) you really have a talent of giving clear and simple explanations)

Really useful . Often use your blog to prepare for my lessons. Thanks

Thanks for your feedback. I’m always happy to help my fellow teachers. 🙂

Comments are closed.

Teacher Julieta

English for life.

How to Write an Article for the Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET)

An article is an informal/ neutral piece of writing that is written for a specific audience. The purpose of an article is to share an opinion , or knowledge on a particular topic , or offer suggestions and pieces of advice to the readers. Newspapers, magazines, and journals usually publish articles. For that reason, articles have to be easy to read.

Parts of an Article

• Title : It should be short and informative. Try to choose an interesting title, so the reader wants to read your article to learn more about the topic.
• Author’s name : A line having the name of the person who wrote the article (optional)
• Introductory paragraph: Here you introduce the topic. The introduction should be short, catching, and interesting.
• Descriptive paragraph: Here you give examples and reasons.
• Additional information: only if needed.
• Conclusion : This is the ending paragraph of the article that should be a summary of your article.

Steps to write an article

1 Think of the topic that you are going to write about carefully.

2 Identify the target audience . Who are going to read your article: students, young people, adults, elderly people, or professionals?

3 Find the objective of writing the article. Do you want to give advice? Are you going to give some useful tips? Do you want to teach your readers how to do something?

4 Identify the details that are more significant and think of some examples .

5 Organize your ideas and arrange the information and the facts in a coherent and logical way.

Now that you know the parts of an article and the steps to follow, let’s see an article sample for the B1 Cambridge writing test .

You see this announcement in your English school magazine.

Useful language for writing an article

For the introductory paragraph:

• Have you ever thought about …?
• What would you do if …?
• Do you like + verb+ing …?
• How important is it for you to …?
• What would life be like if …?

Giving your opinion:

• In my opinion, …
• From my point of view, …
• As far as I’m concerned, …
• I guess that …
• I’m under the impression that …
• I have no doubt that …
• I have the feeling that…

Giving advice:

• Don’t forget to …
• Remember to…
• Make sure you…
• You should + base form
• You should have + past participle
• Never + base form
• What about if …?
• Let’s consider…
• Why don’t you …?

Adding more details and examples:

• In addition, …
• Above all, …
• On top of that, …
• Moreover, …
• Another advantage/ disadvantage of …
• … in case
• … so (that)
• … because it might + base form
• The evidence shows (that) …
• The facts suggest (that) …

Writing Practice 1

You are going to write an opinion article for a school magazine about the best places to visit in your city.

Plan the content

1 Think of at least 2 interesting/ touristic places

2 Think of an interesting introductory paragraph

3 Write your introduction

4 Write your descriptive paragraphs. Write one paragraph per place

5 Write your conclusion

6 Type your answer in the box below, and I’ll give you personalized feedback.

• Did you write a clear introduction that introduces the purpose of the opinion article?
• Does the introduction include a sentence with your opinion on the best places to visit?
• Have you included separate paragraphs for each recommended place?
• Did you provide detailed descriptions of each place, highlighting their attractions and unique features?
• Have you supported your opinion with specific examples or personal experiences for each place?
• Does the conclusion summarize the main points discussed in the body paragraphs?
• Does it restate your opinion on the best places to visit in the city?
• Does it provide a strong closing statement or call to action?

Writing Practice 2

You are going to write an article for a school magazine. Choose one of the titles below>

How to stay safe if you are hiking in the mountains.

• How to stay safe on a day at the beach.
• How to stay safe online.

1 Think of at least 3 useful tips

4 Write your descriptive paragraphs. Write one paragraph per tip.

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14 thoughts on “ How to Write an Article for the Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET) ”

Do you like hiking in the mountains? Hiking is an exciting and healthy activity. I guess staying safe when you are hiking in the mountains is very important for us. Below there are some useful tips about how to stay safe if you are hiking in the mountains.

In my opinion, the most important thing is wearing a pair of comfortable sneakers. If you do so, your hiking wiil be enjoyable. If not, your hiking will be a terrible activity. Other important things are wearing a cap to prevent sunburns and putting sunscreen on your face and arms.

Second, you should take a suitable bag that contains water, emergency medicine, a tissue or a towel, energy food, an outside coat, and other needed items. On top of that is water.

Lastly, I want to remind you to take an insect repellent liquid spray. Moreover, you’d better get a trekking pole to help you walk and protect your knees.

If you prepare well, you will have a lot of fun.

Let’s go hiking in the mountains!

Like Liked by 1 person

Excellent Beryl!! Great tips!!! 🌟🌟🌟 Please compare your first draft with the final version.

Teacher, thanks very much for your checking. I revised the problematic part. There were a total of 8 mistakes in my first draft.

[…] using a formal tone. As with other pieces of formal writing (for example, essays, formal emails, articles, etc.), there is a special format used to write reports in […]

The best places to visit in our city Do you like visiting different cities? What would you do if you go to my city? There are many exciting places in my city. For example, there are museums, wetland parks, malls, zoos,etc. Where would you like to go? Today I recommend two beautiful places to you.

The first place is a wetland park and its name is Baigui lake park. It is located in the southwest of my city. The government spent much money building it ten years ago.There are many plants,animals,birds and fishes.You can camp in a forest in the park and have a barbecue.On top of that, you can see egrets by boat on the lake. The next place that I want to recommend to you is a mall. This mall is located in the east of our city and its name is wanda plaza.There are many shops in this plaza and their prices are fair.Therefore, t here are so many people shopping here that the road before the plaza is often jammed with traffic. However, it is still a good place to go but remember not to go there on weekends. Finally,these two places are the best in their respective fields.In my case,one of them is the best outdoor activities place and the other is the best shopping mall. Moreover, make sure you have read the map of both places before you go. If you follow these advice,you will have a lot of fun with your visit.

Well done!!! Don’t forget to write your conclusion 😀

How to stay safe online

Do you like surfing the Internet? With the development of the times, many people use the internet to work or study. What would you do if you are online? I have the feeling that it is important to keep safe while you are using the internet. Below there is some useful information about how to stay safe if you are online.

First,I guess that there were lots of network attacks in recent years. So the important thing before you use the internet is to install antivirus software on your computer or phone.Antivirus software can intercept most network attacks. If you don’t do this, the viruses might attack your account and the trojans can steal your password. Never be unprotected while using the internet.

Second,you should not visit some illegal websites. For example, there are gambling websites, usury websites, and pornographic websites. These websites might download or install viruses or trojans on your device. Afterward, these viruses or trojans will attack your device.

Finally, anyways, good surfing habits will help you to stay safe online. On top of that, you should often check your device and keep your device in good condition.

Great Job Shuabing. Don’t forget to write your conclusion 😀

The best places to visit in my city

What is the most important thing of park for you? It would be different if you have girlfriend/boyfriend, kids or not. I have been living in Toronto since last April with my two children, so I will introduce our favorite parks for kids from my point of view.

First place is the Grange Park. It locates nearby our home and int middle of the downtown area. It has a lot of play equipment for toddlers and more older kids. They can also use splash pads in summer. Because it has a lot of nature, you can watch many squirrels and birds. It is a big park, so we can have a lunch on the park benches. In my opinion, a lot of families could enjoy this park.

Second place is the Round House Park. It is located nearby our home, too. It is in the Railway Museum, and we can see many steam locomotives in this park. It has two play equipment that look like the steam locomotive. Because boys usually like vehicles like my son, I have no doubt that most boys would like this park.

I guess that some of the important things of park for kids are accessibility, comfortability and good park equipment. How to make your children enjoy parks on weekends is imporant. But don’t forget these tips. Let’s enjoy our weekends in the great parks with our kids!

How to make the amazing coffee

Susan is an Italian pretty lady. She lived in the beautiful city of New York. She always makes a great coffee in her house and enjoy the coffee time. One day, she called me and invited me to drink coffee. She told me this coffee is different from others. When I went to her house and sat in the yard. Susan made the coffee in the kitchen, set the table and we also had wine. We drank apricot wine and a mint wine. One cup of coffee then apricot wine and finally mint wine. I try to drink a one cup of coffee, is a little too sweet. She told me this cup of coffee is a little Italian liqueur so will sweet. And then I drank another cup of coffee. It was a magical feeling! It was a cool feeling! I love it! Actually I didn’t want to leave before I had to work, I think you can try to this wonderful coffee! Is amazing!

Good effort!

The best places to visit in our city

Do you enjoy traveling to different cities？If so, my city will impress you because of its beautiful buildings . For example the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, the Old Summer Palace, the Niu Street,the Temple of Heaven etc. It will take you at least one day to visit each place . If you want to vist all of them on the same day, it will be a test of both time and strength, won’t it ? But, or those who come here for the first time, I suggest you two places: the Palace Museum and the Great Wall.

The first place is the Palace Museum. It is the largest and well preserved ancient wooden structure buliding in the world. It covers an area of 72000 square meters. There are over seventy palaces and over nine thousand rooms. Doesn’t it sound worth it visiting?

The second place I recommend to you is the Great Wall. In fact, it’s called the Badaling Great Wall, which is a part of the Great Wall. This bulding has a history of over 500 years. Its total length is 7600 meters. The wall is 6-9 meters high and about 5 meters wide. It is said that it can make five houses walk side by side. By the way,the highest point of the wall exceeds 1000 meters. I think it is cool enough to take photos.

Finally, these two places are the best for those who come here for the first time.If you follow these advice, my city will leave a deep impression on you.

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Breakout English

Preliminary (PET) Writing Sample Tests

Writing can be a scary thing for B1 learners, but with some training the Preliminary (PET) writing doesn’t have to make you run and hide. The important thing at B1 is to be clear, consistent and organised. You don’t need to write the next Charles Dickens novel, you just have to complete the task with good basic grammar, vocabulary, organisation and a little touch of style.

Here we’ve got some top tips for the Preliminary (PET) writing paper and two sample tests for you to use as practice at home or in the classroom. Each one could be used for PET for schools or for the regular adult exam.

What are the different types of writing for B1 Cambridge?

The first part of the Cambridge B1 writing exam is an email. You will read an email that received from an English friend or family member. Next to this email, there are notes to include in your answer. You must answer the email in 100 words, including all the information from the notes. For more about how to write the perfect B1 PET Writing Part 1, take a look at our post about emails .

The second part of the writing exam has two choices, an article or a story. Each one should be 100 words, but you only write one of them, not both. Some people prefer to practise one type of writing a lot to make it perfect, but it’s always a good idea to be comfortable with both. Sometimes the topic of one writing is strange, so you may prefer the other one. If you only know how to write one type, this becomes a problem.

Top tips for Preliminary (PET) writing

These tips will help you maximise the opportunity for points in the Cambridge writing criteria. Each writing is given a mark out of 5 in Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language.

• Answer the question (Content) – You wouldn’t believe how many people don’t include all the necessary content in their answers. Part 1 is very controlled and has four notes along the side of each input text. In order to score points in the Content mark, you must clearly include answers to all four notes. For example, if the note say “suggest” , pointing at a comment about what restaurant you’d like to go to, suggest a restaurant. It seems obvious, but it’s the easiest way to both lose and gain points. In Part 2, you’ll have a couple of content points in the article and less in the story, but you still need to stick to the topic. For example, if the story is about a day at the beach, don’t write about a birthday party.
• Use paragraphs (Organisation) – Another easy fix, but one that can seriously affect the Organisation mark. Even though the text is only 100 words, there should generally be 2-3 paragraphs, clearly separated using a line gap or indentation.
• Write the correct writing (Content, Communicative Achievement) – If it’s an email, it needs to look like an email with a simple “Hi” and “See you soon!” at the beginning and end. If it’s an article, it should have a title. If it’s a story, it should have a beginning, middle and end. The tone and style of each writing is slightly different too. Look at examples and consider what style is used.
• Punctuate (Organisation, Language) – Sometimes something as seemingly insignificant as a comma can completely change a writing. Be careful with sentences that are long, confusing and connected together with commas. Make sure you are finishing sentences when they are grammatically complete and not using incorrect punctuation.
• Use the past (Language) – To show you know B1 grammar, it’s important to use the past. In almost every writing, you will have the opportunity to use the past to talk about something that happened to you. Don’t forget to study the irregular verbs!
• Use some modal verbs (Language) – Another area of B1 language is modal verbs. Make a recommendation with “should” or talk about possibility with “can” or “can’t” . It’s not advanced language, but it’s something that shows you know B1 level English.
• Use a relative clause (Language) – If you want to score top points in Language, you have to attempt some complex grammar. Using subordinate clauses like relative clauses is a good way to do this. A sentence like “My brother, who lives in Miami, is going to visit me in Spain this summer” is a great way to include more complex grammar in your writing.
• Use basic linking words (Organisation, Language) – At B1, you don’t need to use a huge variety of linking words, but you should use “and” , “so” , “but” , “because” and possibly a few other more advanced ones like “however” , “although” and “also” . These should be used throughout all the writings.
• Make it interesting (Communicative Achievement) – You don’t need to be an expert writer to write an interesting text. For example, there’s a big difference between a story where the school closes because of a flood (interesting) and a day you went to school and did an exam (not interesting). The same applies to articles, if you write an article about travel and you talk about going on an adventure in Hawaii, it’s more interesting than going to the local swimming pool every day.
• Keep it simple (Everything) – Remember that it’s a B1 writing and in order to pass or even get high marks, you don’t need to make it complicated. Use the language you know to write the best possible writing within the expectations of the task. Don’t be afraid to attempt some complex things, but also make sure you do the basics well.

The materials

Here are two full Preliminary (PET) writing sample tests. These have been designed in the same format as official exams to practise and improve in preparation for the B1 writing exam. Remember that the time limit to complete both parts of the Preliminary (PET) Writing exam is 45 minutes.

This is an example of how to write an article about shopping. It provides practice for the writing section of  the Cambridge English B1 Preliminary exam.  

B1 Preliminary Writing Part 2 Article: Shopping

More exercises available:

• Reading Part 1 & 2
• Reading Part 3 & 4
• Reading Part 5 & 6
• Writing Part 1
• Writing Part 2

Part 1 - Read five real-world notices, messages and other short texts for the main message.

• Notices and Messages How to Video
• Notices and Messages Set 1
• Notices and Messages Set 2
• Notices and Messages Set 3
• Notices and Messages Set 4
• Notices and Messages Set 5
• Notices and Messages Set 6
• Notices and Messages Set 7
• Notices and Messages Set 8

Part 2 - Match five descriptions of people to eight short texts on a particular topic, showing detailed comprehension.

• Films at the Cinema
• Summer Camps
• Trip to London

Part 3 - Read a longer text for detailed comprehension, gist, inference and global meaning, as well as writer’s attitude and opinion.

• Being Special
• Night Shift Work
• Procedures for Part 3
• Rock climbing
• The Zookeeper

Part 4 - Read a longer text from which five sentences have been removed. Show understanding of how a coherent and well-structured text is formed.

• Keep on Running
• Student Budget
• The Olympic Flame
• The Puzzle Maker

Part 5 - Read a shorter text and choose the correct vocabulary items to complete gaps.

• Book Recommendation
• Mountain Climbing
• Playing Computer Games
• Popular Website
• Saving a Tree
• Single or Mixed-gender Schools
• Work of Art

Part 6 - Read a shorter text and complete six gaps using one word for each gap.

• Hometown Changes
• Music Preferences
• New Year’s Day
• Party Invitation
• Special Bike
• Subject Choices
• The First Day of Spring
• The Oldest University in the World

Write about 100 words, answering the email and notes provided.

• Birthday Money
• Learning a language
• New Cooking Club

Write about 100 words, either an article or story.

• Being Healthy
• Festival in Thailand
• Learning and the Internet
• Music Lover
• Playing Games

Short Stories

• A Broken Train
• A Phone Call
• Surprised Teacher
• Weather Warning
• Woke up late
• Part 3 - Listening
• Part 4 - Listening

Part 3 - Gap-Filled Exercise

• Competition
• Shopping Centre Visit

Part 4 - Multiple Choice Exercise

• A Coach Trip
• Fashion Designer
• Talking about a Journey

The B1 Preliminary Speaking test has four parts and you take it together with another candidate. There are two examiners. One of the examiners talks to you and the other examiner listens.

• Kenza and Mohammed
• Roberto and Simone
• Crosswords Puzzles
• Word Searches
• Word Puzzles
• Air Travel Crossword
• Computer Crossword
• Crime Crossword
• Entertainment Crossword
• Financial Language Crossword
• Food Crossword
• Health Crossword
• Home Crossword
• Language Crossword
• Leisure Crossword
• Money Crossword
• Natural World Crossword
• Places Crossword
• Shopping Crossword
• Sports Crossword
• Technology Crossword
• Texting Crossword
• Time Crossword
• Transport Crossword
• Travel Crossword
• Work and Jobs Crossword
• Adjectives with -ing Word Search
• Art Word Search
• Bonfire Night Word Search
• Buildings Word Search
• Classical Music Word Search
• Countryside Word Search
• Drama Word Search
• Education Word Search
• Entertainment Word Search
• Fast Food Word Search
• Feelings Word Search
• Food and Drink Word Search
• Football Word Search
• Gambling Word Search
• Haunted House Word Search
• Health Word Search
• Home Word Search
• Internet Word Search
• Language Word Search
• Leisure Word Search
• Natural World Word Search
• Shopping Word Search
• Sports Facilities Word Search
• Sports Word Search
• Sushi Word Search
• Technology Word Search
• Time Word Search
• Town and City Word Search
• Travel Word Search
• Weather Word Search
• Work Word Search
• Clothes Word Puzzle
• Color Word Puzzle
• Communication Word Puzzle
• Easter Word Puzzle
• Education Word Puzzle
• Entertainment Word Puzzle
• Environment Word Puzzle
• Food Word Puzzle
• Health Word Puzzle
• Hobbies Word Puzzle
• Language Word Puzzle
• Medicine Word Puzzle
• Natural World Word Puzzle
• Technology Word Puzzle
• Time Word Puzzle
• Weather Word Puzzle
• Vocabulary Skills
• Grammar Skills
• Writing Skills
• Speaking Skills
• Air Travel Exercises
• Animals and Pets
• British and American English
• Chinese New Year
• Computer Exercises
• Easter (A2 – B1 Levels)
• Entertainment
• Environment
• Environmental Issues
• Finance Exercises
• Food and Drink
• Leisure and Hobbies
• Money Exercises
• Phoning and Texting Exercises
• Places and Buildings
• Relationships
• Transport and Travel
• Work and Jobs
• Phrasal Verbs
• Past Simple
• Past Perfect
• Past Continuous
• Order of Adjectives
• Linking Adjectives
• Compound Nouns
• Adverbs of Frequency
• Article – Schools for Boys and Girls
• Email – about University
• Email – Holiday in Thailand
• Email – New School
• Blog Post – A New Life in Japan
• Short Story – Computer Problems
• Email – Holiday Plans
• Speech – Course Introduction
• Email – Party Invitation
• Email – Visiting a relative
• Movie Review – Ted
• Email – Saving Energy
• Report – Features of Glaciers
• Article – Being Famous
• Short Story – In Free Fall
• Short Story – Talent Contest
• Book Review – The Call
• Email – Subject Choices
• Report – Eating out in Berlin
• Article – The Cardboard Bike
• Email – Barbecue Invitation
• Email – School Holidays
• Article – The Countryside
• Email – Summer School
• Short Story – Art Competition
• Article – Work of Art
• Email – Favourite Film
• Short Story – The Angel
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Cambridge English exams are designed for learners at all levels from the pre-intermediate level Cambridge English: Key (KET) to the very advanced level Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE). These exams give candidates proof of their ability to use English in a wide variety of contexts, relevant to work, study and leisure activities.

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• 1 Cambridge English: Preliminary (PET)
• 2 Cambridge English Preliminary: Writing
• 3 Cambridge English Preliminary: Speaking Part 3
• 4 Cambridge English Preliminary: Reading Part 4

Cambridge English Preliminary: Writing

By Lucrecia Luque Mortimer

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Guidance for teachers preparing candidates for the Writing paper of the Cambridge Preliminary Exam.

In the Cambridge English Preliminary (PET) exam, the reading and writing components are on the same paper. In the writing section of the exam, which consists of three parts, candidates are encouraged to focus on the structural patterns of language and to communicate a specific message in a clear and concise manner.

The three writing parts on the paper are as follows:

Part 1: Sentence transformations

This section tests the candidate's ability to say the same thing in different ways. Candidates are given an initial sentence and asked to fill in the gaps in a second sentence using a different structural pattern, so that it still has the same meaning. There are five sentences, all related by theme. There is one mark for each correct answer. Candidates have to fill the gap with one, two or three words. Take care! Contractions count as two words, e.g. ‘don’t’ = do + not

Number of marks: 5 (In order to be awarded the mark for each sentence, no errors are permissable.)

Things students may be asked to do

What is the best way to do this task?

• Students should read the example, which shows them what they have to do.
• Then they should read all the sentences to understand the topic.
• After writing the word(s), they should read each full sentence to themselves and compare it carefully with the first sentence. Is the meaning the same?
• When they have finished, it is a good idea to let them practise writing only the missing words on the answer sheet.

How to improve your students’ performance

Students who have focused on fluency in English but have not paid much attention to grammatical or spelling accuracy may find this exercise very difficult.

1. Accuracy

Providing examples of how inaccuracies (in grammar or spelling) can produce misunderstandings may help to focus attention on the need to say what you mean (e.g.  Mary was giving a lecture / Mary was given a lecture; John is interesting / John is interested ). You may also want to stress how important clarity and accuracy are in the world of work and education, and how much employers value accuracy.

2. Paraphrasing

Make sure students understand that paraphrasing is a useful skill in the real world. It is a skill we use in order to clarify and explain: we rephrase or reformulate information by saying it again using different words. Link this exercise with the need to paraphrase in the speaking test when the students do not know or cannot remember a word or expression to describe something in the photograph.

Part 2: Writing a short communicative message

Candidates have to write a short communicative message of between 35 and 45 words.The focus of this task is on communicating a specific message in a concise and clear manner. Candidates do not need to show creativity because they are told:

• who to write to (e.g. a friend);
• the reason why they are writing (e.g. they are visiting a city and they want to send a postcard; there is some important news; they have received a present, etc);
• and three content points that they must include in the message (e.g. thank your friend, explain what you will do with the present, and invite your friend to visit you).

Number of marks: 5

1. Include all three content points

To get full marks, all content points must be included. If one content point is missing, the candidate will get a maximum of three marks.You may want to say that a few minutes devoted to planning what to write is not a waste of time!

2. Write within the word limits

Candidates will lose marks if their answers are longer than 45 words or shorter than 35. You may want to give students examples of answers that are too short, so that they can say what is missing, or too long, so that they can say what information is not required.

If your students’ answers are too short, get them to write a short sentence (you could dictate this to them) and then build it up to 45 words. This can be achieved by asking students a series of questions related to the sentence, and then incorporating their answers into the original sentence. For example:

3. Write clearly and accurately

Minor errors will not result in lost marks. However, if there are errors that affect the clarity of the message, then marks will be lost.

Part 3: Continuous writing

In this part candidates can choose to write either a story or an informal letter of about 100 words. Candidates who write fewer than 80 words will lose marks. Candidates should be advised to write at least 90 words and not to worry if their answer is a bit longer than 100. This task is worth more marks than tasks one and two combined, so remind students that they must leave enough time to complete it fully.

Number of marks: 15 (The task is marked out of five, and then the band score is multiplied by three to translate it to a mark out of 15. For example, a candidate who gets a Band 4 will be awarded 12 marks out of 15.)

1. General advice

In this part of the exam, students can use their imagination and have a chance to use a variety of vocabulary and structures.They should be encouraged to be ambitious within the limitations of the language they have learnt. They will be awarded higher marks if they use a range of tenses and appropriate vocabulary and expressions. [See page 30 of the PET Handbook:  www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/168150-cambridge-english-preliminary-teachers-handbook.pdf ]

Students could be shown example letters or stories which have clear flaws, e.g.:

• They are too short. (They should work in pairs to make them longer by adding a few sentences.)
• They lack interesting vocabulary. (They should work in pairs to introduce some different words or expressions.)
• They lack a proper introduction or conclusion. (They should work in pairs to provide it.)

It is a good idea to encourage students to judge their own letters or stories by asking themselves these questions:

a) Is it clear and interesting?

• Will the reader understand the points in the letter or follow the development of the story?
• Is it divided into paragraphs?
• Is the handwriting clear enough?
• Is there an interesting introduction and conclusion?

b) Can I correct any language mistakes before handing it in?

• Is the spelling correct?
• Are verb tenses used correctly?
• Have I used punctuation marks?

2. Specific advice

a) The letter

The letter in the exam task will tell candidates what to include in their letter. It is important to read the letter carefully and 1) make a note of the topic (e.g. it is about free time activities / museums / mobile phones, etc), and 2) underline any questions the friend is asking.

Students need to be told that if they get carried away and end up writing about a different topic, or they do not give the information the task is asking for, they will be penalized. They must include appropriate opening and closing lines.

b) The story

This question will give a short title or the first sentence of a story. Students should be encouraged to read the task very carefully. The answer must be linked to the question in content, so candidates should note any names or pronouns used in the question. If the first sentence is in the third person, for example, the story must be written in the third person. Students should get used to making a simple plan of the story before starting to write, making sure to include the following details:

• The beginning (e.g. Who is the main character? When and where does the story start? What happened?).
• The development (e.g. What happened next? How did X react? What did X do?).
• The conclusion (e.g. What happened in the end? How did X feel about it?).

To write a good story, students will need to have a good command of:

• Past tenses: the past simple, past continuous and past perfect simple (regular and irregular forms) in affirmative and negative sentences.
• Simple reported speech (e.g. Peter asked the woman if she could help him ).
• Sequencing words and expressions (e.g. Then... , After that …, While... , When …, The following day …, In the afternoon …, etc).

For more ideas and tasks, information and tips, see Macmillan Education's Testbuilder series, available to purchase here:   www.macmillanenglish.com/courses/testbuilders  

• Cambridge: B1 Preliminary (PET)
• Intermediate
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• Whole Class

Cambridge English Preliminary: Speaking Part 3

Cambridge english preliminary: reading part 4, related articles.

Materials to help your students prepare for the Cambridge English: Preliminary (formerly PET - Preliminary English Test)

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Guidance for teachers preparing candidates for Part 3 of the Speaking paper of the Cambridge Preliminary Exam.

Guidance for teachers preparing candidates for Part 4 of the Reading paper of the Cambridge Preliminary Exam, with a worksheet taken from Lucrecia Luque-Mortimer’s PET Testbuilder.

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B1 preliminary preparation, resources for teachers and learners.

Here you can find links to all of our free resources to help prepare for B1 Preliminary exams, whether you are a teacher or a learner.

On this page:

Exam essentials

Essential reading for teachers and learners wanting to find out about the exam.

Teacher essentials

Resources to help you prepare learners for B1 Preliminary exams.

Learner essentials

Information for candidates and resources that can be used at home or in the classroom for self-study.

On-the-go practice with Test & Train

Test & Train is an easy-to-use practice tool to help you get ready for your B1 Preliminary exam through short, sharp workouts. With over 300 practice questions, you can use it anytime, anywhere and as many times as your like!

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Official Cambridge English preparation materials

You can find a wide range of materials in both print and digital formats .

Vocabulary list

This list gives teachers a guide to the vocabulary needed when preparing students for B1 Preliminary and B1 Preliminary for Schools.

B1 Preliminary vocabulary list

Sample tests (paper-based and digital)

Free: paper-based sample test.

Sample papers for B1 Preliminary

Free: Digital sample tests

Cambridge English Qualifications Digital have now replaced our old computer-based exams and offer you even more benefits. Watch this video tutorial for help on how to complete an B1 Preliminary digital exam. Please also review this document which covers minor differences between the sample tests and the live exam .

Time: approximately 30 minutes

Instructions to candidates

• Answer all the questions.
• You can change your answers at any time during the test.

Information for candidates

• There are four parts to this test.
• Each question carries one mark.
• You will hear each recording twice.
• For each part of the test there will be time for you to look through the questions and time for you to check your answers.

B1 Preliminary Digital Listening Sample Test

Time: 45 minutes

• Questions 1-32 carry one mark.

B1 Preliminary Digital Reading Sample Test

• Answer the Part 1 question and one question from Part 2
• Each question in this paper carries equal marks.

B1 Preliminary Digital Writing Sample Test

Answer keys and tapescript:

B1 Preliminary Listening Sample 1 answer key

B1 Preliminary Listening Sample Test 1 tapescript

B1 Preliminary Reading Sample Test 1 answer key

How to convert practice test scores

The Cambridge English Scale is used to report results for our qualifications and tests. The scores provide a detailed understanding of the candidate’s level. They are also consistent across the different exams, making it easy to compare results and understand progress from one level to the next.

For guidance on converting practice test scores to Cambridge English Scale scores, download our guide for teachers. 

Converting practice test scores to Cambridge English Scale scores

Digital exam information

Have you thought about taking digital exams? Find out more about the benefits of digital exams .

Watch this short video to see what it’s like to take a digital exam.

Watch the video tutorial  for help on how to complete an B1 Preliminary digital exam.

Read our FAQs if you have any more questions about taking digital exams.

Speaking test video with examiners' commentary

This video will help your students understand what happens during a speaking test. You can also download examiner comments.

Read the examiner comments for Kenza and Mohammed's speaking test

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Exam Preparation Journey resource packs

The Exam Preparation Journey is a central online hub with teaching tips, classroom activities and more to support teachers preparing students for Cambridge English Qualifications.

Whatever stage you are at – starting out, considering a mock test or exploring your digital options – we offer timely support when you need it. Find advice such as how to create a positive learning environment, structure exam readiness and save time with lots of practical ideas ready to use in class.

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Handbook for teachers

B1 Preliminary handbook for teachers

B1 Preliminary handbook for teachers Listening Audio

Lesson plans

Our lesson plans include everything you need to deliver a 45-minute lesson in the classroom or online, including activity sheets, homework, and more.

B1 Preliminary lesson plans

Teacher guides

Developing listening skills for Cambridge English Qualifications: A guide for teachers

Developing reading skills for Cambridge English Qualifications: A guide for teachers

Assessing writing for Cambridge English Qualifications: A guide for teachers

Writing checklist

This checklist is designed to help you assess your students’ writing. It includes a summary of the assessment criteria and useful questions tailored to each writing type in the Writing paper.

Mock test toolkit

Running a mock test gives your learners a true exam day experience, helps you understand their progress and decide if they are ready for their exam. Our interactive mock test toolkits are full of tips, strategies and materials to help you ensure your students are confident and fully prepared for their exam.

Mock test toolkit for older learners

Classroom warmers booklet

Classroom warmers activity booklet

This booklet includes seven exercises each for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary students.

Supporting learners with dyslexia

Supporting learners with dyslexia: A guide for teachers

Many teachers have learners with dyslexia in their exam preparation classes. This guide is for you. With lots of practical tips and ideas for lesson plans, it will help you prepare materials to support learners with dyslexia in preparation for our qualifications.

Teacher webinars

Cambridge English webinars and Facebook Live sessions are a great way for teachers to stay up to date with the latest developments and to interact with our experts.

Our webinars provide you with invaluable information about our exams, and cover a wide spectrum of subjects, including effective teaching methods, tips to improve student engagement and online professional development to help you develop your career.

Webinars for teachers

Teaching English with Cambridge Facebook page

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Free online learning activities

We have hundreds of free learning activities to help you practise your English and prepare for your B1 Preliminary exam.

Find out more

Exam information for candidates

Download our guide to the exam, with advice on preparing for the exam, tips for exam day, and useful links.

B1 Preliminary: Information for candidates

Social media

Join our lively Facebook community and take part in quizzes, talk to other English language learners and learn on-the-go.

Subscribe to our Learn English with Cambridge YouTube channel to get helpful tips for exam preparation, and lots of English language advice.

Exam tip videos

Get great tips for taking your B1 Preliminary exams with our video playlist.

Write & Improve: Practise your writing for free

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Are you an intermediate (CEFR level B1) learner of English? Practise and improve your writing skills with these texts and exercises.

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Look at the blog and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

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Look at the job adverts and the CV and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

A for and against essay

Look at the essay and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

A letter to a friend

Look at the exam question and letter and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

A short story

Look at the short story and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

A website review

Look at the website review and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

An email to a new friend

Look at the email and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

An invitation to a party

Look at the exam question and invitation and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

An opinion essay

Checking out websites

Look at the article for a school magazine and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Describing a bar chart

Look at the bar chart, exam question and sample answer and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Someone I admire

Look at the description and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Writing about a pie chart

Look at the pie chart, exam question and sample answer and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

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• B1 Preliminary for Schools
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Free Practice Tests for learners of English

In the writing section of the B1 Preliminaryfor Schools English test there are two parts. In part 2 you have to write either an article or a story.

You see this announcement on an English language website.

Write your answer in about 100 words

B1 Preliminary for Schools Writing part 2 (article)

Articles wanted, how do you learn.

Write an article telling us about how you learnt to do something. Why was this a good way to learn? Do you need a teacher to learn something well? The best articles will be published on our website.

B1 Preliminary for Schools Writing

• part 1, email
• part 2, article
• part 2, story

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English Practice Downloadable PDF Grammar and Vocabulary Worksheets

Writing worksheets (b1).

This sections provides you with downloadable PDF writing tasks.

New Writing Worksheets

• ESS012 - Essay : Social Networking Websites
• ESS011 - Essay: School and Part-Time Work
• ESS010 - Essay: Discrimination of Women
• ESS009 - Essay : Home By Ten ?
• ESS008 - Essay : Extreme Activities
• ESS007 - Essay: Becoming Happy By Helping Others
• ESS006 - Essay : Time Management
• ESS005 - Essay: Immigrants In A New Country
• ESS004 - Essay : Teenagers and Their Free Time
• BLC003 - Blog Comment : Are Facebook Friends Real Friends?
• ESS003 - Essay : The Importance of Learning Foreign Languages
• EML003 - Application Email: Summer Camp Volunteer
• EML002 - Email : Coping With Stress
• EML001 - Email to the Agony Aunt
• STO001 - Short Story - A Surprising Find
• BLC002 - Blog Comment : Reality Shows Are A Waste Of Time
• BLC001 - Blog Comment : Coping With Stress
• ESS002 - Essay : Daily Exercise in Schools
• ESS001 - Essay : Healthy Nutrition
• Adjective - Adverb
• Gerund and Infinitive
• Modal Verbs
• Reported Speech
• Passive Voice
• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Quantifiers
• Relative Clauses
• Prepositions
• Questions and Negations
• Question Tags
• Language in Use
• Word Formation
• General Vocabulary
• Topical Vocabulary
• Key Word Transformation

News Articles

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• Connectives and Linking Phrases
• Phrasal Verbs
• Collocations and Phrases

Listening Comprehension

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Writing the Perfect Email for B1 Preliminary (PET)

Luis @ kse academy.

• noviembre 14, 2019

As we’ve already seen in the B1 Writing Guide (in Spanish), updated for the 2020 changes , the Writing component consists of 2 parts. The first one is an email whereas the second one is a story or an article, as you can choose which to do. For this reason, in this post I’m going to teach you how to write an email at B1 level for your Preliminary (PET) exam .

Email structure

Saying goodbye.

Este artículo también está disponible en castellano.

How to Write an Email for B1 Preliminary (PET)

In order to know the steps to write an email for this B1 exam , the first thing we need to do is to find out what the instructions are like and know what you’re expected to do. And even though we saw this in the B1 Writing guide (in Spanish), we will now go over it again and dive in even deeper.

Instructions for Writing B1 Preliminary Part 1: Email

In this part of the test, you are given an email from an English friend or relative, and you are asked to respond to it in about 100 words . This email contains annotations which help you identify exactly what you need to respond to.

As regards the topics, they’re usually not very difficult, as you’re expected to write at an intermediate level, about topics you are familiar with: sports, hobbies, TV programmes, the weather, your town/city, etc. Here’s an example taken from Cambridge English sample papers :

As you can see in the example above, taken from Cambridge’s official website, we have received an email from a person so-called Sandy , who is a friend of ours. In addition, we have made some annotations, which are the points we need to address in your email:

• Say which I prefer
• No, because…
• Ask Sandy…

In this sense, Cambridge is making this task easier, as we definitely won’t go blank and they are pointing out the structure that our email should have , which we will see in the following section.

The first thing you need to know is the different parts of an email , and these are:

• Greetings:  we greet  the other person (i.e. say «hi» or «hello»).
• Opening paragraph:  we react to the other person’s news and ask them how they are feeling and whatever else you feel is appropriate.
• Main paragraph 1:  in this paragraph we deal with the first important point, which we can identify in the instructions.
• Main paragraph 2: if there is a different point to deal with, this paragraph will do so.
• (We might have more main paragraphs, depending on the task.)
• Closing paragraph: in this paragraph we «start» to say goodbye by wishing the other person well and asking them to reply to your email.
• Goodbye: we use a short expression to say goodbye.
• Signature:  we sign the email with our name.

In general, all emails must follow the same structure, and also, I recommend you following these two pieces of advice::

• Don’t write From: y To: , as it is completely unnecessary and Cambridge won’t penalise you. Also, you’re saving words which you can use in the body of your email.
• Don’t write a subject , for the same reason as before.

Now that we know the different parts of an email, we should see an example.

Example Email for PET Writing Part 1

Let’s take a look at the following example of a Preliminary (PET) task answer for Writing Part 1 , where we can see an answer to the sample task we saw above:

In the example above, you can see the different parts of an email well defined. It’s important that your writing is visually appealing , apart from having good grammar and vocabulary. This means that the paragraphs should be well defined , with a space in between, and that you should know when to break lines. This is specially important after greetings, after opening and closing paragraphs, and after saying goodbye. This will make your text visually appealing, as it will look like a real email.

Expressions to use in your email

In this section, we are going to focus on different expressions you can use in the different parts of the email . While the main paragraphs will vary completely depending on the topic of your writing, most of the other parts in the email can be practised and memorised almost completely. Let’s take a look:

In order to start your email in Writing Part 1 for Cambridge English: Preliminary (PET) , you can use different expressions, which are really typical and easy to remember. We have 3 basic ways to greet in this kind of writing, which is usually for a friend or family member:

• Hi John, 
• Hello John,

Notice how «hi» is less formal than «hello» or «dear». Also, don’t forget to write a comma (,) right after greeting your friend or relative. After greeting the addressee (i.e. the person who will read the email), you must start the opening paragraph in a new line .

Opening paragraph

The opening paragraph is the place to react to your friend’s or relative’s email . In order to do so, you can use a number of different expressions. Here we have some examples:

• It’s nice / great / good to hear from you. 
• It’s nice / great / good  to read your email. 
• I’m glad to hear your news. 
• I’m excited about…  (your news.)
• It’s great to hear that…
• I’m sorry to hear that…
• I’m really sorry to read your news. 
• Thanks a lot for writing!
• It was good to receive your email. 
• Thank you very much for your email. 

And many more. Also, it’s a good idea to ask your friend or relative how they are feeling , which you can do like this:

• Hope you are doing well. 
• How’s it going? 
• How are you (doing)?
• How are things (going)?

You can also add some information that you think is relevant or necessary, but don’t expand this paragraph very much, because the important information must go in the main paragraphs .

Main paragraphs

For the main paragraphs, there aren’t any fixed expressions which you must use, as it depends mostly on what you have to write about. However, you should try to make use of connectors and appropriate punctuation . So let’s take a look at  common useful connectors and the punctuation we use them with:

• … and… :  to connect two similar things or ideas.

I love reading and listening to music. My favourite meal is fish and chips.

• …, but… : to connect two contrasting ideas.

I love watching Tv , but I don’t have a favourite show. I am reading a book, but I don’t remember the title.

• . However, … : to connect contrasting ideas.

Last month, I went to the cinema . However, I didn’t enjoy the movie. I am a very big fan of this author . However, I haven’t read his last novel.

• Moreover, … : to add more information about something.
• … because… : to justify an opinion or idea.

My mum is the perfect cook because she knows a lot of recipes and has plenty of experience. Moreover, she experiments with different ingredients all the time.

• . Because of that, … : to justify an opinion, fact or idea.

My mum likes to cook using new ingredients all the time. Because of that, she creates original dishes every month.

• . As for…/ Regarding…  : to switch to a new topic. For instance, you can use this connector to start the second main paragraph.

As for/Regarding why I like this cookery show, I think it’s because it’s a great way to see new recipes.

• Time linkers: then, after that, yesterday, this morning, last summer, etc. 

Last night, I watched a very good action film.

With many connectors, we typically use a comma (,) after it when we start a sentence (e.g.: However, Last night, Moreover, etc. ).

Closing paragraph

As we mentioned earlier, a closing paragraph in this Writing part 3 is used to start saying goodbye to the addressee and to ask for a response to your email. So we can use the following expressions:

• Well, it’s time to say goodbye. 
• Anyway, I have to go now. 
• Well, it’s time to go. 
• Anyway, gotta go. 
• I really hope to hear from you soon. 
• I’m looking forward to hearing from you. 
• I hope you write back soon. 
• Make sure you write back soon. 

Also, if you still have to write more words, you can add a question for a subsequent email. This question should be related to the topic of your piece of writing.

There are many ways in English to close an informal email. The most frequently used ones are the following:

• Best wishes,
• Sincerely, 
• Take care, 
• All my love, 
• Lots of love, 
• See you soon, 
• Regards, 

Notice how there is a comma (,) after each of the phrases . Also, after writing any of these sentences, make sure you write your name on a different line . And write your name without a full stop!

Another example of an email at B1 level

Now that we know what expressions we should be using in our writing, we are going to take a look at another task and a sample answer. In this case, this is an example of an old task, but the email follows the same rules. Pay close attention to how it’s structured and how its paragraphs are well defined and separated:

Notice how the expressions in bold  are used. Whenever you write an email, you should think about this type of expressions and make sure you use them appropriately .

Top 5 Tips for writing an Email for B1 Preliminary (PET)

• Learn and memorise a set of expressions . Make sure you already know a set of expressions to use in your greetings, opening and closing paragraphs, and to say goodbye. This will save you a lot of time while doing a task, and you will avoid making silly mistakes as you will already know the expressions by heart.
• Write a well-structured and visually-appealing email . One of the things Cambridge English examiners pay attention to is the organisation of your piece writing, so make sure not to write a messy email. Also, remember that  punctuation matters , so be sure to separate your sentences with stops and commas and don’t write excessively long sentences.
• Brainstorm, write, read and edit . Before starting to write your email, brainstorm a couple of things and write down some ideas. This can include vocabulary related to the topic. For example, if you have to write about TV shows, you can write down thinks like «contestants», «cookery show», «prize», etc. Then, write out your email. After that, read it and look for possible mistakes or opportunities for improvement (e.g.: adding descriptive adjectives, rephrasing sentences, etc.).
• Read carefully and identify the task . Don’t start writing right away. Make sure you read the task carefully and that you identify exactly what you are being asked. Sometimes, we don’t pay attention to the instructions and we end up writing about something different. This will mean losing points, in a very silly way, I must say.
• Experiment at home, be conservative in the exam . Homework is the best chance to be creative and experiment different ways to express yourself. So make sure you try your hardest to keep improving when you write at home. On the other hand, when you’re doing an exam, don’t risk trying out new words or expressions, as you may be making a terrible mistake. So be safe in your exam and stick to what you already know works .

Did you find this post useful? Did you? Well, don’t forget to comment and share. And if you love the English language, follow KSE Academy on Facebook, Twitter & YouTube! And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog!

Oh, and don’t forget to keep smiling!

44 comentarios en “Writing the Perfect Email for B1 Preliminary (PET)”

EXCELLENT HELP FOR THE NEW 2020 PET FORMAT. THANKS A LOT

Hi Liliana! Thanks a lot for your comment! Take care!

Grazie mille di tutto, saluti dall’ Italia

you are great Luis. Thanks a lot for your good work. Paqui Muñoz Mendoza

Thank you very much, Paqui. It’s great to receive comments like this from time to time.

Thanks Luis

Your help was so useful. Thanks.

Thanks for your comment, Rocío. Take care!

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for sharing. It’s very useful and helpful.

Thank you! 🙂

Nice work, Luis! I’m continuing my classes online during the coronavirus, and this post provides a great, visually-appealing review of this part of the new test. I will be sending my students here next week to help with their homework!

Thank you very much for your comment. Hope your students find it useful. Take care!

The best email. that I found. Thanks.

Thank you, Angelines! 🙂

Super clear!!!! Thank you very much. Claudia

Thank you, Claudia! 🙂

EXCELLENT GUIDE!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING IT

Thank you for your comment, Paola. 🙂

You’re welcome! 🙂

Thank you soo much, im 12 and doing the test, this is the day before the test and your info was soo usfull, have a good evening

Hi, Cameron. Thanks a lot for your comment. Sorry for taking so long to reply. I hope you passed your test! 😀

Absolutely clear guidelines for Writing Part 1 Email Thanks a lot for sharing it!!!

Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂

Great work! Thank you for sharing

Thank you for reading, Susana! 🙂

Happy New Year! Useful tips, good job. Thanks!

Thank you so much for your feedback. Take care and Happy New Year to you too!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH MY DEARRRRRR. I’m having the Cambridge PET exam tomorrow and I’m really nervous… Wish me luck!

Hey, Camila! Hope your exam was fine! Don’t forget to come back here and let us know your score! 🙂

I love you Luis

Haha, thank you, Carlos! Love u too!

Precious guide and helpful insight, thank you.

Thank you very much! 🙂

Great post, thanks!

Thank you, Juliana! 🙂

As an exam coach myself, I really want to congratulate you for this wonderful and useful site. It’s great to see an updated B1 Preliminary writing guide; I’m using it right now with the candidates I teach. Keep up the great work!

Hey, Lenin. Thanks a lot for such a nice comment. I hope your students find it useful. If you ever have any feedback, let me know. Thanks again!

Extremely detailed and useful guidance for those who is taking the PET exams! Thanks a lot.

OLIVIA 15/1/2023 A LAS 11:49 Hello, happy new year.

As an exam preparation teacher myself, I would like to thank you for all your hard work. Yours is the best site I have found online with important tips and useful samples for our students. Keep up the great work! I really appreciate it!

Thank you very much for your comment, Tulia. 🙂

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