I have prepared candidates for Cambridge exams for a long time, and the marks that slip away are rarely about a lack of English. They are lost through habits: misreading what a task asks for, careless details in Use of English, and answers that are too short to show what you can do. The good news is that habits can be changed in a few weeks. Here are the five I would fix first, and how to fix each one.
How is B2 First marked?
It helps to know where the marks are before deciding where to spend your preparation time. According to Cambridge's official B2 First format page and the B2 First handbook for teachers, the exam looks like this:
| Paper | Time | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and Use of English | 1 hour 15 minutes | 7 parts, 52 questions (40% of the total: Reading and Use of English are scored separately) |
| Writing | 1 hour 20 minutes | 2 tasks of 140–190 words: a compulsory essay, then one task from a choice |
| Listening | About 40 minutes | 4 parts, 30 questions, each recording heard twice |
| Speaking | 14 minutes per pair | 4 parts, taken face to face with another candidate and two examiners |
The handbook explains that Reading, Use of English, Writing, Listening and Speaking carry equal weight, and your overall result is the average of the five. A score of 160–179 on the Cambridge English Scale gives grade B or C, 180–190 gives grade A, and 140–159 leads to a B1 certificate instead. In practice, this means a weak Speaking or Writing score cannot simply be hidden by a strong Reading score. Every skill matters equally.
Mistake 1: Losing easy marks in key word transformations
Reading and Use of English Part 4 has six sentences to rewrite using a given key word. Each one is worth up to two marks, so this short part is worth 12 marks in total. The rules are strict, and candidates who know the grammar still lose marks by breaking them:
- Your answer must be two to five words, including the key word. Write six and you get nothing for that item.
- You must not change the key word. If the word is LOOK, you cannot write looking.
- Contractions count as two words: didn't counts as did not. The one exception is can't, which counts as one word (cannot).
- The answer is marked in two halves, so a partly correct answer can still earn one mark. Never leave this part blank.
Example: "I haven't seen Anna for ages." (LAST) → "It's been ages ______ Anna." The answer since I last saw is four words and keeps LAST unchanged. since the last time I saw is six words, and scores zero even though the English is fine.
The fix: after every answer, count the words on your fingers and check the key word letter by letter. It takes five seconds and saves marks every time.
Mistake 2: Ignoring spelling in Use of English
Many candidates assume that Cambridge will be forgiving about small slips. In Use of English it is not. The handbook states that correct spelling is essential in Parts 2, 3 and 4. In Part 3 (word formation), successfull, unbelieveable or developement all score zero, even though you clearly knew the right word.
The fix: keep a personal list of the words you misspell, and test yourself on it weekly. Pay special attention to the patterns that cause most trouble:
- Double consonants: beginning, occurred, travelling (British spelling)
- Silent e before a suffix: believe → believable, argue → argument
- Negative prefixes: unnecessary, irresponsible, dissatisfied
- Plurals and verb forms the sentence needs: check whether the gap wants -s, -ed or -ing
Mistake 3: Not doing exactly what the Writing task asks
In Writing, examiners mark four areas: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language. Content is about whether you have done what the task asked. If you skip part of it, you lose marks however good your grammar is.
The most common example is the Part 1 essay. You are given a question and two ideas, and you are expected to write about both ideas and add a third idea of your own. I regularly see beautifully written essays that discuss only the two given notes, or that never clearly answer the question.
In Part 2, the trap is register. A review that reads like a formal report, or an email to a friend that sounds like a letter of complaint, will not score well for Communicative Achievement.
The fix: spend five minutes planning before you write. Underline every point in the question and tick each one off in your plan. Then ask: who is reading this, and how would they expect it to sound? Stay within 140–190 words so you have time to check your work.
Mistake 4: Running out of time and leaving answers blank
Reading and Use of English is the longest paper, with seven parts in 75 minutes. Candidates often spend too long on a difficult text in Part 5 and then rush or miss Part 7, which is usually one of the more approachable parts.
The fix: work out a rough timing plan before exam day and practise with it. A plan many of my students find useful is:
- Parts 1–4 (Use of English): about 30 minutes
- Parts 5–7 (Reading): about 40 minutes
- Final 5 minutes: check your answers are transferred and nothing is blank
If a question is taking too long, make your best guess, mark it, and move on. You lose nothing for a wrong answer, but a blank gives you nothing at all.
Mistake 5: Giving short answers in the Speaking test
Speaking is worth as much as any other skill, yet in my experience it is often the paper candidates practise least. The two most expensive habits I hear are:
- Describing the photos in Part 2 instead of comparing them. You have one minute to compare two photographs and answer a question about them. Saying "In the first picture there is a man, in the second picture there is a woman" does not answer the question.
- Talking at your partner, not with them, in Part 3. The collaborative task is a conversation. Ask your partner's opinion, respond to what they say and work towards a decision together.
Compare these two Part 1 answers to "Do you prefer studying alone or with other people?"
Short: "Alone. It's quieter."
Developed: "It depends on what I'm doing. For vocabulary I'd rather work alone because I can go at my own pace, but when I'm preparing for a speaking exam, practising with a friend is far more useful, because they ask questions I wouldn't think of."
The second answer shows range, linking and opinion in about fifteen seconds. That is what the examiner needs to hear.
The fix: practise extending every answer with a reason, an example or a contrast. For Part 2, learn a handful of comparing phrases, such as whereas, both photos show and the main difference is that, and use them until they feel natural.
What should you do this week?
Pick the mistake that sounds most like you and work on it for seven days. If it is Use of English, do one set of key word transformations a day and check word counts and spelling every time. If it is Writing, plan three essays without writing them in full, just to practise covering every point. If it is Speaking, record yourself answering five Part 1 questions and listen for one-sentence answers.
If you are not sure which mistake costs you the most, that is exactly what a teacher can spot quickly. At Elite Language Solutions, a free 25-minute trial lesson is a good place to find out where your marks are going.