In Cambridge B1 Preliminary the Writing paper has two parts: a compulsory email of about 100 words that replies to a message and covers the notes you are given, then a choice between an article and a story of a similar length. Each answer is assessed on four things, not one: content (did you do everything the task asked?), communicative achievement (does it suit the reader — friendly for a friend, polite for a teacher?), organisation (does it read as connected text, not a list?), and language (the range and accuracy of your grammar and vocabulary). A grammatically perfect email that ignores one of the notes scores lower than a slightly imperfect one that covers them all — the most common mistake under time pressure. Arabic speakers also tend to lose marks in two predictable places: very long sentences chained together with "and" (a natural rhythm in Arabic prose that reads as a run-on sentence in English) and missing or extra articles. Asagno's writing practice gives you a real task, a model structure, and — for exam-pack attempts — an AI examiner that marks your answer against these four criteria and returns a corrected version with comments in Arabic and English.
What you'll learn
- The four assessment criteria: content, communicative achievement, organisation, language
- A reusable email structure: greeting, one short paragraph per note, a clear closing
- Register: "Hi Sam," and "See you soon!" for a friend vs "Dear Mr Taylor," and "Kind regards" for someone you do not know well
- Linking words that turn a list into prose: however, although, as well as, because of this
- Breaking a long "and… and… and…" chain into clear, separate English sentences
- AI-scored practice on real prompts, with a corrected version and comments, not just a score
An annotated opening, and a sentence fix
"Hi Sam, thanks for your email — it was great to hear about your new job! You asked me about the best area to stay in Manchester, so here are a few ideas." — A friendly greeting, a thank-you, and one sentence that tells the reader exactly which note you are answering first. That is what communicative achievement looks like in the first ten seconds of marking.
Instead of: "I went to the market and I bought vegetables and I met my friend and we drank coffee and we talked." Try: "I went to the market to buy vegetables. While I was there, I met a friend, so we stopped for a coffee and a chat." Same content, three linking choices (to, while, so) — and it now reads as organised English.
Frequently asked questions
How many words should a B1 writing answer be?
In the B1 Preliminary format each part asks for about 100 words. Going a little over is not a problem, but an answer far too short usually fails to cover the task — check the stated length on each prompt, and on the current official format, since exam formats are revised from time to time.
Should I use British or American spelling?
Either is generally accepted as long as you are consistent — "colour" and "organise" or "color" and "organize", not a mix. Since this course is anchored on the UK (D9), examples generally lean British, but both spellings are treated as correct.
Does spelling matter as much as grammar?
Occasional spelling slips matter less than grammar and vocabulary, but frequent errors that make the text hard to follow do affect the language and organisation scores.