Writing - B2 Review
Essential strategies and common pitfalls to help you ace the Review for Cambridge B2 Writing exam.
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How to write a B2 Review
Reviews in B2 First Certificate (FCE) exam are written for a website, a magazine or a newspaper.
You always have to do two things describe and discuss something, for example, a film, a book, a restaurant, an experience or whatever the task might require you to talk about. Also, you have to make a recommendation at the end of your text.
Unlike an essay a review should be written in an informal or neutral register, this means:
A good report typically:
- You CAN use contractions
- You CAN use phrasal verbs
- You CAN use idioms
- You CAN be creative
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: Structure
| Title | Use the name of the film, book or restaurant. |
| Introduction | Identify what you are reviewing (actors, director etc..). Try to catch the reader’s attention (ask a narrative question). |
| 1st body paragraph | Describe the book, film, restaurant |
| 2nd body paragraph | Comment on the questions you have been asked |
| Conclusion | Summarize your review with a recommendation |
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: Writing Guide
We will use the example FCE report topic below:
You see this announcement in your college English-language magazine.
Book reviews wanted
Have you read a book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way?
Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main character did and why it was surprising. Tell us whether or not you would recommend this book to other people.
The best reviews will be published in the magazine.
Write your report to the manager of the club (between 140–190 words).
Step 1: Briefly analyse the given topic
The first thing you need to do is to underline a description part - in other words, just find what needs to be described.
Secondly, find a discussion part – in other words, try to find the specific points you need to comment on in your text.
Finally, find the target reader so you know exactly who you are writing for and who is going to read your review.
You see this announcement in your college English-language magazine. (our readers)
Book Review
Have you read a book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way? (to describe)
Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main character did and why it was surprising. (to comment)
Now we have all three elements we need to write a great review:
You need to describe:
Book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way
You need to answer/discuss:
- What did the main character do?
- Why it was surprising?
Who is the target reader:
College English-language magazine.
We know now that the target readers are students, teachers and probably parents so the writing style should be neutral or informal.
We don’t need to be too formal because after all some of the readers are students, but we also don’t want to be too informal as some of the readers are teachers and parents.
Now we can start building our structure and writing a review.
Step 2: Title
The review should start with the title, and there are few simple ways to write it:
- imagine you’re reviewing a book you can write: [Title] by [Author]
- if you were reviewing a restaurant you could write: [name of the restaurant] – a review
Title (book): Dark Souls by Stephen King (by)
Title (restaurant): Taco Bell in London – a review (a review)
We will use this title in our guide:
Example:
Tip: Nothing prevents you from writing something more unique but it has to point to what you are going to review.
Step 3: Introduction
Use the introduction to identify the thing you are going to be reviewing and provide details like the genre (i.e. a science fiction novel, a horror movie) or location (if it’s a restaurant).
The other function of your introduction is to engage the reader. You can do it by asking a question.
Make your introduction at least 2 sentences long.
Example:
INTRODUCTION: What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most people would probably meet their great-grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built, but Jimmy Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine by Lana Ogden finds himself in a completely unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will change history as we know it.
Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content)
The body paragraphs are the main parts of your review so they should be the longest and carry most of the information. Also, here you describe the points you’ve found in (Step 1)
You need to answer/discuss:
You can use idioms, and phrasal verbs – neutral/informal language is appropriate for your target reader – students and teachers.
See the example below, in which we dedicated one paragraph to one point.
Example:
[Who is the main character and what did he do? – describe]
Jimmy, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.
[Why it was surprising? – comment]
It seems to me that Jimmy could choose many other and more personal things to do, but he decides to try and change history to a degree that he cannot predict. In my opinion, that came definitely unexpected and if I were in his position I probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.
TIP:What if you don’t read books?
Don’t waste your time looking for a real book to match your review. Invent one, it doesn’t have to be real!
And yes that may sound difficult: you have to invent a book and then write a review about your invented book!
So instead take a tv series you like, take a film you like and transform them into books. That’s simple!
Step 5: Conclusion / Recommendations
Finally, we need to make a recommendation because after all, that’s the only reason why anyone would read a review — they want to know what the reviewer thinks about the book, film or restaurant.
A good final paragraph of a review does exactly two things
Example:
CONCLUSION: I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has already read some of Lana Ogden’s novels as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns around every corner plus you get some modern history on top of that. For me, it was absolutely worth reading and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
See Full Review
Time Machine by Lana Ogden
What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most people would probably meet their great-great-grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built, but Jimmy Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine by Lana Ogden finds himself in a completely unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will change history as we know it.
Jimmy, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.
Jimmy could choose many other and more personal things to do, but he decides to try and change history to a degree that he cannot predict. In my opinion, that came definitely unexpected and if I were in his position I probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.
I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has already read some of Lana Ogden’s novels as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns around every corner plus you get some modern history on top of that.
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: Writing Checklist
After writing your review, you can check it yourself using the writing checklist below.
Content
Communicative Achievement
Organisation
Language
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: Tips
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: Grammar & Vocabulary
The grammar and vocabulary that you need unfortunately depend heavily on the type of question you get.
One thing you can do though is to make sure your grammar and vocabulary are related to the tasks. So for example, if you are writing a review about a film make sure your vocabulary is related to films.
So include words like "scripts, director, cast, plot, setting, special effects, and stunts"
Film/Book
If you want to mention who directed the film or who played the part of a certain character then make sure you use the passive“The film was directed by Y”. “The protagonist was played by X”.
Experience
If you are talking about an experience and you need to describe the experience then make sure you use narrative tenses because obviously this experience happened in the past.
This means you need to use the past simple, the past continuous and the past perfect. For example “I checked into the hotel at 10 am. I had been travelling all night and was feeling exhausted. The hotel staff were very welcoming and made me feel at home”.
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: Useful Phrases & Expressions
We'll wrap up with some useful vocabulary commonly used to organize ideas. While it might feel like taking a shortcut, learning a few key expressions for each paragraph type can help you produce a well-structured and cohesive text in your exam.
Giving background
This show stars…
The play is directed by…
The film is about…
It’s set in…….…
The story is based on (a book…)
It’s about…..
There are many memorable characters including ….
The main theme of the film is…..
Expressions that introduce a contrast
On the plus side,…
On the down side,…
On the one hand,…
On the other hand,…
Recommending
Overall, I’d recommend…
All in all, the film was…
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend…
I wouldn’t encourage anyone to …
I would recommend this film to anyone.
Although I enjoyed it, I would not recommend it for….
It’s one of the best (shows) I’ve ever seen.
Although I am not normally keen on (musicals), I am glad that I decided to go.
The (film) lifts you out of your everyday life
B2 First Certificate (FCE) Review: FAQ
Who will read the review?
Your review will be read by readers of a magazine.
What is the purpose of the review?
The review is intended to give information to the reader which will help them decide whether to attend the event themselves.
What style should I use?
Use a style similar to an article that is likely to interest the reader.
What information should I include?
Give essential information about the story, cast, band members, etc. Say what you like and didn’t like about the performances. Make a recommendation to the reader about whether or not they should go.