FCE article: how to write a B2 First article
An FCE article is a Part 2 option where you write 140–190 words for a magazine or website, answering the questions in the announcement in a way that interests and entertains the reader. It needs a catchy title, a lively opening and a friendly, personal tone. This page is part of our B2 First Writing guide and includes a plan, phrases and three marked model answers.
By Eleanor BennettLast updated:
What the article task looks like
An article task is usually an announcement from a magazine, a website or a school newsletter. It asks two or three questions, often about your experiences, preferences or opinions, and says that the best articles will be published. Here is an original example:
You see this announcement on an English-language website for young people.
Articles wanted: A skill I'm glad I learned
What is a skill, not connected with school, that you are really glad you learned? How did you learn it, and how has it helped you in your life?
The best articles will be published on our website next month.
Write your article.
The questions in the announcement are your content points. In this example there are three: which skill, how you learned it and how it has helped you. Your job is to answer all three in a way that makes someone want to keep reading. That second part is what makes an article different from an essay: the reader is choosing to read you, so you have to earn their attention.
Paragraph plan for an FCE article
- 1
Title
Short and intriguing. A question, a surprising statement or a play on words works well: The Day I Burned the Rice is more inviting than My Skill.
- 2
Paragraph 1: the hook
Grab the reader with a question, a short anecdote or a bold statement, then make it clear what the article is about. Avoid Hello readers, today I will write about...
- 3
Paragraph 2: first content point
Answer the first question in the announcement with detail and colour. Specific details (a place, a moment, a feeling) make an article vivid.
- 4
Paragraph 3: second and third content points
Answer the remaining questions. You can give each its own paragraph if you have the words. Use a rhetorical question to move between ideas: So how has it changed my life?
- 5
Final paragraph: a memorable ending
Speak directly to the reader: give advice, a recommendation or a final thought. End on something they will remember, not on Thank you for reading.
Register and tone
Most articles are written for readers of your own age, so the tone is semi-formal to informal: friendly, enthusiastic and personal. Contractions are fine. You can talk to the reader directly (Have you ever...?, Trust me) and use some idiomatic expressions.
However, friendly is not the same as careless. Avoid text-message style, lots of exclamation marks and slang. If the magazine is for a professional or school audience, move closer to neutral.
Techniques that hold attention:
- rhetorical questions: Who would have thought that...?
- a range of adjectives and adverbs: absolutely terrifying, surprisingly relaxing
- an inverted or emphatic structure now and again: Little did I know..., What I love most is...
- short sentences after long ones, for impact
For more ways to connect ideas in a natural way, see our linking words guide. The same lively tone is also useful in a review.
How the four criteria apply to the article
- Content: every question in the announcement is answered. If the task asks how it has helped you, a vague line at the end is not enough.
- Communicative Achievement: this is where articles are won or lost. Examiners look for a text that engages the reader: an attention-grabbing title and opening, a personal voice and a strong ending. A correct but flat answer that reads like an essay will not score highly here.
- Organisation: paragraphs that move naturally from hook to content to ending, with linkers and rhetorical questions guiding the reader.
- Language: descriptive vocabulary, some less common expressions and a variety of tenses (past for the story, present perfect for how it has helped you), used with good control.
See how FCE Writing is marked for more on each criterion.
Article traps
Trap: Opening with Hello readers! Today I want to tell you about...
Fix: Start inside the topic: a question, an image or a short moment from your story.
Trap: Ending with Thank you for reading! or I hope you liked my article.
Fix: End with advice or a challenge for the reader: If you have never tried it, start this weekend.
Trap: Telling a long story and forgetting one of the questions.
Fix: Tick off each question from the announcement in your plan. The story is a tool, not the goal.
Trap: Writing in a neutral essay style with linkers like Furthermore and In conclusion.
Fix: Swap them for lighter connectors: What's more, On top of that, So, what's the verdict?
Trap: No title.
Fix: Always give the article a title. It is the first thing the reader sees and part of the article format.
Model answer 1: top level
The task
You see this announcement on an English-language website for young people.
Articles wanted: A skill I'm glad I learned
What is a skill, not connected with school, that you are really glad you learned? How did you learn it, and how has it helped you in your life?
The best articles will be published on our website next month.
Write your article.
Top answer177 words · estimated 20/20
The Day I Burned the Rice
Do you remember the first meal you cooked on your own? Mine was a disaster. I was fourteen, my parents were away, and I managed to burn a pan of rice so badly that the whole flat smelled of smoke for days. Little did I know that this embarrassing evening would lead to my favourite skill.
After that, I was determined to get it right. My grandmother, who had cooked for a family of seven, agreed to teach me every Sunday. She never used recipes; instead, she made me taste, smell and guess. Slowly, I learned to trust my instincts rather than a book.
So how has it helped me? For a start, I eat far more healthily than most of my friends, and I save a fortune by not ordering takeaways. More importantly, cooking has become my way of switching off after a stressful day of studying.
If you have never tried it, start with something simple. Who knows? Your first burned pan might be the beginning of something wonderful.
Examiner-style comments
- Content5/5
- All three questions are fully answered: the skill (cooking), how it was learned (Sunday lessons with a grandmother) and how it has helped (health, money, relaxation). The reader is fully informed.
- Communicative Achievement5/5
- Highly engaging. The intriguing title, the opening question and the funny anecdote pull the reader in, and the ending links back to the opening. The friendly, personal tone is ideal for a website for young people.
- Organisation5/5
- The article flows naturally from story to lesson to benefits to advice. A rhetorical question (So how has it helped me?) is used as a transition, and linking is varied (After that, instead, For a start, More importantly).
- Language5/5
- A wide range of vocabulary used precisely (determined, trust my instincts, save a fortune, switching off) and confident grammar, including a relative clause with past perfect and an inverted structure (Little did I know). Errors are absent.
Estimated 20/20. Notice that nothing here is very long or complicated: the high mark comes from engaging the reader and controlling the language.
Marks are our estimate using the public B2 First writing criteria, not an official Cambridge mark.
Model answer 2: solid level
The task
You see this announcement on an English-language website for young people.
Articles wanted: A skill I'm glad I learned
What is a skill, not connected with school, that you are really glad you learned? How did you learn it, and how has it helped you in your life?
The best articles will be published on our website next month.
Write your article.
Solid pass168 words · estimated 15/20
Learning to Swim as a Teenager
Most people learn to swim when they are small children, but I didn't. When I was fifteen I still couldn't swim, and I felt really embarrassed every summer when my friends went to the beach.
Finally, I decided to do something about it. I joined a course at the local sports centre for teenagers and adults. At the beginning it was very hard because I was afraid of the deep water, but the instructor was very patient with me. After three months I could swim fifty metres without stopping.
This skill has helped me in many ways. First, I am more healthy now, because I go swimming twice a week. Second, I am not afraid anymore when I go on holiday near the sea or a lake. I also made new friends on the course.
I think everybody should learn to swim, because it is useful and also it is a lot of fun. If you can't swim, don't wait like me!
Examiner-style comments
- Content5/5
- All three questions are answered with relevant detail: the skill, the course and three ways it has helped. The reader is fully informed.
- Communicative Achievement3/5
- The personal angle (learning late and feeling embarrassed) has potential, and the ending speaks to the reader. However, the title and opening are quite plain and the middle reads more like a report of facts. More reader engagement would lift this mark.
- Organisation4/5
- Clear paragraphs in a logical order. Linkers are correct but simple and slightly mechanical (First, Second, also). A rhetorical question to introduce the benefits would help the flow.
- Language3/5
- Mostly accurate everyday language with a reasonable range of tenses. More healthy should be healthier, and it is useful and also it is a lot of fun is repetitive. Vocabulary is adequate but rarely vivid: very hard, very patient, really embarrassed.
Estimated 15/20. The content is all there. To reach the top band, rewrite the opening as a hook and replace three or four very + adjective phrases with stronger adjectives (terrified, endlessly patient).
Marks are our estimate using the public B2 First writing criteria, not an official Cambridge mark.
Model answer 3: borderline level
The task
You see this announcement on an English-language website for young people.
Articles wanted: A skill I'm glad I learned
What is a skill, not connected with school, that you are really glad you learned? How did you learn it, and how has it helped you in your life?
The best articles will be published on our website next month.
Write your article.
Borderline159 words · estimated 11/20
My skill
Hello readers! Today I want to tell you about a skill that I am glad to learn. The skill is play the guitar.
I started to play the guitar when I had twelve years. My uncle gived me his old guitar for my birthday and he teached me some songs. After I watched videos on internet and I practised every days, sometimes two hours.
The guitar helped me a lot in my life. When I am stress for the exams I play and I feel more relax. Also I have a lot of friends thanks to the music, we play together in the weekends in a park. Is very nice.
In conclusion, play the guitar is the best skill for me and I recommend to everybody to learn it because is not difficult and it is very good for you. I hope you liked my article and you will start to play also.
Thank you for reading!
Examiner-style comments
- Content4/5
- All three questions are answered: the skill, how it was learned and how it helps. The detail is thin, especially on how it has helped, but the reader is on the whole informed.
- Communicative Achievement2/5
- The format is recognisable, but the title is flat and the opening and ending (Hello readers!, Thank you for reading!) are formulaic. In conclusion belongs in an essay. The text communicates simple ideas but does little to engage the reader.
- Organisation3/5
- Paragraphs are clear, but linking is basic and sometimes wrong: After should be Afterwards or Then. Several sentences are joined with commas where a full stop or linker is needed.
- Language2/5
- Many basic errors: glad to learn (should be glad I learned), when I had twelve years, gived, teached, every days, on internet, I am stress, more relax, Is very nice, recommend to everybody to learn. Vocabulary is everyday and repetitive. The message is clear, but errors are noticeable throughout.
Estimated 11/20. Learn the past forms of common irregular verbs, use I was twelve for age, and replace the greeting and thank-you with a hook and a piece of advice.
Marks are our estimate using the public B2 First writing criteria, not an official Cambridge mark.
Useful phrases for the FCE article
| Use it to… | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Hooking the reader |
|
| Moving between ideas |
|
| Describing feelings and experiences |
|
| Emphasis |
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| Ending with impact |
|
FCE article: frequently asked questions
Does an FCE article need a title?
Yes. A title is part of the article format and helps the reader decide to read on. Keep it short and interesting.
Can I use contractions in an article?
Yes. Most article tasks are for a magazine or website for people like you, so a friendly style with contractions is appropriate. Just avoid slang and text-speak.
What is the difference between an article and an essay?
An essay argues a point for a teacher in a neutral style. An article answers the magazine's questions in a personal, engaging way for readers who are choosing to read it. Read our essay guide to compare.
Can I invent a story in my article?
Yes. Nobody checks whether your anecdote is true. What matters is that it answers the questions in the task and keeps the reader interested.
Is an article a good choice in Part 2?
It is a good choice if you enjoy writing in a lively, personal style and the questions are about something you can describe easily. If you prefer clear structures, a report may suit you better.