B2 Business Vantage

B2 Business Vantage

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Who accepts B2 Business Vantage?

These are just a few of the leading organisations that will accept your certificate:

Casio
Procter & Gamble
StudyPortals
Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS)

Find out more

Exam format

B2 Business Vantage is made up of four papers developed to test your English skills. You can see exactly what is in each paper below.

Paper	Content	Marks (% of total)	Purpose
Reading (1 hour) See sample paper	5 parts	25%	Shows you can deal confidently with different types of text, such as business publications and correspondence.
Writing (45 minutes) See sample paper	2 parts	25%	Requires you to be able to produce two different pieces of writing, such as letters, reports, proposals and emails.
Listening (about 40 minutes, including transfer time) See sample paper	3 parts	25%	Requires you to be able to follow and understand a range of spoken materials, such as interviews, discussions and presentations.
Speaking (14 minutes per pair of candidates) See sample paper	3 parts	25%	Tests your ability to communicate effectively in face-to-face situations. You will take the Speaking test with one or two other candidates.

Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking

What’s in the Reading paper?

The B2 Business Vantage Reading paper has five parts with different types of texts and questions.

Summary

Time allowed:	1 hour
Number of parts:	5
Number of questions:	45
Marks:	25% of total
Length of texts:	150–550 words per text. Texts may be from: Newspaper and magazine articles, reports, advertisements, letters, messages, brochures, guides, manuals, etc.

Part 1 (Matching)

What's in Part 1?	Either four short texts on a related topic or one text divided into four sections and a series of statements. You have to match each statement to the text or section where you can find the information.
What do I have to practise?	Reading – scanning for gist and specific information.
How many questions are there?	7
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Matching)

What's in Part 2?	A text with gaps and some sentences (A–G). Each gap represents a missing sentence. You have to read the text and the sentences and decide which sentence belongs in each gap.
What do I have to practise?	Reading – understanding text structure.
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 3?	A single text with six comprehension questions. You have to read the text and choose the right answer for each question (A, B, C or D).
What do I have to practise?	Reading for gist and specific information.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Multiple-choice cloze)

What's in Part 4?	A text with gaps. Each gap represents one word or phrase. You have to read the text and choose the right word or phrase to fill each gap from a choice of four (A, B, C or D).
What do I have to practise?	Reading – vocabulary and structure.
How many questions are there?	15
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 5 (Proofreading)

What's in Part 5?	A text in which some lines are correct and some lines have an extra, unnecessary word. If the line is correct, you write 'CORRECT' on your answer sheet. If the line is not correct, you have to write down the extra word.
What do I have to practise?	Reading – understanding sentence structure and finding errors.
How many questions are there?	12
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

What’s in the Writing paper?

The B2 Business Vantage Writing paper requires you to write two different pieces of business correspondence.

Summary

Time allowed:	45 minutes
Number of parts:	2
Number of questions:	2 compulsory questions
Marks:	25% of total.

Part 1

What's in Part 1?	A description of a business situation. You have to write an internal company communication using the information provided.
What do I have to practise?	Writing a message, a memo or an email: giving instructions, explaining a development, asking for comments, requesting information, agreeing to requests, etc.
How many questions are there?	1 compulsory question.
How much do I have to write?	40–50 words.
How many marks do I get?	This question has a total of 10 marks.

Part 2

What's in Part 2?	Some material (letter, fax, email, note, notice, advert, graph, chart) to read. You have to write a piece of business correspondence, a report or a proposal based on the information.
What do I have to practise?	Writing business correspondence (e.g. explaining, apologising, reassuring, complaining), reports (e.g. describing, summarising) or proposals (e.g. describing, summarising, recommending, persuading).
How many questions are there?	1 compulsory question.
How much do I have to write?	120–140 words.
How many marks do I get?	This question has a total of 20 marks.

What’s in the Listening paper?

The B2 Business Vantage Listening paper has three parts. For each part, you have to listen to a recorded text or texts and answer some questions. You hear each recording twice.

Summary

Time allowed:	About 40 minutes, including 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto the answer sheet.
Number of parts:	3
Number of questions:	30
Marks:	25% of total

Part 1 (Note completion)

What's in Part 1?	Three monologues or dialogues. For each recording, you have to listen and fill in four gaps in a short text, such as a form.
What do I have to practise?	Listening and noting specific information.
How many questions are there?	12
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Matching)

What's in Part 2?	Two sets of five short monologues (recordings of one person speaking). Each set is linked by a common theme and has a list of eight options (A–H). You have to match each speaker to one of the options.
What do I have to practise?	Listening to identify topic, context, function, etc.
How many questions are there?	10
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 3?	One longer conversation or monologue (interview, discussion, presentation, etc.) and some comprehension questions. You have to listen to the recording and choose the right answer (A, B or C) for each question.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for details and main ideas.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

What’s in the Speaking paper?

The B2 Business Vantage Speaking test has three parts and you take it together with another candidate. There are two examiners. One of the examiners conducts the test and the other examiner listens to what you say and takes notes.

Summary

Time allowed:	14 minutes per pair of candidates
Number of parts:	3
Marks:	25% of total
You have to talk:	with the examiner with the other candidate on your own

Part 1 (Interview)

What's in Part 1?	A conversation with the examiner. The examiner first asks general and then more business-related questions. You will have to talk briefly about yourself, your home, interests, studies and job.
What do I have to practise?	Giving personal information. Talking about present circumstances, past experiences and future plans, expressing opinions, speculating, etc.
How long do we have to speak?	About 3 minutes

Part 2 (Long turn)

What's in Part 2?	A 'mini-presentation' on a business theme. The examiner gives you a choice of three topics (A, B or C). You have 1 minute to prepare to give a speech lasting approximately 1 minute. Listen carefully when your partner speaks as you have to ask a question when they have finished.
What do I have to practise?	Making a longer speech on your own. Giving information, and expressing and justifying opinions.
How long do we have to speak?	About 6 minutes

Part 3 (Collaborative task)

What's in Part 3?	A discussion with the other candidate on a business-related topic. The examiner gives you a topic to discuss and you have to talk to the other candidate about the situation and decide together what to do. The examiner will then ask you some questions about the topic you’ve been given.
What do I have to practise?	Expressing and justifying opinions, speculating, comparing and contrasting, agreeing and disagreeing, etc.
How long do we have to speak?	You have to speak with your partner for about 3 minutes, and with the examiner for a further minute.

Exam format

openbook What’s in the Reading paper?

compose What’s in the Writing paper?

playlist What’s in the Listening paper?

megaphone What’s in the Speaking paper?

What’s in the Reading paper?

What’s in the Writing paper?

What’s in the Listening paper?

What’s in the Speaking paper?