B2 First for Schools and B2 First exam format

B2 First for Schools and B2 First exams are made up of four components developed to test learners’ English skills. You can see exactly what is in each component below.

The formats below are the same for both the digital and paper-based exams.

Component	Content	Purpose
Reading and Use of English (1 hour 15 minutes) See sample paper	7 parts / 52 questions	Shows you can deal confidently with different types of text, such as fiction, newspapers and magazines. Tests your use of English with tasks that show how well you can control your grammar and vocabulary.
Writing (1 hour 20 minutes) See sample paper	2 parts	Requires you to be able to produce two different pieces of writing, such as letters, reports, reviews and essays.
Listening (about 40 minutes) See sample paper	4 parts / 30 questions	Requires you to be able to follow and understand a range of spoken materials, such as news programmes, presentations and everyday conversations.
Speaking (14 minutes per pair of candidates; 20 minutes per group of three) See sample paper	4 parts	Shows how good your spoken English is as you take part in conversation by asking / answering questions and discussing topics. Your Speaking test will be face to face with one or two other candidates and two examiners. One of the examiners (who could be online, examining remotely) talks to you and the other examiner listens. This makes your test more realistic and more reliable. Examiners may use their mobile phones for entering marks using an app.

Reading & Use of English
Writing
Listening
Speaking

What’s in the Reading and Use of English test?

The B2 First for Schools Reading and Use of English paper is in seven parts and has a mix of text types and questions.

Time allowed:	1 hour 15 minutes
Number of parts:	7
Number of questions:	52
Marks:	40% of total
Lengths of texts:	2,200–2,500 words to read in total.
Texts may be from:	Newspaper and magazine articles, reports, fiction, advertisements, letters, messages, informational material (e.g. brochures, guides, manuals, etc.).

Part 1 (Multiple-choice cloze)

What’s in Part 1?	A text in which there are some missing words or phrases (gaps). After the text there are four possible answers for each gap and students have to choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
What do students have to practise?	Vocabulary – words with similar meanings, collocations, linking phrases, phrasal verbs, etc.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Open cloze)

What’s in Part 2?	There are some missing words (gaps). Students have to think of the correct word for each gap.
What do students have to practise?	Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Word formation)

What’s in Part 3?	A text containing eight gaps. Each gap represents a word. At the end of the line is a ‘prompt’ word which the student has to change in some way to make the correct missing word and complete the sentence correctly.
What do students have to practise?	Vocabulary – word-building: the different words which the student can make from a ‘base’ word, e.g. ‘compete’ becomes ‘competition’, ‘competitor’, ‘competitive’, ‘competitively’ or ‘uncompetitive’.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Key word transformations)

What’s in Part 4?	A sentence followed by a key word and a second sentence which has a gap in it. Students have to use the key word to complete the second sentence so that it is similar in meaning to the first sentence.
What do students have to practise?	Grammar and vocabulary – rewriting sentences with different words so that they mean the same thing.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	Up to 2 marks for each correct answer.

Part 5 (Multiple choice)

What’s in Part 5?	A text with some multiple-choice questions. Each question has four options (A, B, C or D), and students have to decide which is the correct answer.
What do students have to practise?	How to understand the details of a text, including opinions and attitudes.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	2 marks for each correct answer.

Part 6 (Gapped text)

What’s in Part 6?	A text with some empty spaces (gaps). After the text there are some sentences taken from the text. Students have to choose the correct sentence for each gap.
What do students have to practise?	How to understand the structure and follow the development of a text.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	2 marks for each correct answer.

Part 7 (Multiple matching)

What’s in Part 7?	A series of questions and a long text or several short texts to read. For each question, students have to decide which text or part of the text mentions this.
What do students have to practise?	How to find specific information in a text or texts.
How many questions are there?	10
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

What’s in the Writing test?

In the two parts of the B2 First for Schools Writing paper, the student has to show that they can write different types of text in English.

Summary

Time allowed:	1 hour 20 minutes
Number of parts:	2
Number of questions:	Part 1: one compulsory question Part 2: one question from a choice of four, including one set text question
Marks:	20% of total
Types of task:	Articles, email, essay, letter, review, story (B2 First for Schools only) and report (B2 First only).

Part 1

What’s in Part 1?	Students are given an essay title and two ideas. They write an essay giving their opinion about the title, using the ideas given and adding an idea of their own. The title will be a subject of general interest – students won’t need any specialised knowledge.
What do students have to practise?	Giving an opinion and providing reasons for that opinion.
How many questions are there?	One compulsory question.
How much do students have to write?	140–190 words

Part 2

What’s in Part 2?	You write a text from a choice of text types – article, email / letter, review, story (B2 First for Schools only) or report (B2 First only).
What do students have to practise?	Writing different types of text: articles, essays, letters / emails, reviews. Depending on the question, students will have to advise, compare, describe, explain, express opinions, justify and / or recommend something.
How many questions are there?	Students choose one question from a choice of four, including one set text question.
How much do students have to write?	140–190 words

What’s in the Listening test?

The B2 First for Schools Listening paper has four parts. For each part students have to listen to a recorded text or texts and answer some questions. They will hear each recording twice.

Summary

Time allowed:	About 40 minutes
Number of parts:	4
Number of questions:	30

Part 1 (Multiple choice)

What’s in Part 1?	A series of short, unrelated recordings of approximately 30 seconds each. Students have to listen to the recordings and answer one multiple-choice question for each. Each question has three options (A, B or C).
What do students have to practise?	Listening for feeling, attitude, opinion, purpose, function, agreement, gist and detail.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Sentence completion)

What’s in Part 2?	A monologue (one person speaking) lasting 3–4 minutes. Students have to complete the sentences on the question paper with information they hear on the recording.
What do students have to practise?	Listening for detail, specific information, stated opinion.
How many questions are there?	10
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Multiple matching)

What’s in Part 3?	Five short related monologues of approximately 30 seconds each. Students listen to the recordings and choose which statement from a list of eight best matches what each speaker says.
What do students have to practise?	Listening for general gist, purpose, feeling, main points and detail.
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Multiple choice)

What’s in Part 4?	An interview or exchange between two speakers and lasting 3–4 minutes. Students have to listen to the recording and answer seven multiple-choice questions. Each question has three options (A, B or C).
What do students have to practise?	Listening for opinion, attitude, gist, main idea, specific information.
How many questions are there?	7
How many marks are there?	1 mark for each correct answer.

What’s in the Speaking test?

The B2 First for Schools Speaking test has four parts and the student takes it together with another candidate.

There are two examiners. One of the examiners conducts the test (asks questions, gives the student a booklet with things to talk about, and so on). The other examiner listens to what the student says.

Summary

Time allowed:	14 minutes per pair of candidates
Number of parts:	4
The student has to talk:	with the examiner with the other candidate on their own

Part 1 (Interview)

What’s in Part 1?	Conversation with the examiner. The examiner asks questions and students may have to give information about themselves, talk about past experiences, present circumstances and future plans.
What do students have to practise?	Giving information about themselves and expressing opinions about various topics.
How long does each student have to speak?	2 minutes

Part 2 (Long turn)

What’s in Part 2?	The examiner gives the student a pair of photographs to talk about and they have to speak for 1 minute without interruption. The questions about the photographs are written at the top of the page to remind the student what they should talk about. When they have finished speaking, the student’s partner then has to answer a short question from the examiner about their photographs.
What do students have to practise?	Talking on their own about something: comparing, describing, expressing opinions.
How long does each student have to speak?	1 minute per candidate, plus a 30-second response

Part 3 (Collaborative task)

What’s in Part 3?	Conversation with the other candidate. The examiner gives the students a question and some written prompts. The students discuss these together for two minutes. The examiner will then ask them to make a decision together about the topic they have been discussing.
What do students have to practise?	Exchanging ideas, expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing and / or disagreeing, suggesting, speculating, evaluating, reaching a decision through negotiation, etc.
How long does each student have to speak?	A 2-minute discussion followed by a 1-minute decision-making task

Part 4 (Discussion)

What’s in Part 4?	Further discussion with the other candidate, guided by questions from the examiner, about the same topic as the task in Part 3.
What do students have to practise?	Expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing and / or disagreeing.
How long does each student have to speak?	The discussion should last 4 minutes

openbook What’s in the Reading and Use of English test?

compose What’s in the Writing test?

playlist What’s in the Listening test?

megaphone What’s in the Speaking test?

What’s in the Reading and Use of English test?

What’s in the Writing test?

What’s in the Listening test?

What’s in the Speaking test?