Mock examMock examEnglish Together · B1 Preliminary · Exam Track
Mock 1 — Writing
Both parts of the real Writing paper, in the real order and with the real clock — and with the help switched on. Each task opens with its plan, its content points and an opening you can borrow. Write with them in front of you, press Check to see the model and mark your own draft against the four criteria, then clear it and write the task once more from the blank box. Keep both drafts; the second one is the one that tells you where you are.
45 minutes2 partsPart 1 is compulsory20 marks eachSupport open from the start
Writing · Mock 1Scaffolded0 of 0 parts done
This is the scaffolded mock: every part opens with its support showing. Use it, check, then clear it and try the part alone — that second attempt is the one to watch.
Part 1 · Question 1
The email — you must answer this question
Read the email from your English friend Nila and the four notes you have made beside it. Then write your email to Nila, using all four notes. Write about 100 words. A note answered in one short sentence still counts; a note you never answer cannot be repaired by writing more about the others.
Read this email from your English friend Nila, and the notes you have made.
From: Nila · Subject: Our podcast!
Big news — the school has said yes to our podcast idea, and Tom and I want you to be in the first episode, talking about life in your country.
We can record it online on Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon — which is better for you? We also need one topic for your part: something about your town, your school, your food, anything. And we still don't have a name for the whole podcast. Any ideas?
Write back soon! Nila
Fantastic! — tell Nila how you feel about being in it.your note, beside line 1
Say which day is better for you, and why.your note, beside line 3
Suggest one topic for your part.your note, beside line 4
Give one idea for the name of the podcast.your note, beside line 5
Question 1compulsory
Write your email to Nila, using all four notes. Write about 100 words.
Your answer0 words
Mark your own against the real criteria:
Content. Read your draft again and physically point at the line that answers each of the four notes. Four notes, four lines — and note 2 has two halves, the day and the reason. If you cannot point at one of them, it is not there, and in this part a missing note costs more than any grammar mistake.
Communicative achievement. It reads like an email to a friend, not a form: a greeting (Hi Nila,), a first line that reacts to her news before it answers anything, and an ending with your name. Nothing in it would be strange to receive.
Organisation. More than one paragraph, and the sentences are joined rather than stacked: and, but, so, because, also. A reader can see where one idea stops and the next starts.
Language. The everyday words are right and there is some B1 grammar visible on the page — a comparative (better / easier), a modal (could / should), a reason with because. You have read it once more for the small things: it's not its, capital letters, full stops.
A model answer at this level
Hi Nila,
That's fantastic news — of course I'll be in it! I've never been on a podcast before, so I'm a bit nervous, but mostly excited.
Sunday afternoon is much better for me, because on Saturday mornings I help at my uncle's shop and I can't get away before two.
For my part, could I talk about the market in my town? It's open every day, the same families have had the stalls for years, and I think British listeners would find it surprising.
As for the name, what about “Two Countries, One Table”? It works if every episode is about food — and everything ends up being about food anyway.
Speak on Sunday! [your name]
106 words. Notice that each note gets its own short paragraph and is then left alone. The because in paragraph two is the whole of note 2's second half — the mark that most answers drop. The name comes with one sentence of reason, which is what turns an idea into a suggestion.
Support — the same task, with helpnot a grade
The plan.
Greeting and reaction.Hi Nila, then one sentence about how you feel. That is note 1 done, and it costs you ten words.
Paragraph 2 — the day. Name it, then because, then the reason. Not “Sunday is better” — “Sunday is better because…”. The reason is half the note.
Paragraph 3 — your topic. One topic, and one line saying why a British listener would want to hear it. Asking it as a question (could I talk about…?) sounds like a real email and uses a modal for free.
Paragraph 4 — the name. One idea, in quotation marks, with a short reason. Two lines at most.
Sign-off.Speak soon! and your name. An email that simply stops loses marks under Communicative achievement, and it is the easiest mark on the paper to keep.
Every content point must appear.
Note 1 — how you feel about being in the first episode.
Note 2 — Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, and why. The why is the half of this note that most answers forget.
Note 3 — one topic for your part. One is enough; three without a reason is worse than one with.
Note 4 — one idea for the name of the podcast.
All four inside about 100 words. Count them on your fingers before you write the sign-off.
An opening you can borrow.Hi Nila, — and then a reaction, not information: That's fantastic news — of course I'll be in it! Getting the feeling out of the way in line one clears the rest of the email for her three questions, and it is the line that makes it sound like a person rather than an answer sheet.
Now write it again with the plan in front of you. Keep your first attempt — comparing the two is where the marks are.
Part 2 · Question 2 or Question 3
Choose one — the article or the story
Answer one of these two questions. Write about 100 words. Both are marked out of the same 20, so a story is not worth more than an article: choose the one you can finish, and choose it in thirty seconds.
Question 2 · Article You see this notice in your school's English magazine.
ARTICLES WANTED — THE PERFECT RAINY DAY What do you do when it rains all day? Do you stay in or go out anyway? Alone or with other people? Tell us about your perfect rainy day — and why it is perfect. We will publish the best articles.a notice in your school's English magazine
Question 3 · Story Your English teacher has asked you to write a story. Your story must begin with this sentence:
When Tom opened the envelope, he could not believe what was inside.an instruction from your English teacher
Question 2 or Question 3choose one
Write your article or your story in about 100 words. Write the number of the question you chose at the top of your answer.
Your answer0 words
Mark your own against the real criteria:
Content.Article: the notice asks what you do and why it is perfect — both are answered, and the in-or-out question is answered too. Story: the given sentence is there word for word, we find out what was in the envelope, and something happens because of it.
Communicative achievement. You chose one voice and kept it. An article speaks to a reader — it can ask a question, it can say you. A story holds a reader — it can use direct speech, and it does not explain itself.
Organisation. Three short paragraphs with a shape. Article: the day → what you do → why it is perfect. Story: the envelope → what Tom does → what changed. The last line is a line you chose, not the place you ran out of words.
Language. Some range is on show and you took one small risk. Article: real adjectives instead of nice and good, and one conditional (if it rains…). Story: not every verb in the past simple — one was ‑ing, one had ‑ed, and a time linker (as soon as, while, after).
A model answer at this level
Question 2 — the article
The perfect rainy day? Get wet.
Most people I know spend a rainy day on the sofa with a screen. I understand it, but by four o'clock they are bored and the day has gone.
My perfect rainy day starts with proper boots and a coat with a hood. I walk to the river with my cousin, because it is completely different in the rain: louder, faster, and empty of people. We come home soaked, and then the sofa is a reward instead of a prison.
Why is it perfect? Because you can't be disappointed by rain if you were going out in it anyway.
101 words. The first paragraph describes what the article is not — a contrast is what makes an article sound like an article. The why is answered head-on in the last line, because the notice asks it head-on.
Question 3 — the story
When Tom opened the envelope, he could not believe what was inside. Two tickets for Saturday's match — the one that had sold out in an hour — and no note, no name, nothing.
He asked everyone. His mum shook her head. His sister was laughing at something on her phone and didn't look up. “Not me,” said Nila at school. “But I'm free on Saturday.”
They went. The team lost, and it was still the best afternoon of the year.
On Sunday he found the shop receipt in the kitchen bin. It had his sister's name on it.
104 words. Three tenses in the first two lines (opened, could not, had sold out), two lines of direct speech, and an ending that answers the question the first line asked. Notice the sister not looking up in paragraph two — the ending was planted before it arrived.
Support — the same task, with helpnot a grade
The plan.
Choose in thirty seconds, then commit. Take the article if you already know what you do when it rains and can say why in one line; take the story if you can already see what is in the envelope. Switching at minute ten is what actually costs marks.
If you chose the article — three paragraphs. (1) What most people do on a rainy day, and that you do something else; a contrast gives an article a voice. (2) Your rainy day: one place, one person, one thing you can see or hear. (3) The why, answered directly, because the notice asks it directly.
If you chose the story — three paragraphs. (1) The given sentence, copied exactly, then one sentence saying what was in the envelope. (2) What Tom does about it: someone speaks, or something is done. (3) The ending in one or two sentences: what is different now, or who sent it.
Either way, end on a line you chose. An article can end by answering the question in the title; a story can end on a small fact that explains everything. Both beat trailing off, and both take a dozen words.
Every content point must appear.
Article — what you do on a rainy day. Named, with a place.
Article — in or out, alone or with people. The notice asks both; a line each is enough.
Article — why it is perfect. The notice asks this directly and it is the point most answers leave out.
Story — the given sentence, word for word, including the name Tom. A changed word loses a content mark before you have written anything of your own.
Story — what was in the envelope. The first sentence promises it; a story that never says is a broken promise.
Story — an event and an ending that stops on purpose. Not and then he woke up.
About 100 words either way, and the question number at the top so the examiner knows which task you are answering.
An opening you can borrow.Article:Most people I know spend a rainy day on the sofa with a screen. — start with what everyone else does, and the reader waits to hear what you do instead. Story: copy the sentence, then answer it at once: Two tickets for Saturday's match — and no note, no name, nothing. The mystery is in the no name; the rest of the story is finding out.
Now write it again with the plan in front of you. Keep your first attempt — comparing the two is where the marks are.
What this paper told you
A writing part counts as done when your draft is the right length and you can honestly tick all four criteria. The model is there to compare against, not to copy.
0parts done
—marks, best unaided attempt
0parts where you opened the support
Your second draft — written after clearing the plan — is the one to keep. If it still has all four content points and a real ending, the plan is now in your head, which is where it has to be on the day.