Writing Part 1: 174 words that earn nothing extra
Maria, 16, is preparing for B1 Preliminary. Her last timed Writing paper: Part 1 is a compulsory email of about 100 words replying to an English-speaking friend, with four notes to include; Part 2 is a choice between an article and a story, also about 100 words. Candidates get 45 minutes for both tasks, and each task is marked on four scales - Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation, Language - from 0 to 5. Maria spent 32 minutes on Part 1. Her email is 174 words, all four notes are covered, the grammar is generally accurate, and her teacher scored it Content 5, Communicative Achievement 3, Organisation 2, Language 3. But there is no greeting and no sign-off, the whole email is one block of text, and the only linkers are 'and', 'and' and 'also'. She then had 13 minutes for Part 2, wrote 61 words, and scored 8/20. After feedback her conclusion is: 'I should write more, so they can see my English.'
1. Which single scale should the next three lessons target, and why is 'write more' exactly the wrong response to the feedback?
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Target Organisation, and say so with the marks:
- Content is already 5. Extra sentences can add nothing here; the four notes were covered at around 100 words.
- Organisation 2 is the lowest score on the page and the most responsive to a checklist: greeting and sign-off, four short paragraphs matching the four notes, and four or five linkers (because, so, but, also, after that, hope to hear from you soon). Two to four is realistic in three lessons.
- Communicative Achievement 3 will move with it, because the conventions of an informal email - a name at the start, a friendly closing question - are part of communicating with the reader.
'Wider' writing has already cost her: 32 of 45 minutes on a task worth half the paper, leaving 13 minutes and 61 words for Part 2, which scored 8/20. Same effort, worse result.
2. Design a 45-minute routine for Maria, with minutes attached, that keeps her at roughly 100 words per task.
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The routine has to make stopping feel like a technique rather than laziness.
- 0-3 min, plan Part 1. Turn the four notes into four one-line answers; decide the greeting and the closing line.
- 3-20 min, write. Target 100-110 words: one or two sentences per note, four short paragraphs. Say the rule out loud: at 110 words, stop.
- 20-23 min, check. Tick the four notes, count the words, check present/past forms and spelling of common words.
- 23-26 min, choose and plan Part 2. Read both prompts, pick one, list three or four points.
- 26-41 min, write about 100 words.
- 41-45 min, check.
Explain the arithmetic: 174 words earned 11/20; the missing Part 2 content cost far more than the extra 74 words ever could. Length beyond roughly 120 words adds error risk, not marks.
3. Maria still believes long writing looks impressive. Give the short reply you would actually say to her, and name the one thing she must check before she starts writing.
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Say something like: 'The examiner marks what the task asks for, not how much you can produce. Your email already got full marks for content at about 100 words; the marks you are missing are for shape and for the reader, and those come from paragraphs and linkers, not from volume. Every extra sentence also takes time from Part 2, which is half your Writing mark.'
The one check before writing: how many notes are there, and how many paragraphs will I write? Four notes means four short paragraphs, so the shape is decided before the first sentence and the word count takes care of itself.