B1 Preliminary

Information for candidates

for exams from 2020
B1 Preliminary

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How to use this guide
You can print this document if you wish, but it is better to read it on screen. Click the links in the document to access other
useful online resources such as videos and practice tests, and to find the information you need.

Contents
About the exam 2
What is B1 Preliminary? 2
What’s in the exam? 2
Preparing for the exam 3
Studying for the exam 4
Knowing what to expect in the exam 6
Practical arrangements for the exam 7
Exam day 8
Reading 9
Writing 10
Listening 11
Speaking 12
After the exam 13
Results and next steps 13
 About the exam
What is B1 Preliminary?
B1 Preliminary is an English language exam at Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). There isn’t
a specific age for taking B1 Preliminary but the topics and content of the exam are more suited to older teens and people
who have left school.

You can take B1 Preliminary as a paper-based or a computer-based exam.

What’s in the exam?

Here’s a summary of what’s in the exam.

Paper details What’s in the paper? What do you need to do?

The Reading paper has six parts. The tasks include: You need to be able to:
• answering multiple-choice questions on short • understand real-world messages
and longer texts, including notices, signs, • read and choose the correct word or answer
messages, articles and websites • choose the correct words to complete a text
• matching people to the correct short text • understand details, general meaning, writer’s
Reading • completing gap-fill tasks (with and without attitude and opinion
45 minutes multiple-choice options) • show understanding of how a text is structured.
• completing a gapped text by choosing the
correct sentence.

The Writing paper has two parts. The tasks include: You need to be able to:
• writing an email to respond to information • write texts of about 100 words
• writing an article or a story on a topic. • respond to an email and include all the
content points
Writing
• either write an article on a topic or write a story
45 minutes following the first sentence, which you are given.

The Listening paper has four parts. The tasks include: You need to be able to:
• answering multiple-choice questions on short • listen for important information and details in
and longer listening texts, both monologues short monologues and long conversations
and dialogues • listen for the main idea in short dialogues
Listening • filling in missing words in notes or sentences while • listen and write down important information and
listening to a monologue. spell words correctly
30 minutes
• identify attitudes and opinions in an interview.

The Speaking test has four parts: You need to be able to:
• in the first part, the examiner asks the candidate • answer questions about yourself
‘getting to know you’ type questions • describe a photograph for about 1 minute,
• in the second part, each candidate describes a organising what you say
photograph for about 1 minute • discuss a situation with your partner, using
Speaking • in the third part, candidates discuss a situation with pictures to help you
each other • talk about likes, opinions, experiences, habits, etc.
About 12 minutes • in the fourth part, candidates have a general
conversation with each other and the examiner.

You don’t need to pass all of the papers to pass the whole exam. For example, if you do very well in the Reading, Writing
and Speaking papers, but you don’t do so well in the Listening paper, it is still possible to pass. The weighting of each of the
four skills is equal.

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Preparing for the exam
There are four things you need to do to prepare To help you prepare for B1 Preliminary, our website has a
for the exam: lot of free exam preparation material, including:

1. Practise your English in all four of the language skills – • sample papers and a computer-based practice test
reading, writing, listening and speaking.
• skills practice activities
2. Improve your grammar and vocabulary.
• language practice activities.
3. Make sure you know what to expect in the exam.
To help you prepare for the exam, Cambridge Assessment
4. Make sure you know the practical arrangements for English and Cambridge University Press have developed
the exam. a wide range of official preparation materials including
coursebooks and practice tests. You can purchase these in
The most important of these is to practise communicating both print and digital formats.
clearly. For example, in the Speaking test, the examiner will
be interested in how you ask your partner questions, and
how you answer their questions.

Learn more about the exam

sample paper computer-based video of examiner’s

practice test Speaking test comments on speaking
performances

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Studying for the exam
How can I improve my reading? The Reading paper tests how well you can read in different
ways, so you need to practise these skills.
The Reading paper contains a range of texts, so look at
texts that you can find around you or on the internet, not • Try to read a text quickly to get the main idea.
just in your coursebook. Some things that would be helpful (This is called ‘skimming’.) It’s a good idea to skim any
to look at include: text you’re going to read.
• signs, notices and packaging information • Read a text to find out specific information. For example,
visit a cinema website to find out when a film is on.
• short newspaper and magazine articles (This is called ‘scanning’.)
• notes, text messages and emails • Read some texts carefully, so that you understand as
• brochures and leaflets (you may be able to find leaflets much as possible, including what the writer thinks or
in English in a library or a tourist information office) feels about the topic.

• websites You will need to read in all of these different ways in the
Reading test.
• graded readers, both fiction and non-fiction (books that
are written for people learning English). Another useful thing to do is to try to guess the meaning
of words that you don’t know. This is an important skill to
help you cope with higher level texts. Sometimes you can
try to guess the meaning of these words, or you can decide
whether you can understand the text well enough without
knowing all the words.
How can I improve my writing? What is the best way to improve my speaking?
Here are some ideas for preparing for the Writing tasks. The best way to improve your speaking is to speak as much
English as you can with your friends, family, colleagues and
• Write short messages or emails to friends, family or teacher. Try to talk about different things. Practise asking
colleagues, and encourage them to write back to you. questions to find out what other people think.
• Learn how to do things in your writing like describing,
inviting, suggesting, thanking and reminding. You could look at a picture and practise talking about it
for about a minute. If you record yourself, you can listen
• Practise writing emails, articles and stories that are at back and find ways to improve your language, vocabulary
least 100 words, so that you know what this number of and pronunciation.
words looks like.
To help improve your pronunciation, try our activities
• When you practise answering exam questions, try not for learners.
to use the language that is in the question; write this in
your own words instead. Watch an example of a Speaking test, so you know what to
• Look at model answers in coursebooks to see what good expect on the day. If you read the examiner’s comments,
answers at B1 level are like. you will understand what the examiners are looking for in
your Speaking test.
• Practise writing with the same time limit as in the exam.
• Always check your writing for spelling, grammar and How can I learn to use more vocabulary
vocabulary mistakes. The examiner will look at these and grammar?
when they mark your writing, as well as how clear your
These ideas will help you to improve your grammar and to
message is. You can use our online tool Write & Improve
use more interesting vocabulary.
to help you.
• Tip for learning new words: Write it! Use it! Remember it!
How can I improve my listening? Keep a vocabulary book.

Try listening to people speaking as much as you can, even • Write down new words in your vocabulary book that you
if you can’t understand everything. You can find many see in your coursebook or in past exam papers. Try to
different things to listen to online. You may find it easier to write words that go together and write an example
watch videos so that you can see the person speaking while sentence so that you can learn them, e.g. enter a
you’re listening. You could listen to: competition – he entered a competition because the
prize was a trip to Disneyland.
• videos on the Cambridge English TV YouTube channel
• Make sure you know vocabulary about many
• listening activities in the Learning English section of the different topics. Ask your teacher about the topics
Cambridge English website that can be in the exam. You could also look at the
• episodes of our audio series Virtually Anywhere – there B1 Preliminary wordlist.
are seven episodes, each with activities to practise the • Try to use a monolingual dictionary (English–English) while
language used you’re preparing for the exam. This will help you to increase
• sample chapters from Cambridge University Press your vocabulary and learn how words are used.
graded readers • Learn the different forms of irregular verbs (e.g. I break,
• listening activities on language learning websites such as I broke, I have broken).
the BBC or the British Council. • Learn which prepositions go with different words
(e.g. blame someone for something, be in charge
Listen to monologues (one speaker) as well as dialogues of something).
with two speakers.
• Practise your spelling. If you have problems with spelling
Practise the letters of the alphabet and long numbers, such a word, practise writing it again and again until you can
as telephone numbers and dates. remember the correct spelling.

Listen to people speaking in different accents (American, • Play our English language game Quiz your English. It's a
Australian, British, Irish), as you may hear different accents fun way to learn and practise vocabulary and grammar.
in the test. You can use the internet to find podcasts or
radio or TV programmes from different countries around
the world.
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 Knowing what to expect in the exam
It’s also really important that you know what to expect in How important are practice tests?
the exam. That way, you’ll be more confident and relaxed
It is very useful to do some practice tests, so you’ll know
on exam day.
exactly what is in the exam. You should also practise filling
What do I have to do in each part of the exam? in the answer sheets, so that you know how to do this on
exam day.
You can download sample papers and find more
information about each part of the exam on our website. It’s also important to do a timed exams. This will show you
You can find sample papers for both the paper-based and how much time you have for each part.
the computer-based exams. You can also buy a book of
authentic practice tests online or from bookshops. When you’ve finished the practice test, look at the answers
and think carefully about the ones that are wrong, and
Looking at sample papers means that you’ll know what reasons why.
you’ll have to do in each part of the exam.
After you’ve done the writing part, compare your answers
to the sample answers.

When you practise doing a Speaking test, try this with

a friend.

Remember, doing practice tests is only part of the work you

need to do to get ready for the exam. Think about what you
are good at and not so good at when you use English. Try to
improve your English, not just for the exam but for life after
the exam!

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Practical arrangements for the exam
When and where will my exam be? What do I need to take with me on exam day?
Ask your teacher. If your school does not register students You need to take your identification, e.g. your passport or
for the exam, you can find an exam centre near you on other photographic ID. It must be the original and it must
our website. be valid on the day of the exam. This is so that the centre
can check who you are.
Make sure you arrive at the exam centre at the right time.
Check how long it will take you to travel there. The centre You should take pens and pencils. Your centre will also give
will ask you to arrive before the start time of the exam, so you extra pens or pencils if you need them.
they can perform ID/security checks and explain what you
should do. You can take a clear bottle of water, but don’t bring any
other food or drink.
How do I register for results online?
So that the exam is fair to everyone, you cannot take your
When you register for the exam, you will receive a bag, your mobile phone or other electronic items in the
Confirmation of Entry. This will show the link to our Online exam room. Check with your centre if it’s better to leave
Results Service, as well as your Candidate ID number and anything valuable at home.
Secret Number, which you will need to use to register to
receive your results online. Who do I ask if I have any questions before
the exam?
You should register for the results service before you take
the exam so that you get your results more quickly. You can ask your teacher questions about the exam.
If you’ve registered for the exam yourself (not through
a school), you can contact your local centre with any
questions. You can find your nearest centre on
our website.

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 Exam day
When you arrive: At the end of the exam:
• Make sure you are well prepared for exam day. Get a • For paper-based exams, stop writing as soon as the
good night’s sleep and arrive at the centre on time. invigilator tells you to.
• When you arrive at the centre, you may be asked to fill • Leave all papers in the exam room, including any notes
in a sheet of candidate data. Don’t worry – this is just you make.
information for us at Cambridge Assessment English.
• Stay in your seat until the invigilator tells you to leave
• Get your photo ID ready for checking. The centre may the room.
also take your photo for identification.
• The centre will show you where to put your bags,
phones, etc.
• There will be a clock in the exam room, and a timer on
your screen for computer-based exams.

In the exam room:

• Listen carefully to the instructions which the invigilator
will give you. Make sure you follow all the instructions.
• If you have any questions, need help or want to leave the
room, raise your hand to ask for help. Do not talk to other
people, or try to see what other candidates are writing.
• For computer-based exams, follow the instructions on
your computer screen carefully.

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Here are some tips for what to do in each part of the exam.

Reading

• Look carefully at the instructions for each part. They will tell you what to do.

• Look at the titles of the longer texts. The titles will help you to understand what the text is about
and where it comes from.

• Read the texts and the questions carefully, and make sure that you answer the questions.
Don’t just choose an answer because you see one word.

• If you don’t know the meaning of a word, don’t worry. Try to guess what it means.

• Answer all the questions, even if you’re not sure. Always choose an answer for each
multiple-choice question.

• Take your time and don’t hurry. There is plenty of time to answer all of the questions.

For paper-based exams:

• Use a pencil to complete the answer sheet (not a pen).

• Check that you have marked your answers in the correct place on the answer sheet.

• If you make a mistake, use an eraser to rub it out.

For computer-based exams:

• You will watch a short tutorial before the test begins.

 Writing

• Check your spelling carefully.

• Give yourself time to write, check and edit your work. If you do change anything, make sure that
your writing is easy to read.

• Write about 100 words for each question, which is the required number. This will mean that you
should be able to include all the relevant information without writing so much that your message
isn’t clear.

For paper-based exams:

• Make sure you write your answer on the correct part of the answer sheet. Use a pencil, not a pen.

For computer-based exams:

• You can make notes on paper during the exam and leave these notes on your desk at the end of
the exam.

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Listening

• Check that you can hear the test properly. If you can’t hear the recording, raise your
hand immediately.

• You will hear each recording twice.

• Your centre will tell you whether you can use headphones for the Listening paper.

• Use any pauses to read the instructions and the questions. Read the instructions carefully.

• Try to answer the questions the first time you listen, then use the second listening to check your
answers and to fill in any answers that you didn’t hear the first time.

• Answer all the questions, even if you’re not sure. Always choose an answer for each
multiple-choice question.

• Don’t worry if you make a spelling mistake, unless the word is very common e.g. Monday, or if the
spelling of the word is dictated in the recording.

For paper-based exams:

• At the end of the test, copy your answers carefully onto the answer sheet in pencil and check your
work. Use an eraser if you make a mistake. You will have 6 minutes to do this.

For computer-based exams:

• You will watch a short tutorial before the test begins.

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 Speaking

• You will do the Speaking test with a partner, and there will be two examiners. One is the
interlocutor, who will ask you questions and give you a global mark. The other is the assessor,
who will just listen and give you marks by using the assessment criteria.

• If there is an odd number of candidates, the last group may be a group of three (not two). In this
case, the test will last for 17 minutes instead of 12 minutes for two candidates.

• Listen to what the interlocutor says and to what your partner says.

• Respond to what your partner says. Be prepared to ask them questions to start the discussion.

• Don’t worry if you think your partner is better at speaking English than you, or is not as good as
you, or has a different personality. The examiners mark you individually.

• Try to answer the interlocutor’s questions with more than just one word.

• Always make the best use of the time you have to show your language skills, but don’t interrupt
your partner. It’s important to let them finish.

• Speak clearly, so that both examiners can hear you.

• Ask the interlocutor to repeat the instructions, or a question, if you have not understood.

• Always try to answer the questions. The examiners can’t mark you if you don’t say anything.

• Don’t worry if you think you’ve made a mistake. The important thing is that you communicate
with your partner and with the interlocutor.

• Don’t worry if the examiner stops you. It is important that the tests are not too long.

• Try to relax and enjoy the test. Remember that the examiners want you to do your best.

Working with a partner in the Speaking test Examiners are trained to deal with two candidates who
have very different personalities (for example, one is very
Your partner may be a student from your school, or they shy and the other is very outgoing). Everyone has the
may be from another school. Check with your centre to chance to show what they can do.
find out more.

The examiners are trained to give all candidates equal

opportunities to do their best.

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After the exam
Results and next steps What does my overall score say about my level?
Your overall score for the exam is given on the Cambridge
How long do I have to wait for my results and English Scale and shows how well you did in the exam. If
my certificate? you achieve a score of between 160 and 170 (A), this means
Your Statement of Results is usually available four to six you performed exceptionally well and that your English is
weeks after the exam for paper-based exams, and two to above B1 level, the level of B1 Preliminary. Your certificate
three weeks after the exam for computer-based exams. will state that you showed ability at Level B2.
The fastest way to get your results is to sign up to our free
If you achieve a score between 140 and 159 (B or C) in
Online Results Service. You can see your results online by
the exam, you will receive the Preliminary certificate at
entering your Candidate ID and Secret Number. These are
Level B1.
on your Confirmation of Entry.
If your performance is below B1 level, but within A2 level
Your certificate will be sent about three weeks after the
(120–139), you will get a Cambridge English certificate
results are available.
stating that you showed ability at Level A2.

What information will be on my Statement

What is the online Results Verification Service?
of Results?
If you want to use your result to apply for a place at
On your Statement of Results, you’ll see:
university or college, you can use the Results Verification
• your score on the Cambridge English Scale for each of Service. This service lets universities, colleges or employers
the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) check your exam result. You will need to give them your
Candidate ID number and Secret Number.
• your score on the Cambridge English Scale for the
overall exam
What can I do with my B1 Preliminary qualification?
• your grade for the overall exam (A, B, C or CEFR Level A2)
Your certificate is accepted by thousands of leading
• your CEFR level for the overall exam. businesses and educational institutions around the
world. Find out more about who accepts Cambridge
You can find more information on understanding your English Qualifications.
Statement of Results.
How can I continue my language learning after
To help you understand what your results mean, watch
passing B1 Preliminary?
our video.
After you’ve passed B1 Preliminary, you can go on to take
B2 First, and following that you could also take
C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency. Find out more about all our
Cambridge English Qualifications.

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 A few facts and figures about us:
• 5.5 million assessments taken every year
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• 2,800 exam centres in 130 countries
• Over 50,000 preparation centres
• Providing English language assessment since 1913

We help people
learn English and
prove their skills
to the world

B1 Preliminary

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All details are correct at the time of going to print in September 2019. Copyright © UCLES 2019 | CER/6202/V1/SEP19