B2 First · Writing · Part 2
B2 First review writing practice (Free)
Help a reader decide what is worth trying. Practise combining a brief description with specific opinions and a useful recommendation.
This exercise, its explanations and the downloadable PDF are in English.
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An English film club worth trying?
You see this announcement on a student website: “Reviews wanted: learning English outside the classroom. Have you tried a local English film club? Tell us what the experience was like, explain its main benefit and one thing that could be improved, and say who you would recommend it to.” Imagine you have attended a club where films have English subtitles, a discussion follows each film, and the room can be noisy. Write your review in 140–190 words.
Write 140–190 words.
This is guided self-review, with no automatic writing score.
Your draft stays only on this page while it is open. It is not submitted, saved or sent for feedback. Compare at any length, or read the model without writing first.
Read the model and review your draft
One possible response
164 words · Original teaching example. Other responses can also work.
A film night with more to offer
Would you like to practise English without feeling that you are in another lesson? I recently tried our local English film club, and it offered much more than a chance to watch a good story.
The English subtitles were especially useful. When I missed a phrase, I could read it quickly and continue following the film instead of getting completely lost. Afterwards, the discussion gave us a natural reason to speak. Even people who were quiet at first had opinions about the characters.
There was one drawback: the room could be noisy, which sometimes made the dialogue difficult to hear. Asking visitors to keep conversations until the discussion would make a real difference.
I would recommend the club to learners who enjoy films and want to share ideas in a relaxed setting. It might be less suitable if you need complete silence to concentrate, but for me the combination of listening and conversation made the evening worthwhile.
What to notice
Identify the reader and purpose
The review is for other students deciding whether to try the club. It must describe the experience, evaluate a benefit, identify an improvement and give a useful recommendation. The prompt supplies the subtitles, discussion and noise; the model builds an imagined personal experience around those facts without inventing prices or opening times.
Plan around a judgement
The title and opening attract the reader, the middle evaluates subtitles and discussion, the next paragraph explains the limitation, and the ending identifies the audience. This is more useful than a diary of arriving, sitting down and going home. The overall judgement is positive, with a specific reservation.
Explain why a feature matters
“When I missed a phrase, I could read it quickly” connects subtitles to the learner’s experience. “A natural reason to speak” explains the benefit of discussing the characters. Simply saying the club has subtitles and a discussion would describe features without evaluating them. A review needs the effect on the visitor.
Make criticism constructive
The noise matters because it makes dialogue difficult to hear. The suggestion to save conversations until the discussion directly addresses that problem. It does not demand an unrelated change or dismiss the whole club. A negative review would also be acceptable if its judgement were supported by the supplied experience.
Recommend it to a particular audience
“Learners who enjoy films and want to share ideas” gives the target reader a basis for deciding. The qualification about needing silence helps someone with different preferences. Avoid unsupported claims such as everyone will love it or it will make you fluent; those would be broader than the evidence.
Use an engaging but controlled style
The opening question suits a student website, while clear paragraphs make the review easy to follow. “There was one drawback” signals a change from benefits to criticism. “The combination of listening and conversation” brings the earlier points together in the conclusion. The writing is personal without becoming a message to a close friend.
Review your own choices
- Have I described the club using the given situation?
- Have I evaluated a benefit instead of only listing features?
- Have I linked the drawback to a practical improvement?
- Have I recommended the club to a clearly identified audience?
- Does the style suit a student website?
- Have I avoided a long summary of a film’s plot?
- Is the complete review 140–190 words?
Choose one improvement to make in your draft. Matching the model's wording is not the aim; compare how clearly each response does the task.
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