0706 Writing An Argument

Writing An Argument For The B2 First Exam

Most candidates walk into the writing section not realizing how much the "argument" task actually differs from an opinion essay. It feels the same on the surface. It isn't. I spent years coaching students for this exam and watching them lose easy marks because they treated 0706 Writing An Argument like a simple position piece. You are given a source text and a question. The source text presents two opposing viewpoints or a problem with competing solutions. Your job is to read that text carefully and write an argument that draws on information from it while also giving your own perspective. You need to address both sides, not just pick one and run with it. The key thing nobody tells you is that the examiners want to see engagement with the source material. If you only write your own opinions without referencing what was in the reading text, you will struggle to reach the highest band. The mark scheme rewards you for demonstrating that you have processed the given information and are responding to it directly.

I remember one student who wrote a perfectly structured essay full of strong vocabulary and complex grammar. He got a solid score but missed the top band. When I went through his paper with him, I pointed out that he hadn't referenced a single idea from the source text beyond the basic prompt. The question asked him to discuss both views presented in the passage. He ignored that instruction entirely and wrote a generic argument about technology in education. That gap between what he wrote and what was actually asked cost him three marks right there.

The Structure That Actually Works

Forget the rigid five-paragraph template you see everywhere online. It doesn't fit this task well. Instead, use a flexible four-part framework that gives you room to respond to the source material properly. Your first paragraph should briefly outline what the source text is about. Not a summary. A contextualizing sentence or two that shows you understand the debate. Then move into your first main point. This point should reference an idea from the text and then expand on it with your own thinking. The second main paragraph does the same for the other side or a different angle. Finally, your conclusion ties everything together and makes your position clear without repeating yourself word for word.

0706 Writing An Argument: A Practical Approach

Here is a concrete method I use with students now. Take five minutes to read the source text and underline or mentally note the key arguments on each side. Then spend two minutes planning your own position. Decide which side you find more convincing and why. This planning step matters more than people think because it determines the direction of your whole essay. When you write, use clear linking language. Words like "however," "on the other hand," "despite this," and "while it is true that" help you navigate between the source material and your own view. These aren't fancy additions. They are the mechanical tools that keep your argument coherent under exam conditions. Without them, your writing reads like a list of opinions rather than a structured argument. I had a student last year who kept struggling with time management. She would spend eight minutes reading the text and only have twenty minutes left to write. Her essays were rushed and underdeveloped. We practiced a timed reading strategy where she learned to extract only the relevant points during reading. This cut her reading time down to three minutes and gave her an extra seven minutes for writing. Her scores improved noticeably within three weeks of practicing that habit consistently.

Common Mistakes That Cost Marks

The first and most frequent error is failing to address both sides. You do not need to give equal time to each position, but you must acknowledge the weaker side at some point before presenting your counterargument. Skipping that step makes your essay look one-dimensional and suggests you did not fully engage with the source text. The second mistake is copying phrases from the source text verbatim. Examiners can spot this immediately. Paraphrase instead. If the text says "technology has made communication more efficient," you might write "digital tools have streamlined the way people connect." Same meaning, different words. This shows language control and earns higher marks. A third problem is being too vague. Phrases like "some people believe" or "it is often said" without any specific detail weaken your argument. Name a concrete example. Even in an exam, you can reference real-world situations like social media's impact on relationships or the debate around remote working. Specificity makes your position credible.

Language You Can Use Under Pressure

You need a small toolkit of functional language that you can deploy quickly. Here are the ones that matter most for this task type. For presenting one side: "The argument goes that..." "Proponents claim that..." "There is a view that..." For contrasting: "Nevertheless..." "That said..." "It could be argued, however, that..."

For stating your position: "I am convinced that..." "My own view is that..." "I tend to agree with the idea that..." For concluding: "Taking everything into account..." "On balance..." "Weighing both perspectives..." Practice using these until they become automatic. You should not be thinking about which linker to use when you are writing. It should be reflexive. I have my students drill these phrases in isolation for about ten minutes per session over two weeks. By the time they sit the actual exam, they are reaching for them without hesitation.

Where This Method Falls Short

I should be honest about the limitations. This approach works well if you have a reasonable grasp of intermediate English grammar and vocabulary. If your language level is significantly below B2, no amount of structural advice will compensate. You will still make basic errors that drag your score down regardless of how well you organize your argument. In those cases, focusing on foundational grammar and building vocabulary is a better use of time than memorizing templates. Another limitation is that the source text can sometimes be quite abstract or technical. I had a student once who got a passage about environmental policy and economic trade-offs. She understood the general idea but struggled with the specific terminology. She ended up writing around the edges of the topic without truly engaging with the content. If you encounter a text with unfamiliar subject matter, the workaround is to focus on the structure of the argument rather than getting stuck on every new word. Identify who is arguing what and why. The language will follow from that understanding. There is also the issue of time pressure. The entire writing section is roughly two hours for two tasks. If you spend too long on the argument, the second task suffers. Learning to write efficiently within this constraint is a skill that takes practice. It is not something you can develop the night before the exam.

Practice Strategy That Produces Results

The most effective way to prepare is to write full essays under timed conditions at least once a week. Use official Cambridge past papers or materials from trusted publishers. Do not rely on random worksheets from the internet because the format and marking standards vary widely between sources. After writing each essay, compare it against the official mark scheme. Look at what the examiners specifically reward: content, organization, language, and audience awareness. Give yourself a honest assessment using those four criteria. Then rewrite the same essay incorporating the improvements you identified. This revision step is where the actual learning happens. Most students skip it and wonder why their scores plateau. Recording yourself speaking your argument out loud before you write it can also help. It forces you to organize your thoughts verbally and spot gaps in your reasoning. I picked this up from a colleague and found it useful for students who tend to ramble when they write. Speaking first creates a mental outline that translates directly into structured paragraphs.

The 0706 Writing An Argument task is straightforward if you understand what is being asked and practice the right way. It rewards clear thinking, proper engagement with the source text, and controlled language use. It punishes generic responses and lazy reading. Treat it with the respect it deserves and you will find it becomes one of the more reliable scoring areas on the exam.