How to Write an FCE (B2 First) Report: Format, Headings & Sample Answer

What a report is — and when you can choose it

The report appears as one of the choices in Writing Part 2. The task names your reader and your purpose: report to your English teacher on a class trip, to a town council on sports facilities, to an international boss on a local event. That named reader is the register instruction in disguise — you are writing up, to someone who will make a decision based on what you say.

Choose the report when you are comfortable being organised and impersonal. It is the most formulaic of the Part 2 options — which makes it the most learnable: the structure below fits almost any report task the exam can set.

The heading structure examiners expect

Headings are the report’s defining feature — they are what makes it a report rather than an essay. Four short sections cover the word count:

1. Introduction. One or two sentences stating what the report covers and why it was written. Paraphrase the task — never copy its wording.
2. First topic section. A heading named after the content (“Current facilities”, “The programme”) — not “Paragraph 2”. Facts and findings, reported impersonally.
3. Second topic section. The second thing the task asks about — often problems, opinions collected, or costs.
4. Recommendations. The section examiners look for first. One or two concrete suggestions, ideally with a reason: “I would recommend extending the opening hours, since most members work during the day.”

Register: impersonal, precise, no contractions

The report is the most formal thing you will write in the exam. Concretely, that means: no contractions (“do not”, not “don’t”), no chatty asides, and the passive voice where it is natural — “a survey was carried out”, “it was suggested that”. First person is allowed in moderation (“I would recommend” is a classic report phrase), but the spotlight stays on findings, not on you.

A full worked example, headings included

Task: “Your college principal wants to improve the college library and has asked you to write a report on how students use it and what could be better.” A strong answer (168 words):

Notice what earns the marks: every section heading is specific, the task’s two questions (how it is used, what could be better) map one-to-one onto sections, the tone never becomes personal — and the recommendations are concrete enough that the principal could act on them tomorrow.

The pitfalls specific to reports

• Writing an essay with headings pasted on. If your sections argue an opinion instead of reporting findings, the Communicative Achievement scale notices.
• Forgetting headings entirely — the single quickest way to make a report not look like one.
• No recommendations. A report that only describes problems leaves its reader — and the Content scale — waiting for the point.
• Copying the task’s wording. Lifted phrases earn no Language credit; paraphrase from the first line.
• Overshooting the word count — headings tempt candidates into five sections and 230 words. Four sections, 140–190 words, done.

Most of these are habits, not knowledge — the same ten traps appear across every task type, and we catalogue them in 10 common FCE writing mistakes.

Check your report against the real scales

Write one report and you will know the structure; get one marked and you will know your band. The B2 report practice tasks put the skeleton under a clock, and Felix, the AI examiner, marks your answer on the four Cambridge scales — flagging the essay-ish sentences and the missing recommendations before a real examiner ever could. Both come with the Exam Prep pass — €12 for three months, nothing renews.

Weighing up which Part 2 task suits you? Compare the report’s formality with the article’s informal register, see the compulsory essay guide for Part 1, or start from the complete B2 First preparation guide.