The CEFR scale in one paragraph
The Common European Framework runs from A1 (beginner) to C2 (mastery) in six bands, and three of them are exam names you will recognise: B1 is Cambridge’s Preliminary, B2 is B2 First (FCE), C1 is C1 Advanced (CAE). The bands are wide — a “B1+” is the everyday shorthand for the upper half of B1, the point at which B2 First becomes a realistic target — and every Cambridge exam reports its result on one shared ruler, the Cambridge English Scale, so the levels are numbers as well as letters.
- 140–159 · Certificate at Level B1
- 160–172 · Grade C — B2 First certificate
- 173–179 · Grade B — B2 First certificate
- 180–190 · Grade A — certificate states C1-level performance
B1 or B2? The signs
The move from B1 to B2 is not more words. It is the point where English stops being something you manage and starts being something you use for its own purposes. Concretely:
| Still B1 | Now B2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | The gist of a simple article; detail takes a second read | The writer's argument in a magazine article, including what they imply |
| Grammar | Present and past tenses, one or two conditionals, under no time pressure | All four conditionals, passives and reported speech used correctly against a clock |
| Vocabulary | Single words: 'traffic', 'degree', 'job' | Collocations: 'heavy traffic', 'do a degree', 'apply for a job' |
| Writing | Short messages; a longer piece drifts in register | 140–190 words in the register the task asks for, with linking |
| Speaking | Everyday situations, with pauses to find words | A one-minute turn alone, and a discussion you can steer |
The tell-tale B1+ pattern: you read the B2 tasks and understand them, then lose marks on the gap that wants a preposition, the root word that needs two changes, and the transformation that needs a passive. That is a format gap as much as a language gap, and it closes in months, not years — the timelines are in the realistic study plan.
B2 or C1? The signs
From B2 to C1 the change is different again. The tasks look the same — anyone who has seen B2 First recognises almost every C1 format — but the tolerance changes: correct-but-plain English stops being rewarded.
| Solid B2 | Now C1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | What the text says | Where four writers stand on the same question, and who agrees with whom |
| Grammar | Accuracy with the standard inventory | Inversion, cleft sentences, mixed conditionals, participle clauses — used for emphasis and register |
| Vocabulary | 'a big problem', 'most people think' | 'a significant drawback', 'widely regarded as' — precision, not decoration |
| Writing | 140–190 words, one side argued well | 220–260 words with a concession, a ranking and a criterion for it |
| Speaking | Describe and prefer | Speculate and qualify: 'may well', 'up to a point', 'it's less a question of X than of Y' |
If you sit comfortably in the left column, a strong B2 First — a Grade A is reported as C1-level performance — is usually the better exam to book. If the right column reads like things you already do, B2 First vs C1 Advanced walks through the decision properly.
Why vocabulary quizzes mislead
Most free “what’s my level” tests are twenty untimed multiple-choice questions about single words. They measure recognition, which is the easiest thing about a language and the first to come back after a gap. They do not measure whether you can produce the word in the right form, in a sentence, with the clock running — which is what every Cambridge paper actually asks. And a good many of them are built to flatter, because a flattered visitor buys.
- No time pressure. Level under exam conditions is a different number from level with all afternoon.
- No production. Choosing “aware” from four options is not the same skill as writing “awareness” into a gap from the root AWARE.
- No formats. A score on trivia says nothing about which part of the paper would cost you marks.
The honest fifteen-minute test
The test here is built from the free exercises in the bank, in the formats themselves: multiple-choice cloze, open cloze, word formation, key word transformations and a reading text, at B2 level and on a clock. Score seven in ten — the same standard the practice bank is held to — and a second stage opens with the four Use of English formats at C1. The result is a band from B1 to C1, a score for every format so you can see where the marks went, and every answer explained.
Free · no accountFind out your level in the real exam formats29 questions, about 15 minutes, an honest band from B1 to C1 — if you are B1, it says B1.StartTwo honest limits. It is indicative, not a certificate — only Cambridge’s own exam gives a grade. And it cannot see your Listening, Writing or Speaking; a quiz that claimed to in fifteen minutes would be guessing. Those are what the free drills and the full mock exams are for.
What to do with the result
- Below B1 or B1: general English first, exam format later — the study plan shows what the months look like from each starting point.
- B1+: B2 First is within reach. Drill the format the test flagged, then follow the four-step method.
- B2: sit the free B2 First mock — a whole paper, the real clock — and read the complete B2 First guide.
- B2+: decide between a Grade A at B2 First and C1 Advanced with a cold mock at each level; the framework is in B2 First vs C1 Advanced.
- C1: start from the complete C1 Advanced guide and send one essay through the marking early — range takes weeks to grow.
However the test comes out, the scale itself is worth understanding: how B2 First is scored and how C1 Advanced is scored explain what the numbers on the ruler above actually mean on a certificate.