B1 Business Preliminary exam format

B1 Business Preliminary

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Who accepts B1 Business Preliminary?

These are just a few of the leading organisations that will accept your certificate:

Casio
Procter & Gamble
StudyPortals
Ministry of Education, Romania

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Paper	Content	Marks (% of total)	Purpose
Reading and Writing (1 hour 30 minutes) See sample paper	Reading: 7 parts Writing: 2 parts	50%	Shows you can read and understand the main points from graphs or charts, messages and emails, and can use vocabulary and structure correctly. You are also required to be able to produce two short pieces of writing: an internal communication, such as a note or a message, and some business correspondence, such as an email or a letter.
Listening (about 40 minutes, including transfer time) See sample paper	4 parts	25%	Requires you to be able to follow and understand a range of spoken materials including interviews and discussions about everyday life.
Speaking (12 minutes per pair of candidates) See sample paper	3 parts	25%	Shows you can take part in a conversation by answering and asking simple questions. Your Speaking test will be conducted usually face to face with one or two other candidates and two examiners. One of the examiners (who could be online, examining remotely) talks to you and the other examiner listens. This makes your test more realistic and more reliable. Examiners may use their mobile phones for entering marks using an app.

What’s in the Reading and Writing paper?

The B1 Business Preliminary Reading and Writing paper has seven parts for Reading and two parts for Writing. There are different types of texts and questions.

Summary

Time allowed:	1 hours 30 minutes
Number of parts:	Reading: 7 parts; Writing: 2 parts
Number of questions:	Reading: 45 questions; Writing: 2 tasks
Marks:	Reading: 25% of total; Writing: 25% total

Part 1 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 1?	Five very short texts (they may be signs, messages, postcards, notes, emails, labels, etc.). You have to read them and choose which of the three sentences (A, B or C) is correct.
What do I have to practise?	Reading notices and other short texts to understand the main message.
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Matching)

What's in Part 2?	Five short descriptions, often of people’s requirements, and one text to read. You have to match each person to part of the text.
What do I have to practise?	Reading to find specific information.
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Matching)

What's in Part 3?	Eight graphs or charts (or one or more graphics with eight parts) and five questions. You need to match each question to a graph or part of a graph.
What do I have to practise?	Reading and understanding visual information
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Right/Wrong/Doesn't say)

What's in Part 4?	A text and seven questions. For each question, you have to decide if a statement is A 'Right' or B 'Wrong', according to the text, or if the information is not given in the text, you should choose C 'Doesn't say'.
What do I have to practise?	Reading and finding detailed factual information.
How many questions are there?	7
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 5 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 5?	A text, often from a leaflet or from a newspaper or magazine article, with six multiple-choice questions. Each question has three options.
What do I have to practise?	Reading for gist (the main ideas) and specific information.
How many questions are there?	6
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 6 (Multiple-choice cloze)

What's in Part 6?	A text (newspaper or magazine article, advert, leaflet, etc.) with twelve numbered spaces. Each space represents a missing word and you have to choose the right answer (A, B, or C).
What do I have to practise?	Reading – understanding when grammar is correct and understanding the structure of a text.
How many questions are there?	12
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 7 (Note completion)

What's in Part 7?	Two short texts (memos, emails, notices, adverts, etc.) and a form to complete. You have to read the texts and fill in the correct information (a word, a number or a phrase) in the empty spaces on the form.
What do I have to practise?	Reading and transferring information.
How many questions are there?	5
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 8 (Writing Part 1)

What's in Part 8? (Writing Part 1)	An internal company communication. The instructions tell you who to write to and what you should write (e.g. a note, a message, a memo or an email).
What do I have to practise?	Writing short messages to colleagues.
How many questions are there?	1
How much do I have to write?	30–40 words.
How many marks are there?	This question has a total of 10 marks.

Part 9 (Writing Part 2)

What's in Part 9? (Writing Part 2)	A piece of business correspondence (letter or email) or a notice, an advert, etc., to read. The instructions tell you what to write and who to write to.
What do I have to practise?	Writing business letters to people outside your company.
How many questions are there?	1
How much do I have to write?	60–80 words
How many marks are there?	This question has a total of 20 marks.

What’s in the Listening paper?

The B1 Business Preliminary Listening paper has four parts. For each part, you have to listen to a recorded text or texts on business-related topics and answer some questions. You hear each recording twice.

Summary

Time allowed:	About 40 minutes, including 10 minutes to transfer your answers onto the answer sheet.
Number of parts:	4
Number of questions:	30
Marks:	25% of total

Part 1 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 1?	Eight short conversations/monologues (one person speaking). For each recording, there is a multiple-choice question, which may be in the form of words or pictures. You have to listen to the recordings and choose the right answer (A, B or C).
What do I have to practise?	Listening for specific information.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Note completion)

What's in Part 2?	A short conversation or monologue which contains factual information and a form, table, chart or set of notes with gaps. You have to listen to the recording and write the correct information (dates, prices, percentages, figures, etc.) in the gaps.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for specific information – numbers and spelling.
How many questions are there?	7
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Note completion)

What's in Part 3?	A longer monologue and a page of notes or a form with gaps. You have to listen to the recording and fill in the missing information (one or two words) in the gaps.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for specific information.
How many questions are there?	7
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Multiple choice)

What's in Part 4?	A longer recording (about 3 minutes) which may be an interview or a discussion between two or more speakers on a business-related topic. You have to listen to the recording and choose the right answer (A, B or C) for each of the eight multiple-choice questions.
What do I have to practise?	Listening for gist (the main ideas) and specific information.
How many questions are there?	8
How many marks are there?	One mark for each correct answer.

What’s in the Speaking paper?

The B1 Business Preliminary Speaking test has three parts and you take it together with another candidate. There are two examiners. One of the examiners talks to you and the other examiner listens and takes notes.

Summary

Time allowed:	12 minutes per pair of candidates.
Number of parts:	3
Marks:	25% of total
You have to talk:	with the examiner with the other candidate on your own

Part 1 (Interview)

What's in Part 1?	A conversation with the examiner. The examiner asks questions and you give information about yourself and your opinions on business-related topics.
What do I have to practise?	Talking about yourself, agreeing and disagreeing, expressing preferences.
How long do we have to speak?	About 2 minutes

Part 2 (Long turn)

What's in Part 2?	A 'mini-presentation' on a business theme. The examiner gives you a choice of two topics and you have 1 minute to prepare and then give a short talk lasting about 1 minute. Listen carefully when your partner speaks as the examiner will ask you which point you think is most important.
What do I have to practise?	Giving a short talk on a business-related topic. Giving information and expressing opinions.
How long do we have to speak?	About 5 minutes, including a 1-minute ‘long turn’ for each candidate.

Part 3 (Collaborative task)

What's in Part 3?	A discussion with the other candidate on a business-related topic. The examiner describes a situation to you and will give you some black and white pictures or written text to help you. You have to talk to the other candidate for around 2 minutes about the situation and decide what to do.
What do I have to practise?	Giving opinions, agreeing and disagreeing, etc.
How long do we have to speak?	About 5 minutes

openbook What’s in the Reading and Writing paper?

playlist What’s in the Listening paper?

megaphone What’s in the Speaking paper?

What’s in the Reading and Writing paper?

What’s in the Listening paper?

What’s in the Speaking paper?