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Written Production: the Official CEFR Descriptors from B1 to B2

Written production covers situations where the writer produces a continuous text, with no reader responding in real time — an essay, a report, a narrative, an argumentative letter. Unlike written interaction, the whole weight of construction rests on the author: organising ideas, linking them, adjusting register, without the real-time adjustments an exchange allows.

At B1, the writer links simple sentences into a coherent text — a description, a narrative, a personal letter, carried by common connectors. At B2, the text gains clarity and detail: several viewpoints can be developed, with argumentation backed by examples. This page reproduces every official descriptor for this activity at B1, B1+ and B2, scale by scale.

The official descriptors, scale by scale

3 Companion Volume scales cover written production between B1 and B2. For each one, the B1 and B2 descriptors are shown side by side; where the CEFR publishes B1+ descriptors, they appear in the amber transition band.

Creative writing

B1 — independent user

Can give straightforward, detailed descriptions on a range of familiar subjects within their field of interest.

Can give accounts of experiences, describing feelings and reactions in simple, connected text.

Can give a description of an event, a recent trip – real or imagined.

Can narrate a story.

B2 — independent user

Can give clear, detailed descriptions on a variety of subjects related to their field of interest.

Can give a review of a film, book or play.

B1+ — transition zone

Can clearly signal chronological sequence in narrative text.

Can give a simple review of a film, book or TV programme using a limited range of language.

Reports and essays

B1 — independent user

Can produce very brief reports in a standard conventionalised format, which pass on routine factual information and state reasons for actions.

Can present a topic in a short report or poster, using photographs and short blocks of text.

B2 — independent user

Can produce an essay or report which develops an argument, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Can synthesise information and arguments from a number of sources.

B1+ — transition zone

Can produce short, simple essays on topics of interest.

Can produce a text on a topical subject of personal interest, using simple language to list advantages and disadvantages, and give and justify their opinion.

Can summarise, report and give their opinion about accumulated factual information on familiar routine and non-routine matters within their field with some confidence.

Overall written production

B1 — independent user

Can produce straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within their field of interest, by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence.

B2 — independent user

Can produce clear, detailed texts on a variety of subjects related to their field of interest, synthesising and evaluating information and arguments from a number of sources.

The Examiner's Perspective

Réda Haiat — CEFR Assessment Expert · 22 Years of Experience

In writing, the B1/B2 boundary comes down to the ability to sustain a development. A B1 writer produces texts that hold together, but each paragraph works as a self-contained unit: it deals with one point, then moves to the next. At B2, the text becomes a whole — parts speak to each other, one idea sets up another, and the progression follows a plan rather than the order ideas occurred to the writer.

The most visible difference lies in how information from multiple sources is handled. The B2 descriptors call for synthesising, comparing, integrating — doing something with the material rather than just relaying it. A B1 text can mention several sources and stay B1 if it lines them up one after another; a B2 text puts them in relation, flags the convergences and tensions, and draws a position out of them.

B1+ marks the point where the writer starts planning the text, without yet sustaining that plan across its length. You often see a well-built opening, a stated plan, then a gradual slide into listing. It's this loss of grip partway through, more than the absence of an initial structure, that places the text short of B2.

What I listen for at the boundary

  • Does the text follow a plan, or the order ideas occurred to the writer?
  • Do paragraphs connect out of logical necessity, or simple juxtaposition?
  • Are sources put in relation to each other, or just lined up one after another?
  • Does the structure hold to the end, or does it sag after the opening?
  • Does the writer take a position, or just report?

Frequently asked questions

How many official descriptors cover written production between B1 and B2?

17 official descriptors cover this zone: 7 at B1, 5 at B1+ and 5 at B2, spread across 3 scales. All of them are reproduced on this page.

What does the B1+ level mean?

B1+ is a CEFR "plus level": it describes a strong B1 competence, beyond the B1 threshold but not yet meeting the B2 criteria. The Companion Volume publishes specific descriptors for these intermediate bands — that is the transition zone shown between the B1 and B2 columns.

Can I reuse these descriptors?

Yes. The CEFR descriptors are published by the Council of Europe under the CC BY 4.0 licence: you may reproduce and adapt them, including commercially, provided you credit the Council of Europe. That is exactly what this page does.

Going further

Sources

  1. Council of Europe — CEFR Companion Volume (2020): https://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-with-new-descriptors-2018/1680787989
  2. The CEFR on the Council of Europe website: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages
  3. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/