Written Production: the Official CEFR Descriptors from B2 to C1
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 B2, the text is clear and detailed, with a developed and argued viewpoint. C1 adds an elaborate structure, a style suited to the recipient and the text genre, and a fine command of the connectors that organise complex reasoning. This page reproduces every official descriptor for this activity at B2, B2+ and C1, scale by scale.
The official descriptors, scale by scale
3 Companion Volume scales cover written production between B2 and C1. For each one, the B2 and C1 descriptors are shown side by side; where the CEFR publishes B2+ descriptors, they appear in the amber transition band.
Reports and essays
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.
C1 — proficient user
Can produce clear, well-structured expositions of complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues.
Can expand and support points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples.
Can produce a suitable introduction and conclusion to a longer report, article or dissertation on a complex academic or professional topic provided the topic is within their field of interest and there are opportunities for redrafting and revision.
B2+ — transition zone
Can produce an essay or report which develops an argument systematically with appropriate highlighting of significant points and relevant supporting detail.
Can produce a detailed description of a complex process.
Can evaluate different ideas or solutions to a problem.
Creative writing
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.
C1 — proficient user
Can produce clear, detailed, well-structured and developed descriptions and imaginative texts in an assured, personal, natural style appropriate to the reader in mind.
Can incorporate idiom and humour, though use of the latter is not always appropriate.
Can give a detailed critical review of cultural events (e.g. plays, films, concerts) or literary works.
B2+ — transition zone
Can give clear, detailed descriptions of real or imaginary events and experiences marking the relationship between ideas in clear connected text, and following established conventions of the genre concerned.
Overall written production
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.
C1 — proficient user
Can produce clear, well-structured texts of complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues, expanding and supporting points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples, and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
Can employ the structure and conventions of a variety of genres, varying the tone, style and register according to addressee, text type and theme.
The Examiner's Perspective
Réda Haiat — CEFR Assessment Expert · 22 Years of Experience
A B2 writer produces texts that are clear and well organised. A C1 writer produces texts that create an effect — choosing a tone, modulating emphasis, pacing the progression to bring the reader exactly where they want them. The difference is rhetorical before it's linguistic.
This shows in how disagreement and nuance are handled. A B2 text lays out positions and settles the matter; a C1 text weighs, concedes, distinguishes between cases, and its position emerges from that architecture rather than being asserted outright. The C1 descriptors call for highlighting significant points, developing with relevant examples, concluding appropriately — three acts of selection, not exhaustiveness.
B2+ has the structure under control and starts to modulate, but the text keeps a uniform tone throughout. They know how to argue, not yet how to calibrate. You get a sound demonstration where a C1 text would breathe — with passages that carry weight and others that lighten the load.
What I listen for at the boundary
- Does the text produce an intended effect, or just lay things out clearly?
- Does the writer modulate emphasis, or treat everything at the same weight?
- Do they qualify and concede, or settle the matter head-on?
- Are the examples chosen for relevance, or just piled on?
- Does the conclusion emerge from the text, or feel bolted on?
Frequently asked questions
How many official descriptors cover written production between B2 and C1?
17 official descriptors cover this zone: 5 at B2, 4 at B2+ and 8 at C1, spread across 3 scales. All of them are reproduced on this page.
What does the B2+ level mean?
B2+ is a CEFR "plus level": it describes a strong B2 competence, beyond the B2 threshold but not yet meeting the C1 criteria. The Companion Volume publishes specific descriptors for these intermediate bands — that is the transition zone shown between the B2 and C1 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
- Council of Europe — CEFR Companion Volume (2020): https://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-with-new-descriptors-2018/1680787989
- The CEFR on the Council of Europe website: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/