OET Writing – Tips and Strategies

Since the end of August 2019, the writing criteria in the OET exam changed. There are 5 keys areas on
which examiners evaluate your writing task. They are:

 Purpose (Whether the purpose of the letter is immediately apparent to the reader and sufficiently
expanded in the course of the letter)
 Content (Whether all the necessary information is included and accurate for the reader)
 Conciseness & Clarity (Whether unnecessary information is omitted so that the letter is an effective
summary for the reader)
 Genre & Style (Whether the register, tone and use of abbreviations are appropriate for the reader)
 Organisation & Layout (Whether the letter is organised and well laid out for the reader)
 Language (Whether the accuracy of the grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation communicates
the necessary information to the reader)

Regardless of what letter type you are writing, ie referral, discharge, update or transfer the main objective
is as follows: Ensure that the purpose of your letter is clear and that relevant information you have
selected from the case notes, is grouped together in a logical order, and correctly separated into
paragraphs. You are required as part of the criteria, to provide a concise (summarised) and clear “story”
about the patient and their condition using an appropriate standard of language skills.

In order to accomplish this task,,,,, PLANNING is key!!!!!…..You must plan before you start to write….one of
the main reasons why candidates do not achieve their score is due to the fact that content and
organisation of their letter, falls below standard. PLAN! PLAN! PLAN!

You will find that, although planning takes times, it actually becomes more time effective. Understandably,
during the exam, adrenaline sets in and possibly a bit of panic to get the task completed…However, stay
focussed and in control. It is very tempting to just start writing…however you end up constantly having to
refer back to your notes, looking for information to include and run the risk of leaving out important
information…or not placing the information correctly within your letter. Those that just write without
organising their information first, tend to produce a lower standard of letter which ultimately affects your
score.

During the official exam you are given a total of 45 minutes to complete your task….the first 5 minutes you
are not allowed to start writing….it is purely for reading the case notes only….therefore, use this time
wisely to understand the task…think about what the person you are sending the letter to, needs to know
and what relevant information you need to include in your letter, to provide a clear overview of the
patients circumstances and condition.

There are many ways to compile a letter, OET themselves recognise this and are adamant that using
templates are not an appropriate way to deal with the writing task. Every case will be different, therefore
you need to be flexible….as long as you include relevant information in an organised and logical manner
you are more than half way there to accomplishing your task properly.
 PLANNING YOUR ESSAY

1. Read the writing task first before reading the case notes…. Understand what, type of letter you need to
write, what the situation is, and importantly – Think about what information the reader would need to
know.

2. Read the case notes, and highlight any relevant information you need to include in your letter, In the
official exam you have 5 minutes for reading only…..make use of this!

3. Take a separate spare piece of paper and write P1, P2, P3 (Paragragh 1, 2, 3, or 4 ect depending on how
many paragraphs you will need. The diagram below just provides a sample…every case note is different
and you will be required to group and organise information according to the task.

P1

P2

P3

P4

4. Once you have all your information in paragraph, then do the same again for each paragraph, reorganise
the information into a logical order.

5. Check your case notes once again that you have included all relevant information.

6. Start writing

7. At the end of your letter…..check for errors – THIS IS IMPORTANT! Many mistakes can be found by
going through your work and looking for errors.

8. The planning stage of your letter takes times….however, you are likely to find that it is actually more
time effective.

Any questions please ask me!