OET Writing for nurses: letter choices and marking

Verified on 6 October 2026.

OET Writing for nurses is one letter, written from case notes: you get 5 minutes to read and 40 minutes to write. To do well, choose only the notes your reader needs, put your request first, and keep anything uncertain clearly uncertain. A community nurse assessing home support needs the request and the patient’s home situation first; a receiving ward needs the reason for transfer and the care to continue. OET Writing assessment criteria.

By OETify editorial team.

One case, two readers

The same notes go in a different order for different readers. Content checks you give the information needed for continuing care; Genre and Style checks your tone and terms suit the reader. OET Writing assessment criteria.

Writing tasks are set for your profession. OET gives referral, advice, transfer and discharge letters as examples across professions; Nursing tasks can include other letter types. OET Test Handbook 2026; OET profession-specific Writing examples.

The exercise below was written by OETify. All details are made up, and it shows letter choices, not clinical advice or a prediction of exam tasks.

Case notes:

• Transfer to a rehabilitation ward is planned today; discharge home is planned afterwards.
• Dressing assistance is currently needed. Continue the documented dressing plan at the receiving ward.
• A home-support assessment has been requested; no service has confirmed care.
• The patient lives alone and is worried about managing dressing appointments around work shifts.
• An old ankle injury has resolved and has no effect on current care.

The community letter links the home situation to the request. The ward letter puts current care before future home plans. In both, a requested assessment must not read as if care has already been arranged.

The 6 criteria, with a draft and a fix for each

Purpose is marked from 0 to 3; the other 5 criteria from 0 to 7. OET Writing assessment criteria.

Each example uses the notes above. They show the kind of change each criterion rewards; they are not scored.

At the top band, Purpose 3 means the purpose is immediately clear and expanded as needed, and Content 7 means accurate, reader-focused information with nothing important missing. The other criteria cover clarity, style, organisation and language. Bands 2, 4 and 6 sit between the described bands. These bands are not your 0 to 500 OET score. OET Writing assessment criteria.

Revise a paragraph

Put the request first and keep uncertain plans uncertain: that improves Purpose and Content.

Draft (written by OETify, home-support task):

We are sending the patient home after rehabilitation. The patient had an ankle injury long ago and lives alone. Your team will provide dressing assistance.

Revised:

Please assess the patient’s need for dressing assistance after discharge home. The patient lives alone and is worried about appointments around work shifts.

The revision swaps a promise nobody has made for the actual request, drops the irrelevant injury, and adds the documented worry for the community nurse to follow up.

OET’s Writing Guide links to a guide for each criterion, and its Teachers Handbook has candidate sample letters with assessor comments.

Practise a full letter

Write the community referral from the notes above in 40 minutes, after 5 minutes’ reading. Check that your opening asks for the assessment and that you have not promised care that is not confirmed. If you will sit OET on Paper, write it by hand and check it is easy to read; for OET on Computer or OET@Home, type it. OET on Paper; OET on Computer; OET@Home.

Then compare your work with sample letters. Our 12 nursing sample letters each come with case notes and notes on the choices made. OET’s Writing preparation page has a Nursing sample-test video, and the OET Ready Study Guide includes sample letters.

For feedback on your own letter, OETify marks it against the 6 criteria and gives priority corrections: your words, the problem, the fix and a rule for next time. You can then revise and compare. Your baseline letter gets free feedback; new letters need a paid plan or a sponsored place. The OET Writing guide covers the task in general.