OET Writing: the letter, the criteria and your notes

Verified on 6 October 2026.

OET Writing is one letter written from case notes, in 45 minutes: 5 minutes to read the notes, then 40 minutes to write. Your reader should see what you are asking for straight away, because OET’s Purpose criterion marks exactly that. OET Test Handbook 2026; OET Writing assessment criteria.

By OETify editorial team.

The task

You write a letter for your profession, based on case notes. Writing and Speaking use tasks for your profession; Listening and Reading are the same for everyone. OET gives referral, advice, transfer and discharge letters as examples across professions, and Nursing tasks can include other letter types. Let the named reader and the action you are asked to request guide your letter. OET test description.

To see complete letters, browse our 12 nursing sample letters, each with case notes and notes on the choices made, or try the Writing practice task.

Six criteria applied to one letter excerpt

OET marks Writing on 6 criteria. Here they are applied to a short excerpt. OET Writing assessment criteria.

Written by OETify for practice; the case is made up and these are the only notes for this exercise.

Task: write to the community nurse who will visit after discharge, asking them to review the patient’s understanding of the care plan at home.

Before you read the excerpt, write your own opening request from these notes. Ask yourself: does needing prompts mean the patient understood nothing?

Please review this patient at home following discharge to check their understanding of the care plan.

The patient could describe the plan but needed prompts to explain the next action.

The excerpt shows choices, not a marked letter. Purpose is marked from 0 to 3 and the other criteria from 0 to 7. The top bands ask for a clear, developed purpose, accurate content, a clear summary without irrelevant detail, a style that suits the reader, logical organisation and accurate language. For the 5 criteria other than Purpose, bands 6, 4 and 2 sit between the described bands (7 and 5, 5 and 3, 3 and 1). OET Writing assessment criteria.

Each letter is marked twice and quality-checked, and OET does not publish how criterion marks become your 0 to 500 score. OET Test Teachers Handbook 2024; OET results and scoring.

Choosing notes for your reader

Content checks that you include what the reader needs to continue care. OET Writing assessment criteria.

In the example, include the need for prompts and the requested home review. Leave out N5: a visitor-pass query that reception resolved has nothing to do with home care, and dropping it keeps the request clear.

Keep the difference between needing prompts and not understanding. N2 records what the patient could do; N3 records where they needed help. Your summary needs both. OET’s Writing Guide explains how to choose content and use case notes accurately.

Handwriting or typing

You handwrite for OET on Paper and type for OET on Computer and OET@Home.

Practise the way you will sit the test. The test modes guide compares the three.

Writing feedback and handwriting

OETify marks your letter against all 6 criteria and gives priority corrections: your words, the problem, the fix and a rule for next time. Where a focused revision is offered, you can rewrite and compare. A successful rewrite shows you can apply the fix; keep checking it in new letters.

Your baseline letter gets free feedback; new letters need a paid plan or a sponsored place.

If you are preparing for OET on Paper, you can upload a photo of your handwritten letter. Words OETify cannot read are marked as unclear, with notes on legibility, and it does not mark those words as language errors. Check the transcription before you revise. When you type, autocorrect and spell-check are switched off.

OETify does not predict a numeric Writing score, and criterion feedback cannot confirm an official grade.

To check your own letter, compare your opening with N1 and N4, then check your next sentence keeps both N2 and N3. The Language criterion checks accuracy and whether errors affect understanding.

OET’s Writing preparation page has step-by-step sample-test videos, and the OET Ready Study Guide includes a sample letter. For nursing-specific letter choices, read OET Writing for nurses.

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