An absent blood pressure diary does not establish that Owen Park stopped monitoring. The outpatient letter needs to explain what could not be reviewed and request the recorded follow-up.
Original practice material written by OETify. All people, services and records in this sample are fictional, for writing practice only. By the OETify editorial team.
Evidence available at the clinic visit
Owen reported home monitoring, but the clinic could not examine his diary.
| Information | Fictional outpatient clinic notes |
|---|---|
| Patient and attendance | Owen Park, aged 61; attended Anchor Outpatient Clinic for review of hypertension |
| Home monitoring account | Owen says he checks his blood pressure at home and records readings in a diary |
| Missing record | Left diary at home; no home readings available for the clinic’s review |
| Medication account | Owen reports taking prescribed medication; no independent confirmation of home administration in the supplied notes |
| Technique | Owen asks whether his home technique matches the supplied monitoring instructions; technique not observed at this clinic visit |
| Clinician’s follow-up request | Practice nurse to review diary and observe home monitoring technique using the existing instructions, then send findings to Anchor |
| Current prescription | Reviewing clinician records no prescription change at this visit; current medication list accompanies the letter |
| Appointment arrangement | Owen agrees to a practice appointment and to bringing the diary and monitor; practice team to arrange the appointment directly with him |
| Next specialist review | Clinic will use the practice findings at the next review; no appointment date provided in this task |
Your follow-up letter to the practice
You are a nurse at Anchor Outpatient Clinic. Today is 9 October 2026. Write to Ms Clare Hughes, Practice Nurse, Beacon Practice, 6 Harbour View, Anchor Bay. Request the clinician’s diary and technique review, with findings returned to Anchor.
Separate the absence of a record from an absence of monitoring. Decide what Owen’s medication report supports and what would require information the notes do not contain.
Model follow-up letter stating the evidence gap
Model letter
Ms Clare Hughes
Practice Nurse
Beacon Practice
6 Harbour View
Anchor Bay9 October 2026
Dear Ms Hughes,
Re: Owen Park, aged 61
Please arrange a practice appointment for Mr Park, who attended Anchor Outpatient Clinic today for a review of his hypertension. Our clinician has asked for a review of his home blood pressure diary and observation of his monitoring technique using his existing instructions. Please send your findings to Anchor for his next review.
Mr Park reports that he checks his blood pressure at home and records the readings in a diary. However, he left the diary at home, so no home readings were available for review at this visit. He has asked whether his technique matches the monitoring instructions he was given. His technique was not observed during today’s appointment.
He reports taking his prescribed medication. The reviewing clinician made no prescription change at this visit, and his current medication list accompanies this letter.
Mr Park has agreed to attend a practice appointment and to bring his blood pressure diary and home monitor with him. Please arrange the appointment directly with him. The clinic will use your findings at his next specialist review.
Thank you for your assistance with Mr Park’s care.
Yours sincerely,
Sunita Patel
Registered Nurse, Anchor Outpatient Clinic
Annotations for evidence without an invented explanation
These notes apply OET’s Writing assessment criteria.
| Criterion | What the model does |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Gives the practice nurse both review actions and names Anchor as the place to send findings. |
| Content | Reports the unavailable readings without turning Owen’s account into a claim that he stopped monitoring. It adds no readings, target or prescription detail to fill the gap. |
| Conciseness and Clarity | The diary’s location and its effect on the clinic review share one sentence. |
| Genre and Style | Factual, without suggesting unwillingness or poor adherence. |
| Organisation and Layout | The request comes before the missing-record explanation; medication and appointment arrangements are kept separate. |
| Language | “Reports” stays distinct from the clinician’s recorded prescription decision. |
Underline any explanation in your draft that uses “because” or “so”. Check whether the notes establish that connection; remove a cause that depends on an assumption about Owen’s behaviour.
A weaker letter that explains too much
The draft below supplies a reason for the missing readings that the notes do not establish.
Weaker version (do not copy)
Ms Clare Hughes
Practice Nurse
Beacon Practice
6 Harbour View
Anchor Bay9 October 2026
Dear Ms Hughes,
Re: Owen Park, aged 61
Please review Mr Park after his hypertension appointment at Anchor Outpatient Clinic. He has not been monitoring at home, so his blood pressure record was unavailable. He is taking his medication, and his prescription remains unchanged.
Please teach him how to use his monitor and arrange a practice appointment. He agrees to bring his equipment and diary. His current medication list accompanies this letter. Please send your findings before his next clinic review.
Yours sincerely,
Sunita Patel
Registered Nurse, Anchor Outpatient Clinic
“Has not been monitoring” conflicts with Owen’s report and invents an explanation for the unavailable diary. Replace it with his reported monitoring and the fact that he left the diary at home. “He is taking” also removes the report’s attribution; “he reports taking” preserves it.
The notes ask for observation of technique using existing instructions. They do not establish incorrect technique or request an entirely new teaching plan. Restore the diary review too: bringing the diary and reviewing it are different actions.