Sami is the patient; Nadia manages his care at home. The community nurse must clarify the plan with Nadia and arrange the interpreter she requests.
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.
Child, parent and communication arrangements
| Person or record | Fictional case notes |
|---|---|
| Sami Ahmed | Aged 3; lives with mother Nadia; admitted to Maple Children’s Ward with gastroenteritis and dehydration |
| Current condition | Taking drinks and tolerating food; treating team confirms discharge home today |
| Nadia Ahmed | Records Sami’s drinks at home; has the intake sheet supplied by the ward; asks whether milk should be entered on it |
| Ward discussion | Completed with an Urdu interpreter at Nadia’s request; Nadia demonstrated how she would complete the intake sheet |
| Remaining questions | Nadia asks which service to contact if the plan’s warning signs occur, and wants the milk-entry question clarified |
| Written plan | Advice on intake monitoring, warning signs and seeking help supplied; family care plan and discharge summary accompany the letter |
| Interpreter | Nadia requests an Urdu interpreter for the community review; ward has not booked one |
| Contact permission | Nadia agrees to telephone contact and a home review; asks the team to speak to her when arranging them |
| Receiving nurse | Arrange review and interpreter; clarify contact instructions and the intake-sheet question with Nadia using the supplied plan |
| Child’s preference | Sami prefers drinks from his blue cup; Nadia has that cup at home |
The community children’s nurse task
You are a nurse on Maple Children’s Ward. Today is 9 October 2026. Write to Ms Fiona Marsh, Clinical Lead, Community Children’s Nursing, Oak Family Service, 19 Acorn Street, Mapleton. Request a home review for Sami and communication support for Nadia. Use the supplied plan for the recorded questions; no new intake advice is requested.
Before writing, assign each action to a person. Who receives care, who records drinks, who explains the plan, and who arranges language support? Decide whether Sami’s cup preference affects the receiving team’s requested work.
Model letter addressed to the nursing team
Model letter
Ms Fiona Marsh
Clinical Lead, Community Children’s Nursing
Oak Family Service
19 Acorn Street
Mapleton9 October 2026
Dear Ms Marsh,
Re: Sami Ahmed, aged 3
Please arrange a home review for Sami Ahmed, who is being discharged home today from Maple Children’s Ward. His mother, Nadia Ahmed, has requested an Urdu interpreter for the review; the ward has not booked one.
Sami was admitted with gastroenteritis and dehydration. He is now taking drinks and tolerating food, and the treating team has confirmed that he can be discharged home. He lives with Nadia, who records his drinks at home using the intake sheet supplied by the ward.
Nadia has received written advice on intake monitoring, warning signs and seeking help. During the ward discussion, which took place with an Urdu interpreter, she demonstrated how she would complete the intake sheet. She has two remaining questions: whether milk should be entered on the sheet, and which service to contact if the plan’s warning signs occur. Please clarify these questions with her using the accompanying family care plan.
Nadia has agreed to telephone contact and a home review. Please speak to her directly to arrange the review and interpreter support. Sami’s discharge summary also accompanies this letter.
Thank you for your help.
Yours sincerely,
Rhea Thomas
Registered Nurse, Maple Children’s Ward
How the roles affect content and register
These notes apply OET’s Writing assessment criteria.
| Criterion | What the model does |
|---|---|
| Purpose | The opening gives the review and interpreter arrangements to the community team. |
| Content | Sami’s condition explains the discharge context; Nadia’s questions set the work for the review. Her use of the sheet stays because it shows what has already been discussed; it does not answer the separate milk-entry question. |
| Conciseness and Clarity | Sami’s cup preference is left out because Nadia already has the cup and no cup-related action is requested. This depends on the task, not on a rule that children’s preferences never matter. |
| Genre and Style | A professional request to a nurse, not instructions written to Nadia. “Please clarify … using the … plan” sets the nurse’s task without inventing an answer about milk. The interpreter supports the discussion; the letter asks the team to arrange that support. |
| Organisation and Layout | The child’s condition and home carer come before the parent’s questions. Booking work is kept together at the end, where Nadia’s consent and contact request are explicit. |
| Language | Repeating “Nadia” where the responsible person changes stops “she” from pointing to either the mother or the nurse. |
A weaker handover that mixes the participants
Weaker version (do not copy)
Ms Fiona Marsh
Clinical Lead, Community Children’s Nursing
Oak Family Service
19 Acorn Street
Mapleton9 October 2026
Dear Ms Marsh,
Re: Sami Ahmed, aged 3
Please arrange a home review after Sami’s discharge today for gastroenteritis and dehydration. He takes drinks and tolerates food, and his mother uses the intake sheet.
Please explain to Sami whether milk should be recorded and which service to contact about warning signs. Nadia demonstrated the sheet during the ward discussion with an Urdu interpreter. She has requested the same support for your review. Ask the interpreter to resolve her questions about the care plan.
The family agrees to telephone contact and a home review. Please telephone Sami to arrange the visit. His discharge summary and family care plan accompany the letter.
Yours sincerely,
Rhea Thomas
Registered Nurse, Maple Children’s Ward
The questions came from Nadia, who records the drinks. Replace “explain to Sami” with “clarify with Nadia”, while keeping Sami as the child receiving care. Address booking contact to Nadia too: the notes name her permission and request, not a call to Sami.
“Ask the interpreter to resolve” shifts the plan clarification away from the receiving nurse. Request interpreter support for the nurse’s discussion with Nadia. Make the unbooked status explicit so “the same support” cannot conceal an outstanding arrangement.
Read your request paragraph without the rest of the letter. It should identify who needs clarification, who provides it, and who arranges the interpreter.