Practise ÖSD B1 writing
In Writing you have 40 minutes for a single email, and every Leitpunkt you forget costs points. Learn the structure and scoring here and practise with instant AI feedback.
Writing at a glance
Schreiben is usually the last part of the written exam in the ÖSD Zertifikat Deutsch Österreich B1 (ZDÖ B1). You have 40 minutes for one email: you choose Variante A (personal, with du) or Variante B (formal, with Sie) and cover the four Leitpunkte. Writing is worth up to 45 of the 225 points of the written exam; there is no separate pass mark for Writing alone.
What matters is not just error-free language but above all task fulfilment: covering all four Leitpunkte, writing a salutation, an opening and a closing, and structuring the text clearly. There is no official minimum word count.
One email, two variants to choose from
Variante A: personal
An email with du, for example to a friend or an acquaintance: inviting, declining, telling them about something.
Variante B: formal
An email with Sie, for example to a company or an institution: an enquiry, a request or a complaint.
Four Leitpunkte
Each variant gives you four points. All four belong in your email, plus a salutation, an opening and a closing.
What counts? The assessment criteria
Examiners assess your text against several criteria. If you only focus on grammar, you give away points, task fulfilment and structure count just as much.
- Task fulfilment, all points covered, appropriate to the situation
- Structure & coherence, a clear thread, sensible connections
- Vocabulary, appropriate and varied enough
- Structures, grammar and accuracy
Tips for the writing module
Tick off every prompt
Go through the prompts and make sure every point appears in your text, missing one is the most common way to lose points.
Get the register right
Mind the tone: personal (du) in Variante A, formal (Sie) in Variante B. Choose a fitting salutation and closing.
Connect instead of listing
Use connectors (weil, deshalb, trotzdem …) so the text flows instead of being a list of single sentences.
Practise writing with instant feedback
With ExamReady you write real B1 writing tasks and get feedback immediately, based on the same criteria as in the exam, plus an improved version of your text.
- Assessment of task fulfilment, grammar, vocabulary, structure
- Concrete corrections with explanations
- An improved model version of your own text
Every AI evaluation costs one of your 2 daily keys and is complete: score, criteria, every correction with an explanation, an improved version and a model answer. With Pro you write without limits.
Frequently asked questions about writing
How much time do I have for Writing?
You have 40 minutes for one email. Writing usually comes at the end of the written exam, after Lesen & Sprachbausteine and Hören.
How many points do I need?
Writing is worth up to 45 points. There is no separate pass mark for Writing alone: you pass the written exam with 135 of 225 points from Lesen & Sprachbausteine, Hören and Schreiben together (60%). So strong Reading can make up for weaker Writing.
What is the most common mistake?
Not covering all the given prompts. Even linguistically good texts lose points when a required content point is missing.
How can I practise writing effectively?
Write complete tasks against the clock and get feedback based on the exam criteria. With ExamReady you get instant AI feedback and an improved version.