The short answer

You pass the OET Writing sub-test by producing a professional letter of 180 to 200 words that states its purpose in the first two sentences, includes only the case-note information the reader needs, and follows the six assessment criteria the examiners mark against. Most healthcare boards require grade B in each sub-test, roughly 350 out of 500, and Writing is the sub-test where preparation translates into marks most directly because the task never changes: one letter, 45 minutes, profession-specific case notes.

This guide explains exactly what happens in the Writing sub-test, how the six criteria work, the five-part letter structure that examiners reward, the mistakes that drag scores down, and how to spend your 45 minutes for the best return.

What exactly happens in the OET Writing sub-test?

The Writing sub-test lasts 45 minutes and is set for your profession. A nurse writes a nursing letter, a doctor writes a medical one, and so on across the 12 healthcare professions OET covers, which include nursing, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, optometry, podiatry, radiography, dietetics, speech pathology and veterinary science.

You receive two documents: the case notes (patient background, history, investigations, treatment) and the task instructions (who you are writing to and why). The task is always one letter. Most often it is a referral letter, but depending on your profession it can be a discharge letter, a transfer letter, or a letter advising or informing a patient, carer or group. Radiography candidates may be asked to respond to a complaint.

The timing is fixed and you should plan around it: five minutes of reading time, when writing is not permitted, followed by 40 minutes of writing time. During reading time you may annotate the case notes, which is where the marks are really won or lost.

How is the OET Writing sub-test marked?

Your letter is marked independently by a minimum of two trained assessors. Neither assessor sees the other marks, and neither sees your scores in the other sub-tests, so your Writing score is decided entirely on the page in front of them.

The assessors score your letter against six criteria:

• Purpose: is the reason for the letter immediately apparent to the reader and developed through the letter?
• Content: is all the necessary information included, and is it accurate for the reader?
• Conciseness and Clarity: is unnecessary information omitted, so the letter is an effective summary rather than a data dump?
• Genre and Style: are the register, tone and use of abbreviations appropriate for the reader?
• Organisation and Layout: is the letter organised and laid out logically for the reader?
• Language: do grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation communicate the necessary information effectively?

Purpose is scored out of 3; the other five criteria are scored out of 7. A useful benchmark for grade B, the level most boards demand, is a predominant score of 2 out of 3 for Purpose and 5 out of 7 for the remaining criteria. Each sub-test is graded A to E, with a numerical score of 0 to 500 also reported, and results arrive 16 business days after the test date.

The single most important implication: the criteria reward selection, not volume. Examiners are not counting how much you wrote. They are checking whether the reader can immediately see why the letter exists and whether every sentence earns its place.

What does a passing OET letter look like?

The strongest letters all follow the same five-part structure. Memorise it until it is automatic, because having the structure decided before test day frees all your attention for selecting content.

1. A clear purpose statement. The opening must name the patient and the reason for writing. For example: “Thank you for seeing Mr Ahmed Khan, a 58-year-old man whom I am referring for your assessment of his worsening angina.” One sentence, patient identified, reason stated, done.

2. Relevant medical background. A short history: key past conditions and risk factors that explain the current problem. Leave out anything that does not serve the referral purpose.

3. Current clinical picture. Presenting symptoms, examination findings and recent investigation results, in a logical order. This is usually the longest paragraph and it is where your professional vocabulary matters most.

4. Treatment provided so far. Current medication, any interventions, and the response. If a medication was stopped or a dose changed, say so and why.

5. A specific request. Close with exactly what you need from the reader: an opinion, a procedure, follow-up, or advice on management. Never leave the reader guessing what the referral is for.

Aim for roughly 180 to 200 words across this structure. Letters far below the range look thin on content; letters far above it almost always contain information the reader did not need, which costs you on Conciseness and Clarity.

Which case-note details should you leave out?

Selection is the core skill of this sub-test and the one candidates practise least. The case notes deliberately contain more information than the letter needs. Your job in the five-minute reading time is to decide what the reader must know to act on the referral, and to discard the rest.

A practical test for every detail: would the receiving clinician change their management if this sentence were missing? If not, leave it out. Redundant history, exact dates of old appointments, long social background and minor complaints that do not relate to the referral purpose are the usual candidates for the bin.

Summarise rather than chronicle. Do not copy the case notes word for word; examiners penalise letters that lift phrases directly from the stimulus. Turn note form into complete sentences, compressing where you can. For instance, “Pt reports poor compliance with diet and meds. Reason: poor memory” becomes “He has not complied with his diet or medication regimen, reporting poor memory as the main cause.” The same facts, in professional prose.

What are the most common mistakes that fail the Writing sub-test?

Having seen what the criteria reward, the failure patterns become predictable:

• A vague purpose statement. “I am writing about Mr Khan” tells the reader nothing. State the referral reason precisely in the opening lines.
• Copying the case notes. Lifting note-form phrases verbatim reads as unprofessional and signals poor comprehension of the stimulus.
• Including irrelevant detail. Every sentence that does not serve the referral purpose weakens the Conciseness and Clarity score.
• An informal or judgemental tone. You are writing to another healthcare professional, not a friend. Use formal language throughout, address the patient formally, and state facts rather than judgements: “He smokes 30 cigarettes a day” instead of “He is a heavy smoker”.
• Abbreviations the reader would not share. Only use standard medical abbreviations appropriate for the reader. Anything profession-specific that the recipient might not know should be written out.
• No plan before writing. Candidates who start writing the moment the 40 minutes begin almost always produce a disorganised letter that meanders from background to request and back.

How should you use the 45 minutes?

Treat the five minutes of reading time as decision time, not reading time. Read the task instructions first so you know who the reader is and what they are being asked to do. Then read the case notes fully once, re-read while underlining only information relevant to the purpose, and decide what to leave out. When reading time ends, your plan should exist in your head: purpose, the five paragraphs, and the case-note details assigned to each.

During the 40 minutes of writing, keep a steady pace and leave the final few minutes for checking. Reserve that time for the small things that cost Language and Organisation marks: verb tenses in the history, spelling of medication names, punctuation, and a quick check that every paragraph serves the purpose stated at the top.

How do you prepare for OET Writing effectively?

The task format never changes, so preparation can be very specific. Practise whole letters under the real 45-minute timing, including the five-minute reading rule, not open-ended writing without a clock. Use official OET sample materials and have a study partner or tutor check your letters against the six criteria, not just against a model answer.

Build the habit of planning before writing on every practice letter. The five-part structure should become so familiar that test-day planning takes three minutes, leaving the rest of reading time for content selection. Finally, keep a list of the phrases that work in each part: purpose statements, transitions between paragraphs, and formal closing lines. On test day, polished stock phrasing lets you spend your energy on the hard part, which is choosing what to say.

Frequently asked questions

How many words should an OET Writing letter be?

Around 180 to 200 words is the accepted range. The assessment does not count words, but letters much shorter or longer than this tend to score poorly on Content or Conciseness and Clarity.

Can I use abbreviations in OET Writing?

Only standard abbreviations that the intended reader would understand. Genre and Style is one of the six criteria, and abbreviations the reader would not share can cost you marks.

What is the pass mark for OET Writing?

It depends on the board. Most healthcare registration boards require grade B in each sub-test, which is reported as roughly 350 out of 500. As a rule of thumb, grade B performance means a predominant band 2 out of 3 for Purpose and 5 out of 7 for the other five criteria.

How long until I get my OET Writing result?

OET results are published 16 business days after the test date, and the Writing score arrives together with the other three sub-tests.