Candidates preparing for the Occupational English Test should be well aware of all four subtests. Knowledge of the question patterns and assessment criteria will help you prepare well and get good scores. As you know, the OET exam aims to measure the four basic linguistic skills of healthcare professionals. The OET writing subtest assesses a candidate’s proficiency in written English. The writing module is specific for each of the 12 professions covered under OET. This OET subtest is considered challenging by most of the candidates. The writing tasks will be profession-specific and workplace-focused. This blog will serve as an ultimate guide to the OET Writing module. You will learn more about the assessment criteria, OET writing tips, and ways to excel in your first attempt.
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The OET Writing Subtest
The duration of the OET writing subtest is 45 minutes. You will be given 5 minutes to read case notes and task instructions. The following 40 minutes can be used to write and complete the given task. You are not allowed to use a pen or pencil or make notes during reading. One of the basic OET writing tips is to efficiently utilize the reading time. Read the given case notes and task instructions carefully at least two times.
What is the word count for the OET writing task?
The word count for the OET writing task is between 180 to 200. The word count limit is to ensure that the letter is not too long or too short to be assessed. The date, address, greetings/reference lines, closing sentence, etc. will not be counted. Only the words in the body of the letter will be counted for assessment. The word count is not to be strictly adhered to, but it should be somewhere near the suggested count. Your primary concern should be the content, it should satisfy the six OET writing assessment criteria. Get the best OET tips for writing from expert trainers to stick to the word count while maintaining the content quality.
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Assessment Criteria and OET Writing Tips
The OET writing module checks your ability to write precise and error-free English content related to the healthcare context. Six assessment criteria are used to evaluate your writing skills in the OET exam. These are used to ensure that your OET writing sample is relevant, error-free, concise, and meets the needs of the intended recipient. The 6 OET writing criteria are Purpose, Content, Conciseness & Clarity, Genre & Style, Organisation & Layout, and Language. The ‘Purpose’ is assigned a band score between 0 to 3. The band score range of all other criteria is from 0 to 7. Now let’s get into the details.
- Purpose
This examines how effectively your writing communicates its purpose to the intended reader. The reader should get a quick and precise sense of what is being addressed in the document. It should be:
- ‘Immediately Apparent’- The reason for writing the letter should be immediately apparent or easily understood by the reader. A clear explanation of the purpose should be introduced early in the document.
- ‘Sufficiently expanding’- The reason or purpose should be expanded later in the document. Explain the reason for writing by including the relevant details.
- Content
The second criteria assess whether the letter includes and accurately represents all the key information. Your OET writing task might be to write a discharge letter, referral letter, or any other type of letter. Whatever the case, ensure that it provides the reader with all the information needed to continue patient care. You will get all the information from the case notes. But, all the information may not be relevant to the reader. You will have to carefully choose only the necessary and accurate information and represent it in the letter for audience awareness.
- Conciseness & Clarity
This criteria examines whether any unnecessary or irrelevant information is included. It also evaluates how effectively the specific case or information is summarized. The inclusion of irrelevant content may be distracting and make it difficult for the reader to gather important information. Consider the following to check whether the information is relevant or not:
- The information must not be redundant or outside the scope of patient care
- Should not contain too much historical data (that is not required for the current situation)
- Data in similar contexts must be grouped together
- Genre & Style
This criterion examines whether the genre and style of the writing are aligned with the awareness of the intended reader. In OET writing you are expected to use a formal tone. Even if the letter is addressing another healthcare professional or a patient, the language should be formal, polite, and non-judgemental. All information should be worded appropriately and the use of abbreviations should not be overdone. In short, the genre and tone should be according to the document’s purpose and target reader.
- Organization & Layout
This examines whether the document is properly structured. It checks how you organize the information under relevant headings, subheadings, or paragraphs. These criteria assess whether the structure is easier or harder to understand. The information must be logically organized and key points must be highlighted to draw the attention of the reader.
- Language
The final criterion covers different aspects of the language itself. It examines grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and spelling and whether these interfere with reading comprehension or speed.
You must focus on all the above criteria to obtain high scores on the OET writing test. Regular practice tests will help you identify areas that need improvement. Give more importance to those areas during your OET exam preparations. If you are new, following specific OET writing tips for a beginner can provide valuable guidance and enhance your preparation strategy.
Common Mistakes in OET Writing
All candidates preparing for the OET test should be aware of the common mistakes made by examinees. Knowing this earlier and correcting such mistakes will help you do well on your first attempt. Here are some common mistakes and OET writing tips to avoid those mistakes.
One of the most common mistakes is made with the use of small numbers. Candidates use the number as such rather than using words. Numbers greater than 100 can be written as numbers. In formal writing, the number ‘4’ should be written as ‘four’. Here, an OET writing tip is to use words while mentioning the small numbers. (one to ninety-nine)
Another common mistake found is including the medical history or background too early in the document. The main issue is to be included in the introductory paragraph. Avoid including too much medical history in the beginning if it is not relevant in the present scenario.
Some candidates ignore the case notes and accurate task requirements. Missing essential information will adversely affect your OET writing task. Utilize the reading time to carefully read and understand the case and task details.
Avoid punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors. Candidates often get confused and misuse words that sound similar. Some commonly misused words are:
- Complaint and compliant
- Advice and advise
- Breath and breathe
- Acute and Chronic
- Prostrate and Prostate
- Affect and Effect
Comprehensive OET test preparation and writing tips will help you obtain better scores. The OET exam has helped several health professionals excel in their careers. Want to go through some of the success stories…?
Better Understanding of OET Writing Module To Excel in The Test
An in-depth understanding of the OET writing module and assessment criteria will help you prepare most effectively. Regular practice is important throughout your preparation. Attempt OET writing sample papers and try to stick to the 45-minute time frame. This will improve your time management skills and improve confidence. You can prepare for the OET exam by yourself or join OET training centers. OET training providers offer subtest-specific study materials, OET writing tips, and mock tests to help candidates prepare well. The best OET coaching centre in Kerala offer effective and structured training for OET exams. Join verified online and offline training providers like Breffni Academy for success in your first OET attempt.
