OET Writing tips: waste the 5 minutes of reading time and your 40-minute letter could miss grade B
Published 8 min read
Most OET Writing tips are about the letter itself. The marks are often lost earlier, in the 5 minutes of reading time. If you spend those minutes reading the case notes from top to bottom like a story, you start writing without knowing who the reader is, what they need or which notes to leave out. The result is a long letter that copies the notes in order, and that kind of letter can keep a nurse or doctor below grade B even when the English is good.
This article gives you a minute-by-minute way to use the reading time, a simple letter plan you can hold in your head, a worked example, and a practice routine so the plan becomes automatic before test day.
What the OET Writing sub-test gives you
The OET Writing sub-test is one letter task. It lasts 45 minutes in total: 5 minutes of reading time and 40 minutes of writing time. The timing is set out in the official OET Test Handbook, which you can find from the OET test overview. The Writing sub-test is specific to your profession, so a nurse gets a nursing scenario and a doctor gets a medical one.
You receive a set of case notes and a task that tells you who to write to and why. The letter is usually a referral, but it can also be a discharge or transfer letter, or a letter to advise or inform a patient, carer or group.
Each OET sub-test is reported on a scale from 0 to 500, and grade B covers scores from 350 to 440, as the OET results and scoring page shows. Many regulators ask for grade B in Writing, though each one sets its own rule, so check the requirement of the body you are applying to.
What the reading time is for
The reading time is for studying the task and the case notes. Your letter begins when the writing time begins. OET sets the rules for what you may do in those first minutes, and they are explained in the handbook and in the instructions for your delivery mode, so read them before test day. The safest habit is to train yourself to plan in your head. Then your plan works whatever the rules allow.
Why reading the notes in order costs you marks
Case notes are written in the order things happened. A good letter is written in the order the reader needs. Those are not the same.
- The purpose arrives late. If you follow the notes, the reason for writing ends up in the last paragraph. The reader should know it from the opening lines.
- Everything goes in. Notes always contain details the reader does not need. Copying them all makes the letter long and hides what matters.
- Something important is missed. When you run short of time near the end of the notes, the most recent and most relevant information is the part you rush.
- The tone is wrong. A letter to a specialist and a letter to a patient's daughter need different words. You cannot choose them if you have not thought about the reader.
A plan for the 5 minutes of reading time
Use the same order every time you practise, so that it needs no thought in the test.
- First minute: read the task before the notes. The task is usually at the end of the case notes. Find it and answer three questions: Who am I writing to? What is their role? What do I want them to do?
- Next two minutes: read the notes with the reader in mind. For each section, ask one question: does this reader need this to do what I am asking? Sort each item in your head as "must include", "maybe" or "leave out".
- Fourth minute: decide the order. Group the "must include" items into three or four paragraphs. The order follows the reader's needs, not the dates.
- Last minute: prepare your opening. Form the purpose sentence in your head: who the patient is and what you are asking for. When the writing time starts, you write it at once.
The three questions that choose your content
- What does the reader already know? A doctor who has treated the patient for years does not need the full history. A new specialist does.
- What will the reader do next? A home nurse needs wound care and medication details. A physiotherapist needs mobility and the surgery date. A social worker needs the home situation.
- What is the risk if I leave this out? An allergy, a current medication or a safety concern stays in. A childhood illness with no link to today's problem usually goes.
A letter plan you can hold in your head
You do not need a different OET letter format for every task. One flexible plan fits most of them.
| Part of the letter | What it does | Decide in the reading time |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Names the patient and states the purpose of the letter | Your purpose sentence |
| Current situation | The presenting problem, treatment and condition now | Which recent notes this reader needs |
| Relevant background | History, medication and social details that affect care | Which older notes matter, and which to leave out |
| Request and closing | What you want the reader to do, with any follow-up | The exact action and any detail they need to carry it out |
For an urgent referral, the request may move up into the opening. For a letter to a patient or carer, the background becomes shorter and the instructions become longer and plainer. The plan bends; the thinking stays the same.
A worked example (fictional)
You are a ward nurse. The task asks you to write a letter to the community nurse who will visit Mrs Lina Perera at home after a hip replacement. The notes cover her admission, the operation, daily observations, physiotherapy, medications, a past history of asthma and high blood pressure, the fact that she lives alone, and a hobby of gardening.
First minute. Reader: the community nurse. Purpose: to continue care at home. What they will do: dress the wound, check medication, watch for problems, support mobility.
Next two minutes. Must include: the operation and date, wound condition and dressing needs, current medications including pain relief and blood-thinning medication, mobility with a walking frame, lives alone, follow-up appointment. Maybe: asthma and blood pressure, in one line, because they affect medication. Leave out: daily observations that were normal, the detail of each physiotherapy session, gardening.
Fourth minute. Order: purpose, then surgery and recovery, then wound and medication, then mobility and home situation, then the request and follow-up.
Last minute. Opening sentence, formed in your head: "I am writing to request home nursing care for Mrs Lina Perera, who is being discharged today following a right hip replacement."
When the writing time starts, you already know your reader, your content, your order and your first sentence. The 40 minutes are now for writing clear sentences, not for deciding what to say.
Using the 40 minutes of writing time
- Write the opening at once. You prepared it. It settles your nerves and tells the reader the purpose.
- One paragraph, one job. Follow the order you chose. Do not go back to the notes' order.
- Turn notes into sentences. Notes are short forms. Your letter needs full sentences, correct tenses and linking words.
- Keep about five minutes to check. Look for the patient's name, the date, verb tenses, articles and any "must include" item you have not used.
Mistakes to avoid in the reading time
- Starting with the first line of the notes instead of the task.
- Trying to memorise details. You can look at the notes while you write. Use the reading time to make decisions.
- Treating every note as equal. Sort them by what the reader needs.
- Planning a letter you have memorised. A template opening that does not match the task shows quickly. Build the purpose sentence from this task.
- Ignoring the reader's role. The same patient needs a different letter for a specialist, a pharmacist or a family member.
How to practise the plan
Planning is a skill, and it improves with short, repeated practice more than with long study days.
- Planning-only drills. Take a set of case notes, set a timer for the reading time and stop. Say your reader, purpose, paragraph order and opening sentence out loud. Then check: did you leave out the right things?
- Full timed letters. Once or twice a week, do the whole task with the reading time followed by the writing time, with no pause between them.
- Review against the task. After each letter, reread the task and ask whether the reader could act on your letter alone.
PractiseNow has 150 OET letter tasks for nursing and medicine, with a guided planner, a word count and free code checks before AI marking against the test's criteria. AI marking of a clinical letter costs 3 credits, and the score it gives is a practice estimate, not an official OET result. At Exam level you work with real timing and no help. The free plan gives you the first three Starter sets and one Builder set of every task in your test, plus 3 AI credits. Start free, see the tests you can practise or compare passes.
For the wider picture, read how the four OET sub-tests fit together for nurses, what the numbers on the OET score chart mean, and how to use the preparation time in an OET Speaking nursing role play.
When your result is in, it belongs near the top of your CV. Build AI CV has a section for language tests with scores and dates.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the reading time in OET Writing?
The Writing sub-test lasts 45 minutes: 5 minutes of reading time and 40 minutes of writing time.
What should I read first in the OET Writing case notes?
Read the task first. It tells you who the reader is and why you are writing, and that decides which notes matter.
Is an OET referral letter planned differently from a discharge letter?
The steps are the same. What changes is the reader and what they need to do next, so the notes you choose and the order you use will differ.
Do I need to include every case note in my letter?
No. Choose the notes this reader needs to continue care, and leave out details that do not affect what they will do.
What score is grade B in OET Writing?
Grade B covers scores from 350 to 440 on the OET scale. Check which grade your regulator asks for.
Last checked: 15 November 2026. Test rules and score requirements change: confirm on the official pages linked in this article before you book or apply.
