OET WRITING EXAM: THE 5 BEST TIPS

The OET writing exam will require for you to write a letter of around 180-200 words regarding a
patient.
This task is similar for both nurses and doctors however each will write a letter specific to their
profession.

You will be given:

 The task (this explains what you must do, for example: Write a letter regarding Mr Smith
who is being discharged from hospital back to his nursing home.)
 The patient’s case notes and full medical history
The OET writing exam can be difficult.

However, the good news is with these 5 tips you can quickly improve your letter.

1. Understand the writing task

The first thing you should look for is the writing task.

You can see an example of one below.

This box explains:

WHO you will need to write to and the TYPE OF LETTER you must write.

In this example you are writing to Dr Jason Roberts at Newtown Hospital and it is
a REFERRAL letter.

While the word count is 180-200 words you will NOT lose marks for writing more or less than
this. The word count is given for guidance only. We would however recommend to aim for 180-
250 words in order to focus your letter and to not write too much or too little.

There are three common types of OET writing letter:

Referral
This means the patient is going to another healthcare facility for a different kind of investigation
or treatment.

Transfer
This means the patient is going to another healthcare facility or department for to continue their
treatment.

Discharge
This means that the patient will now be leaving your healthcare facility or clinic and will be going
home.
It is vital that you take the time to recognise these letter types and to get an idea of how they
affect the letter. You should get into the habit of asking yourself:

 Who am I writing to?

 What has happened?
 Who am I writing about?
 What type of letter is it?

2. Understand the case notes

You should spend around 3-4 minutes carefully reading and understanding the case notes.
As advised by the OET exam board, the next thing you will need to do is study the case notes.

The first five minutes of the exam are for reading the case notes only. You will not be
allowed to start writing until this time is up.

The main difficulty with this is that the writing case notes are not written in perfect sentences
and might be challenging to understand.

It is your job to understand these case notes and to transform them into grammatically correct
sentences.

For example a case note which reads:

NURSING MANAGEMENT AND PROGRESS daily dressings surgery incision site

What exactly are they asking here?

‘Nursing management relates’ to what the patient will require in the future to manage their
symptoms.

‘Daily dressings’ refers to changing the patient’s bandages and ‘surgery incision site‘ refers to
the wound where the surgery was performed.

We might therefore write:

To continue the patient’s care, he will require for his bandages to be changed everyday at the site of the
surgery.
Of course there is no set rule of exactly how to explain this information however you should try
to use all of the relevant details within the case notes and to ‘transform’ them into sentences
with good grammar and structure.

3. Know your abbreviations

OET writing case notes may also use abbreviations.

Abbreviation means a shorter form of a medical vocabulary or phrases. For example ‘BP’

instead of ‘blood pressure.’

What do the abbreviations mean in this example?

PHx pt. suffered with heart attack – 4-yr

In this case ‘PHx‘ refers to ‘patient history’. While ‘pt‘ means ‘patient’ and ‘4-yr‘ means ‘4 years
ago’.

This sentence might therefore read in your letter as:

The patient’s history shows that Mr Smith suffered from a heart attack four years ago.
In your letter you will not be using abbreviations.  You should instead expand on the
abbreviations and turn them into full sentences.

Other common abbreviations in the writing exam are:

 BMI = body mass index

 OTC = over the counter
 r/v = review
 ICU = intensive care unit
 SOB = shortness of breath
During your studies if you come across an abbreviations you haven’t heard before, you can find
this useful dictionary of common medical abbreviations to study what they mean.

4. Choose relevant information

The letter you are writing will likely be less than 300 words which isn’t very long (especially when
compared to IELTS).

You will however be given a page and a half of case notes, meaning:

You should not include all of the case notes in your letter. Some will be relevant and will not
be.

A general rule is: only include information that is relevant to the patient’s illness.

Consider this case note:

Let’s assume that this patient’s condition is DIABETES.

Which of these cases notes would be relevant here?

 The patient’s date of birth is essential information and will need to be included in each
letter.
 The patient’s weight and BMI is important when relating to diabetes. Patients with a
higher BMI are more likely to have diabetes.
 ‘Teacher’ is NOT RELEVANT. The fact this woman teaches History and English is not
relevant to her illness.
 Likewise, the fact she is divorced and has two children is NOT RELEVANT to her condition.
 ‘Social drinker’ and ‘non-smoker’ may be relevant as there may be some connection
between a healthy lifestyle and diabetes.
Let’s instead assume the patient’s condition is instead DEPRESSION.

Which of these cases notes would be relevant here?

 The patient’s date of birth is essential information and will need to be included in each
letter.
 The patient’s weight and BMI is likely NOT RELEVANT when related to depression.
(Although with a patient with a very high BMI, there may be reason to mention this
information).
 The patient’s occupation as a teacher is likely NOT RELEVANT here. However, a patient
with a high stress job may sometimes be relevant.
 ‘Divorced’ is likely relevant and may be related to the patient’s feelings of depression.
 Likewise, the patient’s social drinking would need to be connected to the depression as it
is a related case note.
It is up to you to choose which notes are most relevant. We always advise our students to ask
themselves:

If I was receiving this letter from another professional, would I want or need to know these details?

5. Plan your writing structure

Once you have decided which case notes to use (see Tip 4 above) you will need to structure
them within your letter.
The start of your letter
The top of your letter should include:

WHO we are writing TO and their address.

You can see an example of this highlighted in red above.

After this, you need to include the date. If there is an appropriate date cited in the case notes,
use this. If not, use today’s date. For example: 12th February 2017 or 07/08/2018

Followed by “Dear RECIPIENT’S NAME,”

You should finally also follow this up with WHO your letter is REGARDING (Re:) and their DATE OF
BIRTH/AGE.

For example: Re: John Smith, DOB: 04/03/1948 or Re: Mary Jones, aged 79 years.

The middle of your letter

The first paragraph should state: Why are you writing, patient name, date of event, hospital,
medical condition and what type of letter is it?

There is no set rule of how to do this however you can find some examples below.

“I am writing regarding Mr Smith who is being discharged from London City Hospital on 01/01/2019 after
a myocardial infarction.”

“I am contacting you in regards to Mr Lionel Ramamurthy who was admitted to Newton Hospital on May
20th 2019 with a provisional diagnosis of renal failure. I am referring this patient to your care for further
treatment and investigation.”
DISCHARGE LETTER: The next paragraph should explain what happened to the patient when
they were admitted. Did the patient have difficulty breathing? What were the symptoms? What
were the results of tests?

TRANSFER LETTER: Similarly the second paragraph should include what happened to the
patient. What symptoms do they have? What medication has been given?

REFERRAL LETTER: The second paragraph should include a timeline of what happened to the
patient during the course of their treatment. For example, “The patient presented on 01/01/2018
with a history of a sore throat… Three weeks later this developed into…”

The end of your letter

It is recommended that you practice writing a similar structure of letter each time.
In the next paragraph you should discuss any further relevant information that the recipient of
the letter should know about. What is the patient’s medical history? Are they on any medication?
What is their general progress?

Each paragraph of the next one or two paragraphs should have its own ‘theme’ or ideas,
meaning one might be about the patient’s lifestyle while the other is about the patient’s medical
history.

The final paragraph should explain any further tasks the recipient needs to undertake. Do they
need to book the patient in for an appointment? Do they need to monitor his diet or blood sugar
levels?

You should end your letter with:

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Yours sincerely…

(Your profession)

You do not need to include your name on the letter, only your profession.
OET Scoring: Your Guide Simplified!

Understanding OET scoring is an important step for achieving a high score.  

This article from E2Language outlines the four language skills assessed for OET scoring and provides an
explanation of the grading scale and exam procedure. 

OET Language Skills:

The OET assess the four main language skills shown below:

Skill Area: Content: Demonstrates their ability to:

Follow and understand a range of health-related spoken

Listening Common to all professions
materials such as patient consultations and lectures
Read and understand different types of text on health-
Reading Common to all professions
related subjects

Write a letter in a clear and accurate way which is

Writing Profession Specific
relevant for the reader

Effectively communicate in a real-life context through the

Speaking Profession Specific
use of role-plays

According to the  OET Preparation Support Pack

Each skill area is referred to as a “sub-test” in the OET. You will need to become familiar with each skill area,
including the number of tasks and how they test your skills.

OET scoring: how do assessors graph results? 

Learn how OET results are reported below!

The Grading Scale

Your scores will be given to you on a scale from A (highest) to E (lowest).

The following table describes each grade level:

Grade: Description of Ability:

A Very high level of performance

High level of performance. i.e. able to use English with fluency and accuracy adequate for
B
professional needs

C Good level of performance; however, not acceptable to a range of health and medical councils

D Moderate level of performance: requires improvement

E Low level of performance: requires considerable improvement

In other words, you must score a B or above in all sub-tests in order to “prove” that your English ability is adequate
for professional needs.

Exam Grading and Procedure

So, who grades the exam and what’s the procedure?

Listening and Reading

The entire Listening sub-test and Part A of Reading are scored by trained OET assessors on-site. All answer packets
are randomly assigned to avoid possible conflict of interest.

These assessors score your answer booklet using a detailed guide. It specifies exactly which answers receive marks
and how those scores are counted.

This guide helps assessors decide whether the test taker provided enough correct responses to be given the
available marks (or mark). Every assessor is monitored and scores within data entry are double checked for
accuracy.

Part B of Reading is automatically machine graded when the answers are scanned into the computer.

View E2Language’s method for passing your OET Reading Part A here!

Writing and Speaking

Practice recording your voice and typing on the computer as this will simulate real test conditions!

Writing and Speaking sub-tests are graded by at least two of the OET assessors. Similar to the Listening and Reading
sections, your audio files and scripts will be given at random.

These assessors are monitored and the scores they give are adjusted depending on if they are a strict or lenient
grader.

In order to ensure accurate scoring, the OET centre only accepts marks if both of the assessors award the same
grade to a given performance, audio file or script.

If the two assessors award different scores, your piece will be passed on to at least one senior OET assessor (who
has not previously been involved in your marking) to decide your grade.

View a previous post for three simple steps for passing your OET Speaking!

Grading criteria: 
Writing Sub-Test Criteria (all equally weighted):

1. Overall Task Fulfilment

2. Appropriateness of Language (The use of correct vocabulary and phrases)

3. Comprehension of Stimulus (Correct context)

4. Linguistic Features (Grammar and Cohesion)

5. Presentation Features (Spelling, Punctuation, and Layout).

The Speaking Sub-Test  Criteria (all equally weighted):

1. Overall Communicative Effectiveness

1. Intelligibility (How easily you can be understood)

1. Fluency (Flow and ease of speech, “natural sounding”)

1. Appropriateness

1. Resources of Grammar and Expression (Working vocabulary)

Grade B for Writing and Speaking requires a high level of performance on all criterion.

The OET standard is high but don’t let that scare you. With the right study plan, material, feedback and practice
you’ll be closer to getting your desired score than you ever imagined! E2Language wants to help OET aspirants just
like you reach your goal!

Make sure you fill out the form below to receive a list of simplified medical vocabulary you can use on the OET!

In the IELTS and the PTE, you have to write an ‘essay’. You are given a prompt and you write according to your
thoughts. In the OET, you do not write according to your thoughts. In fact, there is very little room for creativity at
all.

In the OET Writing, you have case notes and a task. You need to select from the case notes according to the task,
create a logical structure for your letter and then make sure that the letter is written in your own words.
Whether you’re a nurse, doctor, dentist or physiotherapist, this blog post will show you how to write the OET sub-
test to get an A (or a B)!

The Task

Material from [Link]

The task is the most important part of the case notes. It should be the first thing that you look at in the 5 minutes
reading time. The Task tells you WHO you are writing to and WHY. By understanding the Task (who and why) you
will then be able to select case notes that are relevant to the reader.

Does the reader already know the patient or are you introducing the patient to the reader?

Compare these two tasks:

Task 1:

Using the information in the notes, write a letter back to the referring GP, Dr Jones, detailing your findings and
suggested a treatment plan.

Task 2:
Using the information in the notes, write a letter to Dr Jones detailing your findings and suggested a treatment
plan.

In task 1 the doctor already knows the patient. In task 2 the doctor does not know the patient.

How do you think your selection of case notes will change if the doctor knows or does not know the patient?

The answer to this is that they will change significantly. For instance, if the doctor already knows the patient, do
you need to include much information from the medical history? No. But if the doctor has never met the patient
before? Yes!

Whether read knows or does not know the patient will influence which case notes you choose and why.

Who are you writing to?

Consider these two tasks:

Task 1:

Using the information in the notes, write a letter of referral to Dr Jane Smith at Cicil Dermatology Clinic.

Task 2:

Using the information in the notes, write a letter of referral to Dr Jane Smith at Cicil Neurology Clinic.

The person you are writing to – or what their job is – will almost completely change the way you write your letter.
For example, which person would want to know about acne – the dermatologist or the neurologist? Who would
want to know about visual perception issues – the dermatologist or the neurologist?

Take-home message

The OET examiners purposefully put in case notes to distract you from the Task. Make sure that you understand the
task – who you are writing to and why. If you understand the Task your chances of completing the task successfully
will increase dramatically.

Read the sample writing sub-test letters to see how they are constructed according to the Task.
The E2-OET Writing Tips and Method

[Link] has created a powerful method to help you to write your OET letter successfully. The method
works for nurses, doctors, dentists – all professions.

The method is simple and has three steps:

 OET Writing Tips 1 – Selecting case notes

 OET Writing Tips 2 – Organising case notes

 OET Writing Tips 3 – Transforming case notes

Let’s look at each of these steps in more depth.

OET Writing Tips 1 – Selecting case notes

We’ve already talked about the importance of understanding the Task in order to select relevant case notes. That is
a big part of it.

After you have understood the Task you then need to be able to look at the case notes and understand WHICH
ONES ARE IMPORTANT, and WHICH ONES ARE UNIMPORTANT.
The OET examiners purposefully put in UNIMPORTANT case notes to distract you. Be sure not to include these case
notes. For example, if you are writing to a doctor about a patient’s diabetes don’t include that they broke their
wrist twelve years ago. It’s completely irrelevant.

OET Writing Tips 2 – Organising case notes

You need to organise your case notes into neat paragraphs. This is a very common mistake made by OET
candidates. They just mix all of their case notes into what looks like a paragraph, put a space under it and start
another mixed paragraph. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to have a CLEAR STRUCTURE.

The way you structure your OET writing should be according to:

1. Introductory sentence

1. The main issue

1. The secondary issue

1. Any other details

2. The request

The issue will most likely be medical but it might be social. The secondary issue might be medical or social. Any
other details may include medication or something else of relevance that did not fit into 1. and 2. Finally, your
letter should end with the request to the medical professional or whomever you’re writing to, and this often takes
into account the discharge plan or management plan.

Let’s look at this structure in more detail:

The introductory sentence

In the case notes there will be one particular medical issue that will stick out. It is usually found in the ‘admission
diagnosis’ section of the case notes. For example, it may be “recurring headaches”. And in the Task, Discharge Plan
or Management Plan you may be asked to refer the patient to a neurologist for assessment.

Therefore you need to include two pieces of information in your introductory sentence. (Let’s say that the
neurologist knows this patient.)

I am referring Tim back into your care for full assessment of his recurring headaches.

You can see here that there are two pieces of information:

1. The request

2. The main medical issue – the headaches

In a single sentence, we have summarised what is happening is what we want the reader to do. This is a great way
to start your letters.

The main medical issue

Following on from the introductory sentence we then need to specify in more detail the main medical issue – in this
case, the recurring headaches. So we should scan the case notes for ANY information relating to Tim’s headaches.
We can then write this up into a single paragraph that encapsulates all the relevant information that the
neurologist needs.
The secondary issue

You will notice when you are scanning the case notes that there will be a secondary issue emerging. This will be less
important than the main medical issue but it will warrant its own paragraph. For example, following on from our
example of headaches, let’s say that Tim is also getting dizzy. There will be several (3-4 case notes) explaining
something about Tim’s dizziness. We then outline this secondary issue in the second paragraph.

It’s important to understand that we want to keep our paragraphs single-themed. That is, paragraph one should be
about headaches and headaches ONLY. It should not include any other information. The second paragraph –
though related to headaches – should only include information related to dizziness.

MIXING IDEAS IN YOUR PARAGRAPHS WILL RESULT IN A LOW GRADE

Any other details

There may be a few odds and ends in the case notes that are worth mentioning to the neurologist. For example,
let’s say that Tim has been on a new diet, been drinking more and doing less exercise. Are these directly related to
headaches or dizziness? No! Therefore, we do not include them in Paragraph 1 or 2. Instead, we can create a third
paragraph for related information that the neurologist may want to know.

The request

We have mentioned the Request in the introductory sentence but we should make it more explicit in the final
paragraph. Here we should loudly say to the neurologist (or whomever) what it is that we want them to do.
Remember, this information will be in the Task, Discharge plan or Management plan.

For example,

I am referring Tim back to your for assessment of his recurring headaches.

It may sound repetitive but it’s okay. You need to say the request twice: once at the beginning of the letter and
once at the end of the letter.

OET Writing Tips 3 – Transforming case notes

The final step after you have selected and organised the case notes is to TRANSFORM the case notes for you MUST
NOT copy the case notes directly into your letter. Of course, some allowance is given for transferring and some case
notes you simply cannot change but most of the case notes are short and ungrammatical. Your job is to tell a story
to the reader. You are taking the case notes and re-working them so that they make sense and fulfil the task.

Check out this article for OET Speaking tips.

OET Writing Tips

Here’s a summary of some important OET Writing Tips to remember:

Tip #1 Make sure that you understand the task – who you are writing to and why. If you understand the task your
chances of completing the task successfully will increase dramatically.

Tip #2 Read the sample writing sub-test letters to see how they are constructed according to the Task.

Tip #3 Look at the case notes and understand which ones are important, and which ones are unimportant.

Tip #4 Organise your case notes into neat paragraphs with a clear structure: introductory, main and secondary
issues, any other details and the request.
Tip #5 Select and organise your case notes by transforming the case notes. You MUST NOT copy the case notes
directly into your letter, rather tell a story to the reader to fulfil the task.

You need a good approach to writing these types of letters. Without a good approach, the case notes can be
overwhelming. There is often a lot of information and for physiotherapists, dentists and doctors, there is often
more than there is for nurses…

Remember, you need to be able to:

1. Select,

1. Organise, and

2. Transform the case notes into a letter of between 180-200 words.

It’s no easy task, but it is possible with practice, feedback and guidance.
OET EXAM SCHEDULES in United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi

CERT – HCT – Abu Dhabi Men’s College (Headphones available)

Abu Dhabi

Saturday 15 June 2019

Applications open: 19 Feb to 20 May

Results published: 4 Jul 19

Saturday 3 August 2019

Applications open: 23 Apr to 8 Jul

Results published: 22 Aug 19

Saturday 21 September 2019

Applications open: 12 Jun to 26 Aug

Results published: 11 Oct 19

Saturday 9 November 2019

Applications open: 6 Aug to 14 Oct

Results published: 28 Nov 19

Saturday 7 December 2019

Applications open: 27 Aug to 4 Nov

Results published: 2 Jan 20

Dubai

CERT – HCT – Dubai Men’s College (Headphones available)

Dubai

Saturday 15 June 2019

Applications open: 19 Feb to 20 May

Results published: 4 Jul 19

Saturday 3 August 2019

Applications open: 23 Apr to 8 Jul

Results published: 22 Aug 19

Saturday 21 September 2019

Applications open: 12 Jun to 26 Aug

Results published: 11 Oct 19

Saturday 9 November 2019

Applications open: 6 Aug to 14 Oct

Results published: 28 Nov 19

Saturday 7 December 2019

Applications open: 27 Aug to 4 Nov

Results published: 2 Jan 20

University of Wollongong, Dubai (Headphones available)

Dubai

Saturday 15 June 2019

Applications open: 19 Feb to 20 May

Results published: 4 Jul 19

Sunday 7 July 2019

Applications open: 12 Mar to 11 Jun

Results published: 25 Jul 19

Saturday 20 July 2019

Applications open: 3 Apr to 24 Jun

Results published: 8 Aug 19

Saturday 3 August 2019

Applications open: 23 Apr to 8 Jul

Results published: 22 Aug 19

Saturday 31 August 2019

Applications open: 21 May to 5 Aug

Results published: 19 Sep 19

Saturday 21 September 2019

Applications open: 12 Jun to 26 Aug

Results published: 11 Oct 19

Sunday 13 October 2019

Applications open: 9 Jul to 17 Sep

Results published: 31 Oct 19

Saturday 9 November 2019

Applications open: 6 Aug to 14 Oct

Results published: 28 Nov 19

Saturday 7 December 2019

Applications open: 27 Aug to 4 Nov

Results published: 2 Jan 20

OET Speaking Tips: How to score an A in OET Speaking!

After sharing our tips on OET Writing, we now have some OET Speaking tips. If you want to get an A (or B) on the
OET speaking sub-test then you need to know what the examiners are listening to when you speak. Your OET
results will depend on how well you include the following criteria into the way you speak.

Fill out the form below to receive a list of simplified medical vocabulary you can use on the OET!

OET Speaking Tips 1 – Start the conversation

A lot of candidates make the mistake of thinking that the OET speaking sub-test is an examination and not a
medical situation. As such they wait for the OET person (the patient) to do the talking. Imagine that you are in a
professional setting and you are the nurse, doctor or dentist. You are in control. The OET person is the patient – not
the OET person.

As such, it’s up to you to start the conversation.

Here’s an OET sample for nurses:

“Hello, my name is Jane and I’m the community nurse. Can I start with your name?”

Don’t sit there and make the patient start the conversation. It’s up to you.

OET Speaking Tips 2 –  Keep the conversation moving

It’s also up to you to maintain the conversation. If the conversation stops and silence happens you need to bring it
back to life.

Here’s a sample:

“So, please tell me a little bit more about your situation.”

Or,

“Is there anything that you would like to add?”

OET Speaking Tips 3 – Ask questions to get the patient to talk

If the patient is reluctant to speak, you will need to ask questions that force him to speak.

Consider the following two questions. Which one will get the conversation moving?

1.

1. Do you feel sore?

1. Can you describe the pain to me?

Question A would give you a Yes or a NO answer.

You need to think of questions that will get the patient to talk – to open up and tell you more.

OET Speaking Tips 4 – Listen to the patient

Although the OET speaking sub-test is a test of your speaking ability, it is as much a test of your listening ability. In
order to “reply” you need to understand what the patient says.

Perhaps more importantly, you need to “listen” in terms of hearing what the person has to say. Don’t just
concentrate on your performance, concentrate on communication. You need to respond appropriately to what the
patient says – even if you are nervous.

What’s interesting is that the more that you concentrate on communication through listening, the less nervous you
will be. When you focus on yourself – on your performance – the more nervous you will get.

OET Speaking Tips 5 – Adjust your language

Depending on who you are speaking to, you need to adjust your language to suit the scenario.

Think about this:

You are talking to a depressed 87-year-old man.

You are talking to an aggressive 18-year-old man.

How would your language change? How would the words and intonation change?

OET Speaking Tips 6 – Unexpected turns…

Every now and then the OET person will test you by asking you something a little odd. He or she wants to see how
well you respond – how flexible you are in your thinking and language.

For example, “What’s the phone number of the occupational therapist?”

What do you do? Do you laugh? No. You give a phone number, or you say:

“I will give you the number after our consultation.”

OET Speaking Tips 7 – Organise the role play

If you really want an A you will have to organise the role play into clear stages with an introduction, body and
conclusion.
In the introduction, you introduce yourself, welcome the patient and summarise the scenario.

In the body, you move through the tasks, one-by-one.

In the conclusion, if you have time, you should summarize the role play by saying:

“Ok, so we have discussed the use of X and although I understand your concerns, I think it’s the best thing to do.”

The key to OET speaking

Although you can read ABOUT the OET all day long, when it comes to success it’s all about OET preparation. You
need to prepare for the OET. You do need to be careful of the OET material for nurses that is available online and
for sale on Gumtree and other classifieds. Sometimes it can be very different from the actual OET. You need to
make sure that the OET materials that you use are similar to the actual OET test. At E2Language, we use OET
materials that are identical to the actual OET so you can be sure that your OET preparation is effective.

An OET preparation course is a good idea, but again, you need to choose carefully. Many teachers don’t really
understand the OET. While they may be able to give you an OET sample test for nurses, do they really know how to
teach it? A good OET teacher is very rare because it is an uncommon test.