Writing & Speaking: Task and Criteria

What does the OET Writing sub-test ask candidates to produce?

• AA letter, usually a referral or transfer letter, based on a set of case notes✓
• BAn essay giving their opinion on a healthcare topic
• CA summary of a research article in their own words
• DA set of clinical notes written up from a recorded consultation between a clinician and a patient

Answer: The Writing task is profession-specific: candidates read case notes and write a letter, most often a referral, in 45 minutes. Essays and article summaries are IELTS-style tasks, not OET ones.

How long is the OET Writing sub-test, and roughly how long should the letter be?

• A45 minutes, with no guidance on length
• B45 minutes, with a letter of about 180 to 200 words✓
• C30 minutes, with a letter of about 100 words
• D60 minutes, with a letter of about 250 to 300 words

Answer: The Writing sub-test lasts 45 minutes, including five minutes' reading time for the case notes, and OET advises a letter of 180 to 200 words. Writing far more usually means copying case notes rather than selecting what the reader needs.

Which of these is one of the criteria on which OET Writing is assessed?

• AHandwriting — whether the letter is written neatly
• BLength — whether the letter reaches the maximum word count
• CVocabulary range — whether rare and highly technical medical terms are used throughout
• DPurpose — whether the reason for writing is made clear early in the letter✓

Answer: OET Writing is marked on purpose, content, conciseness and clarity, genre and style, organisation and layout, and language. Neatness, hitting a maximum length, and using rare terms are not criteria; clear, appropriate language is.

A candidate copies every detail from the case notes into their letter. Which Writing criterion is this most likely to damage?

• AContent — selecting what is relevant to the reader rather than reproducing everything✓
• BPurpose — failing to say why the letter is being written
• COrganisation and layout — putting paragraphs in the wrong order
• DGenre and style — using a register that is too informal or too technical for a letter to a colleague

Answer: The content criterion rewards choosing the case-note details the recipient actually needs and leaving out the rest; copying everything shows no selection and often obscures the important points. It is a different failing from register, ordering or a missing purpose.

What does the OET Speaking sub-test consist of?

• AA group discussion with three or four other candidates about a healthcare topic set by the examiner
• BA ten-minute presentation on a clinical topic chosen by the candidate, followed by questions from the examiner
• CA recorded reading aloud of a passage from a patient leaflet, marked for pronunciation and pace
• DTwo role plays with an interlocutor playing a patient or carer, about five minutes each✓

Answer: Speaking is a face-to-face (or online) test of about 20 minutes: a short warm-up, then two profession-specific role plays of about five minutes each, with the interlocutor taking the part of a patient or relative.

Which of these is one of the clinical communication criteria used in OET Speaking?

• ARelationship building — greeting the patient appropriately and showing empathy✓
• BDiagnostic accuracy — reaching the correct diagnosis in the role play
• CTechnical vocabulary — using as many medical terms as possible
• DSpeed — completing the role play in under three minutes

Answer: Alongside linguistic criteria (intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness of language, resources of grammar and expression), Speaking is marked on clinical communication: relationship building, understanding the patient's perspective, providing structure, information gathering and information giving. Diagnosis, speed and jargon are not criteria.

In a Speaking role play, the 'patient' says they are frightened about a procedure. Which response best shows the criterion 'understanding and incorporating the patient's perspective'?

• AReassuring them briskly that there is nothing to worry about and moving on
• BAcknowledging the fear, asking what specifically worries them, and shaping the explanation around that✓
• CListing all the possible complications of the procedure in detail so that they are fully informed before consenting
• DTelling them that most patients cope well with the procedure and that they are sure to manage just as well

Answer: This criterion rewards eliciting and responding to the patient's own concerns. Brisk reassurance dismisses the fear, a list of complications ignores what the person actually asked, and comparing them to other patients does not engage with their perspective.

In the Writing sub-test, which detail from the case notes should usually be included in a referral letter?

• AThe exact wording of the patient's small talk during visits
• BThe patient's previous addresses
• CCurrent medications, especially any recently started or changed✓
• DThe name of every nurse who cared for the patient

Answer: A referral letter passes on what the next clinician needs to act safely, and current medicines with recent changes are almost always relevant. Old addresses, staff names and incidental conversation are not.

How is the 45 minutes of the Writing sub-test divided?

• AFifteen minutes to plan on a separate sheet, then 30 minutes to write without looking at the case notes again
• BForty-five minutes to write, with the case notes collected after the first ten minutes
• CFive minutes of reading time to study the task and case notes, then 40 minutes to write — and the notes can be consulted throughout✓
• DFive minutes of reading time, 35 minutes to write and five minutes in which only spelling may be corrected

Answer: OET describes five minutes of reading time at the start as the chance to understand the task and plan, followed by 40 minutes for writing; the task and case notes can be consulted at any point during the 40 minutes, not just during the reading time.

A candidate's letter runs to 260 words against a target of 180 to 200. What happens?

• ANothing at all, because assessors are instructed to ignore length entirely and to mark only the content and language of what is written
• BTen marks are deducted automatically for every 20 words over the limit
• CThere is no automatic penalty, but a much longer letter usually means irrelevant material or poor organisation, which the criteria will reflect✓
• DThe letter is not marked at all, because the word range is a hard limit

Answer: OET states there is no automatic penalty for writing over or under the range, but that each task is designed to be achievable within it: a significantly longer letter has probably included irrelevant material or is poorly organised, and the scores for the six criteria will reflect those weaknesses.

Which layout must an OET Writing letter follow?

• AThe layout printed in the OET handbook, which must be reproduced exactly
• BWhatever format the candidate's own hospital uses, with its logo described at the top
• CNo particular layout is required, provided the letter is clearly laid out and uses the title and address given in the task✓
• DThe British block format, with the date on the right and the recipient's address on the left

Answer: OET's Writing guidance says that many formats are accepted by health professionals in different contexts, that no particular layout has to be used, and that the reader should be addressed with the title and address details specified in the task. Clarity, not a template, is what matters.

What level of the assessment criteria does a grade B Writing performance typically reach?

• A3 out of 3 for Purpose and 7 out of 7 for each of the other five criteria
• B2 out of 3 for Purpose and 5 out of 7 for each of the other five criteria✓
• C1 out of 3 for Purpose and 3 out of 7 for each of the other five criteria
• D5 out of 6 for each linguistic criterion and 2 out of 3 for clinical communication

Answer: OET states that test-takers securing grade B in Writing have achieved 2 out of 3 for Purpose and 5 out of 7 for the remaining criteria. The linguistic and clinical communication figures describe the Speaking sub-test, where grade B typically means 5 out of 6 and 2 out of 3.

During a Speaking role play the candidate runs out of time before covering the last point on the card. What is the consequence?

• ANone as such — there is no penalty for not completing every element, though covering more gives the assessors more evidence✓
• BThe interlocutor extends the role play until every element has been covered
• CThe role play is scored as a fail, because every element on the card must be addressed
• DThe candidate loses one mark for each element of the card that was not covered

Answer: OET's guidance says a role play usually ends naturally at around five minutes, that the interlocutor will signal when it is time to conclude, and that there is no penalty for not completing all the elements — while noting that covering more of them gives more evidence of ability. Candidates may make notes on the card and refer to it throughout.