telc B1 Writing Tips: How the Exam Email Is Scored

PassGerman is built by German tutor Ramin A., who has taught more than 1,000 lessons on Preply. For this guide we went through telc's own marking rules line by line, so every tip below comes with the page it's from. The short version: the email is scored by a checklist, and checklists can be learned.

What is the telc B1 writing task (Schriftlicher Ausdruck)?

The telc B1 writing task is one email in 30 minutes: you reply to an email you received and write something about four given points. The email is informal (to a friend) or semi-formal (to a teacher, a landlord, a club). It's the last task of the written exam, after about two hours of reading and listening, so your brain arrives at it like a phone on 4% battery.

No dictionary, no phone, no helpful neighbour (Übungstest 1, page 29). For the whole exam, our German B1 exam guide explains all five parts and the pass rules. This article zooms in on the email, because it's the part where points are lost to rules, not to German.

How is the telc B1 email scored?

Two trained raters score your email on three criteria, each worth A (5), B (3), C (1) or D (0) points, and telc multiplies the total by 3. So the jump from A to B on one criterion isn't 2 points. It's 6. If the two raters disagree, the second rating wins (Übungstest 1, page 38).

Notice what's not on the list: length, fancy words, or how much you suffered. The raters have a checklist, and they're very loyal to it.

Tip 1: Answer all four guiding points, even in one short sentence

Criterion I depends only on how many of the four guiding points (Leitpunkte) you answer: four is A, three is B, two is C, one or none is D. Drop one point and you lose 6 of 45 points before anyone reads your grammar.

The good news is how little counts as an answer. According to the marking guide, a point is done if it makes sense and relates to the task, even if it's just one short sentence. Two points in one sentence also count. If the task asks for several things, one answer is enough, and if it suggests doing something together, you're allowed to say no or suggest something else (Übungstest 1, page 37).

So before writing, number the four points on your scrap paper. Then tick each one off as you write it. It feels childish. So does losing 6 points to a bullet point you read twice and still forgot.

Tip 2: You can choose your own order of points

You don't have to answer the four points in the order they're printed. The practice task literally tells you to think about "a suitable order of the points" before you write (Übungstest 1, page 17).

One test-taker on Reddit covered all four points, but not in the order given, and left the exam feeling the writing had gone badly. Going by the marking guide, that alone doesn't cost points. What counts is that all four points are there and the email reads like one email, not four answers stapled together.

Tip 3: Don't start every sentence with "Ich"

Raters can't give A for criterion II if most of your sentences start with "Ich" or "Wir". The marking guide says so plainly (Übungstest 1, page 37).

"Ich komme. Ich bringe. Ich freue mich." reads like a diary written by a very polite robot.

The fix is simple: start some sentences with a time, a place or a connector, and move the verb to second position. Same German, and suddenly the email sounds like a person wrote it.

Tip 4: Pick du or Sie, then keep it

Choosing the wrong register, or switching between du and Sie, also blocks the top grade for criterion II. A friend gets "Liebe/Lieber", du and "Viele Grüße". A teacher, landlord or company gets "Sehr geehrte/r", Sie and "Mit freundlichen Grüßen".

The classic slip happens in the last line: a warm email to a friend, then "Ich freue mich auf Ihre Antwort." Twenty minutes of friendship, undone by one capital I.

Tip 5: Connect the points into one email

If your four points stand next to each other without links, criterion II can't get an A. The raters look for connectors, a clear structure and vocabulary that fits the person you're writing to (Übungstest 1, page 37).

You don't need rare words. A handful of connectors does the job: weil, denn, deshalb, außerdem, trotzdem, wenn, zum Schluss. Put one where a new point starts, and the email stops sounding like a shopping list that learned to write letters.

Tip 6: Stay on topic, because off-topic scores zero

If your email has little or nothing to do with the task, all three criteria get D, and your writing score is 0 of 45. That's the one mistake that can wipe out the whole section (Übungstest 1, page 36).

The marking guide gives an example. The task: accept an invitation from your course leader.

Reply to a party invitation with a complaint about your heating, and no Konjunktiv in the world can save it. So read the first line of the task twice: who wrote to you, and what do they want?

Tip 7: Clear German beats perfect German

For criterion III, being understood matters more than being flawless. The marking guide says wrong endings and wrong genders weigh less than errors like a verb that doesn't match its subject. As long as mistakes don't slow the reader down, A or B is still possible (Übungstest 1, page 37).

So don't spend five minutes deciding between "dem" and "den". Spend them making sure every sentence has a verb in the right place. German will forgive a wrong article. It has watched native speakers do it for centuries.

Tip 8: Only the answer sheet counts

Only what you write on the answer sheet is scored. Your notes are collected with everything else, but they don't count. After 30 minutes, the supervisor takes the answer sheet, the task booklets and all notes (Übungstest 1, pages 28 and 29).

That kills the idea of writing a full draft and copying it neatly. There isn't time, and copying German by hand under pressure is how a neat plan turns into 25 minutes of calligraphy and 5 of panic. A split we use in practice: about 5 minutes to plan the four points on scrap paper, 20 minutes writing straight onto the sheet, 5 minutes to check. That's our practice habit, not a telc rule, so test it in a timed mock before exam day.

What topics come up in the telc B1 writing exam?

telc doesn't publish a topic list. The tasks are everyday situations: replying to a friend, a teacher, a neighbour or an organisation about plans, invitations, problems or advice. The marking guide describes the task as writing about everyday topics, work and personal interests, and giving your opinion (Übungstest 1, page 37).

In the practice test, a friend called Marianne wants to visit your home country. She has never been there, she doesn't like heat, and she'd like to know everything before she books.

You answer four points: trips you'll take together, the best season, what clothes to pack, and how she can prepare (Übungstest 1, page 17). Marianne asks a lot of questions. So will your real exam friend.

A model answer to the telc practice task

Here's a model answer to the Marianne task, written at B1 level. It answers all four points, in a different order than printed, with a connector at each new point. It's about 100 words, which is plenty.

Marianne now knows when to come, what to pack and what to learn. She'll still email again. Exam friends always do.

What your writing score does to your pass

You need 135 of 225 points in the whole written exam, so every writing point you lose has to be won back in reading, Sprachbausteine or listening. Those three sections are worth 180 points together. We worked out what the other sections then have to deliver.

Look at the gap between the first and last row. A clean email means you need half the reading and listening points. An off-topic email means you need three quarters. That's the same exam, the same German, and one misread first line.

FAQ

Want to practise all of this under exam conditions? Our telc B1 exam preparation page shows how PassGerman trains you for every part of the exam, including the email with its four points and its very strict 30 minutes.

Written by Ramin A.

German tutor and co-founder of PassGerman, with more than 1,000 lessons taught and a 5.0 rating on Preply.