Free-Response: Interpersonal Writing, Presentational Writing, Interpersonal Speaking, Presentational Speaking
What the four tasks demand
The free-response section rewards task completion and control, not literary ambition. For the interpersonal writing (email reply), you must address every bullet of the prompt, use an appropriate register (Sie vs. du), and open and close conventionally (Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, ... / Mit freundlichen Grüßen). For the presentational writing (argumentative essay), you synthesize a provided article, a chart or graphic, and an audio source into a coherent position supported by citations of the sources. The two speaking tasks ask you to compare cultural products or practices (interpersonal, in a simulated conversation) and to deliver a structured presentation (presentational) on a cultural topic.
Concepts to master
Register and address forms; cohesive devices (zunächst, darüber hinaus, im Gegensatz dazu, folglich); paraphrase rather than quote; source attribution (laut dem Artikel, die Grafik zeigt, der Sprecher betont); and comparison language (im Vergleich zu, während, hingegen). For speaking, control of tense sequencing and fillers that buy planning time (also, nun ja, das heißt).
Traps
- Ignoring one bullet - an automatic task-completion penalty.
- Summarizing sources without stating and defending your own thesis.
- Drifting into informal address in a formal email.
- Reading a scripted monologue in the conversation task instead of responding to the prompts.
Rule of thumb
For the essay, plan a three-part skeleton in two minutes: thesis, two source-supported arguments, counterpoint plus rebuttal. Then write. One clear thesis with two cited supports outperforms five vague opinions.