Writing (Structured and Free Response)
Writing is tested in Paper 02 through structured tasks - a form, note, message, invitation or short announcement - and free-response tasks such as a letter, email, article or blog post. Marks come from task fulfilment, organization, range of language and accuracy, so a simple, correct text outranks an ambitious, broken one.
Structured tasks
Identify audience, purpose and register before writing. Supply exactly the information requested and no more. Keep the conventional frame: date, greeting, sign-off. Short, correct sentences with set phrases (Te escribo para..., Me gustaría..., Gracias por...) earn more than long, tangled ones.
Free response
Turn the prompt into four or five content points and give each one or two sentences. Use paragraphs: opening (purpose), body (points with connectors), closing (reaction, invitation, sign-off). Connectors - además, sin embargo, por lo tanto, en cambio, ya que, aunque - show organization. Vary tenses: preterite for what happened, imperfect for description, present for opinion, ir a + infinitive or the future for plans. Check agreement, accents and spelling last.
Worked example
Prompt: Write an email to a Spanish-speaking friend about a school trip you went on and invite them to an event next month. Reasoning: The two bullets are the past trip and the future invitation, so the text needs two tenses. Opening: Hola, ¿cómo estás? Te escribo para contarte... Body: El mes pasado visitamos un museo; hacía sol y lo pasé genial porque... (preterite for events, imperfect for weather, opinion with reason). Invitation: ¿Te gustaría venir al concierto el mes que viene? Nos vemos allí. Closing: Un abrazo. Each bullet is visibly covered, the register is tú throughout, and the sign-off matches the opening.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing an essay when the task asks for a 40-word note.
- Omitting the greeting or sign-off, or mixing tú and usted.
- Leaving a bullet unanswered and padding elsewhere.
- Capitalizing i and using English spellings inside Spanish words.
- Writing porque as two words, or dropping accents that change meaning (si/sí, el/él).
- Overusing muy and también; a repeated adjective or connector signals limited range.