Schreiben: Text production, analysis and evaluation
What this part tests
The text-based writing task is the largest part of the written Abitur and usually offers a choice of topics. Each task is graded in steps: comprehension (AFB I), analysis (AFB II) and evaluation or creative production (AFB III). You are assessed on content, structure, language and on how precisely you fulfil the operator: 'analyse', 'compare', 'discuss', 'evaluate', 'comment', 're-create'.
Core rules and concepts
- Follow the operator. 'Analyse' means name a feature, quote it, explain its function; 'evaluate' means set criteria and reach a justified judgement, not summarise.
- Build an argument, not a list. Each paragraph: claim - evidence from the text (short quotation) - explanation.
- Use precise analytical vocabulary: argumentation (thesis, claim, evidence, concession, rebuttal), rhetoric (anaphora, tricolon, rhetorical question, hyperbole, metaphor), tone (ironic, indignant, measured), stance (implicit, explicit).
- Integrate quotations: 'The anaphora "we will ... we will ..." builds ...' - three words, not three lines.
- In the evaluation, state a clear position early, anticipate the counter-argument and support your view with reasons that go beyond the text.
- Keep a formal register: no contractions, cohesive devices (however, by contrast, ultimately), varied sentence structure.
Worked example
Task: Analyse how the speaker seeks to persuade the audience. Evidence: 'We have waited. We have marched. We have been ignored.' Reasoning: the repeated 'We have ...' is anaphora combined with a tricolon; the inclusive 'we' builds collective identity; the passive 'have been ignored' casts the group as wronged by an unnamed agent. Effect: indignation plus solidarity, preparing the demand that follows. A weak answer names the anaphora and stops; a strong answer links device → effect → intention (to justify the call for action). Quote three words, not three lines.
Traps that cost marks
- Retelling the text instead of analysing it.
- Device-spotting without effect ('There is a metaphor').
- Unsupported personal opinion, or an opinion that ignores the 'to what extent' framing.
- Answering only the first half of a two-part task.
- Long unanalysed quotations and a missing conclusion.
- Colloquial register and contractions in a formal analysis.