Schreiben: producing a coherent, task-fulfilling Russian text
The writing task (Schreiben) asks for a free production of the length specified in the actual task: a reader's letter (письмо в редакцию), a comment or blog post, an email to a partner class, or a reasoned opinion (Stellungnahme) on a topic drawn from the lesson content. Assessment splits into content (all required points, relevant to the prompt), structure and coherence, expression, and language accuracy.
Core rules
- Identify required content points and organize paragraphs by communicative function. Language quality does not by itself supply missing task content; the actual scoring rules determine its effect.
- Build an argument, not a list: thesis → justification → concrete example → concession → conclusion. A short concession («Конечно, … однако …») raises the argumentative quality visibly.
- Fix register and keep it: «Уважаемая редакция! … С уважением, …» for a formal letter, «Привет, …» for a friend. Do not mix ты and вы.
- Use connectors as signposts: «во-первых», «кроме того», «более того», «с одной стороны … с другой стороны», «тем не менее», «поэтому», «в заключение».
- Stay inside the word limit; a text far below it usually lacks an example or a conclusion.
Worked example
Prompt: „Nimm Stellung dazu, ob Russisch als erste Fremdsprache sinnvoll ist.“ Model paragraph: «С одной стороны, русский язык открывает доступ к культуре и литературе, которые мало кто знает в Германии. Кроме того, знание русского языка может пригодиться в экономике. Конечно, кириллица и падежи требуют много времени, однако именно поэтому успех мотивирует». Reasoning: thesis, two supports, a concession with «однако», and a concluding evaluation - the paragraph demonstrates argumentative range rather than accumulated opinions, which is what the criterion «Ausdrucksfähigkeit» rewards.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing generally about the topic without answering the exact question asked.
- Germanisms: «Мне 16 лет», not «я имею 16 лет»; «мне нравится», not «это даёт мне Spaß».
- Every sentence starting with «Я думаю, что …» - vary with «по-моему», «на мой взгляд», «я убеждён, что».
- No reference to the material provided (statistics, quotations) when the task requires it.
- Illegible corrections and unmarked paragraph breaks make coherence invisible to the marker.
Mediation for an actual recipient
When transferring information from another language, identify who needs it and what action the recipient must take. Preserve dates, conditions and exceptions, while paraphrasing faithfully. For example, a fictional source saying the library is closed on Mondays can be mediated as «По понедельникам библиотека закрыта». Do not add an alternative opening time or a free workshop unless the source supplies it. Keep ты and вы choices coherent and explain unfamiliar cultural terms only as needed. Mediation is not merely a word-for-word copy, but translation can be one part of the broader communicative task.