Writing: register, task fulfilment and cohesion
What the subtest asks for
The writing section gives one or more tasks: a message, an email, a notice, an opinion, a complaint or a short report. Marks come from task fulfilment (did you cover every bullet?), register (does the text fit its reader?), cohesion and grammatical accuracy - roughly in that order.
Register first
- Formal (authority, employer, landlord, complaint): Hyvä vastaanottaja or Hei, full forms minä and sinä, closing Ystävällisin terveisin, no mä/sit/niinku, no exclamation marks.
- Semi-formal (teacher, colleague): Hei, minä or passive voice, Terveisin.
- Informal (friend): Moi, spoken forms acceptable - but keep one register throughout, because mixing is penalised.
Cohesion and structure
Open with the purpose in one sentence (Kirjoitan, koska… / Haluaisin tiedustella…), then one paragraph per bullet point, then a closing that states the next step (Toivon vastausta 15.5. mennessä.). Connectors that earn credit: lisäksi, kuitenkin, sen vuoksi, jotta, vaikka, sen sijaan että. Do not start every sentence with Ja or Sitten.
Accuracy points that recur
- Rektio: odottaa vastausta (partitive), vastata kysymykseen (illative), kiittää jostakin.
- Object case: negation and ongoing action take the partitive - En voi lähettää liitteitä tänään.
- Clause punctuation: Kun ehdin, soitan - the comma before kun and jos is expected.
Worked example
Draft: Mä en voi tulla kokoukseen, koska mulla on kiire. Mä hoidan asian heti kun mä kerkeen.
Reasoning: spoken pronouns, kerkeen (standard ehdin), and a run-on clause. Formal rewrite: Valitettavasti en voi osallistua kokoukseen, koska minulla on aikaisempi meno. Hoidan asian heti, kun ehdin. Note the comma before kun and the total object asian, because the action is completed.
Traps
- Answering two of three bullets: task fulfilment is the first criterion.
- Writing below the required length; short texts lose content marks.
- Switching between sinä and te inside one letter.
- Copying the prompt's wording instead of producing your own text.
- Forgetting the closing formula and the signature.