Writing: Producing Accurate, Register-Appropriate German
The Leaving Certificate German writing section tests your ability to produce coherent German for a purpose and a reader. Tasks usually include a formal or informal email/letter and a longer text such as a diary entry, blog post, opinion piece or short article. Marks come from communication, vocabulary and structures, grammar, and awareness of format and register.
Rules that earn marks
- Match register. Informal: Liebe Anna / Lieber Tom, du, Liebe Grüße. Formal: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, Sie, Mit freundlichen Grüßen.
- Follow the layout. Include a greeting, an opening line, the required points in a logical order, and a closing.
- Control word order. The finite verb is second in a main clause; after deshalb, trotzdem, dann it comes immediately after the connector. In a weil/obwohl/dass clause the verb goes to the end.
- Show range. Use modal verbs, perfect tense, comparatives and connectors such as außerdem, allerdings, zum Beispiel.
- Check endings and cases. Subject nominative, direct object accusative, helfen/danken dative.
Worked example
Task: write an informal email saying you cannot come on Saturday because you must help your sister. Model: „Liebe Anna, leider kann ich am Samstag nicht kommen, weil ich meiner Schwester helfen muss. Das tut mir wirklich leid. Können wir uns nächste Woche treffen? Liebe Grüße, Lena“ Reasoning: weil sends muss to the end; meiner Schwester is dative with helfen; kann ... kommen is a modal bracket; the closing matches the informal register.
Traps that cost marks
- Mixing du and Sie in one text.
- Translating English idioms word for word: use Ich bin 16 Jahre alt, not Ich habe 16 Jahre.
- Forgetting to capitalize nouns.
- Writing one long paragraph with no connectors.
- Ignoring a bullet point in the task.