Writing: written production and interaction (Rašymas)
What the section tests
The writing domain assesses written production and interaction: a formal or informal message, a letter or email, a short opinion piece, or a reply in a chat or forum. Examiners look for task achievement, register, range of structures, accuracy and cohesion.
Core rules and concepts
- Choose register before writing. tu forms for friends and peers; jūs forms and titles for officials, businesses and strangers. Keep it consistent: tu rašai vs jūs rašote.
- Formal opening and closing: Gerbiamoji ponia / Gerbiamasis pone, then Pagarbiai or Su pagarba. Informal: Sveika (-as), Labas, closing Iki or Viso gero.
- Verbs govern cases: prašau + genitive (prašau atsakymo), dėkoju už + accusative (dėkoju už pagalbą), rašau dėl + genitive (dėl vėlavimo).
- Use explicit connectors: pirma, antra, be to, tačiau, todėl, pabaigai. They make your argument easy to follow.
- Cover every bullet in the prompt. In interaction tasks, answer the question and ask one back if the task requires dialogue.
Worked example
Prompt: Write a formal email complaining that an order arrived late and asking for a reply within five working days. Model opening: „Gerbiamoji ponia, rašau dėl užsakymo, kurį gavau praėjus dviem savaitėms po numatytos datos. Prašau atsakyti per penkias darbo dienas.“ Reasoning: dėl takes genitive užsakymo; kurį is accusative because it is the object of gavau; per penkias darbo dienas uses accusative for duration; prašau atsakyti is polite and formal. Closing: Pagarbiai, [vardas].
Traps that cost marks
- Mixing tu and jūs in the same text.
- Translating 'Dear' as Brangusis to a stranger - too intimate.
- Omitting diacritics (ą, č, ę, ė, į, š, ų, ū, ž), which counts as a spelling error.
- Writing a good essay that ignores one prompt bullet.
- Overlong sentences with unchecked participles; accuracy beats ambitious length.