Writing production (Schreiben)
What the section tests
Schreiben checks whether you can produce a short coherent German text for a purpose: an informal E-Mail or Brief, a formal letter, an invitation, a dialogue, a notice or a guided composition. The examiner looks for task completion (all bullet points), correct register, understandable sentences and basic accuracy.
Core rules
- Choose the register before writing: du/ihr with friends and family; Sie with offices, teachers and strangers. Never mix them.
- Use the frame: greeting (Liebe Anna, / Sehr geehrte Frau Meier,), an opening sentence, one body paragraph per bullet point, a closing (Liebe Grüße / Mit freundlichen Grüßen) and your name.
- Link sentences with weil, deshalb, außerdem, trotzdem, zuerst and danach; this raises coherence marks.
- Keep tenses consistent: Perfekt for past events in informal letters, Präteritum in formal reports.
- Keep sentences short enough to control case and word order.
Worked example
Task: decline a friend's invitation to the cinema and suggest Saturday. Reasoning: there are two content points (decline + alternative), so both must appear. Model: „Liebe Anna, vielen Dank für deine Einladung. Leider kann ich am Freitag nicht ins Kino kommen, weil ich meiner Mutter helfen muss. Hast du am Samstag Zeit? Dann können wir zusammen gehen. Liebe Grüße, Riya.“ The weil-clause gives a reason, the question keeps the register informal, and both bullet points are covered.
Traps that cost marks
- Starting with „Ich“ and forgetting the greeting or closing formula.
- Mixing du and Sie in the same text.
- Translating a Punjabi idiom word for word instead of using simple German.
- Writing a long, uncontrolled text and omitting one required bullet point.
- Wrong case after mit, bei, für or auf.