Writing - rakstīšanas prasme
The writing part asks for short functional texts: completing a form or application (pieteikums, anketa), writing a notice (sludinājums), a short letter or e-mail, or answering a few questions on a familiar topic. Assessors look at four things: does the text do the task (all bullet points covered), is the text type and register right, is the vocabulary adequate, and is the grammar and spelling accurate - including diacritics.
Core rules
- Match the text type. A sludinājums is short and impersonal ('Pārdodu…', 'Meklēju…'); an iesniegums is addressed to an institution, uses 'Lūdzu…', and carries a date and signature; a letter opens with 'Labdien!' or 'Sveiki!' and closes with 'Ar cieņu'.
- Choose the case the verb demands: pārdodu velosipēdu (accusative), meklēju dzīvokli Rīgā (accusative + locative), interesējos par darbu (par + accusative).
- Keep one tense frame; write your notice in the present, your account of a past event in the past.
- Leave two minutes to re-read for macrons and palatalisation marks.
Worked example
Task: write a notice selling a used bicycle for 150 euros and asking buyers to phone. Weak version: 'Es pārdodu velosipēds. Cena 150 euro. Zvanīt man.' Improved version: 'Pārdodu lietotu velosipēdu. Cena - 150 eiro. Lūdzu, zvaniet pa tālruni 26XXX XXX.' Reasoning: 'pārdot' takes the accusative, so velosipēds must become velosipēdu; 'eiro' is indeclinable and stays unchanged; the polite imperative for an unknown reader is 'zvaniet', not the infinitive 'zvanīt'; the first person 'es' is unnecessary in a notice.
Traps that cost marks
- Dropping macrons or cedillas (a/ā, k/ķ, n/ņ) - these are counted as spelling errors, not typos.
- Writing under the required length, or copying sentences straight from the task prompt.
- Answering only some of the bullet points; task coverage is scored separately from grammar.
- Mixing registers - 'čau' in an application to an office, or 'Jūs' capitalised inconsistently in a formal letter.