Schrijfvaardigheid / taalvaardigheid: task, register and accuracy
Schrijfvaardigheid / taalvaardigheid tests whether you can produce a short English text that fits a scenario and audience, and whether your grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation are accurate enough to communicate. A HAVO writing task usually gives a situation, a text type (for example email, letter, article or review) and content bullets. Marks depend on task completion, register, coherence and language control.
Cover the bullets, not just the topic
Treat each bullet as a required content point. Plan one or two sentences per bullet and make the link explicit; do not hope the examiner will infer it. Identify the audience and the relationship: formal (unknown reader, organisation) or informal (friend, family). Match salutation and closing to that choice. Stay within the stated word count; a very short text usually loses content marks, while padding adds errors.
Register and formulaic phrases
Formal: 'Dear Mr Jones,' 'I am writing to …', 'I would like to …', 'Yours sincerely,' (name known) or 'Yours faithfully,' (name unknown). Informal: 'Hi Sam,' 'Thanks for …', 'Best wishes,'. Avoid contractions, slang and 'Hey' in formal writing. Keep one register throughout.
Coherence and accuracy
Use linkers such as however, therefore, although, in addition and which. Vary sentence length but keep subject–verb–object clear. Check agreement, tenses, articles, prepositions and word order. Typical slips: 'I look forward to hear' → hearing; 'since three years' → for three years; 'do you can' → can you; 'advice' (noun) vs 'advise' (verb).
Worked example
Bullet: 'Explain why you cannot attend the meeting and suggest another day.' Weak: 'I can’t come because I am busy. Maybe another day?' Better: 'Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the meeting on Friday because I have a hospital appointment. Would it be possible to move it to Monday or Tuesday instead?' Reasoning: both parts are answered, the register is formal, the modal 'would' softens the request, and the link 'because' makes the reason explicit.
Traps
Leaving one bullet out; mixing 'Dear Sir/Madam' with 'Best wishes'; translating Dutch word order literally; writing one long sentence; forgetting the closing and name; exceeding the word limit with irrelevant detail.