How to pass the writing part of the Telc B1 exam? Join SHB (formerly SHD Academy) to find out the secret to practicing writing B1 German to help you fully equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to successfully conquer this writing part.

Analysis of the structure of the Telc B1 German written exam

1.1 Structure and scoring criteria for the TELC B1 German written test 

The German written test at level B1 in the Telc exam consists of 4 sub-sections: Leseverstehen – Reading comprehension, Sprachbaustein – Vocabulary and grammar, Hörverstehen – Listening comprehension and Schriftlicher Ausdruck (Brief) – Letter writing, with a total test time of 150 minutes.

The exam scoring criteria are as follows:

• Completeness: The essay must state the main ideas as required by the topic, use the correct person and have enough words.
• Cohesion: The entire article must be tightly and coherently connected. The ideas in the article must be presented logically and connected to each other in a reasonable way.
• Vocabulary: The vocabulary used in the writing must be in German. Use words appropriate to the context and avoid using slang in the writing test.
• Grammar: When taking the writing test, pay attention to correct grammar structure and spelling.

1.2 Analysis of the structure of the Telc B1 German written exam 

The Writing section includes Reading Comprehension – Vocabulary, Grammar – Listening – Letter Writing sections, which do not count as failing points for each section separately. Thus, the sections can compensate for each other and you do not have to worry too much if you are not confident in a certain skill.

Part 1: Reading comprehension (Leseverstehen)

The reading comprehension section includes 3 exercises as follows:

• Lesson 1: Choose the title and content of the corresponding paragraph.
• Exercise 2: Based on the given passage, choose the answer to the question.
• Lesson 3: Choose the appropriate advertisement for the given situation.

Part 2: Vocabulary - grammar (Sprachbaustein)

In this section, candidates need to complete 2 exercises filling in the blanks of 2 letters. These exercises are in the form of multiple choice questions.

Part 3: Listening comprehension (Hörverstehen)

Candidates will do 3 true or false exercises:

• Lesson 1: Listen once
• Lesson 2 and Lesson 3: Listen twice

Part 4: Write a letter (Schriftlicher Ausdruck (Brief)

In 30 minutes, candidates need to write a letter in response to a given letter, based on the given arguments.

Some sentences that can be used in the German B1 writing test

About the topic name

• …. ist ein interessantes Thema/ eine interessante Frage
• Über das Thema…. wired viel diskutiert

State your opinion:

• Ich bin der Meinung, dass…
• Meiner Meinung nach…
• Ich finde/glaube
• Das sehe ich genauso/wie …
• Da kann ich nur zustimmen.
• Ich kann … nicht zustimmen, weil …
• Das sehe ich anders.

Pros and cons analysis:

• Ein Vorteil/Nachteil … (von+Dat. / Genitiv) ist, dass …
• Für/gegen … spricht, dass …
• Ein Argument für/gegen … ist, dass …
• Einerseits …, andererseits … (auf der einen Seite , auf der anderen Seite)
• …, aber …

Final points:

• Ich spreche mich daher für / gegen … aus
• Ich votiere/plädiere für …
• X halte ich für richtig/berechtigt/gut/sinnvoll/angemessen/vernünftig

Introduction to topic structure:

• In this part we can present: Mein Vortrag besteht aus folgenden Teilen: Erstens spreche ich über meine persönliche Erfahrung.
• In addition, it can also be introduced as: Anschließend sage ich noch etwas zu dieser Situation in meinem Heimatland.
• Im dritten Teil geht es um die Vor- und Nachteile von diesem Thema
• Dann komme ich zum Schluss.

Talk about your own experience:

• Meiner Erfahrung nach …
• Als ich ein Kind war, …
• Additionally, it is possible to introduce by: In meinem Heimatland ist die Situation jedoch so:
• Or according to the structure: In meinem Heimatland ist es normalerweise so, dass..

Talk about pros/cons:

• The first is: Die Vorteile/Nachteile sind, dass …
• Next is: Auf der einen Seite …. Auf der anderen Seite….

End of presentation:

• In this section, you can introduce yourself using the form: Mein Vortrag ist jetzt zu Ende.
• In addition, it can also be introduced as follows: Zum Schluss kann man sagen, dass… Hiermit wäre ich fertig.
• Some sample sentences that can be used in German B1 sample writings

Some other usable example sentences:

• The first sentence pattern is: Vielen Dank! Der Vortrag war interessant. Mir gut gefallen. Ich hätte noch einige Fragen …
• The next sentence pattern is: Ich fand deine Präsentation sehr gut/interessant und ich möchte Ihnen noch einige Fragen stellen …
• Danke für deine Frage. Ich würde sagen, dass..
• Finally: Das ist eine gute/interessante Frage. Ich würde sagen, dass…

Tips for achieving good results in the German B1 written exam

Read the question carefully and identify the topic.

To achieve good results in the German B1 writing test, the most important thing is to read the questions carefully and understand how you need to answer. You need to accurately identify the topic of the question and the type of questions that the test asks. At the same time, you need to pay attention to how to express your opinion on a topic in Part 2 so that it is coherent, tight and clear.

Plan your practice time

When preparing for the German B1 exam, it is very important to have a specific plan for learning vocabulary and dividing time. You need to determine the amount of vocabulary you need to learn and set a goal to complete it within a certain period of time. When you start studying, you need to read the questions carefully and determine the time to write. In addition, outlining your ideas before writing is also an important step.

Write the required number of words

In the German writing test, the word count requirement is often an important criterion for assessing the writing. Therefore, when taking the B1 German writing test, you must write at least 80 words in Section 1, 80 words in Section 2 and 40 words in Section 3. If you write too many fewer or more words than the required number, your score will be significantly reduced.

As you practice your German writing skills, estimate the number of words you write on a line. This will help you ensure you write the minimum number of words required by the task.

Do not copy questions.

In the writing section, you can use the ideas from the question to create a title for your article. There is no need to copy the question just to make your article longer.

Beautiful presentation, clear writing

Examiners appreciate well-written, clear essays. Even if you have good content, if your presentation is messy and illogical, the examiner will not be able to understand your ideas. So, divide your essay into paragraphs and distribute your ideas clearly.