Goethe A1 Schreiben: how to fill in the form and write the short letter

Writing comes after listening and reading, in the same sitting, and takes 20 minutes. It has two tasks. Neither needs long or complicated sentences: the examiners want to see that you can give simple personal information and write a short, clear message.

You get a short text, for example about someone signing up for a course or booking a hotel, and a form with 5 empty fields. All the information you need is in the text. Read the form first, so you know what to look for, then find each answer in the text.

Common form words: Name, Vorname (first name), Familienname (surname), Alter (age), Geburtsdatum (date of birth), Adresse, Wohnort, Telefon, Beruf (job), Familienstand (marital status) and Zahlungsweise (method of payment).

You get a situation and three points to include, and you write about 30 words. Each point earns marks, and so do a suitable greeting and closing. You don't need perfect grammar, but each point must be clear. First decide who you are writing to: a friend (du) or an office or stranger (Sie).

• Forgetting one of the three points. Tick each one off as you write it.
• No greeting or closing, or a friendly greeting in a formal letter.
• Mixing du and Sie in the same message.
• Writing nouns in lower case. Every German noun starts with a capital letter: der Kurs, die Party.
• Putting the verb at the end, as in Urdu. In a normal sentence the verb is the second element: Am Sonntag habe ich Zeit.

Write one short message a day, alternating between friends (du) and offices (Sie), and time yourself. Use the model tasks in the official Goethe A1 practice materials, and learn the words you need from our A1 word list with Urdu meanings.

Feedback is what makes writing improve fastest. In our A1 German course online, every practice letter gets corrected, and mock exams include personal feedback on your writing. For the speaking part, read the Goethe A1 Sprechen guide.