OET nursing writing syllabus
Writing is one of the two profession specific sub-tests, so a nurse writes a nursing letter from nursing case notes. One task, 45 minutes, and the six criteria reward deciding what the reader needs more than they reward vocabulary. The OET Nursing syllabus hub page covers the other sub-tests.
Pattern
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tasks | One letter |
| Total time | 45 minutes |
| Reading time | Five minutes to read the case notes and related documents |
| Writing time | Forty minutes |
| Guidance length | 180 to 200 words |
| Profession specific | Yes |
| Marking | Double marked against six criteria |
The five minutes of reading time comes first and is for reading only. The task is always a letter, so there is no essay or report to prepare for.
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Letter types
- Referral letter, which is the usual task for nursing, written to another health professional
- Transfer letter, moving a patient between wards, facilities or teams
- Discharge letter, handing over to a community service or a general practitioner
- A letter giving information or advice to a patient, a relative or a carer
- A letter responding to a complaint
The reader changes what belongs in the letter. A consultant receiving a referral needs the clinical picture. A carer receiving advice needs plain language and practical instruction, and lifting clinical shorthand into that letter costs marks on Genre and Style.
The six assessment criteria
- Purpose: whether the reason for writing is clear immediately and sustained throughout
- Content: whether the information the reader needs is there, accurate and complete
- Conciseness and Clarity: whether irrelevant material has been left out and the relevant material reads clearly
- Genre and Style: whether the register, tone and conventions suit the reader and the letter type
- Organisation and Layout: whether the letter is structured and laid out as a professional letter
- Language: grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation
Four of the six are about judgement rather than language. A grammatically clean letter that includes the patient’s full history when the reader needs only the current episode scores badly on Conciseness and Clarity and on Content at the same time.
What is not in the syllabus
- No essay, report or summary. The task is always a letter
- No multiple choice element
- No clinical decision making. You are not asked to diagnose or to prescribe
- No fixed template that assessors reward
- No negative marking
- No word penalty stated as a hard limit, though 180 to 200 words is the guidance
How to spend the time
Use the five minutes to decide who the reader is and what they need to do after reading. Everything else follows from that, including which case notes go in and which stay out.
Select before you write. Mark the notes you will use during the reading time rather than deciding as you draft, because a letter that works through the case notes in the order they appear almost always fails Conciseness and Clarity.
Spend about five of the forty writing minutes on the opening. Purpose is a criterion in its own right, and a first sentence that states who the patient is and what you are asking the reader to do carries it.
Write to the guidance length. At 180 to 200 words, a letter that runs to 300 is not thorough, it is unselective, and the criteria are built to notice. Browse the available OET Nursing practice papers.
Common mistakes
- Copying the case notes into the letter in the order given
- Including the full history when the reader needs the current episode
- Writing to a carer in clinical shorthand
- Leaving the reason for writing until the second or third paragraph
- Running well past 200 words and losing marks on conciseness
- Starting to write during the five minutes of reading time
- Treating the sub-test as a grammar test, when four of the six criteria assess judgement
- Assuming a B is needed in Writing, when most regulators accept C+ and Australia now requires 350
What the criteria reward
| Criterion | What gains marks | What loses them |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | The reason for writing in the first sentence | A purpose that emerges late or shifts |
| Content | The information this reader needs, accurate | Omissions, or detail the reader cannot use |
| Conciseness and Clarity | Selection from the case notes | Transcribing the notes wholesale |
| Genre and Style | Register matched to the reader | Clinical shorthand to a carer |
| Organisation and Layout | Professional letter structure | Unparagraphed text, missing conventions |
| Language | Accurate grammar and spelling | Errors that obscure meaning |
Frequently asked questions
How long is the OET Writing sub-test?
Forty five minutes: five minutes to read the case notes, then forty minutes to write.
What do nurses write in OET?
A letter, usually a referral letter to another health professional, based on a set of case notes.
How many words should the letter be?
Guidance length is 180 to 200 words.
What are the six Writing criteria?
Purpose, Content, Conciseness and Clarity, Genre and Style, Organisation and Layout, Language.
Is the Writing task the same for every profession?
No. Writing is profession specific, so nurses get nursing case notes.
Can I write during the five minutes of reading time?
No. That period is for reading the case notes and related documents.
What grade do I need in Writing?
The NMC and the NMBI accept C+, meaning 300 or above. New Zealand accepts 300. Australia requires 350 for tests taken on or after 23 April 2026.
Should I include every case note?
No. Selecting what this reader needs is what Conciseness and Clarity assesses.
Is the letter marked for clinical accuracy?
The information must be accurate against the case notes, but clinical judgement itself is not being assessed.
Can I retake only the Writing sub-test?
No. OET has no single skill retake, though some regulators allow two full sittings to be combined.