telc B1 letter: how to write the e-mail in the exam

In 30 minutes you write an informal or semi-formal e-mail that covers four given points (Leitpunkte). It is worth 45 points, 15 % of the whole exam.

In German, as in the exam: Lena has moved to Hamburg and invited you to her house-warming party, and you can't come.

Each highlight is one point from the task. One short sentence per point is enough, as long as it fits the task.

• All four points, each with at least one sentence. Miss one and the first criterion, task completion, drops.
• Greeting, opening, closing and sign-off that fit the person: „Liebe Lena“ and „du“ for a friend, „Sehr geehrte Frau …“ and „Sie“ for a landlady. Switching between „du“ and „Sie“ costs points on the second criterion, communicative design.
• Mistakes count mainly when they make the text hard to follow — the third criterion, accuracy. Short, clear sentences are safer.

Each criterion gets A to D, that is 5, 3, 1 or 0 points. The sum times three gives the points, 45 at most.

• A point forgotten.
• „du“ and „Sie“ mixed.
• No greeting or no sign-off.
• Writing about the topic but not to the situation: an invitation instead of a refusal.