Goethe B1 Schreiben (and ÖSD B1): marking, a sample answer and Redemittel

Schreiben is the writing module of the B1 certificate run by the Goethe-Institut and ÖSD. You take it separately from reading, listening and speaking, and if it goes wrong you retake only this module. The tasks are everyday ones: an e-mail to a friend, your opinion in an online discussion, a polite note to a teacher. What catches people out is the marking. Examiners score each text on a fixed sheet, and good German still loses a lot of points when one task point is missing or the text is half the required length. You do not need a Goethe course to sit the exam, so you can prepare on your own with the official sample paper and this guide.¹

Goethe B1 writing exam pattern

The writing module lasts 60 minutes and has three tasks, which you can do in any order. Dictionaries and phones are not allowed.²

The topics are familiar ones, close to your personal interests.²

The Goethe-Zertifikat B1 and the ÖSD Zertifikat B1 are the same exam. ÖSD, the Goethe-Institut and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland developed it together; Goethe centres call it Goethe-Zertifikat B1 and ÖSD centres ÖSD Zertifikat B1. Everything here applies equally to the ÖSD B1 exam.³

How many points each writing task is worth

You pass the module with at least 60 of 100 points. On the marking sheet Teil 1 and Teil 2 carry 40 points each and Teil 3 only 20.^2·4

The two longer texts are four fifths of your score, so write them first and make sure they reach the word count before you turn to the short note. If either of them scores zero, you can still pass only with full marks on both remaining tasks.

Goethe B1 Schreiben marking criteria

Each text is marked on four criteria, each in five bands from A to E. In Teil 1 and Teil 2 the bands are worth 10, 7.5, 5, 2.5 and 0 points. In Teil 3, task completion and coherence carry up to 4 points, vocabulary and structures up to 6.²

• Erfüllung (task completion): is every point of the task covered, does the text read like an e-mail or a comment, is the register right ("du" to a friend, "Sie" to a teacher)?
• Kohärenz (coherence): is there a greeting, an opening and a close, are sentences linked with words like "weil", "deshalb", "außerdem"?
• Wortschatz (vocabulary): how wide is it, and do mistakes get in the way of understanding?
• Strukturen (structures): the same for grammar and spelling.

If a text has less than half the required words or misses the topic, Erfüllung gets an E and the whole task scores 0, however good the German. A Teil 1 e-mail under 40 words therefore loses all 40 points. You do not have to be error-free, though: the top band for vocabulary and structures allows occasional mistakes as long as they do not get in the way of understanding.²

Two examiners mark your texts independently and your score is the average of the two. Only the clean copy on the answer sheet is marked; nobody reads your draft paper. Leave time to copy your texts out.⁴

Goethe B1 Schreiben example: an e-mail to a friend

We wrote this task ourselves in the exam format; it is not from the official sample paper.

Sie sind vor drei Wochen in eine neue Wohnung gezogen. Ihre Freundin Mia hat Ihnen geschrieben und möchte wissen, wie es Ihnen geht.

• Erzählen Sie, wie die neue Wohnung ist.
• In welchem Zimmer sind Sie am liebsten? Warum?
• Laden Sie Mia ein und sagen Sie, was sie mitbringen soll.

A 75-word answer that covers all three points:

Liebe Mia,

danke für deine Nachricht! Der Umzug war anstrengend, aber jetzt wohne ich endlich in meiner neuen Wohnung. Sie hat drei Zimmer und einen kleinen Balkon, und sie liegt nur zehn Minuten vom Bahnhof entfernt. Am liebsten bin ich in der Küche, weil sie groß und hell ist. Dort kann ich endlich mit Freunden kochen. Komm doch nächsten Freitag zum Abendessen! Ich koche etwas Leckeres, und du bringst den Nachtisch mit.

Liebe Grüße
Tomás

The sentences about the rooms and the station answer the first point, the sentence with "weil" the second, the invitation the third. The greeting and the sign-off are there, and "aber", "und" and "dort" link the sentences. This is what the same e-mail would lose points for:

1. No invitation. Two of three points are covered, so on the sheet Erfüllung can reach band B at most: 7.5 points instead of 10.²
2. "Sehr geehrte Frau Mia" and "Sie". The register does not fit a friend, which also lowers Erfüllung, with not one grammar mistake in the text.
3. 35 words. That is under half of 80, so Erfüllung gets E and Teil 1 scores 0 of 40.
4. A list of short sentences. "Die Wohnung ist schön. Die Küche ist groß. Komm am Freitag." covers the points but loses marks for Kohärenz.

Redemittel for the opinion and the note

In Teil 2 you react to someone else's opinion: agree or disagree, say why and give an example from your own life. Teil 3 is a short message to someone you address as "Sie", in which you apologise and give the reason, or ask for something. The task requires a greeting and a sign-off in Teil 3. The phrases below are ours; learn them as ready-made blocks.²

How to prepare for Goethe B1 Schreiben

The official sample paper has three writing tasks in the exam format, the marking sheet and two real B1 learner texts for each task. Write all three tasks in 60 minutes, then check each text against the criteria above: are all points in, is there a greeting and a close, is it long enough? So that no task point goes missing, write the points down before you start and tick them off as you go.²

If your practice scores stay under 60, book writing for a later date and take the other modules first. The whole exam is described in our guide to the Goethe-Zertifikat B1. The speaking module has its own guide: Goethe B1 Sprechen.¹

Источники

· 4 проверены 08.11.2026

1. 1Prüfungsordnung, Goethe-Institut · от 01.09.2025
2. 2Goethe-Zertifikat B1: Modellsatz Erwachsene, Goethe-Institut und ÖSD
3. 3ÖSD Zertifikat B1, Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch
4. 4Goethe-Zertifikat B1: Durchführungsbestimmungen, Goethe-Institut · от 01.09.2025