OET Writing – A Complete Guide

OET writing test comes with challenges as we’re getting newly introduced to the pattern and style of OET writing test.  Systematic and proper learning methodologies can boost your confidence in attending the OET writing test. You can improve your writing quality by practicing more every day. You can break down the challenging aspects under the writing category with proper guidance.

You can improve your writing skills and score the best results in the upcoming OET writing test. The OET writing test helps you familiarize yourself with the aspects of writing along with the tips and tricks to become a pro either. You can score the marks you desire through the proper guidance and support. 

What is OET? 

OET or the Occupational English test is the most important and mandatory English language proficiency test that is internationally recognized. The test aims at nurses, job seekers, students, pharmacists, radiologists, doctors, and all other job positions which belong especially to the healthcare sector. The curriculum of the writing test is similar to the speaking test. According to the occupational health professional category, your writing test varies.

Based on the profession of your choice, you will be provided with case notes from real-life scenarios to accustom to the practical ways of writing profession-based content. The case notes will be easily understood by those in the particular profession.  Your major activity or task will be to write a letter to the coworker after studying the case note. You can purely depend upon the case notes to draft letters. But mind the format of the letter while working on it.

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OET Writing Test

Writing the referral letter is the most frequent task that you will get once you enroll for the writing test. You will also get questions including the discharge letter, transfer letter, advice letter, etc. Even though a referral letter is the most commonly asked question, you should also expect questions from other sections.

You will be allotted 5 minutes to read the case notes at the time of the exam. After reading the case note, you can start preparing for the letter. To complete your task, you will be given 40 minutes.  While writing the letter, you have to keep in mind the tone and mood of the letter. You should write the letter in a highly professional way. Your mood and to be should be serious and professional yet informative and crisp.

• Professional
• Formal
• Informative
• Precise

As you belong to the healthcare sector, your tone should be professional and serious. Once the test begins, you are required to communicate briefly the main idea in very formal language. You should communicate the issues with the patient and your conclusion/ remedy or solution via letter.

You should acquire the skill to convince fellow professionals through your engaging letter. Your enriched professional knowledge can be an added benefit. Once you are done analyzing the notes, you can start working on the letter. As a candidate, you are not allowed to add any additional information apart from the information given in the notes. You can’t add more descriptions based on your expertise in the healthcare sector.

OET Writing Test: Importance

Learn to communicate only the relevant information through the letter you craft. The OET writing test is based on real-life incidents. It is not an abstract but a concrete reality. You will get real-life situations that healthcare professionals may face, rather than hypothetical situations or complicated events.

It is different from IELTS where you could work in many imaginative situations. The case notes of the patients given to you might not be real individuals, but it carries the same significance when you might encounter such situations.

The OET exam is based on real-life situations and conditions that one might encounter in the healthcare sector. Based on professional and practical experience, the examiners frame questions for the candidates. You should have a thorough understanding of the pattern and format to attend the OET exam. You may experience such cases in the future, so the OET writing test equips you to understand an event close to the given cases.

Your letters should be very close to the real letters that you’re supposed to craft shortly. It should be the simulation to the professionally handled letter. You have to mind the examiner too while attending the writing test. Make sure that you are writing a letter that is precise and attention-seeking. You have to demonstrate your language capabilities through your letter. Your letter should demonstrate both professionalism along with proficiency in English.

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Analyzing Case Notes

Case notes can be difficult to understand sometimes. They may include long symptoms, dates, treatment lists, etc. It is in the note form and seems to be challenging.

• Within a single glance, you should know the name of the patient his/her health issues
• Find the person whom you are writing this letter for. It is usually given at the bottom end of the page
• Check the urgency of the case.
• You have to distinguish between the things that the addressee of the letter needs to know and not.
• Remove all the irrelevant details while skimming through the page.
• Read the case notes for the second time and underline the important lines.
• Frame a logical order to write the matter
• While you start writing, keep the reader in mind.
• Don’t forget to assign a number to each information group.
• Plan the things that you intend to write in the order of significance
• Plan your letter

You have to plan the things that you are intended to write beforehand. It’s not a waste of time. You have to plan before you start preparing the letter. You can write down the important form of the note, and how to construct the paragraphs. You have to format the letter based on the form.

Format letter

You have to follow a particular format for formatting the letter. Include the following criterion in your letter. This includes:

• Address
• Date
• Salutation
• Reference
• Introduction
• Body paragraphs
• Conclusion
• Closure

You have to use a polite ending like “If you have any queries related, please do not hesitate to contact us” and you have to end using a closure which is polite and respectful. You can use terms like ” yours sincerely, yours faithfully, yours thankfully” followed by your name.

Introduction

The most important part of your letter should be the introduction. Your introduction should be very crisp and clear

 You should start your letter by communicating the major content that you wish to communicate. The three elements of the letter should include; the purpose of the letter, the main health issue of the patient along with the request for further assessment. If it is an urgent case, you have to make sure that you’re communicating the urgency of the case within the first line itself

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Body Paragraphs

In the OET writing test, you have to deal with the most difficult part where you should organize systematically all the relevant information. You have to maintain a proper structure while drafting your letter. The body paragraphs should include, the most important and recent piece of information along with the crux of the previous case. You have to include the medical history of the patient along with the results. You have to include the details that you want the reader to communicate.

Exceptions will apply to the advice letter. The advice letter should include the three important aspects of the advice letter. The advice letter includes the latest issue, the previous issues of the patient along with the proper advice to improve the condition.

OET Writing Test: Things to Mind

Here is the list of things that you need to keep in mind while attending the OET writing test

• Make the letter easy to read
• You have to make the letter easy to understand while you communicate with fellow professionals. A cohesive letter style should be adopted.
• You have to use the linking words and phrases while composing the mail.
• The exact dates will aid the reader to comprehend the severity of the patient’s situation.
• You can also give an outlook on the patient’s condition through your cohesive writing.
• The treatment effectiveness and the recovery measures shall be included within the sentence level.
• If you wish to add different pieces of information, you can use linking words. Make your letter better with precision.
• You can use the opening paragraphs in such a way as to attract the attention of the reader.
• You have to avoid common language errors. The OET test is all about language proficiency. It is important to understand the mistakes and avoid committing such mistakes in the future.
• You can be a better learner with the help of a mini-OET dictionary with keywords and new words. You can write down the case notes, terminologies, keywords, etc in the notebook and learn them without confusion.
• You should understand the frequently committing mistakes and try rectifying them. Mind your mistakes and score better marks in the coming OET exam.

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Use Entri’s OET coaching resources and study materials to improve your language skills. Practice with experts and learn fluently. The personalized learning environment will help you to improve your scores with a comprehensive and systematic learning space.

The experienced mentors will help you to gain a deep understanding of the OET writing tests. The online doubt-clearing sessions will help you to clarify all your doubts easily. Entri’s online OET learning will facilitate a flexible and inclusive learning environment. The live and recorded classes, blogs and video and doubt-clearing sessions, daily assessment tests, and practice tests will help you to improve your OET writing test scores.