Goethe B2 Schreiben: the tasks, the criteria and what costs points

Teil 1: the forum post

You get an everyday topic, such as the four-day week or social media in schools, and four points to cover (Leitpunkte). You write a post for an online forum of about 150 words that addresses all four, with an introduction and a conclusion. The recommended time is 50 minutes; Teil 1 is worth 60 of the 100 points.

A good post has a clear shape: one sentence to open, one paragraph per point, a conclusion with your opinion. The Leitpunkte are not suggestions. Miss one and task fulfilment drops a level straight away.

Teil 2: the formal message

You write an email or message to someone you address formally: a language school, a property manager, an employer. Again four points to cover, about 100 words, 25 minutes. Teil 2 is worth 40 points.

Register matters here. The greeting and sign-off must fit (Sehr geehrte Frau Becker, Mit freundlichen Grüßen), the tone stays polite and factual, and you use Sie throughout. A single du in a formal message is noticed immediately.

The four criteria

Both texts are graded on the same four criteria, each on a scale from A (best) to E. The level decides the points. In Teil 1, task fulfilment and coherence are worth up to 14 points each, vocabulary and structures up to 16 each. In Teil 2 each criterion is worth up to 10.

• Erfüllung der Aufgabenstellung (task fulfilment): are all points covered and developed? Are the text type and length right?
• Kohärenz (coherence): does the text have a clear structure, are the ideas connected, do the linking words fit?
• Wortschatz (vocabulary): is it precise and varied, or do the same simple words repeat?
• Strukturen (grammar and spelling): subordinate clauses, Konjunktiv II, passive, correct endings.

The rule that decides everything

If task fulfilment is rated E, the whole part scores 0, however good the language was. That happens when the text misses the topic, is the wrong text type, or is far too short: a text under half the required length is not graded further. So write a complete, simple text rather than half of a brilliant one.

What costs the most points

• A point is missing, or mentioned only in half a sentence.
• No introduction, no conclusion: the text starts in the middle of the first point.
• The same linking words every time: und, aber, dann. Vary them with außerdem, allerdings, deshalb, obwohl.
• The wrong case after prepositions (mit dem Kurs, not mit der Kurs) and the verb in the wrong place in subordinate clauses.
• Register, especially in Teil 2: du instead of Sie, Hallo instead of Sehr geehrte.