Test format and Duration
The writing test format is profession specific. This means the test completed is appropriate to the profession of the examinee. Yet another factor is that, regardless of any test takers profession, the test format of the OET writing module is the same. It is at almost all times the third test on test day. The task is to write a formal letter on a medical matter. It is usually a letter of referral although the reason for referral will vary. The writing task must be red first to know the reader to whom the letter must be addressed after which reading the case notes carefully to both understand the patient’s condition and also highlight only those aspects of the case notes that are essential for the reader. The time allocated for going through both the writing task and the case notes as well is 5 minutes. The duration to complete writing a referral letter is 40 minutes.
Assessment Criteria for OET writing:-
The first and foremost marking criteria is Purpose which is evaluated between 0-3 followed by Content, Consciousness and Clarity, Genre and Style, Organization and Layout as well as Language which are gauged separately between 0-7. To score a Grade B/350-440 which is equivalent to 7/7.5 band of IELTS, a score of 2/3 for purpose and atleast 5/7 each for the other criteria’s is a must. The purpose of the letter must be presented in a clear and straightforward manner. The content of the letter must be absolutely relevant to the reader. The selection of case notes which match the requirements of the addressee are important. Consciousness and Clarity means the length of the body paragraphs must be approximately 180-200 words which includes writing based on the selection of crucial case notes. As long as irrelevant case notes are not incorporated, the body paragraphs will not exceed 200 words. Genre and Style refers to the writing trend which must be at all times both clinical and factual. Organization and Layout of the letter is based on stating the purpose with precision and expanding the same by adding information. The details that are critical for readers who must act on the letter addressed to them must be elucidated properly. The paragraph to state the purpose of the letter must be separated from the body paragraphs. The initial address and the opening as well as closing salutation must be done in a minute after which the letter must be drafted in about 39 minutes. Language analysis is done on the basis of precise word power, correct sentence structures, grammatical accuracy and spelling the words correctly followed by appropriate usage of punctuation. A minimum of two trained OET assessors independently mark the candidates’ performance and neither knows what scores the other assessors have given. Each assessor marks the candidates on the stated criteria’s. Any border line assessment or assessment scores that do not match will be assessed by a third independent assessor to ensure that the grade received is valid and fair.
Prepare for OET writing:-
Considering the reader is very important while writing a referral letter. Each writing task will be about a different patient. It has a different health care situation and therefore different case notes. This means it is essential that the letter must be personalized by making choices of what to write, how to write it and how to avoid template answers that may not be appropriate for that situation.
The writing task comes at the end of the case notes. Read the writing task first when the reading time starts as it conveys the most important information. Who you are writing to and why are you writing to him/her?
Using the information given in the case notes write a discharge letter to Ms. Georgine Pons ford, Resident Community nurse at the Community Retirement Home, 103 Light Street, Newton. This letter will accompany Mr. Ramamurthy back to the retirement home upon his discharge tomorrow. In your answer:- expand the relevant notes into complete sentences, do not use the note form, use letter format.
As per this writing task, the reader of the letter already knows the patient which will influence the inclusion of details in the letter. After going through the writing task, the balance time must be utilized in understanding the case notes and identifying the information to either include or omit. In this example, the reader would know the information that Mr. Ramamurthy’s discharge date is 11th February 2014 but it would be logical to include it as a part of the reason for writing. On the other hand, the details on past medical history and social background is known by the reader but it is not relevant to include as it does relate to the current situation.
Admission Date:- 4th February 2014, Discharge Date:- 11th February 2014,Diagnosis:- Pneumonia, Past Medical History:- Osteoarthritis (mainly fingers) – Voltaren, Eye sight ! Due to cataracts removed 16 months ago – needs check-up, Social Background:- Retired school teacher (History, Mathematics), financially independent, lonely since wife died. Weight loss – associated with poor diet. The information which is both new to the reader and to be incorporated are the particulars on Medical History, Nursing Management, Assessment and Discharge Plan. One of the choices to be made to write a good letter is the structure which means the given information in the case notes must be presented in an orderly manner and that too in the order of importance. Medical Progress:- Afebrile, inflammatory markers back to normal, slow but independent walk & shower/toilet, dry cough, some chest and abdomen pain, weight gain post residual volume right ventricle r/v by dietitian. Nursing Management:- Encourage oral fluids, proper nutrition, Ambulant as per physio residual volume right ventricle r/v, Encourage chest physio (deep breathing and coughing exercises). Sitting preferred to lying down to ensure postural drainage. Assessment:- Good progress overall. Discharge plan:- Paracetamol if necessary for chest/abdomen, pain. Keep warm, good nutrition, eggs, fruit, vegetables (needs help monitoring diet). Afebrile and Encourage oral fluids, proper nutrition are unimportant particulars either because it is outdated or could be assumed by the reader. It can be omitted or it could be included as extra contextual details if wanted and time allowed. Likewise, inflammatory markers back to normal, weight gain post r/v by dietitian and encourage chest physio (deep breathing and coughing exercises) are less important eventhough the useful information about the patient’s care while in hospital is specified to the reader but has no impact on the care of the patient’s post discharge. The most important information which is highlighted on this page are slow but independent walk & shower/toilet, ambulant as per physio r/v, sitting preferred to lying down to ensure a postural drainage, good progress overall, Paracetamol, if necessary for chest/abdomen pain, keep warm, good nutrition – fluids, eggs, fruit, vegetables (needs help monitoring diet). These particulars are essential for the reader who understands how to continue the patient’s care and what to expect in terms of the patient’s independence. Which order is to be followed to write this information and which case notes can be combined into a sentence are further choices to be made.
To,
The Resident Community Nurse,
Retirement Home,
103, Height Street,
New Town.
Dear Ms. Georgina Pons ford,
I am writing this letter in connection with the discharge of Mr. Ramamurthy dated 11th February 2014 who would rejoin retirement home after a successful diagnosis and treatment for pneumonia since his hospitalization a week before.
After a rigorous care at the health-care hub since 4th February, Mr. Ramamurthy was gradually able to walk without any support to the loo and shower. Thanks to the efforts of the physiotherapist, whose physio right ventricular remedy has really enabled the diseased get over a bedridden sort of situation? In addition to the stated medical care, postural drainage was performed in a sitting posture as it was more preferred to being prostrate. After successfully administering the treatment for pneumonia, Mr. Ramamurthy’s health status progressed remarkably.
After his discharge, he will be inducted to the nurturing at the retirement home and the further medication to be given is Paracetamol in case he suffers from chest or abdominal pain and not otherwise. In addition to this stated remedial measure, the care givers at the retirement home must also keep Mr. Ramamurthy warm at all times. Most importantly, a very nutritious cuisine is to be administered namely fluids, fruit, vegetables and eggs. Monitoring his diet is compulsory as that would be ideal to help him become absolutely hale and healthy at all times.
In the light of what is expressed, I hope the management of retirement home would shower abundant hospitality and care for Mr. Ramamurthy which will help him overcome his diseased condition.
The structure of any referral letter is never the same. It may be so that the letter expects test takers to write on any emergency sort of situation or to non-health care professionals for example, a social worker, allied health professional/specialist for example, an occupational therapist or rheumatologist, updating a health care professional who is already involved with the patient’s situation. These varied situations will have to be taken into account while providing the best structure for the letter which can only help examinees get a good score.
Passive sentence structures are the most appropriate for referral letters as the patient or treatment happens to be the focus of the sentence. The example that puts the writer as the first sentence is as follows:- I arranged an MRI scan for Miss. Kapoor. Here it need not be presented in a direct manner on who made the arrangement. It would be better to place the treatment and the patient at the commencement of the sentence. The example in the active sentence can be changed to passive form namely An MRI scan for Miss. Kapoor has been arranged for Tuesday. The verb tense used in the passive form creates the intended meaning. It is likely that a variety of tenses may have to be used in the letter and if a mistake is made in the choice, it can lead to confusions for the reader. The sentences in Present simple, past simple or even present perfect conveys different meanings. For instance, He is unsteady on his feet (states the current situation), He was unsteady on his feet (states the past situation) and He has been unsteady on his feet (an unresolved situation).
To summarize:- The best ways to prepare for writing are:- practice writing about a variety of health-care conditions to a variety of readers and for a variety of reasons. Practice writing as per the stipulated duration with the stationary you plan to use on test day. A pen or a pencil can be used for the writing test but be comfortable with the choice and practice using any one of them. If possible get a feedback on your writing and make a check list of common mistakes thereby referring to them each time a new letter is written. Go through the official sample answers for writing tasks but do not use them as template structures to be learned or phrases to be memorized. However, sample answers can be helpful in demonstrating letter layouts and a model for clear and explicit professional language using a variety of grammatical structures.
In order to do exceptionally well for OET writing on test day, the tips for reading time in the writing test are as follows:- Read the writing task first to find out the reader and purpose of your letter. Read the case notes slowly. At the end of each line of long case notes, ask as to whether the reader needs it or not in order to omit the unnecessary case notes and incorporate the crucial ones. After reading the case notes, think about the reader and how can the significant case notes be explained adequately to make them suit the situation of the letter.
During writing time, consider spending a few minutes for planning, mark the case notes using the decisions made during the reading time. Cross out any case notes to be omitted and mark out A, B or C to know how important they are to the reader. Plan the topic of each paragraph so it is clear on what case notes must be incorporated on each of the paragraphs. In case there are any mistakes while writing, cross it out clearly and carry on. The letter must be ended properly. If need be, in case the test taker is running short of time, a few lines space can be left out and the last part of the letter can be written after which the final paragraph can also be written. It is necessary to allocate a few minutes to proof read the letter. The writer must write the letter considering the reader who is to read and take necessary action for which the sufficient matter that concerns the reader most must be provided effectively. Do not worry about the word limit as if the relevant particulars are selected to draft the letter thereby eliminating the unwanted information. The examiners do not count the number of words but assesses whether the information included helps or hinders the reader’s accurate understanding of the situation.
