The B1 writing section usually asks for short, practical texts — an email to a landlord or the gemeente, a message to a colleague or your child's school, a note or a form — each built around a few points you must all address. Exact task types and lengths differ between the Inburgeringsexamen and the Staatsexamen NT2, but the assessment looks at more than grammar in both: did you complete the task and cover every point, is the text clear and connected rather than a list of sentences, is the vocabulary appropriate, and is the grammar accurate enough not to get in the way. A grammatically perfect email that skips one required point typically scores worse than a slightly imperfect one that covers all of them — the single most common mistake under time pressure. Asagno's writing practice shows a real task, a model structure (greeting → each point in its own short paragraph → closing), and — for exam-pack attempts — an AI examiner that grades your answer against these criteria and returns a corrected version with specific comments in Arabic and English.
What you'll learn
- The assessment criteria: task completion, clarity and coherence, vocabulary, grammar
- A reusable structure: greeting, one short paragraph per required point, closing
- Formal vs informal register — u vs je, "Geachte heer/mevrouw" and "Met vriendelijke groet" vs "Beste ..." and "Groetjes"
- Connecting words that make a text read as prose, and the word order each one triggers: bovendien, daarom and toch put the verb straight after them; omdat and dat send it to the end
- AI-scored practice on real prompts, with a corrected version and comments, not just a score
An annotated opening and closing
"Geachte heer/mevrouw," then on a new line "Ik schrijf u in verband met mijn woning aan de Voorbeeldstraat 5." — "Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you regarding my home at Voorbeeldstraat 5." The formal greeting (not Hallo), u instead of je, and stating the subject in the very first sentence are exactly what assessors look for in the first seconds of reading.
"Met vriendelijke groet," + your name — "Kind regards". Closing a letter to a landlord or authority with the informal "Groetjes" is a register mistake that costs points even when everything else is correct.
Frequently asked questions
How many words should a B1 writing answer be?
It varies by exam and by task — some tasks are as short as filling in a form or a few sentences, others a short email or letter. The practice tasks state the expected length for each prompt, so you learn to judge it rather than aim for one fixed number.
Should I write u or je?
In any message to an authority, a landlord, a school or someone you do not know, use u. The Netherlands switches to je faster than many cultures, but in an exam u is the safe default unless the task clearly asks you to write to a friend or a close colleague.
Does spelling matter as much as grammar?
Grammar and vocabulary generally carry more weight than individual spelling slips, but consistent errors that make the text hard to follow do affect how clear and coherent it is judged to be.