FREE WRITING CHECKER
Check your OET letter against the real criteria, in seconds.
MedEngly's free OET writing checker marks a practice letter against all six published Writing criteria in seconds, with a score for each one and the single fix that matters most. See a real marking on a sample letter below, then create a free account to mark your own the same way, no card needed.
EXAMPLE MARKING
This is a real MedEngly marking, shown on a sample letter (excerpt below). Register free to mark your own letter the same way, against all six published OET Writing criteria.
330
of 500, indicative grade C+. Grade B is 350.
Purpose
3/3
Content
4/7
Conciseness and Clarity
4/7
Genre and Style
5/7
Organisation and Layout
5/7
Language
5/7
FOCUS HERE: CONTENT
The case notes ask the district nurse to monitor blood glucose during recovery, but the letter only reports that it has remained stable during the admission. The reader is never asked to act, which costs a band.
Next: Turn every action the case notes call for into a direct request to the reader.
THE SAMPLE LETTER (EXCERPT)
Dear Ms Nair, Re: Mrs Edna Whitfield, aged 71 I am writing to refer Mrs Whitfield, who is being discharged today following treatment for community-acquired pneumonia, and who requires district nursing follow-up at home. She was admitted on 28 June and received three days of intravenous antibiotics before switching to oral treatment...
MARK YOUR OWN LETTER
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Practice feedback based on published OET criteria. Not an official evaluation, and estimated grades are indicative.
Now the same marking on a letter that clears grade B
The sample above lands on C+. This one clears the line at 430, and each criterion says why. Read the two together and the gap between them is the thing worth practising.
WHAT A STRONG LETTER LOOKS LIKE
A complete referral letter that clears grade B, marked against all six published criteria, with the reason each one scores what it does. Written to be copied in method, not in wording.
430
of 500, indicative grade B. Grade B is 350.
Purpose
3/3
Content
6/7
Conciseness and Clarity
6/7
Genre and Style
6/7
Organisation and Layout
6/7
Language
6/7
THE LETTER
Dear Ms Alvarez,
Re: Mr Daniel Okafor, DOB 14 March 1958
I am referring Mr Okafor, who was discharged today following treatment for an infected left forefoot ulcer, for community diabetes nursing review and ongoing wound care.
Mr Okafor was admitted on 28 July with a two-week history of an ulcer beneath the left first metatarsal head. Wound swabs grew Staphylococcus aureus, and he completed seven days of intravenous flucloxacillin before switching to oral therapy, which continues until 11 August. The ulcer is now clean, with granulation tissue present and no surrounding cellulitis.
His diabetes has been poorly controlled, with an HbA1c of 86 mmol/mol on admission. His insulin regimen was adjusted during this admission, and he reports difficulty with self-injection because of reduced dexterity in both hands.
Please could you review the wound twice weekly, monitor his capillary blood glucose, and assess his injection technique, arranging occupational therapy input if you consider it necessary. He has been advised not to bear weight on the left foot and has been issued with a removable cast walker.
Thank you for your assistance. Please contact me if you require any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Dr A Chen
Registrar, Diabetes and EndocrinologyPURPOSE 3/3
The opening sentence names the patient, the reason for writing and what is being asked for. The reader knows within one line why this letter has reached them.
CONTENT 6/7
Every clinical fact here is one the community nurse will act on: the organism, the date the antibiotic ends, the state of the wound, the HbA1c, the difficulty injecting. Nothing is included merely because it happened.
CONCISENESS AND CLARITY 6/7
The whole admission is summarised in three sentences. There is no history included that the receiving clinician cannot use.
GENRE AND STYLE 6/7
Requests are written as requests, not instructions. Asking the nurse to arrange therapy input if she considers it necessary leaves the clinical judgement where it belongs.
ORGANISATION AND LAYOUT 6/7
One paragraph per job: why you are being written to, what happened, the diabetes picture, then what is being asked. The reader can find any one of those without rereading.
LANGUAGE 6/7
Accurate throughout, with clinical vocabulary used correctly. Two sentences run long enough that a reader skimming on a ward could lose the thread, and that is the gap between this and full marks.
THREE THINGS THIS LETTER DOES THAT MOST DO NOT
- It asks, it does not only report. Most letters describe an admission and stop. This one names three specific things the reader should do.
- It leaves things out. The entire admission is three sentences. Anything the community nurse cannot act on is not in the letter.
- It gives dates that can be acted on. Naming the day the antibiotic ends is worth more to the reader than naming the day it started.
Practice feedback based on published OET criteria. Not an official evaluation, and estimated grades are indicative. The case is fictional and written for teaching.
How the free checker works
1. See a real marking. A sample OET letter, already marked against all six criteria, so you know exactly what the feedback looks like before you write a word.
2. Create a free account. No card needed. One letter marked free.
3. Mark your own letter. The same criterion-by-criterion marking, in seconds, with the one fix to make next.
What the checker marks
Every letter is scored against the six published OET Writing criteria: Purpose, Content, Conciseness and Clarity, Genre and Style, Organisation and Layout, and Language. Content and Conciseness and Clarity are where most letters lose the most marks, because they measure selection rather than English ability. Read the full breakdown of what each criterion measures and how to gain a band.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Is the OET writing checker free?
Yes. The example marking on this page is free to view, and creating a free account lets you mark one letter of your own against all six criteria at no cost, no card needed.
Is this an official OET result?
No. MedEngly is an independent preparation service, not affiliated with, or endorsed by, OET or Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment. The grade shown is practice feedback based on the published criteria, not an official evaluation.
Which OET Writing criteria does the checker mark against?
All six published criteria: Purpose, Content, Conciseness and Clarity, Genre and Style, Organisation and Layout, and Language.
How is the marking checked?
The marking is calibrated against the published OET criteria and reference materials. See the current methodology and its limits on the trust page.