Goethe B1 Writing Exam: Three Tasks, Word Counts and Timing
The official 60-minute B1 writing structure, with practical planning for an 80-word email, an 80-word opinion and a 40-word formal message.
The B1 writing module lasts 60 minutes and has three tasks. The official model test suggests 20 minutes for Task 1, 25 minutes for Task 2 and 15 minutes for Task 3. The tasks test different readers and purposes, not one repeated email format.
The three tasks
| Task | Suggested time | Target |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 min | Personal email, about 80 words |
| 2 | 25 min | Opinion or discussion post, about 80 words |
| 3 | 15 min | Polite formal email, about 40 words |
Task 1: Cover every content point
Plan one paragraph for each requested point. Describe what happened, add a reason or reaction and keep the reader in mind. Use a complete personal frame with greeting, introduction and closing.
Task 2: State and support an opinion
A clear B1 opinion text needs a position, at least one reason and a concrete example or consequence. Connect ideas with weil, deshalb, trotzdem, einerseits and andererseits only when you can control the sentence structure.
Task 3: Be brief and appropriately formal
The final email is short, but register matters. Apologise or make the request directly, explain the reason and close politely. Leave five minutes across the module to check verb position, case endings, noun capitals and whether every instruction was answered.