OET Writing guide (medicine)

OET Writing for doctors

Doctors usually know exactly what is wrong with the patient in an OET case. What costs marks is how that knowledge is turned into a letter for one particular reader. This guide covers the letter types doctors practise most, how to pitch the letter for a specialist, a GP or an allied health professional, and the mistakes that most often keep medicine candidates below grade B.

The OET Writing test in brief

In the Writing sub-test you write one letter from a set of case notes. You have 5 minutes of reading time, during which you cannot write, then 40 minutes to write. You can consult the notes throughout. The task asks for a letter body of approximately 180–200 words. Two OET assessors mark the letter independently against six criteria: Purpose (scored out of 3) and Content, Conciseness & Clarity, Genre & Style, Organisation & Layout and Language (each out of 7). The criteria guide explains each one.

Grade requirements differ between medical regulators and can change. Check the official OET website and your regulator for the current requirement that applies to you.

Letter types doctors commonly practise

OET describes the Writing task as a profession-specific letter such as a referral, advice, transfer or discharge. For medicine, general teaching practice suggests the following mix, with referrals the most common.

Worked examples: the referral letter sample (GP to gastroenterologist) and the urgent referral letter (GP to on-call ophthalmology). The transfer letter sample and discharge letter sample are nursing tasks but show the same handover logic.

Writing at the right level for the reader

Genre & Style rewards language that fits the reader. Doctors tend to write every letter at specialist level, which works for some readers and not for others.

To a specialist in another field

Medical terminology is appropriate, but expand abbreviations outside the reader's specialty on first use. A cardiologist may not instantly read "FIT" or "PANSS"; a gastroenterologist will. Keep the focus on the problem in their field and what you are asking them to do.

To a GP

GPs need a clear summary of what changed: the diagnosis, procedures, new and stopped medicines, results awaiting follow-up and who does what next. Avoid sub-specialty shorthand. Put follow-up actions where they are easy to find, usually the final paragraph.

To an allied health professional

Give enough clinical background for them to work safely (precautions, weight-bearing status, relevant comorbidities) and be specific about the input you want. "Please assess and treat" is weaker than "I would be grateful if you could start a graded mobility programme and advise on a walking aid".

To a patient

Medicine tasks to lay readers are less typical, but if one appears, use plain language. See the guide to writing an OET letter to a patient or carer.

What doctors should select from the notes

Medicine case notes are long, with full histories, several consultations and many results. A useful filter is to ask what the reader will do with each fact.

1. The reason for writing. The working diagnosis or concern, and the specific request (assessment, investigation, management, review).
2. The evidence. Symptoms with timeline, key examination findings and abnormal results with exact values. Group relevant normal results into one sentence as exclusions.
3. Management so far. Treatment started, stopped or changed, and its effect. Specialists want to avoid repeating what you have done.
4. Safety information. Current relevant medications, allergies and comorbidities that affect investigation or treatment (for example, anticoagulants before a procedure, or diabetes before steroids).
5. Timing and context. Urgency, and any real constraint such as planned travel, deterioration or carer issues.

Social history, distant surgery, family history unrelated to the problem and minor unrelated complaints are often distractors. Include them only if they change the reader's decision.

Common mistakes for doctors

A clinical summary instead of a letter

Headings such as "PMH:", "Meds:" and "Plan:" with bullet points belong in a discharge summary, not an OET letter. The task asks for full sentences and letter format, and note form affects several criteria.

Too many results

Listing every value from every blood test is the most common reason medicine letters run long. It also hides the abnormal results that justify the referral. The word count guide shows how to compress them.

A generic or late purpose

"I am writing regarding Mr X" does not say what you want. State the request in the first sentence, and expand it at the end with specific actions. Purpose is scored out of 3, and grade B is anchored at 2 out of 3 for Purpose with 5 out of 7 on the other criteria, so a weak opening is costly.

Burying the urgency

In urgent cases, current status and the action needed come first. Starting with a chronological history pushes the key information down the page.

Going beyond the notes

Adding a diagnosis, investigation or treatment that the notes do not mention can become a Content accuracy problem. You can express concern ("to exclude malignancy") without stating what the notes do not support.

Abbreviations and shorthand

"c/o", "O/E", "NAD", "SOB" and "PRN" are routine in clinical notes but should be written out in the letter, unless the abbreviation is one the reader will certainly know. More examples are in common OET Writing mistakes.

A practice routine for medicine candidates

Our practice tasks page has 40 original practice tasks for nursing and medicine, all written by us. You can write a letter for any of them and get estimated scores for each criterion in the free checker. Use these estimates alongside official OET preparation materials, not instead of them. For targeted advice on moving from C+ to B, see the grade B tips.