The OET Writing subtest can be tough at times, but you can score better by knowing and avoiding common mistakes that reduce your points. Any nurse, doctor, or other healthcare professional must be able to communicate coherently, clearly, and professionally in order to convey important information to the other person.
Tone and Formality
One of the most common errors is the misuse of tone. The assignment given for OET writing will be to write a referral letter or a discharge summary. These letters need to be formal, respectful, and clear. The biggest mistake usually happens either when candidates are too casual or when they get overly complicated.
How to Avoid
Keep your letter formal by avoiding slang phrases such as “I want to inform you” or “Just letting you know.” Instead, use phrases like “I would like to inform you about…” or “Please note that.” Be clear and respectful, use medical terminology wherever it is needed, and avoid technical jargon that is unknown to the reader.
Not Following The Structure
Most people make the mistake of not following or paying any attention to the format and structure of the letter. Generally, all OET writing letters should follow a clear and logical structure: introduction, body, and conclusion. Lack of organization in your letter will confuse the reader, negatively affecting your score.
How to Avoid
Begin the letter by using an appropriate salutation to address the recipient (“Dear Dr. Smith”). In the body of the letter, state the purpose clearly (for example, referral or discharge). All the information should be given in separate paragraphs according to different aspects of the case (for example, history of the patient, diagnosis, and treatment plan). Finally, conclude with a polite closing statement like, “Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require further information.”
Long or Illogical Sentences
Using sentences that are too long or illogical may sometimes confuse the reader and make the letter hard to understand. It’s easy to assume that using advanced vocabulary or long sentences will make your writing sound more professional, but quite often it has the opposite effect.
How to Avoid
Remember to keep your sentences short. Short, very clear sentences are much less hard to understand. Instead of using long sentences like “The patient was admitted to the hospital following a diagnosis of acute asthma, and after receiving immediate treatment, her condition stabilized, but she remains under observation,” you could simply shorten it to say, “The patient was admitted with acute asthma. After treatment, her condition improved, and she is now under observation.”
Missing Important Information
Some candidates leave important information out or omit critical medical history or treatment. They might end up composing a letter based on uninformed data that will confuse the recipients or cause them to draw the wrong conclusions.
How to Avoid
While reviewing the case notes, all the key information should be put in writing, such as the medical history of the patient, diagnosis, treatment plan, and any instructions for continuing care. Note what you want to write before you start, so that nothing is missed.
Grammar and Spelling Mistakes
Grammatical errors and spelling mistakes would distract the mind of the reader, and your letter would have less professionalism. Even minor mistakes can affect the scoring because, in OET, language precision is a must.
How to Avoid
Take some time to proofread your letter before you submit it. You can easily look for the usual mistakes: missing articles (“a,” “the”), wrong verb tenses, plural forms, and so on. Try to practice grammar exercises or ask your colleague or tutor to check your writing for errors that you may have overlooked.
Not Addressing the Audience
It is likely that the letter recipient would be a specialist, a general practitioner, or a nurse. You should, therefore, change your vocabulary and the amount of information going to your reader depending on who it is.
How to Avoid
Always remind yourself of whom you are writing to. You might not have to explain technical medical jargon if the recipient is a specialist. But for a general practitioner, you will have to elaborate more on it. Your letter should be suitable and applicable within the recipient’s area of expertise.
In order to avoid these common mistakes, you first need to know more about them. Keep things on track with the right tone, clear and straightforward structure, easy sentences, information relevant to the question, checking grammar, and the right tone towards the audience. All these things done well and dutifully will bring you towards achieving the desired score in OET.
Let’s Update Language Academy provides proper and specialized OET training for doctors in Kerala, enabling them to meet the language proficiency requirements of practicing in an English-speaking country. With an emphasis on giving training to doctors in OET, Let’s Update strengthens the preparatory skills of doctors through practical exercises, mock tests, and expert guidance, thus enhancing a doctor’s language and communication skills in the medical context.