telc Deutsch B1 Guides

telc B1 Writing: Structure and Language

By PreparaioEditorial team & sourcesUpdated July 19, 2026

The writing task in the telc B1 exam is an informal or semi-formal email about an everyday situation. You are given the situation and four guiding points, all of which must be addressed in the text.

You are graded on content (are all four guiding points addressed?), communicative design (salutation, sign-off, text structure), and formal correctness (grammar, spelling).

Contents

A Proven Structure

Salutation — Introduction (reason for the email) — Guiding point 1 — Guiding point 2 — Guiding point 3 — Guiding point 4 — Conclusion (expectation, request for reply) — Sign-off — Name.

Short paragraphs per guiding point visibly structure the text; this helps both the examiner and you.

The salutation depends on the addressee: informal e.g., "Liebe Anna," / "Hallo Tom,", semi-formal e.g., "Liebe Frau Weber," or "Sehr geehrter Herr X,".
Introduction: "ich schreibe Ihnen, weil …" / "ich habe Ihre Anzeige gelesen und …".
Conclusion: "Ich freue mich auf Ihre Antwort."
The sign-off should match the tone: "Viele Grüße" / "Liebe Grüße" or "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" + Name.

Address all four guiding points

The most common way to lose points: a guiding point is missing or only touched upon with a half-sentence. Mark the four points on your task sheet and tick them off as you write.

Each guiding point needs at least one complete sentence with a reason or example to count communicatively.

Time and Scope

Plan about five minutes for notes, around 20 minutes for writing, and five minutes for checking. The writing task in the official telc B1 practice test is allocated 30 minutes.

During the check phase: review the salutation and sign-off, go through all four guiding points, and check verbs and prepositions.

Typical Mistakes

A tone that doesn't suit the addressee (e.g., using "hi" or "ok" to a landlady, but also overly formal phrases to a friend), a missing sign-off, or a forgotten guiding point will unnecessarily cost points. The tone must match the given situation and the addressee.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to write a subject line?

For an email, a short subject line can be useful. However, the most crucial aspect is to fully and appropriately address the given situation and all four guiding points.

What happens if I forget a guiding point?

A missing guiding point weakens the task fulfillment. Therefore, before submitting, specifically check whether all four guiding points are present in the text.

Sources & currency

Exam version: telc Deutsch B1, as of 2026
Editorial check: Source check by the Preparaio editorial team (31 July 2026)
Author: Preparaio RedaktionEditorial team, fact-checking against official primary sources
Reviewed by: Source-checked by PreparaioSource comparison with the exam providers' own pages
Fact-check status: Source check in progress (31 July 2026)
Content version: 2026-07-31

How we check: Every exam-relevant fact is compared with the exam providers' official pages (g.a.s.t./TestDaF-Institut, BAMF, ETS, IELTS Partners, telc). The check is editorial, supported by AI and automated test gates; it is not a review by certified examiners.

The hard exam facts in this article were verified against the official primary sources linked below on the date shown. This is not a review by an examination body and does not replace information from your test centre. Fees, dates and local procedures are set by the test centres themselves.

Official primary sources

telc Deutsch B1 – Zertifikat Deutsch — telc gGmbH · telc.net · official primary source · checked on 31 July 2026

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