What the writing task asks
At B1 you must produce one letter or email — you choose one of two everyday topics and write a clear, structured reply of around 80–150 words. You are given a situation and bullet points you must cover — and covering every bullet is the first thing the examiner checks. Skipping a bullet costs marks even if your German is perfect.
The structure that scores
Every successful letter follows the same skeleton. Internalise it so you spend your exam time on content, not on deciding what comes next.
- Greeting in the right register (Sehr geehrte… or Liebe…).
- Opening sentence stating why you are writing.
- One paragraph per bullet point — all bullets covered.
- A polite closing request or statement.
- Sign-off matching the greeting (Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Liebe Grüße).
Choosing the right register
B1 writing is judged partly on whether you match formal or informal style to the situation. A complaint to a company needs Sie and formal phrases; a message to a friend uses du. Mixing them is a frequent and avoidable error.
Useful phrases to memorise
A bank of reliable connectors and set phrases lets you write quickly and accurately under pressure.
- Ich schreibe Ihnen, weil … (I am writing to you because …)
- Könnten Sie mir bitte mitteilen, … (Could you please let me know …)
- Aus diesem Grund möchte ich … (For this reason I would like to …)
- Über eine baldige Antwort würde ich mich freuen. (I look forward to a quick reply.)
Plan, write, check
Spend two minutes planning which bullet goes in which paragraph, write steadily, then save two minutes to check verb position, capital nouns and case endings. A quick check catches the small errors that drag your score down.
Common writing mistakes at B1
Typical losses at B1 come from missing a bullet point, wrong word order in subordinate clauses, forgetting to capitalise nouns, and mixing du/Sie. Each is easy to fix once you are aware of it — which is why feedback matters more than volume.
Practise with AI
Create a free Sprichst account and start practising with an AI tutor that gives instant feedback in seconds. Write a letter and the tutor marks it against the B1 criteria — content, structure, accuracy and register — then rewrites your weak sentences so you see the better version.
Try a free TELC mock test
Inside Sprichst you can sit full telc Deutsch B1 mock tests covering Lesen, Hören, Schreiben and Sprechen, with automatic scoring and AI evaluation of your writing and speaking. The writing task is AI-evaluated, giving you a realistic band and concrete fixes you can apply before exam day.
TELC readiness check
Before you book your telc Deutsch B1 exam, find out whether you are actually ready. A readiness check is simply a full, timed mock test that produces a single score across reading, listening, writing and speaking — the same four skills the real exam measures. If your readiness score is comfortably above the pass mark on two separate tests, you are ready to book with confidence.
Sprichst turns each mock attempt into a readiness score and breaks it down by section, so you can see at a glance whether your writing (schreiben) work is paying off or whether another skill is holding you back. Re-check every couple of weeks to track your progress toward 60% overall (roughly 180 of 300 points) and you must pass the written and oral parts together.
Unlock all TELC mock tests with Pro
The free plan lets you try your first full telc Deutsch B1 mock test so you can experience the format and get an honest starting score. To pass reliably, though, most candidates need several timed attempts — and that is what Sprichst Pro unlocks.
With Pro you get unlimited access to every TELC B1 and B2 mock test, unlimited AI tutor conversations and writing corrections, and the full spaced-repetition vocabulary trainer. It is the most affordable way to prepare for telc Deutsch B1 without paying for a classroom course, and you can practise on your own schedule.