Writing in the Polish exam: forms and marking criteria

In the writing module, you lose points not only for grammar mistakes. Mistakes in the form of the text are just as costly: no addressee, the wrong style, omitting a point from the task, chaotic composition, or a text that does not match the word limit. In the exam, you have to show that you can write a specific text to a specific person in a specific situation.

What you need to be able to do at B1, B2 and C1

The requirements standard lists written forms separately for each level. At B1, everyday and school forms dominate: an invitation, an announcement, a letter, a description, a story, a report from a trip or holiday, a simple review and a school essay. At B2, more official and argumentative forms are added: an application, an official letter, a cover letter, an advertisement, a discursive essay. At C1, the longer forms remain, and a speech is added as well.

Form or group of forms	B1	B2	C1	What to watch out for
Wishes, greetings, invitation	yes	yes	not in the list	short, clear, with information about who, whom, where and when
Notice, announcement	yes	yes	not in the list	specific information, contact details, purpose of the text
Personal, formal and informal letter	yes	yes	yes	the addressee determines the style and forms of address
Description of a person, object, place, situation	yes	yes	yes	order of the description, adjectives, prepositions of place
Description of a landscape	not in the list	yes	yes	spatial vocabulary and mood
Character profile	person	person, environment, elements of reality	person, environment, elements of reality	not only appearance, but also traits, behavior, evaluation
Story, report, review, essay	yes	yes	yes	introduction, development, conclusion, coherence
Application, official letter, cover letter	not in the list	yes	yes	official style, purpose, arguments, politeness
Advertisement, discursive essay, speech	advertisement and discursive essay not in the list, essay yes	advertisement and discursive essay yes	advertisement, discursive essay and speech yes	persuasion, argumentation, logical paragraphs

The word limit is part of the task in the exam paper. Do not treat it as decoration. A text that is too short usually does not address all the points. A text that is too long increases the risk of mistakes and chaos. The safest approach is to plan the text before writing and check the length after each paragraph.

How to build the most common text types

A short text must answer these questions: who is writing, to whom, why, when, where, and what the recipient should do. In an invitation, write what you are inviting someone to, when and where the event will take place, why it is worth coming, and how to confirm attendance. In an announcement, give the most important facts at the beginning. Do not build suspense as you would in a story.

You write an informal letter to a colleague, friend, or family member. You can use forms such as: "Cześć, Aniu!", "Dawno się nie odzywałem", "Napisz, co u Ciebie". A formal letter and an official letter require distance: "Szanowni Państwo", "Zwracam się z prośbą", "Uprzejmie proszę o informację". In an official letter, avoid colloquial abbreviations and emotional comments.

A description should have order. First the general impression, then the details. When describing a place, use spatial expressions: "po lewej stronie", "naprzeciwko wejścia", "w pobliżu przystanku". If this is a problem for you, review prepositions (przyimki) and their government (rekcja).

A story has events in time. You need a beginning, a turning point, and an ending. A report is more factual: you describe the course of an event, for example a holiday, a trip, or a meeting. A review is not a newspaper article. In the exam, the point is to give an opinion about a film, book, or event: you briefly present the topic, evaluate it, and justify your view.

An argumentative essay and an essay require thinking in paragraphs. In an argumentative essay, you state a thesis or a problem, give arguments, examples, and a conclusion. A school essay is looser, but it still must have a structure. The coherence of sentences depends on linking words, so before the exam it is worth reviewing conjunctions (spójniki) and complex sentences (zdania złożone).

A phrase bank that saves the structure

To begin a text: "Chciałbym zaprosić Państwa na spotkanie", "Piszę, ponieważ chciałbym wyjaśnić pewną sprawę", "W ostatni weekend uczestniczyłem w ciekawym wydarzeniu".

To organize arguments: "Po pierwsze", "Z jednej strony", "Z drugiej strony", "Warto też zauważyć", "Nie można pominąć faktu, że".

To express an opinion: "Moim zdaniem", "Uważam, że", "Trudno mi się z tym zgodzić", "Ten film zrobił na mnie duże wrażenie".

To finish: "Mam nadzieję, że moja prośba zostanie rozpatrzona pozytywnie", "Będę wdzięczny za odpowiedź", "Podsumowując, uważam, że", "Daj znać, czy możesz przyjść".

Do not learn phrases as empty formulas. Every phrase must fit the style. The sentence "Daj znać, czy możesz przyjść" fits when writing to a friend. In a letter to an office, it will be stylistically incorrect.

Three assessment criteria: what the examiner really checks

The first criterion is task completion. This means following the instruction. If you have to describe a problem, give two causes, and propose a solution, all three elements must appear. Nice language will not save a text that answers only half of the instruction.

The second criterion is language resources, meaning your range of words, phrases, and structures. At B1, simple but appropriate language is enough. At B2 and C1, greater precision, better linking words, and a natural official and unofficial style are expected. In a cover letter, it is better to write "posiadam doświadczenie w obsłudze klienta" than "robiłem z klientami".

The third criterion is language accuracy. This means declension, syntax (składnia), spelling, and punctuation. If you often lose case (przypadki) endings, review cases and noun declension. If your sentences are correct but sound foreign, the problem may lie in syntax and word order. At B2 and C1, spelling, punctuation, and style become more important. The section spelling and punctuation will be helpful.

Sample sentences and passages

1. "Chciałbym zaprosić Cię na moje urodziny, które odbędą się w sobotę o godzinie 18.00 w moim mieszkaniu".
2. "Zwracam się z prośbą o przesłanie informacji dotyczących rekrutacji na studia".
3. "Mieszkanie znajduje się blisko centrum, ale okolica jest spokojna i dobrze skomunikowana".
4. "Najpierw zwiedziliśmy stare miasto, a potem spotkaliśmy się z przewodnikiem przed muzeum".
5. "Moim zdaniem książka jest ciekawa, ponieważ pokazuje problemy młodych ludzi bez moralizowania".
6. "Po pierwsze, praca zdalna oszczędza czas, po drugie, wymaga dużej samodyscypliny".
7. "Będę wdzięczny za pozytywne rozpatrzenie mojej prośby".
8. "Podsumowując, uważam, że szkoła powinna uczyć nie tylko teorii, lecz także praktycznych umiejętności".

Typical mistakes made by Ukrainian, Russian and English speakers

Ukrainian and Russian are close to Polish, but that is exactly why false automatisms are easy to produce.

• Ukrainian: *Zapraszam was na moje dzień urodzenia. Correct: "Zapraszam was na moje urodziny". The mistake comes from a lexical calque and from a different convention for naming this occasion.
• Ukrainian: *Piszę do Pana z pytaniem po mojej sprawie. Correct: "Piszę do Pana w sprawie mojego wniosku". This is a syntactic calque and a problem with the preposition.
• Russian: *Będę czekać na waszą odpowiedź z нетерпением. Correct: "Z niecierpliwością czekam na Państwa odpowiedź". This is a false friend and the wrong style for formal writing.
• Russian: *Na końcu chcę powiedzieć, że ten problem jest ważny. Correct: "Na zakończenie chciałbym podkreślić, że ten problem jest ważny". The mistake comes from a calque and from a style that is too colloquial.
• English: *Ja aplikuję na tę pracę. Correct: "Ubiegam się o tę pracę" or "Składam podanie o pracę". This is a calque from "apply for a job". In a formal Polish text, do not carry over the English verb pattern word for word.
• English: *Mam nadzieję słyszeć od Państwa wkrótce. Correct: "Mam nadzieję, że wkrótce otrzymam od Państwa odpowiedź". This is a syntactic calque from English. Polish does not use the English "hope to hear" structure here, but a clause with że.
• English: *W mojej opinii, studenci powinni pracować. Correct: "Moim zdaniem studenci powinni pracować". This is the influence of the English expression "in my opinion". The Polish exam-style expression is Moim zdaniem, not a word-for-word transfer.
• English: *To zależy od jak ludzie używają internetu. Correct: "To zależy od tego, jak ludzie używają internetu". English does not have the same construction with the pronoun "tego". In Polish, od needs this element before the clause with jak.

What it looks like on the exam

Writing is one of the four modules of the written part. The other modules are listening comprehension, reading comprehension and grammatical accuracy. After the written part, there is also an oral part.

At B1, the writing module in the sample papers lasts 75 minutes and is worth a maximum of 30 points. The whole written part has four modules of 30 points each, for a total of 120 points. For exams up to December 31, 2026, the passing threshold is at least 50% in each module separately and in the oral part. There is no average taken from the modules.

At B2, the writing module in the sample papers lasts 90 minutes and is worth a maximum of 40 points. The whole written part has four modules of 40 points each, for a total of 160 points. The passing threshold is at least 60% in each module separately and in the oral part.

At C1, the writing module also lasts 90 minutes in the sample papers and is worth a maximum of 40 points. The oral part at C1 lasts up to 20 minutes. The passing threshold is the same as at B2: at least 60% in each module separately and in the oral part.

In the writing module, you receive an instruction with a specific situation, form of text and word limit. The number of tasks and the exact limit come from the specific exam paper. You should not guess them. The most important thing is that, before writing, you underline in the instruction: the form, the addressee, the style, all content points and the limit.

What to review before the exam

• Templates for an invitation, announcement, letter, description, story, review and essay.
• Formal and informal phrases, and the difference between them.
• Connectors for argumentation: "po pierwsze", "jednak", "dlatego", "mimo to", "podsumowując".
• The declension of nouns (odmiana rzeczowników), adjectives (przymiotników) and verbs (czasowników) in typical exam sentences.
• Prepositions (przyimki) used in descriptions of places, official matters and letters.
• Spelling, commas and capitalization in proper names.
• Keeping control of the word limit: a plan, paragraphs, and a quick check of content and mistakes before handing in your work.