Writing in Polish from a note to an argument

Writing in Polish is difficult not because you lack ideas. Most often the problem is different: the idea is there, but the text has no plan, the paragraphs are random, the style shifts from official to private, and sentences are translated word for word from your native language. In the exam and in real life, a good text does not have to be beautiful. It has to answer the task, have a clear structure, fit the addressee and be as correct as possible.

1. Start with the task, not with the first sentence

The worst strategy is to start writing immediately. First read the task and underline three things: the form of the text, the addressee and the purpose.

The form of the text tells you what you have to write: zaproszenie, ogłoszenie, list prywatny, opis, opowiadanie, sprawozdanie, recenzję, esej albo tekst argumentacyjny. The addressee tells you what style to use: you write differently to a friend than to an office. The purpose tells you what the text is supposed to do: invite, inform, apologize, describe, persuade, make a request.

At B1, a simple, controlled composition is enough. You have to show that you can write a typical text from an everyday situation: a letter, an announcement, a description, a story, a report from a trip, a simple opinion about a film or a book. At B2, you already need to plan and edit more formal texts consciously, for example an application, an official letter, a cover letter and a rozprawkę, meaning an argumentative text. At C1, greater independence, better style and more control over argumentation are expected.

Make a short working note. Do not write full sentences. Keywords are enough:

• temat: praca zdalna,
• teza: ma więcej plusów niż minusów,
• argument 1: oszczędność czasu,
• argument 2: większa samodzielność,
• argument 3: problem kontaktu z ludźmi,
• wniosek: model mieszany jest najlepszy.

This kind of note protects you from chaos. If you are also learning the structure of complex sentences (zdania złożone), go back to the section Conjunctions and complex sentences.

2. One paragraph, one function

A paragraph is a part of a text that develops one idea. Do not make a new paragraph after every sentence. Also, do not write the whole text as one block.

The simplest structure looks like this:

1. Introduction - you show the topic and purpose.
2. Development - you give information, describe the situation or present arguments.
3. Ending - you summarize, ask for a reply, invite someone or draw a conclusion.

In short forms, such as an announcement or an invitation, paragraphs can be very short. What matters is that you do not lose the information from the task. In longer forms, each paragraph should have its own role.

In an argumentative text, follow this rule: one argument is one paragraph. First the main sentence, then the explanation, then an example. Do not start with the example if the reader does not know why you are giving it.

Weak paragraph: "Ludzie pracują z domu. Nie stoją w korkach. Są też problemy. Moja koleżanka tak pracuje".

Better paragraph: "Pierwszym argumentem za pracą zdalną jest oszczędność czasu. Osoba, która nie dojeżdża codziennie do biura, może przeznaczyć ten czas na odpoczynek albo rodzinę. Na przykład moja koleżanka zaczyna pracę spokojniej, bo nie traci godziny w autobusie".

If you often lose endings after prepositions (przyimki), practice Prepositions and their government at the same time, because errors such as *w urząd instead of w urzędzie seriously damage the readability of a text.

3. Conjunctions organize the text, but they do not save it

Conjunctions and organizing expressions help the reader and the examiner see the logic of the text. However, do not use ten difficult conjunctions if you do not control the sentence.

To add an argument, use: "po pierwsze", "po drugie", "ponadto", "oprócz tego".

For contrast: "jednak", "natomiast", "z drugiej strony", "mimo to".

For cause: "ponieważ", "bo", "dlatego że", "z tego powodu".

For result: "dlatego", "więc", "w rezultacie".

For an example: "na przykład", "przykładem może być", "można tu podać".

For a summary: "podsumowując", "moim zdaniem", "z tych powodów", "uważam, że".

At B1, a few safe connectors are enough: "bo", "ponieważ", "ale", "dlatego", "najpierw", "potem", "na koniec". At B2, you already need better organization of arguments and counterarguments. At C1, a list of conjunctions alone is not enough. The text should flow logically, and the conjunctions should feel natural, not mechanical.

Pay attention to word order (szyk wyrazów) after conjunctions. After "dlatego", the order of the sentence often changes: "Byłem chory, dlatego nie przyszedłem na spotkanie". You can find more about word order in the section Syntax and word order (składnia i szyk wyrazów).

4. Register: decide who you are writing to

Register is the style chosen for the situation. More simply: you write differently to a friend than to the dean's office, an office, an employer, or a client you do not know.

In an informal text, you can write: "Cześć Aniu", "Dzięki za wiadomość", "Mam nadzieję, że u Ciebie wszystko dobrze", "Napisz, co o tym myślisz".

In a formal text, choose forms such as: "Szanowni Państwo", "Zwracam się z prośbą", "Uprzejmie proszę o informację", "Będę wdzięczny za odpowiedź", "Z poważaniem".

Do not mix registers. The sentence "Szanowni Państwo, dzięki za szybką odpowiedź" is unnatural, because a formal opening is combined with the private "dzięki". Better: "Szanowni Państwo, dziękuję za szybką odpowiedź".

At B1, you must distinguish between formal and informal style in basic forms. At B2, there are texts where this choice is especially important: an application, an official letter, a cover letter. At C1, the style should also be consistent in longer texts, for example in an opinion essay or a speech.

If you are writing to an institution, avoid emotional language. Instead of "Bardzo potrzebuję tego dokumentu, proszę szybko mi go dać", write: "Uprzejmie proszę o przesłanie dokumentu w możliwie najbliższym terminie".

5. Example sentences you can use

The sentences below show ready-made text functions. Do not learn them like a poem. Change the topic, person, and details.

1. "Zwracam się z prośbą o informację, czy mogę złożyć dokumenty w przyszłym tygodniu".
2. "Chciałbym zaprosić Panią na spotkanie organizacyjne, które odbędzie się w piątek o godzinie 17.00".
3. "Moim zdaniem praca zdalna jest wygodna, ale nie powinna całkowicie zastępować kontaktu z zespołem".
4. "Pierwszym argumentem za takim rozwiązaniem jest oszczędność czasu".
5. "Z drugiej strony trzeba pamiętać, że nie każdy ma w domu dobre warunki do pracy".
6. "Na przykład wielu studentów uczy się lepiej, kiedy może zadawać pytania nauczycielowi na żywo".
7. "Podsumowując, uważam, że najlepszy jest model mieszany, ponieważ łączy elastyczność i kontakt z ludźmi".
8. "Będę wdzięczny za odpowiedź i informację o dalszych krokach".

After writing sentences like these, check the cases (przypadki) after verbs. The section Verb government (rekcja czasownika) will be helpful, especially with the verbs "potrzebować", "szukać", "używać", "uczyć się", "pomagać".

6. Typical mistakes made by Ukrainian-, Russian-, and English-speaking learners

1. *Piszę do Pan w sprawie mieszkania. - Piszę do Pana w sprawie mieszkania. The error comes from not inflecting the form "Pan" or from omitting the genitive (dopełniacz) after "do".

2. *Proszę dać mi informację o terminie. - Proszę o informację o terminie. This is a calque from Ukrainian, Russian, or English. In an official Polish style, "proszę o informację" is more natural.

3. *Na mojej opinii praca zdalna jest dobra. - Moim zdaniem praca zdalna jest dobra. This is a calque of the English "in my opinion" or the influence of constructions from East Slavic languages. Polish does not build this expression by translating the English preposition "in" word for word.

4. *Pierwsze, opiszę problem. - Po pierwsze, opiszę problem. In Polish, when organizing arguments, we use the expression "po pierwsze", not the adjective alone.

5. *W końcu, chcę powiedzieć, że to dobre rozwiązanie. - Na koniec chcę powiedzieć, że to dobre rozwiązanie. The English "finally" is often translated as "w końcu", but in a conclusion "na koniec" or "podsumowując" sounds better. Discourse markers are not a one-to-one mapping between English and Polish.

6. *Chcę opowiedzieć o filmie który oglądałem wczoraj. - Chcę opowiedzieć o filmie, który oglądałem wczoraj. Before "który", "która", "które" we usually put a comma. This is a common mistake because punctuation in English works differently.

7. *Ten problem jest ważnym dla studentów. - Ten problem jest ważny dla studentów. After "jest", an adjective in this function usually takes the nominative (mianownik): "ważny", "trudny", "potrzebny". The mistake often comes from a Russian or Ukrainian pattern with the instrumental case (narzędnik).

8. *Nie tracę czas na dojazd. - Nie tracę czasu na dojazd. After negation, many verbs require the genitive, so "czas" changes to "czasu". If this is difficult, review Negation and the genitive of negation.

9. *Szanowni Państwo, dzięki za odpowiedź. - Szanowni Państwo, dziękuję za odpowiedź. This mixes the official and unofficial register.

7. How to check your text before handing it in

Do not check everything at once. Read the text several times, each time with a different purpose.

First reading: the task instruction. Have you really answered all the points? Is the form correct? If it was supposed to be a letter, does the text look like a letter? If it was supposed to be an opinion, is there an opinion, not just a description?

Second reading: paragraphs. Does each paragraph have a function? Does the text have a beginning, a development, and an ending? Do the arguments avoid repeating the same idea?

Third reading: register. Are you mixing "Cześć" with "Z poważaniem"? When writing to someone you do not know, do you write "Pan", "Pani", "Państwo" with a capital letter if the convention of the letter requires it?

Fourth reading: grammar. Check noun endings after prepositions, verb forms, negations, and gender agreement. If you write "moja problem", correct it to "mój problem". If you write "dwa ważne argumentów", correct it to "dwa ważne argumenty".

Fifth reading: punctuation and spelling. Look for commas before "że", "który", "ponieważ", "dlatego że". Check capital letters in names and polite forms of address. At B1, knowledge of basic spelling and punctuation is required. At B2, more rules are added, including the spelling of "ó/u", "rz/ż", "h/ch", "ę/en/em", "ą/on/om", as well as joined and separate spelling. At C1, you need to know the rules from the lower levels, although occasional slips can still happen.

What to do in the coming week

• Choose 3 text types: one private, one official, and one argumentative.
• For each type, first make notes in bullet points, without full sentences.
• Write 1 text of each type using the structure: introduction, development, conclusion.
• In each text, mark the conjunctions and check whether they really connect ideas.
• Correct the register: separately list official and informal phrases.
• At the end, check the text against this list: task instruction, paragraphs, register, grammar, punctuation.
• Write down 5 typical mistakes of your own and the correct versions next to them. Go back to this list when you write the next text.