What to expect on exam day
The A2 Schrijven (Writing) exam is a pen-and-paper exam. You write by hand in blue pen. It is not a computer exam at A2.
You get a booklet with four writing tasks. The topics come from everyday life in the Netherlands, such as school, work, neighbours, the doctor, the gemeente (municipality), sport, the library, or online shopping.
The instructions on the page are short and direct. You may see lines such as:
Vul het formulier in.
Fill in the form.
Schrijf het bericht. Schrijf in hele zinnen. Schrijf minimaal drie zinnen.
Write the message. Write in full sentences. Write at least three sentences.
Schrijf de e-mail. Schrijf in hele zinnen.
Write the email. Write in full sentences.
Schrijf een kort artikel. Schrijf in hele zinnen. Schrijf minimaal drie zinnen.
Write a short article. Write in full sentences. Write at least three sentences.
You don't choose between task types. Each booklet contains one task of each type. DUO assessors read your handwritten answers after the exam and score them with a fixed rubric.
How the Schrijven (Writing) section is built
The section always has four parts, and each part is a different writing task.
The first task type is a formulier (form). This is usually a real-life form, such as a registration form for the gemeente (municipality), a huisarts (GP), a course, a sport club, a library, a school, work, or a housing complaint. One part is often personal data like name, date of birth, phone number, email address, and address. There is often also one small box where you must explain something in full sentences, for example your reason for registering.
The second task type is a short note or message. You usually write about 3 to 5 full sentences. The reader is often someone close to your daily life, such as a neighbour, colleague, babysitter, course coordinator, friend, coach, or your child's teacher. Greeting, message, and closing all matter here.
Example of the kind of note structure you may need:
Beste buurvrouw,
Dear neighbour,
Ik ben morgen niet thuis. Kunt u mijn pakket aannemen? Ik haal het 's avonds op. Alvast bedankt.
I am not at home tomorrow. Can you accept my package? I will pick it up in the evening. Thanks in advance.
Groeten,
Regards,
The third task type is an email. On the real DUO exam, this is semi-formal. You usually write about 4 to 6 full sentences. The prompt gives 3 or 4 points you must include, such as why you write, what happened, and what you want the other person to do.
Example of the kind of email opening and closing you may need:
Beste meneer Jansen,
Dear Mr Jansen,
Ik schrijf u omdat ik morgen niet kan komen. Ik heb een afspraak bij de dokter. Kunt u mij het huiswerk mailen?
I am writing to you because I cannot come tomorrow. I have an appointment with the doctor. Can you email me the homework?
Met vriendelijke groet,
Kind regards,
The fourth task type is a short free text or short article. You usually write one short paragraph in 3 to 6 full sentences. The task may ask you to write for a wijkkrant (neighbourhood newsletter), describe your weekend, reflect on a course, or describe a recent event. It is not an opinion essay. The prompt usually gives three guiding questions, and you answer them in one connected paragraph, not as separate numbered answers.
How it is scored
Your exam is hand-graded by certified DUO assessors. They use fixed criteria, not general impression only.
For the short note and the email, DUO uses five criteria:
- adequacy and understandability
- grammar
- spelling
- coherence
- vocabulary
Adequacy is the gate criterion. If your text is off-topic, unreadable, or in the wrong language, that task gets zero, and the other criteria for that task also become zero.
Content coverage matters a lot. If the prompt gives bullet points or instructions, you must include them. In the note and email tasks, missing one required point causes a content deduction straight away.
Register also matters. If you mix u and je in one text, assessors can deduct points. The same happens if your opening and closing do not match the reader. For example, this is a bad mix:
Hoi meneer De Vries
Hi Mr De Vries
Kunt je morgen komen?
Can you come tomorrow?
That combines informal and formal forms in one message.
Assessors also look at simple grammar and sentence shape. A common problem is wrong word order in the main clause, especially the Dutch verb-second pattern. Punctuation and capitals count too, including Ik at the start of a sentence and full stops at the end.
The form task uses the same five criteria, but with a different maximum score for that task. On forms, content coverage is also a big part of the score, especially if you leave fields empty or write your own personal data incorrectly.
Number of questions and time
There are 4 tasks in total. That is always one form, one short note, one email, and one short free text.
The total exam time is about 40 minutes. That means you need to keep moving and write clearly without spending too long on one task.
The task lengths are different:
- form: short filled answers plus usually one small full-sentence explanation
- short note: about 30 to 50 words
- email: about 50 to 70 words
- short free text: about 60 to 80 words
The sentence minimum in the instruction matters. If the task says Schrijf minimaal drie zinnen. and you write only two, that can lower your score.
Because the exam is handwritten, there is no autocorrect and no typed editing. Your spelling, capitals, punctuation, and handwriting all matter on the page the assessor sees.
Tips to pass
On this exam, small routine mistakes cost points. You can avoid many of them if you follow the task exactly.
First, copy the format the task asks for. If it is a form, fill the fields and write the explanation in full sentences where needed. If it is a note or email, include an opening, the message itself, and a closing. If it is a short article, write one connected paragraph.
Second, answer every required point in the prompt. In email and note tasks, the bullet points are not optional. If the task asks you to explain why you are writing, give information, and ask something, do all three.
Third, keep one register from start to finish. Use u with a formal reader such as a teacher, manager, huisarts (GP), or gemeente (municipality). Do not start with Beste meneer... and later switch to je.
Fourth, write full sentences with clear punctuation. Short sentences are safer than one long sentence without stops. Connect ideas with simple words such as en, maar, want, and omdat.
Fifth, use Dutch words from the prompt when you can. That helps vocabulary and keeps your answer on topic. Avoid English spellings for common Dutch words.
Last, practise on paper as well as in an app. The real A2 exam is handwritten, so you need practice with timing, spelling, and legible writing under exam conditions. InburgeringPrep helps you train the exact task types and common scoring points, then you can copy your answer onto paper to practise the real exam habit.