Step 1: find out where you stand in one sitting
Start with one timed session on paper, not with separate drills.
DUO has three free A2 writing practice exams as PDFs. Print one and do all four tasks in one go: a form, a short article and two messages (e-mails, or an e-mail and a short note). Set a timer for 40 minutes. Write by hand, with no spell check, no dictionary and no phone.
Then check your work with four questions:
- Did I finish all four tasks?
- Did I answer every point in each task?
- Did I write whole sentences?
- Does each message fit its printed greeting and closing, in one register (u or je)?
If a task is unfinished or misses points, that is your main problem now. If a task is hard to understand, off-topic or not in Dutch, it can score zero.
Small grammar mistakes come later. This one sitting gives you your study order. It also shows whether time is your problem, or task control.
New to the format? First read how the inburgering writing exam works.
Step 2: cover every point before you polish
Assessors score each message on five criteria. The first one, adequaatheid (adequacy), is a gate. A text must do what the task asks. If adequacy gets 0, grammar, spelling, coherence and vocabulary also get 0. Neat spelling cannot save an answer that misses the task.
So work in this order every time:
- Underline the points or questions in the task.
- Write one short idea for each point.
- Check the text type: form, note, e-mail or article.
- Only then improve verbs, spelling and linking words.
In the e-mail and the note, missing one point costs you at once. In the short article, answer all three guiding questions in one connected paragraph, not as a list. In the form, do not rush past the free-text box, such as Reden van aanmelding. It asks you to explain something in whole sentences, and it carries points.
Write so the reader can act. A huisarts (GP) assistant should know why you write. A gemeente (municipality) worker should see what you need. A neighbour should understand what happened and what you want next.
Step 3: practise the habits that cost the most points
Train the common errors before style. The fastest lost points come from:
- a missing point from the task
- u and je mixed in one text
- too few sentences when the task says Schrijf minimaal drie zinnen
- one long line with no full stops
These errors are easy to see and cheaper to fix than deep grammar gaps.
Take five old tasks and do only the planning step. Underline each point, read the printed greeting to see who the reader is, and write one idea per point. Then write the full answer.
You do not choose the greeting and closing. The booklet prints them in every e-mail and note. Read them first, because they set the register.
After Beste meneer Jansen, you write u. After a first name, such as Hallo Fariha, to a colleague, you usually write je. Do not switch from u to je halfway.
Next, practise sentence control. A2 rewards simple Dutch done correctly: whole sentences, a capital at the start, a full stop at the end and the verb in second place in a main clause. A short correct sentence is better than a long broken one. Our A2 writing sentence templates give you safe patterns for each task.
What can wait if time is short?
- rare vocabulary
- long explanations
- opinion writing
- perfect grammar in every line
The article is not an essay. Write a short personal text about daily life in one paragraph.
A six-week plan for A2 Schrijven
This plan fits a working adult: a few short evenings and one longer session a week.
Weeks 1 and 2: diagnosis. Do one full practice exam in week 1. Make an error list by type: missed point, wrong register, too short, punctuation, verb position, spelling, unclear message.
In week 2, do four sessions of 20 to 30 minutes. Spend two on e-mails or notes, one on the form and one on a short article.
Weeks 3 and 4: light time pressure. Do one timed two-task session on a weekday and one full four-task session at the weekend. After each task, rewrite only its biggest weakness. Missed a point? Rewrite for coverage. Mixed u and je? Rewrite for register. Run-on sentences? Rewrite with full stops.
Weeks 5 and 6: exam rhythm. Alternate a full practice exam with a targeted week on your two weakest task types. If your forms are fine but your e-mails lose points, stop doing extra forms.
Short on time? Keep three things: full tasks on paper, every point covered, and one register per text. Track progress simply: fewer missed points, fewer register errors and better timing. For more tasks in the DUO style, use our Dutch writing exam practice.
Where the points go in A2 Schrijven
The biggest loss is a text that does not fully answer the task. One point is missing, the article answers two of the three questions, or the form's explanation box says almost nothing.
Next come register errors: je in a text that starts with Beste meneer Jansen, or u and je mixed in one text.
Then come sentence errors that repeat across tasks:
- the verb not in second place in a main clause
- no full stops between sentences
- too few sentences
- no capital at the start of a sentence
Vocabulary matters in a narrower way. Reuse words from the task when they fit. Avoid English words when a common Dutch one exists, such as bijlage instead of attachment. The topics repeat: school, work, neighbours, the doctor, the library, a sports club, online shopping and the gemeente. Learn clean phrases for those first.
The last week and exam day
In the last week, do one or two full sessions on paper, then stop heavy practice. Review your checklist:
- every point covered
- a text that fits the printed greeting and closing
- u or je, but not both
- whole sentences, with capitals and full stops
- time to reread each task once
On exam day, arrive 30 minutes early and bring a valid ID. You may not take your own paper, pen, phone or watch into the room. You write with the blue pen you get there; every booklet asks for it. Staff explain the rules for 15 minutes, then you get 40 minutes for the four tasks (DUO exam rules).
In the exam, keep your method small. Read the task, mark the points, decide the reader, and write one idea per point. Do not chase perfect Dutch. Write clear Dutch that answers the task.