Start with one full sitting: 12 tasks in 100 minutes
Find your level in one evening, not after weeks of random practice. Do one complete past paper under exam conditions: 100 minutes, typed on a computer, all 12 tasks in one run. If you plan to use the Van Dale Pocketwoordenboek NT2 on the day, use it now too.
CvTE publishes full past exams with their assessment models in the Facet practice environment. Do not skip the eight zinstaken because they look small: they are two thirds of the tasks.
Then review in this order:
- Did each answer do what the task asked?
- Did it include every required point?
- If the task named a number, such as two reasons, did you meet it?
- If the pictures or table do not go with the message, can a reader follow your text without them?
Only after that, look at grammar and spelling. Your mistakes tell you where to start.
Missed points mean you need better task reading. Broken word order in the zinstaken means you need construction drills. Running out of time means you need a time plan.
Where the 47 points sit
The 2025 paper had 47 points: 16 for the eight zinstaken, 7 for a form and 8 each for three e-mails. In 2024 there was no form, so the total was 48. You needed 25 of 47 in 2025.
Each zinstaak gets 1 point for an adequate answer and 1 for correct grammar. You earn points on the longer tasks for content (up to 3), grammar (up to 2), spelling, word use and, except on a form, cohesion. Two trained assessors score your work separately.
One rule shapes all your preparation. If a task gets 0 for adequaatheid/begrijpelijkheid, the assessors stop there. That score means the answer does not read as a response to the task. If you cover only part of a longer task, the content score stops at 2. So cover the content first, then polish the Dutch.
Drill the four zinstaken constructions first
Every published Programma I paper has four zinstaken that force one construction through the word before the gap:
- a main clause after want
- a subordinate clause after omdat or zodat, verb at the end
- inversion after a word like daarom, verb before subject
- te plus an infinitive after om
Practise them as short messages, not as grammar sheets. The construction alone does not earn the grammar point: a word order or agreement error still costs it. Our B1 word order guide and writing sentence templates cover the patterns.
Never copy sentences from the task. Copied sentences score nothing.
Then train the longer tasks by counting points
Before you write, underline every required point and every number word, such as minimaal or ten minste. Make a mini-plan: one line per point. After writing, mark where each point appears in your text. If you cannot point to it, the assessors cannot score it.
Also practise the typical B1 move: turning pictures or a table into a message that stands alone. Write full sentences that name the activity, give your preference and add the reasons the task asks for.
CvTE gives no word count for these tasks, so do not train for length. Extra sentences with errors count against you, and extra sentences without errors earn nothing.
An eight-week plan for working adults
Three or four focused evenings a week is enough for good NT2 exam preparation on this part.
- Weeks 1 and 2: one full timed paper, then sort every mistake into four boxes: missed task, missed point, broken construction, language error. Keep your own mistake bank.
- Weeks 3 and 4: sets of eight zinstaken, timed at about 20 minutes. On other evenings, one picture or table task, then rewrite it once.
- Weeks 5 and 6: longer tasks by point counting. Plan, write, then check each required point.
- Weeks 7 and 8: mix full sets with repair work. Rewrite only the answers that failed the task, because they turn zeros into points.
If time is short, drop general grammar study. Keep three things: the four constructions, careful task reading and stand-alone e-mails. Our B1 writing practice gives you timed tasks for NT2 schrijven oefenen, covering each of these.
The final week
Do one last 100-minute sitting early in the week. Review only the answers that missed the task. After that, keep sessions short: four zinstaken, one plan for a longer task, one rewrite.
On the day, use one simple method for every task: read it, mark the required points, write the answer that does the job, then move on. For exam-day tactics, read our Schrijven tips. Check your exam date and practical details on the DUO Staatsexamen NT2 page.