Der PrüferReal Goethe letter mistakes, explained with humour

Read first, then book. Your result lists every module (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking) with its points. A module is passed from 60 out of 100 points.

Check which module is missing and how close it was. Then plan your preparation for exactly that module. The full plan: Failed the Goethe exam?.

At B1, B2 and C1, no. The Goethe-Zertifikat is a modular exam at these levels: you only retake the module that stayed under 60 points, for example just Writing. A1 and A2 are taken again as a whole.

Just under 60 points and a clear cause (a forgotten Leitpunkt, for example): a few weeks of focused practice are often enough. Well below: plan in months rather than weeks.

The rhythm matters more than the time: write texts every week, get feedback, improve. Study plan up to the exam.

Write real exam tasks under time pressure, one or two a week. Have every text rated by the four Goethe criteria, not just for grammar.

Keep a list of your own mistakes and rewrite weak texts. If you know your three most common mistakes, you lose far fewer points in the exam.

No. A memorised letter almost never fits the task exactly, and examiners recognise it. Then Leitpunkte are missing or the tone is wrong, and that costs points for task completion (Erfüllung).

Learn building blocks instead: salutation, opening, transitions, closing line and sign-off. Write the content new for every task.

Yes, but check the rating. General chatbots often rate exam texts too generously: they miss missing Leitpunkte and guess the word count. Why AI ratings are too kind.

Good AI feedback rates by the four Goethe criteria and shows you which Leitpunkt is missing.

Plan for two minutes: tick off the Leitpunkte, decide on the tone (du or Sie). Then: salutation, one sentence on why you are writing, one paragraph per Leitpunkt, a closing line, a sign-off that matches the salutation.

Check for three minutes at the end: are all Leitpunkte there? Do salutation and sign-off match? Is the verb in the right place?

With a closing line and a sign-off that matches the salutation. The classic for formal letters: „Ich würde mich über eine baldige Antwort freuen. Mit freundlichen Grüßen“ (I look forward to your reply). With a request: „Vielen Dank im Voraus für Ihre Hilfe.“ (Thank you in advance for your help.)

No „LG“, no „Hochachtungsvoll“ and no „dein Tobi“ under a Sie letter: salutation, tone and sign-off stay the same to the end.

„Lieber Herr Müller“, „Liebe Frau Weber“: the ending follows the person. For formal letters to strangers or a company: „Sehr geehrter Herr Müller“, „Sehr geehrte Frau Weber“ or „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren“.

The task decides: you say du to friends and family, Sie to a landlady, a boss or a company. Decide at the start and stick with it, including „Ihnen/dir“, „Ihr/dein“ and the sign-off.

B1 (60 minutes): a personal e-mail of about 80 words, a forum post with your opinion of about 80 words and a short formal e-mail of about 40 words.

B2 (75 minutes): a forum post of at least 150 words and a message of at least 100 words. B1 writing · B2 writing.

A few that you know well, and that you vary. For the formal ending: „Ich würde mich über eine baldige Antwort freuen.“ For your opinion: „Meiner Meinung nach …“, „Ich finde …“, „Für mich ist klar, dass …“.

For structure: „einerseits … andererseits“, „außerdem“, „deshalb“. One connector per thought is enough. Redemittel and connectors.

A missing Leitpunkt. In our analysis of practice texts, nearly one in three texts missed at least one. Next come the wrong tone (du instead of Sie, „Hallo Leute“ to a company) and word order (the verb after „weil“ and „deshalb“).

The most common mistakes in Goethe writing · Leitpunkte and lost points.

• formal„Ich würde mich über eine baldige Antwort freuen. Mit freundlichen Grüßen“
• personal, to friends„Ich freue mich schon auf deine Antwort! Liebe Grüße“
• the verb right, twice„Deshalb hoffe ich, dass wir bald eine Lösung finden.“
• formal, with a request„Vielen Dank im Voraus für Ihre Hilfe.“
• formal„Für Rückfragen stehe ich Ihnen gern zur Verfügung.“
• forum post„Insgesamt finde ich, dass … Wie seht ihr das?“

All closing lines to copy and the mistakes from every part: Schluss-Set.

A short video series by GoetheCoach about real mistakes in Goethe exam letters, in German. A tired examiner (der Prüfer) reads letters and sighs at the mistakes that keep coming up in practice texts. At the end of every part he finally finds a good sentence: „Ich würde mich über eine baldige Antwort freuen. Was für ein schöner Schluss.“ (What a beautiful ending.)

The coach (die Coachin) explains in her own clips how to get it right. Season 1 has 7 parts. The characters are invented, the mistakes are real. GoetheCoach is not affiliated with the Goethe-Institut.

„What a beautiful ending“: the Prüfer's line when he finally reads a good closing after a hundred letters, and the series hashtag. Under #wasfüreinschönerschluss we collect closing lines that work in the exam.

Post your best closing line with the hashtag or write it in the comments: the Prüfer reads the best ones in season 2.

On TikTok and YouTube (playlist „Der Prüfer“), and on Instagram. The videos are in German. The parts come out one after another; which part is already up where is listed with the mistakes from all parts.