Examiner Cluster · Marking Process · 2026
What OET Writing Examiners Look For: Inside the Marking Process
Two trained assessors independently score your letter. Understanding what they check first, and why, changes how you write every practice letter.
In short
- •Two CBLA assessors independently score every letter across six criteria. Their scores are reconciled, not averaged.
- •Examiners read for Purpose and clinical relevance first. Language accuracy is the last thing they formally assess.
- •Most below-Grade-B failures trace to Content and Purpose decisions, not grammar — examiners notice clinical judgement gaps before language errors.
How the OET Marking Process Works
CBLA trains a global team of OET assessors. Every letter submitted in an examination sits receives two independent scores — one from each of two assessors working separately, without seeing the other's marks. After scoring, their criterion scores are reconciled.
Reconciliation is not averaging. CBLA's quality assurance process identifies where two assessors' scores for the same criterion diverge beyond a set threshold. When that happens, a senior examiner reviews the letter and sets the final score. This three-way adjudication means the final grade reflects examiner consensus, not a single reader's impression.
Assessors are trained to apply the CBLA descriptor document consistently. The marking is rubric-matched, not impressionistic. A score of 5/7 in Content means your letter meets specific published criteria — not that the assessor felt it was "quite good."
What Examiners Read First
Purpose is assessed before any other criterion. The examiner's first question is simple: "By the end of the second sentence, do I know why this letter was written?" If the answer is no, a Purpose score below 3 is already a strong possibility — regardless of how well-structured the rest of the letter is.
This matters because a weak Purpose opening changes how the examiner reads everything that follows. Content cannot be assessed as "relevant" if it is not clear what purpose the content is meant to serve. Organisation cannot be judged as "logical" if the first paragraph does not establish a direction.
An examiner reading a strong-purpose opening knows within 10 seconds what the letter is trying to achieve and can assess the remaining content against that stated goal.
How Examiners Assess Clinical Relevance
After Purpose, examiners turn to Content. The question they apply to each sentence is not "is this factually correct?" but "does the recipient need this to do what the letter is asking?"
This distinction trips up many candidates. A full medication list from the case notes may be medically accurate but irrelevant to a letter asking a physiotherapist to assess post-operative mobility. Including it does not raise the Content score — it may lower the Conciseness score.
| Criterion | Examiner's First Question | Most Common Fail at Grade C |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | 'Do I know why this letter was written by sentence 2?' | Purpose in paragraph 2 or implied but not stated |
| Content | 'Is every detail useful to the recipient's role?' | Case note copying; missing the key management action |
| Conciseness | 'Does any sentence repeat what was already given?' | Redundant intro paragraph; diagnosis restated three times |
| Genre & Style | 'Does this sound like professional clinical correspondence?' | Colloquial phrases; missing or incorrect salutation |
| Organisation | 'Does each paragraph have one clear focus?' | Mixed-topic paragraphs; no logical sequencing |
| Language | 'Do any errors change the clinical meaning?' | Wrong prepositions in clinical phrases; meaning-altering verb errors |
Language Errors That Actually Affect Your Score
Examiners distinguish between errors that impede clinical meaning and errors that do not. A missing article ("patient underwent surgery" instead of "the patient underwent surgery") is a Language error. It does not stop the recipient from acting on the letter.
A wrong verb in a clinical instruction does impede meaning. "The patient should avoid taking the medication" and "the patient should continue taking the medication" differ by a single word and produce opposite clinical outcomes. That class of error will drop a Language score significantly.
If your Language score is below Grade B, audit your errors into two categories: meaning-changing and non-meaning-changing. Fix the first category. The second will have far less impact on your score than spending the same preparation time on Purpose and Content.
5 Things Examiners Want to See in Your First Paragraph
- 1
The letter type stated explicitly
"I am writing to refer..." or "I am writing to discharge..." — not implied by context alone. Examiners mark what is on the page, not what you intended.
- 2
The recipient's role and the required action
Examiners check whether the letter addresses someone with the right role to act. A physiotherapy referral addressed to "Dear Doctor" scores lower than one addressed to "Dear Physiotherapist."
- 3
The patient identified by name and relevant clinical context
Patient name and one or two key clinical facts that justify the letter's purpose. Not a full history — enough to establish clinical relevance immediately.
- 4
No case note language in the opening
Case notes use passive fragments: "Seen in clinic. BP elevated. Referral requested." Examiners expect full sentences in professional correspondence from the first line.
- 5
A formal salutation and correct letter structure
The Genre & Style criterion begins before the body text. A missing salutation or an incorrect closing signals register awareness problems that affect scores across the letter.
Related guides in this cluster
- OET Writing Criteria — all 6 explained
- OET writing band descriptorsThe descriptor levels examiners match against
- How to self-mark using examiner criteria
- Common OET writing mistakes examiners flag
- OET writing tips
Frequently asked questions
Do OET examiners mark grammar first?
No. Examiners read for Purpose first: they ask whether the letter has a clear, immediately stated reason for writing. Language (which includes grammar) is assessed last, because purpose and content failures have greater impact on the recipient's ability to act on the letter.
How many examiners mark each OET writing letter?
Two trained CBLA assessors independently score every letter. Their scores are reconciled rather than averaged. If the scores diverge beyond a set threshold, a third senior assessor adjudicates.
What happens if two OET examiners give very different scores?
If the two assessors' scores diverge beyond CBLA's reconciliation threshold, a senior examiner reviews the letter and makes a final determination. This process is part of CBLA's quality assurance and is not visible to the candidate unless a re-mark is requested.
Can examiners see your profession when marking?
Yes. OET assessors see the candidate's profession because the clinical register expected of a nurse differs from that expected of a pharmacist. An instruction that sounds informal in a nursing referral may be appropriate in a pharmacy advice letter.
Do examiners penalise British vs American spelling?
No. OET accepts both British and American English spelling. The criterion is consistency: a letter that mixes 'hospitalise' and 'hospitalize' may attract a minor Language flag, but using one variety throughout does not penalise your score.
What makes an examiner immediately award Purpose 3/3?
Sentence 1 or 2 states: the letter type (referral, discharge, advice, transfer), the recipient's role and the action required of them, and why this specific patient needs that action. A letter that achieves all three in the opening sentence typically earns Purpose 3/3 without the examiner needing to read further to determine intent.
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