Personal does not mean shapeless
In Task 1 you typically write a personal email of around 80 words. You react to a situation and work through several guiding points (Leitpunkte). The tone may be warm and direct, but the text still needs a clear reason for writing, complete information and a fitting closing.
The most common loss of points does not come from a small article mistake, but from a guiding point you left out, or from a justification that consists of nothing more than „weil es schön ist“ — because it was nice.
Planning the task in 60 seconds
Before you start writing, mark:
- Person: How close is this person to you?
- Reason for writing (Anlass): Why are you writing today?
- Guiding points: Which four actions are required?
- Reaction: Should the person reply, bring something along, or decide something?
Write two to four keywords for each guiding point. Example:
Situation: Du warst bei einem Stadtfest. Schreibe deiner Freundin. — You went to a town festival. Write to your friend.
1 berichten → Samstag, Altstadt, viele Stände
2 gefallen → Live-Musik, entspannte Stimmung
3 Problem → starker Regen, Konzert unterbrochen
4 Vorschlag → nächstes Jahr gemeinsam
At this point you already own the content. The wording comes afterwards.
A flexible structure
Salutation
For a female friend, „Liebe Sara,“ or „Hallo Sara,“ both work. After the salutation, the text that follows continues according to the usual email convention; stay consistent within the style you have chosen.
Reason for writing in one or two sentences
„Wie geht es dir? Ich wollte dir von dem Stadtfest am Samstag erzählen.“ — How are you? I wanted to tell you about the town festival on Saturday. That establishes contact and topic. Avoid a memorised four-sentence introduction that fulfils no part of the task.
Main part
Order the guiding points logically. Report and evaluation can be combined: „In der Altstadt gab es viele Essensstände. Besonders gut hat mir die kleine Jazzbühne gefallen, weil die Atmosphäre dort sehr entspannt war.“
Desired reaction
„Hättest du Lust, nächstes Jahr mitzukommen?“ — Would you like to come along next year? A genuine question makes the message communicative.
Closing
„Liebe Grüße“ or „Viele Grüße“ plus your name are appropriate. A formal closing formula such as „Mit freundlichen Grüßen“ sounds unnatural between close friends.
A complete sample of our own
Liebe Sara,
wie geht es dir? Am Samstag war ich auf dem Stadtfest in der Altstadt. Es gab internationale Essensstände und mehrere kleine Konzerte. Am besten hat mir die Jazzgruppe gefallen, weil die Stimmung sehr entspannt war. Leider begann es später stark zu regnen, und das letzte Konzert musste unterbrochen werden. Trotzdem war der Abend toll. Nächstes Jahr möchte ich wieder hingehen. Hast du Lust, dann mitzukommen?
Liebe Grüße
Nina
This text is not a template to learn by heart. It demonstrates four qualities: a clear reason for writing, all the points covered, concrete details, and a reaction at the end.
From thin to concrete
Weak formulations are not always grammatically wrong; they simply say very little.
| Thin | More concrete |
|---|---|
| Es war schön. | Die Live-Musik hat mir besonders gefallen. |
| Es gab ein Problem. | Wegen des starken Regens wurde das Konzert unterbrochen. |
| Wir können etwas machen. | Wir könnten nächstes Jahr gemeinsam hingehen. |
| Schreib mir. | Schreib mir bitte, ob du im August Zeit hast. |
Practise giving each guiding point one concrete piece of information plus a reason, an example or a consequence. That way the text grows naturally to a suitable length.
Reliable connectors for a personal report
- Sequence: zuerst, danach, später, am Ende;
- Evaluation: besonders gut fand ich, überrascht hat mich;
- Reason: weil, denn;
- Contrast: leider, trotzdem, allerdings;
- Suggestion: Wie wäre es, wenn …? Wir könnten …;
Do not use them all at once. Three well-chosen connectors are enough for a short text that reads well.
Typical mistakes and how to repair them
A guiding point is only hinted at
Task: „Erklären Sie, warum Sie allein gegangen sind.“ — Explain why you went alone. Text: „Meine Freunde hatten keine Zeit.“ That can be enough if the connection is clear. Even more unambiguous: „Ich bin allein hingegangen, weil meine Freunde an diesem Wochenende keine Zeit hatten.“
Too much back story
Five sentences about the week before the festival consume time and words without fulfilling the task. After a short line of contact, start with the reason for writing.
A formal tone between friends
„Hiermit möchte ich Ihnen mitteilen“ — I hereby wish to inform you — is not more polite, it is simply addressed to the wrong person. Use everyday language, but avoid unclear chat abbreviations.
Risky sentences you cannot control
If a sentence with three subordinate clauses falls apart, split it: „Es begann stark zu regnen. Deshalb musste die Band eine Pause machen.“ B1 requires coherence, not maximum embedding.
The five-minute check
Put a tick next to every guiding point. Then underline all the verbs that follow weil, dass and wenn and check their position. Check the salutation, the closing, capitalisation and readable sentence boundaries. Finally, look for your own most frequent personal mistake.
The general assessment logic is explained in Goethe B1 Writing: structure and assessment. If subordinate clauses are your bottleneck, revise them specifically in the Grammar section instead of reading through all of grammar before every writing session.
A 30-minute training session
- 2 minutes: mark the task and the guiding points.
- 3 minutes: ideas in keywords.
- 15 minutes: write the text.
- 5 minutes: check systematically.
- 5 minutes: make one weak sentence concrete and explain one mistake.
On the next run, limit the whole process to the exam-like guideline of about 20 minutes. You will find new writing prompts under Goethe B1 Writing.
Your goal is not a universal email that somehow fits every topic. Your goal is a small procedure that leaves a real person, after reading, understanding exactly what happened, how you evaluate it, and what you want from them.