Goethe B1 Writing Task 3: the short formal email

Short means: every word has a job

Task 3 is a short email of around 40 words. Often you write to a course administrator, a teacher, a letting agency or another person you do not know well. The brief length does not automatically make the task easy: the reason for writing, the required information, politeness and the desired reaction all have to be recognisable in a very small space.

A good short text is not cold. It is precise, respectful and action-oriented.

The four-sentence architecture

Many tasks can be solved with four functions:

1. Salutation and reason for writing: Why are you writing?
2. Explanation: Which relevant piece of information or which reason is missing?
3. Request/suggestion: What should the other person do?
4. Thanks and closing: A polite ending.

Sample prompt: you cannot attend an appointment for a meeting. Apologise, explain the reason and ask for a new appointment.

Sehr geehrte Frau Keller,
leider kann ich den Termin am Donnerstag nicht wahrnehmen, weil ich kurzfristig arbeiten muss. Könnten wir das Gespräch bitte auf Montag oder Dienstag verschieben? Vielen Dank für Ihr Verständnis.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Amir Saleh

The text is compact, but it contains every action that was required.

Salutation without guesswork

Do not invent an academic title. Take the name from the task exactly as it is written. If a gender or a name cannot be identified, „Guten Tag,“ offers a neutral solution in some real-life contexts; in the exam you should follow the clues in the task and the usual formal conventions.

Polite requests instead of telegram style

Direct: „Schicken Sie mir einen neuen Termin.“ — Send me a new appointment.
More polite: „Könnten Sie mir bitte einen neuen Termin vorschlagen?“

Direct: „Ich brauche die Unterlagen.“ — I need the documents.
More polite: „Wären Sie so freundlich, mir die Unterlagen per E-Mail zu schicken?“

The second variant does not always have to be long. „Könnten Sie mir bitte …?“ is a safe building block whenever it matches the action the task requires.

Apologise, explain, solve

When you have to cancel, this order helps:

Apology: „Leider kann ich … nicht …“
Brief reason: „…, weil ich einen wichtigen Arzttermin habe.“
Solution: „Wäre ein Termin in der nächsten Woche möglich?“

A very private story is unnecessary. The person receiving the message needs enough context to make a decision, not your entire week.

Five strong micro building blocks

• „Ich schreibe Ihnen, weil …“ — I am writing to you because …
• „Leider kann ich … nicht wahrnehmen.“ — Unfortunately I cannot attend …
• „Könnten Sie mir bitte mitteilen, ob …?“ — Could you please let me know whether …?
• „Wäre es möglich, …?“ — Would it be possible to …?
• „Vielen Dank für Ihr Verständnis / Ihre Rückmeldung.“ — Thank you for your understanding / your reply.

Building blocks are tools, not a finished email. If the task requires a piece of information but you only ask politely, the task stays unfulfilled.

Three typical tasks, three solutions

A missed course session

Sehr geehrter Herr Brandt,
leider kann ich am Montag nicht am Deutschkurs teilnehmen, da ich einen Arzttermin habe. Könnten Sie mir bitte mitteilen, welche Aufgaben ich zu Hause bearbeiten soll? Vielen Dank.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Olena Petrenko

A complaint with a request

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
gestern wurde mein Paket geliefert, aber ein Glas war zerbrochen. Ich sende Ihnen ein Foto im Anhang. Könnten Sie mir bitte einen Ersatz schicken?
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Luis Romero

Following up on an appointment

Guten Tag Frau Stein,
vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht. Am Mittwoch kann ich erst ab 16 Uhr kommen. Wäre ein Termin um 16:30 Uhr möglich? Über eine kurze Rückmeldung würde ich mich freuen.
Freundliche Grüße
Hana Kim

These examples are deliberately different from one another. The communicative situation decides the choice of words and the closing.

Mistakes that get expensive at 40 words

The reason for writing is missing

„Ich kann leider nicht kommen“ — Unfortunately I cannot come — without a date or a reference leaves it open what this is about. Name the specific appointment or course.

The request stays vague

„Bitte helfen Sie mir“ — Please help me — is too general. Write whether you need a replacement appointment, documents, a refund or information.

Salutation and pronouns do not match

After „Sehr geehrte Frau …“ you do not switch to du. Check the formal Sie/Ihnen/Ihre and the capitalisation.

Too many polite formulas

„Ich hoffe, es geht Ihnen sehr gut und Sie hatten eine schöne Woche“ uses up space without fulfilling the task. One expression of thanks at the end is enough.

The word count becomes the main goal

A text with 43 words instead of exactly 40 is not automatically the problem. An omitted content point matters more. Orient yourself towards the expected length and the task, instead of counting every preposition while you write.

A 90-second check

Point your finger at:

1. the reason for writing;
2. all the required pieces of information;
3. the concrete request or the desired reaction;
4. a fitting salutation and closing;
5. Sie/Ihnen/Ihre;
6. the verb position after weil/dass.

If you cannot find one of these points, the person marking your text probably will not find it either.

Training with variations

Do not write the same cancellation five times. Take one basic situation and change a single variable each time:

• Addressee: a friend → a course teacher;
• Goal: only to inform → to ask for a replacement appointment;
• Reason: illness → work;
• Medium: a short email → a formal complaint.

That is how you learn register instead of copying a model. You will find the comparison with the personal message in Task 1: the personal email. The complete 60-minute process is explained in Writing: structure and assessment. Practice prompts are available under Goethe B1 Writing.

Task 3 becomes reliable once you know four things immediately after reading: who am I writing to, why, what does this person need to know, and which reaction do I want?