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Schrijven · A2 · Exam tips · 8 min read

How to write an email for the inburgeringsexamen A2

The writing part of the inburgeringsexamen is not a test of beautiful Dutch. It tests whether you can do a simple, everyday job in writing: ask a question, cancel an appointment, invite a neighbour, report a problem. If the reader of your email understands what you want, and you have done everything the task asks, you are most of the way to a pass. This article gives you a method you can use for every email task, plus a full example.

Exam rules and formats change from time to time, so check the current details for your exam on inburgeren.nl. The method below works whatever the exact task looks like.

Step 1: Read the task twice, and underline the points

A typical task describes a situation and then lists what you have to write about, often as bullet points. For example: you can't come to a parents' evening at your child's school. Write an email to the teacher. Say that you can't come, give a reason, and ask for a new appointment.

That task has three points: you can't come, a reason, and a question about a new appointment. Each point needs at least one full sentence in your email. A missing point is the most common reason people fail the writing exam, and it costs far more than a spelling mistake. Before you write anything, count the points and write the numbers 1, 2 and 3 on your scrap paper.

Step 2: Decide who you are writing to

A teacher, a landlord, a company or the gemeente: write formally with u. A friend, a family member or a neighbour you know well: write informally with je. This one choice decides your opening, your closing and every pronoun in between, so make it first.

Beste mevrouw De Vries, ... Met vriendelijke groet,(Formal frame)

Hoi Anouk, ... Groetjes,(Informal frame)

Step 3: Build the email in four blocks

Use the same structure every time. When the structure is automatic, you can think about the content.

• Opening: Beste ... with a comma.
• Why you write: one sentence with omdat, or a direct sentence such as Ik kan helaas niet komen.
• The points from the task: one or two short sentences for each point, in the same order as the task.
• Closing: a thank-you or Ik hoor graag van u, then Met vriendelijke groet and your name.

Step 4: Keep your sentences short

At A2 level, short and correct beats long and wrong. A sentence with one subject and one verb is hard to get wrong. Add one linking word, such as want, omdat or daarom, to show you can connect ideas, but don't build sentences with three or four parts.

Ik kan donderdag niet komen, want ik moet werken.(Short, clear, one linking word)

Ik kan donderdag niet komen omdat ik moet werken en mijn baas zegt dat ik niet vrij kan krijgen omdat er een collega ziek is.(Too long: more chances for mistakes, and hard to read)

Step 5: Use the words from the task, but not whole sentences

The task text gives you useful words: ouderavond, afspraak, verwarming, uitnodiging. Use them, because it saves you spelling mistakes and shows the reader you are answering the right question. But don't copy whole sentences from the task. The examiner wants to see your own sentences.

A full example

Here is an answer to the school task above. Each point from the task is answered in order.

Beste mevrouw De Vries,(opening)

Ik ben de moeder van Lucas uit groep 4.(who you are)

Ik kan helaas niet naar de ouderavond komen.(point 1: you can't come)

Ik moet die avond werken, want een collega is ziek.(point 2: the reason)

Zou ik volgende week een afspraak met u kunnen maken?(point 3: new appointment)

Ik kan op maandag en woensdag na drie uur.(extra detail, helpful)

Alvast bedankt. Met vriendelijke groet, Sara Ahmadi(closing)

This email is short and simple, but it does the job completely. The reader knows who is writing, why, and what to do next.

Step 6: Check in this order

Keep a few minutes at the end to read your email again. Check the most important things first, so that if time runs out, the big mistakes are already fixed.

• Points: did you answer every point from the task? Tick 1, 2, 3 on your scrap paper.
• Reader: u or je, and the same all the way through?
• Verbs: is the verb in second place in every main clause, and at the end after omdat, dat or als?
• Verb endings: ik werk, jij werkt, hij werkt, wij werken.
• Opening and closing: comma after Beste ..., your name at the end.

Common A2 mistakes, and the fix

Ik heb een vraag over de afspraak, omdat ik kan niet komen.(Wrong: after omdat the verb goes to the end)

Ik heb een vraag over de afspraak, omdat ik niet kan komen.(Right)

Morgen ik ga naar de dokter.(Wrong: the verb must come second)

Morgen ga ik naar de dokter.(Right)

Kunt u je mij bellen?(Wrong: u and je mixed)

Kunt u mij bellen?(Right)

The fastest way to improve is to write a few emails and get feedback on each one. In our trainer you write exam-style emails and the grader tells you, in plain English, which points you missed and which sentences to fix.