Which mistakes can cost you the pass in the DELE B2 writing test? Above all, the ones that hit what the official scales measure: leaving a bullet point undeveloped, ignoring the information in the audio, switching register, writing a disorganised text, getting basic structures wrong and writing too little or far too much. Here are the 10 most common ones, explained with what the Instituto Cervantes scales say and what I see most often in my students, plus how to avoid them.
What is the DELE B2 writing test like?
Paper 3 (Expresión e interacción escritas, written expression and interaction) lasts 80 minutes and has two tasks of 150 to 180 words each:
- Task 1: a formal or informal letter or email based on an audio (a news item, an announcement, a comment…) that you hear twice. You have to pick out what matters in the audio and give your opinion.
- Task 2: you choose between two options. In option A you write an opinion article commenting on a chart; in option B, a blog post or a review based on a short text.
How is the B2 writing test marked?
Each task gets two marks. The holistic mark (the overall impression) is worth 40 % and the analytic mark 60 %. The analytic scale has four categories:
- Genre appropriateness (adecuación al género discursivo): register, text-type conventions, arguments and how well you develop the bullet points in the instructions.
- Coherence: structure, paragraphs, punctuation and linking words.
- Accuracy: grammar and spelling.
- Range: how rich and precise your vocabulary is.
Each category is scored in a band from 0 to 3. Band 2 matches the B2 level and band 3 a comfortable B2. Both tasks carry the same weight, and the result is converted into a mark out of 25: for example, an average of 2 equals 16.67 points. There’s no fixed deduction per mistake: what matters is which band your text fits.
That mark is added to your reading mark in group 1, and you need 30 out of 50 in that group (and another 30 out of 50 in group 2, listening plus speaking) to pass.
Mistake 1: what happens if I leave out one of the bullet points?
This is the most common mistake. Tasks come with three to five bullet points, and the scale is clear:
- Band 3: develops all the points effectively.
- Band 2: clearly develops most of them, even if one is missing or not developed enough.
- Band 1: mentions only some of the points or doesn’t develop them.
In other words, missing one point won’t sink you, but it costs you band 3 for genre appropriateness. Missing two, or skimming over all of them, pushes you towards band 1.
Wrong: you’re asked to introduce yourself, summarise the news item, give your opinion and suggest a solution, and you cover the first three in detail but finish without a suggestion.
Right: you underline the bullet points, give each one its own paragraph and, when you review, check they’re all there and balanced.
How to avoid it: follow the order of the bullet points, which makes it harder to skip one. And don’t give ten lines to one and two to another: balance counts too.
Mistake 2: why isn’t giving my opinion enough in Task 1?
Because Task 1 is an interaction task based on an audio. The holistic scale asks you to build arguments and also to use “information from other sources”. If you write a correct letter but nothing from the recording appears in it, you’re not meeting the goal of the task.
Wrong: “Le escribo porque estoy en contra del cierre de la biblioteca. Creo que la cultura es importante y que las bibliotecas son necesarias.”
Right: “Le escribo tras escuchar en la radio que el ayuntamiento cerrará la biblioteca del barrio por las tardes a partir de enero para reducir gastos. Como usuario habitual, considero que esta medida perjudicará sobre todo a los estudiantes, que la usan después de clase.”
How to avoid it: while you listen (twice), note down specific facts: who, what, when, why, figures. Then choose the most relevant ones for your letter.
Mistake 3: what happens if I mix tú and usted?
Genre appropriateness asks you to keep the same register from start to finish. Starting with usted and switching to tú halfway through fits the description of band 1: it “doesn’t maintain the register”. The same goes for a formal letter that sounds too chatty or an email to a friend that sounds like an official form.
Wrong (formal letter): “Me dirijo a usted para expresar mi malestar. Bueno, es que la verdad es que estoy harto de vuestro servicio.”
Right (formal letter): “Me dirijo a ustedes para expresar mi malestar con el servicio recibido.”
How to avoid it: before you write, decide who you are according to the instructions and who you’re writing to. Prepare a formal greeting, opening phrase and sign-off in advance, and the same for informal texts. If you want models, there are three commented formal letters in this article (in Spanish).
Mistake 4: why does a text without paragraphs lose marks?
Because coherence looks at structure, paragraphing and punctuation. For band 2 they must be “adequate, although there may be errors in the organisation of the text that don’t prevent understanding”. A single block of text, or six-line sentences without a comma, are hard to read, and that costs you.
Wrong: “Aunque en mi opinión, que es algo que pienso desde hace tiempo y que mucha gente que conozco también piensa, el ayuntamiento tendría que, porque es importante, buscar otra solución.”
Right: “En mi opinión, el ayuntamiento debería buscar otra solución. No soy el único que lo piensa: muchos vecinos comparten esta preocupación.”
How to avoid it: one paragraph per bullet point, sentences you can read in one go and varied linking words. If you want to widen your range, here are the DELE B2 connectors. Band 1 describes basic connectors and linear sequences; band 2, adequate control of cohesive devices.
Mistake 5: does it matter how I end the text?
Yes. A text that stops abruptly looks as if you ran out of time, and the conventions of the genre (such as the sign-off of a letter) are part of genre appropriateness.
Wrong: “Por todo esto, creo que deberíamos cuidar el barrio. Adiós.”
Right: “Por todo esto, creo que deberíamos cuidar el barrio entre todos. Si cada uno aporta lo que pueda, el cambio es posible. A la espera de su respuesta, le saluda atentamente, Laura Gómez.”
How to avoid it: have a conclusion and a sign-off ready for each type of text: formal letter, informal email, opinion article, review.
Mistake 6: indicative or subjunctive after “no creo que”?
Subjunctive. It’s one of the mistakes I see most in my students, especially in Task 2, where you give your opinion a lot.
Wrong: “No creo que el gobierno está haciendo lo suficiente.”
Right: “No creo que el gobierno esté haciendo lo suficiente.”
Wrong: “No me parece que esa medida es justa.”
Right: “No me parece que esa medida sea justa.”
On the accuracy scale, an occasional mistake is tolerated in band 2; the problem is repeating it, because then it’s no longer a slip. How to avoid it: memorise the pattern (no creo que, no pienso que, no me parece que, dudo que + subjunctive) and, in the affirmative, indicative (creo que es, pienso que está).
Mistake 7: why do ser/estar and agreement mistakes weigh so much?
Because they’re basic mistakes for a B2. In my course I explain it like this: a slip with an advanced structure isn’t penalised the same way as a mistake with ser and estar or with gender and number, which are taken for granted at this level.
Wrong: “Mi habitación es desordenada hoy.”
Right: “Mi habitación está desordenada hoy.”
Wrong: “Soy muy cansado después del viaje.”
Right: “Estoy muy cansado después del viaje.”
Wrong: “Los problema más graves del barrio son el ruido y la suciedad.”
Right: “Los problemas más graves del barrio son el ruido y la suciedad.”
How to avoid it: in your final review, look specifically at every “ser”, every “estar” and every article with its noun.
Mistake 8: do accents and spelling count?
Yes, under accuracy. Forgetting the odd accent doesn’t stop you getting band 2; leaving them all out does. And accents that change the meaning of a word weigh more.
Wrong: “Tu sabes que el no viene.”
Right: “Tú sabes que él no viene.”
Watch out for pairs like haber/a ver, hay/ahí/ay or haya/halla too:
Wrong: “A haber si encuentras tiempo, porque hay no se puede aparcar.”
Right: “A ver si encuentras tiempo, porque ahí no se puede aparcar.”
If accents are your weak spot, here are more tips to make fewer mistakes in the writing test.
Mistake 9: what happens if I keep repeating the same words?
Range measures how varied and precise your vocabulary is. Repeating one word over and over, or using only general vocabulary when the topic calls for specific words, pushes you towards band 1.
Wrong: “Es importante cuidar el medio ambiente. Es importante reciclar. Es importante consumir menos. Por eso es importante actuar.”
Right: “Cuidar el medio ambiente es fundamental. Reciclar resulta imprescindible y conviene reducir el consumo. Por eso urge actuar.”
How to avoid it: prepare sets of synonyms for the words you use most (importante, fundamental, esencial, clave; bueno, positivo, beneficioso; malo, perjudicial, negativo) and specific vocabulary for the usual topics: environment, work, technology, culture, health. Taking a risk with more precise vocabulary is valued, even if it doesn’t always come out perfectly.
Mistake 10: how many words do I have to write?
Between 150 and 180 per task. The exam guide only sets a penalty at the bottom end: under 100 words, genre appropriateness is band 0. At the top end, my advice is not to go beyond about 200 words (10 % more). If you write a lot more, you’re usually drifting away from the topic, and this exam values saying a lot in few words.
Wrong: writing 120 words because you ran out of time, or 260 because “the more, the better”.
Right: planning to land between 150 and 180, with room up to about 200 if a bullet point needs it.
How to avoid it: practise at home counting words until you know how many lines 150 or 180 words take up in your handwriting.
How should I split the 80 minutes?
This is the split I suggest in my course for each task:
- 5 minutes to read the instructions calmly and underline the bullet points and key words.
- 10 minutes to make an outline of your ideas.
- 15 minutes to write.
Then, once you’ve finished both, 5 minutes to review Task 1 and another 5 for Task 2. Bear in mind that the first few minutes of the paper go on listening to the Task 1 audio.
Frequently asked questions about the DELE B2 writing test
Can I pass if one task goes worse than the other?
Yes. Both tasks carry the same weight and are averaged. On top of that, your writing mark is added to your reading mark in group 1: what you need is 30 out of 50 between the two papers.
Can I write in the exam booklet and cross things out?
You can use the booklet to take notes on the audio and make your outline. A text full of arrows and crossings-out is usually a sign there was no plan and it’s hard to read, so it’s better to plan before you write.
Can I fail just because of spelling?
Spelling is part of accuracy, which is one of the four categories on the analytic scale. On its own it doesn’t decide the paper, but lots of repeated mistakes will drop you a band.
When will I get my results?
According to the Instituto Cervantes, in about two months for most exam sessions and about three for the May and November sessions.
In short
- The writing test is marked on a holistic scale (40 %) and an analytic scale (60 %) with four categories, in bands from 0 to 3.
- Develop every bullet point: missing one costs you band 3; missing several pushes you towards band 1.
- In Task 1, use the information from the audio.
- Keep the same register and close every text with a conclusion and a sign-off.
- Watch the basic mistakes: subjunctive after a negative opinion, ser and estar, agreement and accents.
- Write between 150 and 180 words, and no more than about 200.
If you’re preparing for the DELE B2, my course gives you strategies for each part of the exam, commented examples, a community, a chat for your questions and group calls: https://b2.aporeldele.com/. If you’re not sure the B2 is your level, take the level test: https://www.aporeldele.com/en/prueba-de-nivel. And if you’d like free resources before each exam session, join the newsletter: https://recursos.aporeldele.com/boletin.
¡A por el DELE! 🇪🇸
