Letter language: tense, the passive and concise sentences
Accurate, clear sentences score better than difficult words.
12 minutes · A free lesson from Writing
The Language criterion rewards accurate, clear sentences, not difficult vocabulary. Three areas cause most problems in OET letters: tenses, the passive, and sentences that copy note form.
The passive, for treatment and tests
Treatment
- She was started on furosemide 40 mg.
- He has been prescribed omeprazole.
- The dressing is changed every three days.
Tests
- A chest X-ray was performed, which showed…
- Her kidney function will be rechecked in a week.
Advice
- He has been advised not to drive.
- She has been taught to weigh herself daily.
Notes: Smoker. 20/day. 30 years. → He has smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 30 years.
Notes: Lives alone. Daughter visits daily. Helps with meds. → She lives alone, but her daughter visits daily and helps with her medicines.
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: Which sentence is right for something that started in the past and continues now?
- He had diabetes for ten years.
- He has had diabetes for ten years.
- He has diabetes since ten years.
Show the answer
B: He has had diabetes for ten years. — The present perfect links the past to now.
Quick check: How do the notes "Smoker. 20/day. 30 years." become a sentence?
- Smoker 20/day for 30 years.
- He smoke 20 per day since 30 years.
- He has smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 30 years.
Show the answer
C: He has smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 30 years. — Full sentences, the right tense, and nothing copied in note form.
Quick check: Which detail would you usually leave out of a referral to a cardiologist?
- The patient enjoys watching cricket
- The patient smokes 20 a day
- The ECG result
Show the answer
A: The patient enjoys watching cricket — Cut whatever the reader does not need to act on your request.