Four tasks, forty minutes, and at A2 with pen and paper. This is the part where planning helps more than language knowledge — and where the result takes the longest.
Machine translation: this page was translated automatically from the reviewed Dutch text and has not been checked by a person.
In short
The first thing you need to know: in Schrijven (writing) at level A2 you write with pen and paper. Not on a computer. That is the only exam part for which this is the case.
| A2 | B1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 40 minutes | 100 minutes |
| How | With pen and paper | Staatsexamen NT2, see staatsexamensnt2.nl |
| Number of tasks | 4 writing tasks | see staatsexamensnt2.nl |
| What you write | For example a short letter, or you fill in a form | Longer, connected texts |
| Marking | By people, not by the computer | By people |
DUO: "You take the exam Schrijven at level A2 with pen and paper. You get 4 writing tasks. For example, you write a short letter. Or you fill in a form. The exam takes 40 minutes." The exam Schrijven at level B1 (staatsexamen NT2) takes 100 minutes.
Sources: inburgeren.nl — Taalexamens · Staatsexamens NT2 — accessed 23-08-2026
Forty minutes for four tasks is ten minutes per task. That is the most important sum of this exam. Someone who makes the first task beautiful and then has no time left hands in two empty sheets — and an empty task never earns points.
DUO (the organisation that runs the exams) says itself: a short letter, or filling in a form. In the public practice exams you see roughly these four forms.
Name, address, date of birth, and a few short answers. It looks easy, but this is where points are lost by skipping fields.
A note to the neighbours, the school or a colleague. Short, but with a clear message.
With an opening and a closing. For example moving an appointment or asking a public body something.
A few connected sentences: what happened, what you think, what you want.
With every task the instructions say which points you must mention. That is not a suggestion. That is the checklist you are marked on.
DUO makes practice exams available that anyone can take. The oefenexamen Schrijven A2 is a pdf and contains 4 tasks: "In this test you have to answer 4 questions."
Source: inburgeren.nl — Oefenen — accessed 23-08-2026
By people, not by a computer. That means two things. First: it does not have to be perfect — a marker reads whether your message comes across. Second: it takes longer before you have your result.
What is looked at, broadly:
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
If I could change one thing about how people prepare: first copy out the requested points as a short rough list, and tick them off while you write. I see beautiful letters that fail because three points were asked for and only two are in the text. That is not a language problem.
The result of the language exams normally comes within 8 weeks. But for Schrijven A2 and Spreken A2 a longer period applies at the moment.
DUO announced on 31 July 2026 that marking the exams Spreken A2 and Schrijven A2 took a maximum of 16 weeks at that time. Inburgeraars who get into trouble with their inburgering (civic integration) deadline because of this automatically get a six-month extension. For the other exams the usual period of 8 weeks applies.
Sources: inburgeren.nl — Nieuwsbericht 31-07-2026 · inburgeren.nl — Uitslag examen — accessed 23-08-2026
This is a message from DUO and it can change — check the current situation just before you plan. But as long as it applies, the conclusion is clear: do Schrijven early. If you plan it at the end of your deadline period and you fail, you have no time left for a resit.
One minute. That way you know what is coming and you divide your time on purpose instead of by accident.
The points in the task are the points you are marked on. Put marks next to them.
Short sentences that are correct are better than long sentences that get stuck. You do not have to write beautifully, you have to be clear.
Go through all four tasks: are all the requested points there, is it readable, have you skipped anything?
Do
Do not
Schrijven is the part where practising has the most direct effect, because your mistakes are visible and so you can deal with them.
At A2 that is the real exam. If you only type, you will not notice until exam day how slow and how illegible you are with a pen.
Opening, closing, "ik schrijf u omdat…" (I am writing to you because…), "kunt u mij laten weten…" (could you let me know…). Then you no longer have to think those up and you keep time for the content.
Per task. That way you learn what fits into ten minutes, and that is the skill this exam really tests.
With Schrijven you cannot judge yourself well. Ask your teacher, your language buddy, or use practice material that gives you feedback per criterion.
Amber van der Zalm · NT2 teacher
Building blocks are not cheating. Dutch people themselves also keep using the same opening sentences. If you know five standard sentences for a request, a complaint and an appointment, then during the exam your head is busy with what you are writing instead of with how you start.
Practise Schrijven with marking per criterionOur writing tasks are marked against an assessment model drawn up by an NT2 teacher.
See the modulesAt level A2 with pen and paper. That is the only language part for which this is the case; lezen, luisteren and spreken are done on the computer. So practise a few times by hand, because writing legibly and quickly with a pen is a separate skill.
Four, in 40 minutes. That comes down to about ten minutes per task. For example, you write a short letter or you fill in a form. With every task it says which points you must mention; those points are what you are marked on.
Normally within 8 weeks. DUO announced on 31 July 2026 that Spreken A2 and Schrijven A2 took up to 16 weeks at that time, with an automatic six-month extension for people who get into trouble because of this. Check the current situation with DUO, and in any case plan this part early.
A few mistakes are not immediately fatal. What is looked at is whether you carried out the task, whether your message is understandable and whether the form fits the situation. Writing clearly and completely with short sentences gives you more than beautiful sentences with gaps in the content.
You get paper and you have 40 minutes for four tasks, so a complete rough draft costs too much time. Do make a short list of the requested points before you begin, and tick them off while you write. That is the cheapest way to gain points.
Reviewed by Amber van der Zalm, certified NT2 teacher — August 23, 2026 This page is a translation of that reviewed Dutch text; the translation itself was not reviewed. The Dutch version is the source.