Plan before you write: Planning is the two-minute outline you jot down before writing your Paper 1 answer. You decide the text type, the audience and register, the two or three points you'll develop and a few useful words. A plan is what earns Criterion B (Message), because it gives your answer a clear, organised shape instead of rambling prose.
- der Plan
- the plan — your quick outline before writing
- die Gliederung
- the outline / running order of your text
- die Kernidee / der Hauptpunkt
- a key idea — one of the points you develop
- der Einstieg / der Aufhänger
- the hook — an opening line that grabs the reader
- der Schluss / die Verabschiedung
- the sign-off / closing line
- der Konnektor / das Bindewort
- a connector / linking word (außerdem, deshalb…)
Two minutes, big payoff: Spending two minutes planning feels like lost time — it isn't. A plan stops you drying up halfway, keeps your points in order, and directly lifts Criterion B. Examiners reward an answer that is clearly organised.
What goes in a good plan: A useful plan has five things, not paragraphs of prose. Note them in abbreviations — a word or two each. The table below is the checklist your plan should cover before you write your first sentence.
| Element des Plans | Was du notierst |
|---|---|
| Die Textsorte und ihre Teile | Blog / E-Mail / Artikel… und ihre Abschnitte (Titel, Hauptteil, Schluss) |
| 2–3 Kernideen | die Punkte, die du entwickeln wirst, in der richtigen Reihenfolge |
| Ein Einstieg / Aufhänger | ein erster Satz, der den Leser fesselt |
| Ein Schluss / eine Verabschiedung | wie du endest (Viele Grüße, Mit freundlichen Grüßen, ein Fazit) |
| Nützlicher Wortschatz und Konnektoren | Schlüsselwörter zum Thema und Bindewörter (außerdem, deshalb, jedoch) |
Five lines, no sentences: Textsorte · 2–3 Ideen · Einstieg · Schluss · Wortschatz. Your plan is five short lines, written in note form — never full sentences. It's scaffolding for you, not text for the examiner.
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Four moves to a plan: Building a plan is the same four moves every time: decode the task, brainstorm your points, order them, then note the vocabulary. Do it on scrap paper in the first couple of minutes, before any real writing.
Plan in 4 moves
1
Decode the task
Pin down the text type, the audience and the register the prompt asks for — they shape everything else. (Textsorte · Empfänger · Register)
2
Brainstorm 3 points
Jot three ideas you can actually develop on this task. Three is enough to fill 450–600 words well.
3
Order them
Put your points into the text-type structure — opening, body in a sensible order, then closing.
4
Note key vocab & connectors
List the topic vocabulary and connectors (außerdem, deshalb, jedoch) you'll reach for, so they're ready when you write.
Decode → Brainstorm → Order → Note vocab
Order matters as much as ideas: Two strong points in a muddled order read worse than two ordinary points in a clear order. The Order step is where you protect Criterion B — make your reader follow you from opening to close without getting lost.
A four-line plan, worked through: Here's the plan stage for a real-style task, line by line — the notes you'd scribble before writing the email itself. Tap Übersetzung anzeigen to see the English explanation, or 🔊 to hear the German.
Planning an informal email
From the prompt to a four-line plan
- Aufgabe: „Schreibe eine E-Mail an einen Freund, um ihn einzuladen, die Ferien mit dir und deiner Familie zu verbringen.“ Plan: Textsorte = informelle E-Mail.
- Empfänger = ein Freund → informelles Register (du, Hallo!, Viele Grüße).
- Drei Ideen: (1) das Datum und der Ort, (2) welche Aktivitäten wir machen, (3) warum es Spaß macht und was er mitbringen soll.
- Wortschatz und Konnektoren: einladen, übernachten, außerdem, deshalb, verpass es nicht!; mit Hallo! öffnen und mit Viele Grüße schließen.
Four lines is a whole plan: Notice the plan is just four short lines — text type, register, three points, vocabulary — and yet it fixes every big decision. Build this on scrap paper first and your Criterion B marks are half-won before you start writing.
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Good planning vs costly mistakes: The marks lost around planning are rarely about German — they come from skipping the plan, piling up shallow points, or planning content that ignores the text type. Here's the contrast.
Guter Plan
- Notiere 2–3 Ideen und entwickle sie.
- Ordne die Punkte, bevor du schreibst.
- Der Plan folgt dem Aufbau der Textsorte.
- Notiere nützlichen Wortschatz und Konnektoren.
Typische Fehler
- Write with no plan and ramble off the point.
- Cram in too many shallow points and develop none.
- Make a plan that ignores the text-type structure.
- Den Einstieg und den Schluss vergessen.
Depth beats quantity: Two or three points developed with examples beat six points mentioned and dropped. When you plan, ask of each idea: can I write three sentences on this? If not, cut it — that protects Criterion B.