What does the A2 inburgering writing exam look like?

The A2 Schrijven exam is done with pen and paper and takes 40 minutes. You complete four writing tasks, such as writing a short letter, note or email, and filling in a form.

How long do I need to write for the A2 schrijven exam?

A2 writing tasks are short. What matters is that you cover every point the task asks for, in simple and understandable sentences. Three or four clear sentences that answer everything usually beat a long text that misses a point.

How long does it take to get the writing exam result?

DUO normally publishes results within eight weeks, but has said A2 writing results can currently take up to 16 weeks. If your integration period is nearly over while a result is pending, DUO says it extends it automatically.

How can I practise inburgering writing at home?

Write short messages for everyday situations (calling in sick, asking a neighbour for help, replying to the school) and have them checked against the task: did you cover every point, use full sentences and the right form of address? A tool that grades against the exam criteria gives you that feedback without a teacher.

Inburgeringsexamen schrijven (A2): what to expect and how to practise

Updated September 2026

Schrijven is the part of the inburgeringsexamen people underestimate. The tasks look easy — a short email, a form — and then points disappear on things you never practised: a missing detail, the wrong greeting, a sentence without a verb. Here's what the A2 exam actually asks and how to practise it properly.

The format at a glance

Exam part	Schrijven, level A2 (Wet inburgering 2013 route)
How	Pen and paper, at a DUO exam location
Tasks	Four writing tasks — e.g. a short letter or email, and filling in a form
Time	40 minutes
Cost	€50 per attempt

On the newer B1 route (Wet inburgering 2021) the writing exam is different: typed on a computer, 100 minutes, twelve tasks. See the B1 guide. Not sure which applies to you? If your integration obligation started before 1 January 2022, you're almost certainly on the A2 route — check Mijn Inburgering.

What a typical task looks like

You are ill and can't go to your Dutch lesson tomorrow. Write an email to your teacher. Say:

that you can't come, and why
when you will be back
ask what homework you need to do

A solid A2 answer:

Beste meneer De Vries,
Ik kan morgen niet naar de les komen, want ik ben ziek. Ik heb koorts. Volgende week ben ik weer in de les. Welk huiswerk moet ik maken?
Met vriendelijke groet,
Maria

That's it. Short, but every bullet point is covered, each sentence has a subject and a verb, and the greeting and closing fit a teacher. That's what the examiner is checking.

The mistakes that actually cost points

Skipping a bullet point. The task lists what you must say. Miss one and you lose points no matter how good the rest is. Tick each bullet off before you move on.
Wrong form of address. Beste meneer/mevrouw … / Met vriendelijke groet for the gemeente, a landlord or a teacher; Hoi / Groetjes for a friend or neighbour. Mixing them up is an easy point lost.
Word order after "want", "omdat" and time words. Morgen kan ik niet komen (verb second), omdat ik ziek ben (verb last). This is the most common A2 grammar slip.
Trying to sound advanced. Long sentences with words you're unsure of create more errors. Simple and correct beats ambitious and wrong.
Messy forms. On the form task, read each field label carefully — geboortedatum, woonplaats, handtekening — and write clearly. It's handwritten, so legibility matters.

How to practise schrijven

Write one short text a day for an everyday situation: calling in sick, asking the neighbour to water your plants, replying to your child's school, complaining to the landlord.
Use a checklist, not a feeling. After writing: did I cover every point? Greeting and closing right? Every sentence has a verb? Verb in the right place?
Practise by hand at least a few times — the real exam is on paper, and 40 minutes goes faster than you think.
Get feedback. The hard part of writing practice is knowing what's wrong. A teacher, a Dutch friend, or a grader that scores against the exam criteria all work.

RateMyDutch's Schrijven section gives you exam-style writing tasks and grades your answer on the points the exam looks at — task completion, grammar, vocabulary, register — with concrete fixes. Your first grade is free.

Is writing really your weakest part?

The free readiness scorecard takes about 4 minutes, covers all five exam parts, and tells you where to focus first.

Take the free readiness scorecard

Written by Youssef Hounat, who passed his own A2 inburgering exams in July 2026 and built RateMyDutch to practise for them. Exam facts checked against inburgeren.nl and staatsexamensnt2.nl — updated September 2026.

RateMyDutch is an independent practice tool. It is not affiliated with DUO or the Dutch government, and no practice result predicts your official exam outcome. Official exam information: inburgeren.nl.