How to Read OET Case Notes: A Fast, Accurate Method

The OET writing case notes are not a script to copy — they are raw material to select from. The notes always contain more than your letter needs, and the skill being tested is whether you can choose the right information for a specific recipient and leave the rest out. That single decision drives your Content and Conciseness scores, and it is made while reading, before you write anything.

This guide gives a fast, repeatable method for reading case notes under pressure. It pairs with the time-management plan for the 45-minute test and the OET writing criteria that the selection feeds into.

Read for the recipient, not for completeness

The same case notes produce different letters depending on who receives them. A discharge letter to a GP, a referral to a specialist, and an update to a community team each need a different selection from the identical notes. So the first question is never “what is in the notes” — it is “what does this recipient need in order to act”. Everything else is noise you should leave out.

This is why two candidates with the same case notes can score very differently on Content. One selected for the recipient; the other transcribed the notes.

What to extract and what to leave

Case notes are usually organised into predictable sections. Each section is read with a different question in mind.

The last row is the key one. The task instructions tell you the recipient and the request, and that is what makes every other fact relevant or irrelevant. Read the instructions first so you know what you are selecting for, then read them again at the end to confirm your letter answers them.

The read-once method

Under time pressure you cannot read the notes three times. Use a single structured pass:

1. Read the task instructions to fix the recipient and the request.
2. Read the notes top to bottom once, marking only the facts that serve that request.
3. Group the marked facts into purpose, history, current status, and plan before you write.

This pass takes most of the reading time and the first few minutes of writing time. It feels slow, but it is the step that prevents a long, unfocused letter — the most common reason strong English speakers still lose marks. The patterns that follow from poor selection are catalogued in OET writing mistakes that cost Grade B.

Paraphrase, do not transcribe

Case notes are written in shorthand — fragments, abbreviations, no full sentences. Copying that style into your letter costs Genre and Style marks, because a professional letter is written in full, courteous sentences. Convert “c/o SOB x3/7, productive cough” into “reports a three-day history of shortness of breath and a productive cough”. Lifting phrases directly also risks reading as template language, which assessors notice.

Practise selection, not just writing

Reading is a trainable skill, and the fastest way to improve it is to compare your selection against an experienced marker’s. Try a case with our case note generator, write the letter under time, then run it through the Writing Checker for a first estimate. For feedback on whether you selected the right content, our letter correction service marks against all six criteria and flags both omitted and over-included information. The Development Pack is the usual choice for candidates working through several cases before the exam; pricing is on the pricing page.