Using ChatGPT for OET Writing Feedback
ChatGPT and similar chatbots can help you revise an OET practice letter. They are good at spotting informal wording, grammar errors and a purpose that comes too late. Their grades are only a guess, and their rewrites can add or change clinical details. Use a chatbot to find problems, then fix them yourself.
On this page
What a chatbot can and can't do
A general chatbot has not been trained by OET and does not mark the way OET assessors do. It can still be a useful second reader if you know where to trust it.
| Task | How useful | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Finding informal words and contractions | Useful | It usually notices chatty phrases and suggests formal ones. |
| Checking grammar and spelling | Useful, with care | It catches many errors, but check that each correction keeps your meaning. |
| Checking that your purpose is clear | Useful, if you give it the task | It can tell you whether your first sentence says why you are writing. |
| Deciding which case notes to include | Sometimes | It may keep notes the reader doesn't need, or drop ones they do. You still decide. |
| Giving you an OET grade | Not reliable | It does not use the official level descriptions, and the same letter can get different grades. |
| Writing the letter for you | Not helpful | You write alone on test day, so you need to build the skill yourself. |
A revision routine
This routine keeps the work, and the learning, with you.
- Write a letter under exam timing: 5 minutes reading, 40 minutes writing.
- Check it yourself with our six-criteria checklist. Note what you would change.
- Ask a chatbot the prompts below, one at a time.
- Compare its answers with your own notes. Accept only the changes you can explain.
- Rewrite the letter in your own words. Don't paste the chatbot's sentences in.
- Write a new letter on a different task, using what you learned.
Prompts to copy
Paste the task, the case notes and your letter first. Then use one prompt at a time. Specific questions get more useful answers than "Is my letter good?"
| What you want to check | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Read my first sentence. Does it say who the patient is and why I am writing? Quote the words that state the purpose. Don't rewrite the letter. |
| Request | Does my last paragraph ask the reader to do something specific? Does the request match the purpose in my first sentence? |
| Unneeded content | List any sentences in my letter that the reader does not need to continue the patient's care. Explain why for each one. |
| Missing content | Compare my letter with the case notes. List any notes the reader needs that I left out. Don't add anything that is not in the notes. |
| Tone | List any informal words, contractions or abbreviations that may not suit this reader. Suggest a formal alternative for each. |
| Grammar | List my grammar and spelling errors. For each one, show my version, a corrected version and a one-line reason. Don't change the meaning. |
Check what it tells you
Chatbots can be confident and wrong. Before you change anything, check each suggestion with these questions:
- Is this detail in the case notes? A chatbot may add symptoms, doses or advice that are not there.
- Did the number stay the same? Check every dose, date and result in a rewritten sentence.
- Does the reader need this? A chatbot may suggest adding background that lowers Conciseness and Clarity.
- Is the correction an error at all? Some suggestions only change your style.
Common traps
Trusting the grade
The trap
The chatbot said my letter is grade A, so I am ready for Writing.
What to do instead
Use practice letters marked against the OET criteria, and look at your grades across several tasks.
A chatbot's grade is a guess and can change if you ask again.
Accepting a rewrite
The trap
Pasting the chatbot's improved letter over your own.
What to do instead
Reading its comments, then rewriting the weak sentences in your own words.
On test day you write alone. Rewriting yourself builds the skill.
Vague prompts
The trap
Make my letter better.
What to do instead
Does my first sentence say why I am writing? Quote the words.
A specific question gets a specific, checkable answer.
Added clinical details
The trap
Keeping a sentence about a follow-up blood test that the chatbot added.
What to do instead
Deleting any detail that is not in the case notes.
Information that is not in the case notes is inaccurate content.
Keep patient information private
Use chatbots only with practice tasks, which use fictional patients. Never paste real patient information from your work into a chatbot.
Practise on OET Practice
-
Write under real exam timing
Writing practice gives you 5 minutes of reading time, when typing is locked, then 40 minutes to write with a live word count. Tasks are available for 12 professions.
Open Writing practice -
Get feedback on your letter
Writing and Speaking get AI-assisted feedback, reviewed by our team. Your practice grade (A–E) and written feedback appear in your dashboard.
Go to your dashboard -
Ask for a review if something looks wrong
If you think your result is wrong, open it and choose Request a review. A person on our team checks it.
For a full walk-through of the Writing task with a model letter, read our OET Writing guide.
Sources
- Study skills: assessment criteria (opens in a new tab) — OET (oet.com)
- OET Writing sub-test (opens in a new tab) — OET (oet.com)
Written by OET Practice team. Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. Read our editorial policy .