OET Resources: Free Guides for Every Sub-Test
Free guides for nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals preparing for OET. Start with the preparation plan, then choose the guide for the skill you want to improve. Each guide links to timed practice on OET Practice.
On this page
Start here
New to OET or not sure where to begin? Read these first.
- Start here How to prepare for OET A five-step plan and a sample week, and how to do each step on OET Practice.
- OET test format explained The four sub-tests, which parts depend on your profession, the ways to take OET, scoring and results.
- How long to prepare for OET How to estimate your preparation time from your first practice grades, with a planning table.
Writing
Turn case notes into a clear, well-organised letter for the right reader.
- Full guide OET Writing guide The task, the six criteria, a 45-minute plan and an annotated model letter.
- OET referral letter guide What to include, a paragraph plan, a model letter, opening and request sentences, and common mistakes.
- OET Writing marking criteria What each criterion checks, what helps and what loses marks, and a checklist for your own letter.
- Using ChatGPT for Writing feedback What a chatbot can and can't check, prompts to copy and how to check its suggestions.
- Practice OET Writing practice Letters for your profession with the real timing, a live word count and feedback.
Speaking
Run confident role-plays that put the patient first.
- Full guide OET Speaking guide How the role-plays work, the marking criteria, a five-stage structure and an annotated example.
- OET Speaking marking criteria The nine criteria, what each one sounds like, what lowers it and a drill for each.
- Practice OET Speaking practice Role-plays with an AI-voiced patient, private recordings and feedback reviewed by our team.
Listening
Catch the details you need from audio you hear only once.
Reading
Find information quickly and understand the writer's point of view.
- Full guide OET Reading guide The three parts, a worked Part A example, the answer rules and a timing plan for 60 minutes.
- Common OET Reading mistakes The mistakes that cost marks in Parts A, B and C, with an example and a fix for each.
- Practice OET Reading practice Single parts or the full sub-test, with time limits you choose and instant marking.
By profession
Practice and advice for your own field.
- OET for nurses Which regulators accept OET, what nursing Writing and Speaking tasks look like, and a plan.
- OET for doctors Which regulators accept OET, what medical Writing and Speaking tasks look like, and a plan.
- OET medical vocabulary Medical terms with plain-English versions, paraphrases, letter phrases, spelling and a learning routine.
Planning and test day
Plan your study and get ready for the day of the test.
- Error-tracking study plan How to keep a mistake log, labels for each sub-test and a weekly loop that shows what to practise.
- Taking OET on computer What changes in each sub-test on computer, the Writing word count and the rules for Speaking at home.
- Official samples vs third-party mock tests What OET's free samples include, when to use them, and how to judge other mock tests.
OET Practice is independent and not affiliated with OET or Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment. Practice grades (A–E) are learning feedback, not official OET scores. For official information about the test, visit oet.com.
Written by OET Practice team. Last reviewed: 26 October 2026. Read our editorial policy .