Jobins Training · Free OET Practice
Physiotherapy: practise your professional communication.
One full Writing task and one paired Speaking role play, with models, reasoning and a second attempt.
No registrationOriginal practiceModels explainedWriting · Full-length task
Ankle rehabilitation before return to running
Attempt the task before opening the model. Use the five-minute reading period to study the notes and task without writing or marking them; write your letter during the following 40 minutes.
Jobins Training · Original OET practice
- WRITING SUB-TEST:
- PHYSIOTHERAPY
- TIME ALLOWED:
- READING TIME: 5 MINUTES
WRITING TIME: 40 MINUTES
Read the case notes and complete the writing task below.
Notes:
Assume that today’s date is 6 November 2026.
Mr Nathan Cole, aged 29, is receiving treatment at the physiotherapy clinic where you work.
- Clinic:
- Westbridge Musculoskeletal Clinic, 10 Park Street, Westbridge
PATIENT DETAILS:
- Name:
- Nathan Cole (Mr)
- Date of birth:
- 30 Jun 1997 (29 years)
- New residence:
- 27 Park Road, Fairhaven; lives with partner
- Moving date:
- 10 Nov 2026
- Occupation:
- Software worker; new office job starts 16 Nov
- Injury date:
- 12 Sep 2026
- First assessment:
- 25 Sep 2026
- Diagnosis:
- Left lateral ankle sprain
Medical history:
No diabetes or neurological disorder.
No previous ankle surgery.
No regular medication; currently no analgesia.
No known drug allergies.
Left ankle sprain 2021; recovered fully.
Social and activity background:
Previously ran approx. 20 km/week.
Occasional five-a-side football.
No manual duties in new job.
Uses public transport independently.
Goal: comfortable walking, then return to running.
Hopes for charity 5 km in December.
Injury and initial care – 12 Sep 2026:
Inversion injury during run on uneven pavement.
Urgent treatment centre assessment that day.
Radiographs: no fracture.
Lateral ankle sprain diagnosed.
Support and swelling-management advice provided.
Follow-up and deterioration advice given.
No wound, numbness or vascular concern documented.
Initial assessment – 25 Sep 2026:
Lateral ankle discomfort 4/10 when walking.
Swelling increases by evening.
Reduced left stance time.
One crutch outdoors; stairs one step at time.
Left active dorsiflexion reduced.
Left calf strength reduced.
Single-leg balance: L 8 sec; R 30 sec.
Skin intact; no calf pain.
No new sensory symptoms or increasing redness.
Physiotherapy management:
Ankle mobility exercises demonstrated.
Progressive calf strengthening and balance work.
Loading guided by symptoms and function.
Monitor during activity and following day.
Avoid sudden progression to running.
Exercise log supplied; technique reviewed during visits.
Progress – 16 Oct 2026:
Walking without crutch.
Level walking: 20 minutes comfortably.
Stairs improving; swelling minimal.
Discomfort after prolonged standing.
Left single-leg balance 18 sec.
Left heel raises fewer/lower than right.
Programme progressed; attendance consistent.
Unsupervised short jog caused later discomfort.
No new injury; symptoms settled after load reduction.
Returned to agreed stage; reassessment arranged.
Current assessment – 06 Nov 2026:
Level walking: 35 minutes comfortably.
Ordinary stairs reciprocal; no resting pain.
Single-leg balance: L 24 sec; R 30 sec.
Controlled heel raises: L 12; R 23.
Left calf fatigues earlier.
Mild discomfort with hopping.
Hopping progression not yet established.
No new swelling or giving way.
Sensation reportedly normal.
Transfer plan:
Continue strength and balance rehabilitation.
Reassess before graded running progression.
Not cleared for unrestricted running or football.
December event remains a goal; no clearance date.
Patient understands need for reassessment.
Exercise log and measurements enclosed.
Transfer consent recorded; local appointment not booked.
Writing Task:
Using the case notes, write a transfer letter to Ms Sofia Patel, Physiotherapist, Fairhaven Musculoskeletal Clinic, 11 Station Road, Fairhaven. Request continued rehabilitation for Mr Cole and reassessment before his return to running and football.
In your answer:
- Develop the relevant notes into complete sentences.
- Write in paragraphs rather than note form.
- Use an appropriate letter layout.
The body of your letter should be approximately 180–200 words.
After your attempt: identify the recipient, the purpose, three essential facts and two details you deliberately left out. Then compare your decisions below.
Reveal the model letter
6 November 2026
Ms Sofia Patel
Physiotherapist
Fairhaven Musculoskeletal Clinic
11 Station Road
Fairhaven
Dear Ms Patel,
Re: Mr Nathan Cole | DOB: 30 June 1997
Please continue rehabilitation for Mr Cole following his move to Fairhaven on 10 November. Recovery from a left lateral ankle sprain is progressing, but calf weakness and discomfort with hopping still limit readiness for sport.
He sustained an inversion injury on 12 September; urgent-care radiographs excluded fracture. At his first physiotherapy assessment, he used a crutch outdoors and had reduced dorsiflexion, strength and balance. Treatment has comprised mobility exercises, progressive calf strengthening and balance work, with advice about monitoring his response to loading.
He now walks comfortably for 35 minutes and uses stairs reciprocally. Left single-leg balance has improved from eight to 24 seconds, compared with 30 seconds on the right. However, he achieves 12 controlled left heel raises versus 23 on the right and experiences mild discomfort when hopping. There is no resting pain, new swelling or giving way.
An unsupervised jogging attempt in October caused discomfort that settled with reduced loading. Please continue rehabilitation and assess readiness for graded running. He hopes to complete a charity event in December but understands that participation has not been cleared. His exercise log and measurements are enclosed with consent; no local appointment is booked.
Yours sincerely,
Physiotherapist
Model body: 193 words using a space-separated editorial count. This is one possible response; it is not an officially scored letter or a sentence template to memorise.
Why these details were selected
What the reader needs
- Injury and exclusion of fracture, rehabilitation undertaken and measured progression.
- Current walking ability alongside remaining strength and hopping limitations.
- Specific next assessment and realistic distinction between patient goal and clearance.
What can be omitted or condensed
- Job start date, old recovered sprain and transport details need not crowd the clinical summary.
- Keep the most informative measures rather than reproducing every appointment finding.
Accuracy traps
- Comfortable walking does not prove readiness for running.
- Do not promise participation in the December event.
- Do not invent a ligament grade, imaging finding or booked appointment.
Accuracy repair: a fresh exercise
A draft says: He has been cleared to run the December event.
Correct it using the case notes before opening the answer.
Check the repaired sentence
The December event is his goal; readiness for graded running still requires reassessment.
The correction preserves what is known, what has happened and what remains outstanding. Compare the changed words with the relevant dated note.
Review the six Writing criteria
| Criterion | Use it to review your attempt |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Can the reader identify the action or explanation needed from the opening? |
| Content | Are essential facts accurate, including dates, status and remaining needs? |
| Conciseness and clarity | Have you selected and combined information without losing necessary meaning? |
| Genre and style | Does the wording suit this recipient’s role and knowledge? |
| Organisation and layout | Do paragraphs help the reader locate the problem, evidence and next step? |
| Language | Are grammar, vocabulary, spelling and sentence links clear and accurate? |
Choose one factual correction and one language improvement for a second draft. This checklist is for learning; it does not calculate an OET grade.
Speaking · One paired role play
Practise the professional conversation
Use 3 minutes to prepare the professional card, then about 5 minutes for the conversation. The candidate stays in the professional role. A partner plays the patient, parent or animal owner. This is one role play; the OET Speaking sub-test contains two.
Read only your own card before starting. The partner should open their card privately and reveal information in response to the conversation. These cards are a separate scenario from the Writing case.
Candidate card · Physiotherapist
Setting: Musculoskeletal outpatient clinic
You review Callum, aged 30, recovering from a lateral ankle sprain. Walking has improved, but assessment still shows reduced calf strength and discomfort during hopping. He wants to return to a football match this weekend. Your current rehabilitation plan has not cleared him for unrestricted sport. There has been no new injury. Discuss the difference between everyday walking and sport demands and agree a realistic next step.
Tasks
- Find out why this match matters and what Callum believes improved walking means.
- Explain the assessment findings and the additional demands of turning, jumping and rapid changes of direction.
- Discuss the risk of progressing too quickly without using frightening or absolute predictions.
- Negotiate appropriate current activity, continued rehabilitation and reassessment; acknowledge the disappointment.
- Check his understanding of the plan and what would prompt earlier review, without promising a return date.
Partner card — Patient only
Role-player card · Patient
You are Callum, 30, who captains an amateur team. You walk normally and assume that proves the ankle has healed. The team is short of players. You would accept missing this match if you understood what needs to improve, but you dislike vague instructions to “take it easy”.
- Begin: “I can walk fine, so I should be able to play.”
- When asked, explain the team’s shortage and your feeling of letting people down.
- Ask whether you can play for only ten minutes.
- If the reasoning is specific, ask what you can do instead and how readiness will be checked.
- Explain back the agreed training stage and follow-up; do not automatically agree before your concerns are addressed.
Respond naturally to what is asked. Do not give every detail at once or create an unrelated medical quiz. If the explanation is unclear, ask for clarification.
Review selected exchanges and explanations
These are selected teaching exchanges, not a full five-minute transcript. Compare how the response changes with the concern. Several different responses could work.
Patient: “Walking is fine.”
Physiotherapist: “That progress is encouraging. Football adds quick turns, jumps and reactions that walking does not test. Today your calf fatigued earlier on the injured side and hopping was still uncomfortable.”
Why this helps: Uses observed findings to explain the gap between daily function and sporting readiness.
Patient: “Only ten minutes?”
Physiotherapist: “I understand why a short appearance is tempting. Even in a few minutes you could need a sudden turn or landing. Let us agree activities that fit your current stage and what we need to reassess before a match.”
Why this helps: Answers the actual proposal without claiming that a short appearance guarantees reinjury.
Patient: “When will I be ready?”
Physiotherapist: “I cannot give a reliable date from the calendar alone. We need to review strength, control and your response as activity progresses. Could you explain the plan you will follow until that review?”
Why this helps: Makes the next step measurable while avoiding false certainty.
Repeat with a changed response
Partner reports a new injury with marked swelling and inability to bear weight. Reassess the situation and arrange appropriate clinical review; do not continue the routine return-to-sport conversation unchanged.
Keep your professional role, listen to the changed information and adapt the next step. Do not repeat a memorised answer when the situation has changed.
Review all nine Speaking criteria
| Criterion | Use it to review your attempt |
|---|---|
| Intelligibility | Can your partner follow your speech without repeated effort? |
| Fluency | Can you keep the exchange moving while allowing natural pauses? |
| Appropriateness of language | Does the register and explanation suit this person? |
| Resources of grammar and expression | Can you express time, uncertainty, reasons and choices accurately? |
| Relationship building | Do you show attention to the person’s particular concern? |
| Understanding and incorporating the patient’s perspective | Does the plan respond to their priorities and constraints? |
| Providing structure | Do you signal changes of topic and explain information in manageable stages? |
| Information gathering | Do you ask, listen and clarify rather than assume? |
| Information giving | Do you explain clearly and check what the person has understood? |
Ask your partner for one example of something clear and one moment that needed clarification. If you record yourself on your own device, review only with everyone’s agreement. The website does not record speech or generate an OET score.
Format and clinical background references
Exam format: OET test handbook. These original cases were written for language practice after reviewing official task formats. The following sources inform clinical plausibility; the fictional patient records are not copied from them.