Problem: mock tests get “done” but not studied — writers finish, glance at scores, and repeat the faults next time. Answer in brief: treat each mock as grammar training: write timed, dissect every verb choice against the key, log faults by type, re-test blind. This guide demonstrates the method on three discharge mocks, and OET Grammar — Course 14 provides mock-test training across 16 topic sections.
The mock-as-training method
Four phases per mock: timed performance (40 minutes, exam conditions, no references); verb dissection (every verb labelled and justified against the model answer); fault logging (misses classified: zone, form, voice, article); blind re-test (same genre, new case, within 72 hours). Mocks without dissection are performances; with dissection they are lessons. The course’s mocks are built for this cycle, with keys that explain choices.
Mock 1: discharge to community nurse
Grammar focus: handover completeness with present-status accuracy and numbered community actions. Watch for past-tense today (“was comfortable” for a patient still under care) and ownerless actions (“to be reviewed” — by whom?). The community nurse is a present-tense reader: everything she receives must read as current and owned.
Train mocks properly? The full OET Grammar — Course 14 provides writing mock tests with grammar dissection across 16 topic sections and 5 complete mocks. Explore the course →
Mock 3: post-appendectomy discharge
Grammar focus: uncomplicated-course narration without overcomplicating — past simple sequences, present fitness statements, future review plans. The trap is importing complexity the case does not need (past perfects for simple sequences, passives for own actions). Clean cases test clean grammar: resist decoration.
Mock 4: cardiology discharge to GP
Grammar focus: numbers with trends (weights, pressures, ejection fraction), medication changes with reasons in perfect and passive forms, monitoring requests with modal force. Cardiology discharges are the grammar-densest genre — every verb carries a value, and the dissection phase pays most here.
Blind re-test protocol
Within 72 hours: same genre, unseen case, full timing, no model access. Compare fault logs mock-to-mock: fixed faults graduate, repeats get dedicated drills, new faults join the log. Three consecutive mocks with zero repeats means the genre is trained — move on. Mock volume without re-testing is rehearsal of faults.
FAQs
How many mocks before the exam?
Quality over count: six fully dissected mocks beat twenty performed ones. Each mock should change the next through its fault log.
When should mock training start?
After foundations (tenses, voice) are in place — mocks diagnose application, not basics. Premature mocking demoralises without teaching.
What is in the course?
Sixteen topic sections of writing mock tests with grammar dissection, including community, surgical and cardiology discharges, plus 5 complete mocks.
The matching course
OET Grammar — Course 14 turns mocks into lessons: perform, dissect, log, re-test — 16 topic sections with 5 complete mocks. If mocks have not moved your marks, change what you do after them.
Sources and note
- OET Writing criteria per the official OET site: oet.com — Writing. Check current format guidance before the exam.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only): 16 topic sections, 5 mock tests.
- Method descriptions summarise the course’s training approach; examples are illustrative.
Put this into practice
Compare these course outlines and choose the practice that matches your next goal.
