Reading a model answer tells you what good looks like. It rarely tells you what you’re doing wrong.
So these A2 writing sample papers do it differently. Both tasks appear with two candidate answers, one that would scrape through or fail and one that would score well, followed by the specific differences an examiner would act on. The receptive papers get the same treatment in A2 Spanish listening papers.
The specifications are based on the official scoring criteria in the Instituto Cervantes exam guide.
What does A2 expresión e interacción escritas ask?
The DELE A2 written expression test lasts 45 minutes and has two tasks. Task 1 is a reply to a short text you’re given, written in 60 to 70 words. Task 2 is a short composition of 70-80 words, chosen from two options. Total output is 130- 150 words.
Task 1 is interacción, interaction. Something arrives, and you respond to it. Task 2 is expresión, expression. You produce text from a prompt with no one to answer it.
Both tasks are worth 50%. That’s unusual, and it matters, because task 2 is longer and harder and yet carries no extra weight. Rushing task 1 to buy time for task 2 is a bad trade.
New to this paper? The DELE A2 writing guide explains the task structure in plain terms.
How is the DELE A2 expresión escrita scored?
Two independent graders score your paper, and the average is taken. Each gives a holistic score per task, split into language use (66%) and task completion (34%). The two tasks contribute equally to your writing score of 25 points.
Language use covers grammar, vocabulary range, spelling, and how well your sentences link. Task completion covers whether you addressed every instruction, wrote the right type of text, and hit the word count.
A third of the score is therefore available for following instructions carefully. That third is the easiest part of the paper to secure, and it’s where weak answers usually bleed points.
Writing sits in Group 1 with reading at A2, and the pair needs 30 points out of 50. Listening and speaking form Group 2. Neither group compensates for the other, so a strong reading score can carry a mediocre writing score but not a poor one. A2 reading paper detail covers the other half of that pair.
Sample paper 1: Tarea 1, interacción escrita
The prompt
Tarea 1
Ha recibido este correo electrónico de su amiga Marta. Lea el correo y contéstele.
¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? El sábado es mi cumpleaños y voy a hacer una fiesta en mi casa a las nueve. ¿Puedes venir? Va a venir también Carlos con su hermana. Dime si necesitas la dirección. Un abrazo, Marta
En su respuesta debe:
- saludar
- dar las gracias por la invitación
- decir si puede ir o no, y por qué
- preguntar qué puede llevar a la fiesta
- despedirse
Escriba entre 60 y 70 palabras.
Answer A, the weak one
Hola Marta:
Gracias por invitar. Yo voy a la fiesta el sábado. Es muy bien. Yo llevo un regalo para ti. Adiós.
Rohan
23 words.
Answer B, the strong one
Hola Marta:
¡Muchas gracias por la invitación! Claro que puedo ir a tu fiesta el sábado. Termino de trabajar a las siete, así que llego sobre las nueve y media.
Me alegro mucho de que venga Carlos también. Hace meses que no lo veo.
¿Qué puedo llevar? Puedo preparar un postre o traer bebida, como prefieras. Sí, necesito la dirección, por favor.
¡Hasta el sábado!
Rohan
66 words.
What an examiner would write in the margin
| Issue in Answer A | Effect |
|---|---|
| 23 words against a 60-to-70-word instruction | Fails the word count outright, and drags task completion down hard |
| Never asks what to bring | One of five required points missing |
| Never responds to the address question | A second point missing |
| Gracias por invitar | Needs the noun: gracias por la invitación |
| Es muy bien | Should be está muy bien or me parece muy bien |
| Yo voy, Yo llevo | Subject pronouns unnecessary in Spanish and they mark the writer as a beginner |
| Adiós to a close friend | Register mismatch, an email to a friend closes with un abrazo or hasta el sábado |
Answer B fixes all of that, and it does one more thing worth copying. It adds a reason: Termino de trabajar a las siete, así que llego sobre las nueve y media. Nothing in the prompt asked for that. It’s the kind of detail that lifts language use, because it shows you can link two clauses with así que rather than writing two disconnected sentences.
The register rule for task 1
Task 1 is always personal. A friend, a family member, a classmate. So use tú, not usted.
Candidates who’ve learned Spanish through business materials often default to usted, which reads oddly. If the incoming message says ¿Puedes venir?, answer in the same register. Match what you’re given.
Sample paper 2: Tarea 2, expresión escrita breve
The prompt
Tarea 2
Elija una de las dos opciones.
Opción A. Escriba un texto sobre un día normal en su vida. Hable de:
- a qué hora se levanta y qué hace por la mañana
- dónde trabaja o estudia
- qué come y con quién
- qué hace por la tarde
- qué hace de diferente los fines de semana
Opción B. Mire la información sobre la vida de Elena y escriba su biografía.
1985: nace en Sevilla 2003: empieza la universidad en Madrid 2009: trabaja en un hospital 2013: se casa con Miguel 2016: va a vivir a México Ahora: tiene dos hijos y trabaja en un hospital de Ciudad de México
Escriba entre 70 y 80 palabras.
Answer A, the weak one, Option B
Elena nace en Sevilla en 1985. En 2003 va a Madrid para la universidad. En 2009 trabaja en un hospital. En 2013 se casa con Miguel. En 2016 va a México. Ahora tiene dos hijos.
36 words.
Answer B, the strong one, Option B
Elena Ruiz nació en Sevilla en 1985. Cuando terminó el colegio, se fue a Madrid y empezó la universidad en 2003.
En 2009 encontró su primer trabajo en un hospital de Madrid, donde estuvo cuatro años. Allí conoció a Miguel y se casaron en 2013.
Tres años después, en 2016, la pareja se mudó a México porque Miguel recibió una oferta de trabajo. Ahora Elena vive en Ciudad de México con sus dos hijos y trabaja en un hospital de la ciudad.
79 words.
What separates them
The gap here is not vocabulary. It’s tense.
Answer A is written entirely in the present. The task gives dates in the past and asks for a biography, so the present tense is wrong for the job. It reads like a schedule, not a text.
Answer B uses the preterite throughout: nació, terminó, se fue, empezó, encontró, estuvo, conoció, se casaron, se mudó, recibió. Then it switches to the present tense for “Ahora Elena vive,” because that part is still true.
Answer B also links its facts instead of listing them. Cuando terminó el colegio, donde estuvo cuatro años, allí conoció a Miguel. Tres años después, porque Miguel recibió una oferta. Every one of those is a connector doing the work that a period did in Answer A.
And it invents. Nothing in the prompt says Elena’s surname is Ruiz, that she stayed four years, that she met Miguel at the hospital, or why they moved. Inventing plausible detail is allowed and expected. The prompt gives you a skeleton and asks you to write a text based on it.
Which option should you choose?
Option A rewards routine vocabulary and the present tense. Option B rewards past tenses and connectors.
Pick on grammar confidence, not topic. If your preterite forms are shaky, take Option A every time. If you’re comfortable with the past, Option B is usually easier to fill out because the dates provide structure.
Practicing both under timed conditions is part of DELE A2 classes, and most students discover within two attempts which option suits them. Knowing that before exam day saves you five minutes of deciding.
Sample paper 3: Tarea 1, reclamación por correo
Task 1 is not always a friendly reply. Here is the formal version of the same task type.
The prompt
Tarea 1
Ha recibido este mensaje de una tienda online. Lea el mensaje y contéstelo.
Estimado cliente: Le informamos de que su pedido n.º 4471 se entregará entre el 20 y el 25 de mayo, y no el 12 de mayo como estaba previsto. Disculpe las molestias. Atención al Cliente.
En su respuesta debe:
- saludar formalmente
- decir cuál es su pedido y qué problema tiene
- explicar por qué necesita el pedido antes del 15 de mayo
- pedir una solución concreta
- despedirse
Escriba entre 60 y 70 palabras.
A model answer
Estimados señores:
Les escribo por mi pedido número 4471. He recibido su mensaje esta mañana y el nuevo plazo no me sirve.
Compré el regalo para el cumpleaños de mi hermana, que es el 15 de mayo. Si llega el 25, ya no tiene sentido.
¿Podrían enviarlo con mensajería urgente? Si no es posible, prefiero cancelar el pedido y que me devuelvan el dinero.
Atentamente, Rohan Mehta
68 words.
Why the register flips here
The incoming message uses “Estimado cliente” and “le informamos,” so the reply uses “ustedes”: “Les escribo, ¿podrían enviarlo? Atentamente.
Match what arrives. That single decision is worth more than any vocabulary you add, because register sits inside task completion, and it is judged in the first line you write.
One more thing to copy: the answer asks for a specific solution and offers a fallback. ¿Podrían enviarlo con mensajería urgente? Si no es posible, prefiero cancelar. The prompt said to ask for a concrete solution, and a vague complaint does not satisfy that instruction.
Sample paper 4: Tarea 2 opción A, mi rutina diaria
Task 2 gives you two options. Sample paper 2 answered Option B, the biography. Here is Option A, the everyday text, so you can compare it with the other option to see which suits you.
Both writing tasks are above. The listening, reading and speaking papers are in our DELE sample paper index.
The prompt
Tarea 2, Opción A
Escriba un texto sobre un día normal en su vida. Hable de:
- a qué hora se levanta y qué hace por la mañana
- dónde trabaja o estudia
- qué come y con quién
- qué hace por la tarde
- qué hace de diferente los fines de semana
Escriba entre 70 y 80 palabras.
A model answer
Me levanto a las siete y media y desayuno un café con tostadas. Después voy al trabajo en metro.
Trabajo en una oficina en el centro de Noida, en una empresa de logística. Como a las dos con mis compañeros, normalmente algo ligero.
Por la tarde vuelvo a casa sobre las siete, hago la compra y estudio español una hora.
Los fines de semana es distinto: duermo hasta las nueve, veo a mis amigos y no toco el ordenador.
77 words.
Option A versus Option B, decided in advance
Option A runs entirely in the present tense with reflexive verbs: me levanto, me acuesto, vuelvo. No past tense needed anywhere.
Option B needs the preterite throughout, as sample paper 2 showed.
So the choice is a grammar decision, not a topic preference. Write both once at home, see which scores better, and commit before exam day. Candidates who decide in the exam room lose four or five minutes, which is most of a paragraph.
Connectors that lift an A2 text
Language use is 66% of the score, and connectors are the cheapest way to raise it. Learn these ten and use three or four per task.
| Spanish | Use |
|---|---|
| porque | Give a reason |
| así que | Give a consequence |
| pero | contrast |
| también | add |
| además | add more formally |
| entonces | sequence |
| después | sequence in time |
| cuando | link two events |
| donde | link to a place |
| aunque | concede a point |
Compare two versions of the same content:
- Without: Trabajo en una oficina. Está lejos de mi casa. Voy en metro.
- With: Trabajo en una oficina que está lejos de mi casa, así que voy en metro todos los días.
Same information, one sentence instead of three, and visibly A2 rather than A1.
How do you add words without padding?
Add reasons, times, and opinions. Each one is a genuine sentence that carries meaning, unlike repeating the prompt or restating what you already wrote, which examiners discount.
Three moves get you from 50 words to 70 without a single filler phrase.
Add a reason. No puedo ir becomes No puedo ir porque trabajo hasta muy tarde ese día. Eight extra words, all of them real.
Add a time or a number. Llego el sábado becomes Llego el sábado por la tarde, sobre las seis. Times are the easiest legitimate padding in Spanish because every task involves arranging something.
Add a short opinion. Vamos al restaurante nuevo” becomes “Vamos al restaurante nuevo. Me parece una muy buena idea porque la comida allí es excelente.
What doesn’t work: copying the prompt’s wording, writing quiero decir que before a sentence, or listing three adjectives when one would do. Markers see these constantly, and they don’t count toward the assessment.
A2 reading gives you 25 items in 60 minutes. Start with the A2 Spanish reading papers.
How should you split the 45 minutes?
Give task 1 about 18 minutes and task 2 about 22, keeping 5 minutes at the end to count words and check both texts. Both tasks are worth 50%, so the split should follow the word count rather than your preference.
Inside those blocks:
- Task 1: 3 minutes reading the incoming message and underlining the five required points, 12 minutes writing, 3 minutes checking
- Task 2: 3 minutes choosing your option and noting the shape, 15 minutes writing, 4 minutes checking
Read the incoming message in task 1 twice. It contains questions you’re expected to answer, and candidates who skim it miss one. In the sample above, “Dime si necesitas la dirección” is a question hidden inside a statement.
If you have not yet settled on a certificate, read Compare Spanish exams.
The seven errors that cost A2 candidates most
- Writing under the word count. 60 to 70 on task 1, 70 to 80 on task 2. Under is penalized.
- Using the present tense for a past-tense task. The single biggest killer is Option B.
- Listing instead of linking. Three short, disconnected sentences where one linked sentence belongs.
- Missing a bullet point. Each one accounts for 34% of task completion.
- Wrong register. Usted to a friend, or tú in a formal complaint.
- Unnecessary subject pronouns. Yo voy, yo como, yo trabajo. Drop them.
- Ignoring the questions inside the stimulus text. They count as instructions.
Point two is the one I flag most often when grading A2 mocks. Candidates who can conjugate the preterite perfectly in a grammar exercise still write their biography in the present because, under time pressure, they default to the tense they use most.
Students across the country follow the same weekly writing tasks in Spanish classes across India.
The A2 speaking paper is 12 minutes long and consists of three tasks. The DELE A2 speaking samples walk through every task.
A three-week writing plan
Week 1. Task 1 only. One reply a day, 60 to 70 words, five bullet points every time. Count every answer.
Week 2. Task 2 only. Alternate between Option A and Option B each day so you learn which suits you best. Force at least four connectors into every text.
Week 3. Full 45-minute papers, both tasks, timed. Three or four papers, then review only for the seven errors listed above rather than for general grammar.
If you want your texts returned with the scores split into language use and task completion, DELE writing practice is part of every batch.
Candidates seeking a faster, computer-based alternative can look at SIELE Spanish classes, which test the same four skills and provide results in about three weeks.
A quicker certificate on a comparable scale is explained in the SIELE alternative route.
Exam logistics in India
DELE sits six times a year in India, at Instituto Cervantes New Delhi on Hanuman Road, in February, April, May, July, October, and November. The 2026 A2 fee is ₹6,200 plus 18% GST, with registration closing roughly six to eight weeks before each session. Results arrive one to three months after the exam.
Get your writing graded before it counts
The difference between the weak and strong answers on this page is not talent. It’s word count, tense choice, connectors, and following instructions. All four can be learned in three weeks.
If you’d rather find out where your writing sits now than guess, send us a sample or come in for an assessment. Call, message us on WhatsApp, or visit the Sector 18 center in Noida. Batches run at four to six students, so every paper gets graded and returned with notes.