Writing / PD3 Writing Notes — Templates, Phrases & Last-2-Minute Checklist
PD3 Writing Notes — Templates, Phrases & Last-2-Minute Checklist
PD3 writing is not creative writing. It is template writing under time pressure — memorize the skeleton, swap in the right sentence blocks, and you pass.
Exam-time order: 1) recall the paragraph order in §1 → 2) drop in sentence blocks from §2–3 for whichever paragraph you're writing → 3) run the §4 last-2-minute check before you submit.
PD3 Writing Notes — Templates & Checklist
0. Delprøve 1 — Open and close every letter the same way
Must memorize A Delprøve 1 letter always has the same 3 moves: greet by name, react to their news, then answer every bullet point in the order they were asked. Examiners check this order off a list — skipping a bullet costs more than a grammar mistake.
This table is your fixed opening + closing skeleton. Swap only the bracketed name.
| Slot | Danish template | English |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting | Kære [navn] / Hej [navn] | Dear [name] / Hi [name] |
| Thank + react | Tak for dit/din brev/mail – tillykke med… / det var dejligt at høre… | Thank you for your letter/email – congratulations on…/it was lovely to hear… |
| Sympathy variant | Tak for din mail – jeg forstår godt, at du er bekymret/frustreret | Thank you for your email – I completely understand that you're worried/frustrated |
| Closing | Venlig hilsen / Med venlig hilsen / Knus [Dit navn] | Best regards / Kind regards / Hugs [Your name] |
- Tak for dit brev – og tillykke med gevinsten!
- Tak for din mail – jeg kan høre, at du er bekymret for…
Common mistake Writing a warm opener and closer but forgetting to answer one of the 2–3 bullet questions — that bullet is worth real points even if your answer is one sentence.
1. Use this exact paragraph order for every 2A/2B essay
Must memorize Four paragraphs, always in this order: introduce the topic, describe what the diagram/situation shows, argue with reasons and your own opinion, then conclude. Never start with your opinion — examiners look for the diagram description first.
This table is the word-budget you should aim for in each paragraph during the real exam.
| Paragraph | What goes here | Target length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Intro | Name the topic + your one-sentence overall stance | 30–50 ord |
| 2. Description | What the diagram/data shows (2A) or the problem/situation (2B) | 50–80 ord |
| 3. Argument | Reasons + an example, then your opinion | 80–100 ord |
| 4. Conclusion | Sum up your view + an optional suggestion | 30–50 ord |
Common mistake Spending 150+ words describing the diagram and rushing the argument paragraph — argument is where most points are scored, not description.
2. Swap these sentence blocks into the right paragraph
Each block below belongs to exactly one paragraph from the structure above. Memorize the Danish, the color tells you which paragraph it belongs to.
2.1 Use these to open paragraph 1
Pick one opener — don't stack two, it sounds repetitive.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| Formålet med denne tekst er at… | The purpose of this text is to… |
| I denne opgave vil jeg først beskrive… derefter diskutere… | In this task, I will first describe… then discuss… |
| Som diagrammet/tabellen viser… | As the diagram/table shows… |
- Formålet med denne tekst er at diskutere…
- Som diagrammet viser…
Common mistake Translating your Chinese/English intro word-for-word instead of using one of these fixed Danish openers — graders notice non-native sentence order immediately in line 1.
2.2 Use these to describe the diagram in paragraph 2
Always pair a trend verb with a number — "steget" alone is too vague.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| Diagrammet viser en stigning/fald i… | The diagram shows an increase/decrease in… |
| I perioden fra … til … er andelen steget fra X% til Y% | In the period from … to …, the share increased from X% to Y% |
| Der er en markant forskel mellem… | There is a marked difference between… |
- Diagrammet viser en stigning i…
- Der er en markant forskel mellem mænd og kvinder.
Common mistake Describing the diagram in the present tense throughout when it covers a past period ("steg" not "stiger") — check whether the data is historical before picking a verb tense.
2.3 Use these 3 reason types in paragraph 3
Use at least 2 of these 3 — a single unsupported reason reads as opinion, not argument.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| En væsentlig årsag til denne udvikling er… | A significant reason for this development is… |
| Det kan skyldes, at… | This may be due to the fact that… |
| En anden forklaring kunne være… | Another explanation could be… |
- En væsentlig årsag til denne udvikling er de stigende priser.
- En anden forklaring kunne være ændrede arbejdsvaner.
Common mistake Listing 3 reasons with no connecting words between them — string them with for det første / for det andet / for det tredje (see §2.6) so they read as one argument, not a bullet list.
2.4 Use these to give your opinion in paragraph 3
"Efter min mening" and "på den ene side… på den anden side…" together show balance — examiners reward seeing both sides before you pick one.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| Efter min mening… | In my opinion… |
| Jeg mener, at… | I believe that… |
| På den ene side… på den anden side… | On the one hand… on the other hand… |
| Fordelene ved … er, at… Ulemperne er, at… | The advantages of … are that… The disadvantages are that… |
- Efter min mening er det en positiv udvikling.
- På den ene side er det praktisk, på den anden side dyrt.
Common mistake Giving an opinion with no reason attached ("Jeg mener, at det er godt." — full stop). Always follow the opinion sentence with fordi… or da….
2.5 Use one of these to land an example in paragraph 3
One concrete example beats three abstract reasons — examiners can verify a real example, not a vague claim.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| For eksempel… | For example… |
| Et konkret eksempel er… | A concrete example is… |
- For eksempel er der mange unge, der vælger…
Common mistake Inventing a statistic that isn't in the source material ("70% af danskerne…") — use "mange" / "en del" instead unless the number was given to you.
2.6 Finish with one of these fixed conclusions
Pick exactly one closer — don't combine "alt i alt" and "sammenfattende", they mean the same thing.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| Alt i alt mener jeg, at… | All in all, I believe that… |
| Sammenfattende kan man sige, at… | In summary, one can say that… |
| Derfor er det vigtigt at… | Therefore, it is important to… |
- Alt i alt mener jeg, at udviklingen er positiv.
- Derfor er det vigtigt at finde en balance.
Common mistake Introducing a brand-new argument in the conclusion — this paragraph only restates points already made, never adds a new one.
3. Use these 6 connecting words to sound advanced
Replaceable block Repeating "og" and "men" the whole essay reads as A2-level. Spread these 6 across your paragraphs instead — one per paragraph is enough.
This is your swap list — replace a plain "og"/"men" with one of these wherever the logic fits.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| derfor | therefore |
| desuden | furthermore |
| dog | however |
| selvom | even though |
| derimod | on the contrary |
| dermed | thereby |
- Priserne er steget, derfor køber færre folk det.
- Selvom det er dyrt, vælger mange det alligevel.
Common mistake Using "derimod" and "dog" as if they're interchangeable — "derimod" needs two contrasted subjects ("X derimod Y"), "dog" just softens the previous sentence.
One full worked example using this exact framework is in the archive: Delprøve 2A, Nov-Dec 2004 — At bo på landet eller i byen.
4. Last 2-minute check
Check before you submit Run this list in the final 2 minutes — in order, fastest checks first.
- Did I answer every bullet point in the task, in the order given?
- Does paragraph 1 introduce the topic — not jump straight to my opinion?
- Did I use at least one connector from §3 in each paragraph?
- Did I give a reason (fordi/da) after every opinion sentence?
- Does the conclusion only restate points already made — no new argument?
- Letter only: did I thank them and close with a fixed sign-off?
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