The Forumsbeitrag (forum post) is the writing task in the Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2 and in the Goethe-Zertifikat B2. It is not part of the general telc Deutsch B2, where you write a semi-formal e-mail instead. If your exam does include the forum post, you need three things: a reasoned opinion, fitting examples and a clear paragraph structure, with no salutation and no closing formula. This guide covers how to write it, and how to check first whether you should be practising it at all.

By Ela Zakrzewska, telc B2 examiner for over 20 years. Hundreds of letters marked against the official criteria.

Before you practise, one question: which exam are you actually sitting?

The Forumsbeitrag circulates online as "the B2 writing task", and that is true for exactly two exams: the Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2 (DTB B2), the final exam of the BAMF Berufssprachkurs, and the Goethe-Zertifikat B2, where Schreiben Teil 1 is a forum post. The general telc Deutsch B2 has no forum post. Its writing task is a semi-formal e-mail, usually a complaint or a request for information, and that task has its own guide: the annotated complaint letter.

So if you are taking the telc Deutsch B2: stop reading here and practise the e-mail. Every hour spent on the forum post is lost time for your exam. If you are not sure which exam you are registered for, the B2 Beruf article settles it in three steps.

Everyone sitting the DTB B2 or the Goethe B2: read on.

What the task actually demands

The two exams set the forum post differently, but they want the same skeleton.

In the DTB B2 you choose one of two topics. The official task instruction reads, in German: „In Ihrer Firma können sich alle Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter in einem Forum miteinander über Neuigkeiten austauschen. Schreiben Sie einen Forumsbeitrag zu Thema A oder B. Begründen Sie Ihre Meinung und nennen Sie passende Beispiele. Gliedern Sie Ihren Text in sinnvolle Abschnitte." In English: your company runs an internal forum; write a forum post on topic A or B, justify your opinion, give fitting examples, and structure your text in sensible paragraphs. The topics are workplace debates with a built-in conflict. The official practice test uses a company phone for everyone, with availability expected in the evening and at weekends, and a compulsory dress code whose cleaning costs each employee pays privately.

In the Goethe-Zertifikat B2 you get one topic with four content points, along the lines of state your opinion, give reasons, suggest alternatives, name advantages. The task asks for around 150 words (circa, not a minimum) plus an introduction and a conclusion. The module runs 75 minutes, split freely between both writing tasks; officially suggested are 50 minutes for the forum post.

The shared core: opinion, reasons, examples, paragraphs. No subject line, no salutation, no closing formula, because you are writing publicly to many readers, not to one person.

The structure that carries both exams

Four paragraphs are enough. A B2 forum post needs no more parts than this, and each missing one costs points.

Paragraph 1: an opening that connects. One or two sentences that pick up the debate and hint at your position. Not "I am writing about topic X", but a sentence that sounds as if you had read the other posts: "I have been following the discussion about the planned dress code for days, and I understand both sides, but one thing is missing from the debate."

Paragraph 2: your strongest argument with an example. A claim, a reason, a concrete example. The example is not decoration; the DTB task demands it verbatim („nennen Sie passende Beispiele"), and in the Goethe grid it feeds the Aufgabenerfüllung. Examples work best when they come from the everyday life the forum's readers share.

Paragraph 3: the second argument, or the other side. What sets B2 apart from B1: taking the opposing view seriously and holding your position anyway. "Of course a company nursery costs money that is missing elsewhere. But precisely because of that ..." It is the same weighing move that „einerseits, andererseits" performs in the telc e-mail, just in forum register.

Paragraph 4: a closing that looks forward. Do not summarise; give the debate something: a proposal, a condition or a question to the others. "Before we vote, I would like to know how many colleagues would actually use the nursery." A closing paragraph that keeps the conversation going suits the forum genre better than a verdict.

The tone: colleagues, not authorities

This is where posts fail that are linguistically clean.

The DTB assessment grid lists, under Kommunikative Aufgabenbewältigung, the „passender Grad an Formalität", the appropriate degree of formality. The forum is internal, your readers are colleagues: not the immigration office, not your best friend. Too formal („Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, hiermit möchte ich Stellung nehmen") misses the register as badly as too casual („Also ich find das echt Quatsch").

The right middle sounds like a good team meeting: direct, respectful, with „wir" and „uns". You need less Konjunktiv politeness here than in the complaint e-mail; what matters more are the connectors that carry arguments: „darüber hinaus", „gerade deshalb", „einerseits, andererseits", „unter dem Strich".

An example in DTB style, with three notes

A topic in the style of the exam, built by us: management proposes cutting the holiday bonus to fund a company nursery. The post stays in German, because that is what you will write in the exam.

Note 1: No „Sehr geehrte", no „Mit freundlichen Grüßen", and still it is instantly clear who the text addresses. The opening connects to a running debate; that is the forum version of the Situierung.

Note 2: The example in paragraph 2 is concrete and checkable: two colleagues, parental leave, part-time. That is what „passende Beispiele" means, not "many people have childcare problems".

Note 3: Paragraph 3 takes the other side seriously and holds the position, and the closing asks the readers a question instead of drawing a conclusion. Both are B2-level moves in the forum genre.

The traps of the two exams

The Goethe B2 has a knockout: an E in Aufgabenerfüllung, given when the text falls below half the required length or misses the topic, scores zero for the whole task. The circa 150 words are the target; the hard floor sits at half of that. And all four content points are checked individually in the Aufgabenerfüllung, like the Leitpunkte in the telc e-mail.

In the DTB B2 the trap is time: the forum post shares a 35-minute block with the Sprachbausteine. Realistically you have about 20 to 25 minutes for the text. If you spend long wavering between topic A and B, you end up with half a post, and a text without a closing paragraph reads as abandoned, not structured.

In both: memorised chunks that do not fit the specific debate stand out, exactly as they do in the letter. The test for every prepared phrase stays the same: can you fill it with the content of this topic?

What you can do now

  • Settle the exam question first. DTB B2 or Goethe B2: practise the forum post. General telc B2: practise the e-mail. If in doubt, run the three-step check.
  • Write the example topic above yourself, in under 25 minutes, before you reread our version.
  • Check your four paragraphs one by one: opening with a connection, argument with an example, other side plus your position, closing with a question or proposal.
  • Read your text for tone: would you say this in a team meeting? Too stiff and too casual both fall under the same criterion.
  • If you want to measure your B2 level independently of the text type: take your first exam free at app.knaxxdeutsch.de, no credit card and no account needed.

Crack the question of which exam you are sitting first. The post itself is the smaller task after that.

FAQ: the Forumsbeitrag at B2

Is there a Forumsbeitrag in the telc B2 exam?

No. The general telc Deutsch B2 tests a semi-formal e-mail in the writing section, usually a complaint or a request for information. The forum post is the writing task of the Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2 and the Goethe-Zertifikat B2. If you are taking the telc B2 and practising forum posts, you are practising for the wrong exam.

How long does a B2 forum post have to be?

The Goethe B2 asks for around 150 words; below half of that the task scores zero. The DTB B2 task names no word count at all, but the four paragraphs of the basic structure realistically fill 120 to 180 words, and you have about 20 to 25 minutes for them.

Do I need a salutation and a closing formula?

No. A forum post is a public contribution to many readers, not a message to one person. What the task demands are paragraphs, a reasoned opinion and examples. Opening with „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren" tells the examiner you have not recognised the text type.

How formal does the tone have to be?

In between. The DTB grid assesses the appropriate degree of formality: your readers are colleagues, so neither officialese nor slang. Aim for the tone of a good team meeting, with load-bearing connectors instead of filler words.

Do I have to mention the opposing view?

The task does not demand it word for word, but it is the easiest way to show B2 level. Taking the other side seriously and staying with your own position, with reasons, is what separates a B2 post from a B1 statement of opinion. One paragraph is enough.

Can I pass with a memorised model post?

With building blocks yes, with a finished text no. Examiners recognise pre-written posts by the missing connections to the specific topic. Learn phrases by paragraph function and fill them with the debate in front of you.

Sources and status

The DTB B2 details, the task instruction quoted verbatim, the two practice-test topics, the 35-minute structure and the formality criterion, come from the official Übungstest 1 Deutsch-Test für den Beruf B2 (telc, 2022), which is also the BAMF model test. The Goethe details, circa 150 words, four content points, introduction and conclusion, the suggested 50 minutes and the E-grade rule, come from the official Goethe B2 Modellsatz and the Durchführungsbestimmungen (as of September 2023). That the general telc Deutsch B2 contains no forum post is checked against the current telc practice test. The example post including the nursery topic and the notes are Knaxx teaching material in the style of the exam, not a real exam task; the four-paragraph structure is classroom methodology, not an official requirement.

Last updated: 15 August 2026.

About the authors

Ela Zakrzewska has taught telc B2 for over twenty years and has marked hundreds of letters against the official telc criteria. She was born in Lithuania and has lived and worked in Poland, Germany, Belgium and the UK. Those five countries, five languages and the networks she has built worldwide shape the Knaxx approach: exam knowledge that accounts for every first language, and a strategy that works for immigrants in Germany because she is one.

Tu-San Pham holds a PhD in AI and data science and is co-founder of Knaxx. She translates Ela's two decades of exam expertise into systems that reach hundreds of learners at once without losing the marking logic. She and Ela met as exam partners in a language exam. Now they are building the exam partner they both wish they'd had.