✍️ B2 Writing Forms

The state exam names 23 formy wypowiedzi you must be able to produce. This covers the ones that actually come up, each as a template you can fill.

📋 The full list, and where to spend your time

All 23 are named in the regulation. They are not equally likely, and they are not equally hard. Ranked by what the writing module tends to ask:

Priority	Forms	Why
high	rozprawka · list urzędowy · podanie · recenzja · sprawozdanie · charakterystyka	formal register, clear structure, easy to mark — exactly what an exam wants
medium	list motywacyjny · opis · opowiadanie · esej · (auto)biografia	appear regularly, overlap heavily with the high group
lower	życzenia · pozdrowienia · zaproszenie · zawiadomienie · ogłoszenie · reklama	short forms, often a sub-task rather than the whole question

Almost every high-priority form shares the same spine: formal opening → statement of purpose → body → closing formula. Learn that spine once and you can produce most of the list. The differences are mostly in the body.

Length: the regulation itself specifies no word counts — those live in the individual exam papers, which are not publicly downloadable. Around 200 words is the widely quoted figure for B2 tasks, but treat that as unconfirmed and check a past paper before drilling to a specific length.

🚪 Openings and closings — learn these cold

Getting the frame wrong marks a text as informal before the examiner reaches your argument. There is no improvising here; these are fixed.

Situation	Opening	Closing
To an official, by title	Szanowny Panie Dyrektorze,	Z wyrazami szacunku,
To an official, unknown	Szanowni Państwo,	Z poważaniem,
To a woman by title	Szanowna Pani Profesor,	Z poważaniem,
Semi-formal, known person	Drogi Panie Marku,	Pozdrawiam serdecznie,
Informal	Cześć Aniu!	Trzymaj się,

Szanowny Panie Dyrektorze,

shah-NOV-ni PAH-nyeh di-rek-TOH-zheh

Dear Director, — note the vocative: Dyrektor → Dyrektorze

Szanowna Pani Profesor,

shah-NOV-nah PAH-nee proh-FEH-sor

Dear Professor, — female titles usually stay unchanged after Pani

Z wyrazami szacunku,

z vi-rah-ZAH-mee shah-TSOON-koo

With expressions of respect — the most formal sign-off

Z poważaniem,

s poh-vah-ZHAH-nyem

Yours faithfully — the safe default for any official letter

The comma after the opening, then a capital letter. Polish writes Szanowny Panie, then begins the next line with a capital. A full stop after the salutation, or a lower-case continuation, is a punctuation error — and orthography is explicitly assessed.

📄 Podanie & list urzędowy — the official request

A podanie is a formal application; a list urzędowy is any letter to an institution. Same skeleton.

[place, date — top right]
Kraków, 20 września 2026 r.

[your details — top left]

Szanowni Państwo,

Zwracam się z uprzejmą prośbą o [what you want, as a verbal noun in the genitive].

Swoją prośbę motywuję tym, że [your reason].

W związku z powyższym [what you'd like to happen next].

Z poważaniem,
[name]

Zwracam się z uprzejmą prośbą o rozpatrzenie mojego podania.

ZVRAH-tsahm sheh z oo-PSHEY-mohm PROZH-bohm oh ros-pah-TSHEH-nyeh moh-YEH-goh poh-DAH-nyah

I respectfully request that my application be considered. — prośba o + accusative, and rozpatrzenie is a verbal noun

Uprzejmie informuję, że nie mogę wziąć udziału w spotkaniu.

oo-PSHEY-myeh een-for-MOO-yeh, zheh nyeh MOH-geh vzhonch oo-DZHAH-woo f spot-KAH-nyoo

I respectfully inform you that I cannot take part in the meeting.

W związku z powyższym proszę o kontakt.

v ZVYON-skoo s poh-VISH-shim PROH-sheh oh KON-tahkt

In connection with the above, please get in touch. — pure officialese, and exactly right here

Chciałbym zwrócić uwagę na jeden istotny szczegół.

HCHAW-bim ZVROO-cheech oo-VAH-geh nah YEH-den ees-TOT-ni SHCHEH-goow

I would like to draw attention to one important detail. — conditional chciałbym softens it; a woman writes chciałabym

Notice how much of this register runs on the grammar from the other guides: verbal nouns (rozpatrzenie), the passive and impersonal, the conditional for politeness. Formal Polish is not a separate vocabulary so much as a different grammatical gear.

⚖️ Rozprawka — the argumentative essay

The most demanding form and the most commonly set. It has a fixed four-part shape, and examiners look for that shape.

1. Teza — state your position
Moim zdaniem… / Uważam, że…

2. Argumenty za — two or three, each with support
Po pierwsze… Po drugie… Ponadto…

3. Kontrargument — concede, then answer it
Z drugiej strony… Niemniej jednak…

4. Podsumowanie — restate, don't introduce new points
Podsumowując… / Reasumując…

Moim zdaniem ten problem jest poważniejszy.

MOH-eem ZDAH-nyem ten PROH-blem yest poh-vahzh-NYEY-shi

In my opinion this problem is more serious. — moim zdaniem is instrumental, fixed

Uważam, że warto się nad tym zastanowić.

oo-VAH-zhahm, zheh VAR-toh sheh naht tim zahs-tah-NOH-veech

I think it is worth considering. — zastanowić się nad + instrumental

Po pierwsze, należy rozważyć koszty.

poh PYERV-sheh, nah-LEH-zhi roz-VAH-zhich KOSH-ti

Firstly, one must consider the costs. — należy + infinitive is an impersonal "one must"

Z jednej strony jest to wygodne, z drugiej zaś kosztowne.

z YED-ney STROH-ni yest toh vi-GOD-neh, z DROO-gyey zahsh kosh-TOV-neh

On one hand convenient, on the other expensive. — zaś is a bookish "whereas"

Ponadto warto zauważyć, że sytuacja się zmienia.

poh-NAHT-toh VAR-toh zah-oo-VAH-zhich, zheh si-too-AH-tsyah sheh ZMYEH-nyah

Moreover, it is worth noting that the situation is changing.

Niemniej jednak istnieją pewne wątpliwości.

NYEM-nyey YED-nahk eest-NYEH-yohm PEV-neh vont-plee-VOSH-chee

Nevertheless, certain doubts remain. — the concession move, worth memorising

Podsumowując, uważam ten pomysł za słuszny.

pod-soo-moh-VOO-yonts, oo-VAH-zhahm ten POH-misw zah SWOOSH-ni

To sum up, I consider this idea sound. — podsumowując is an adverbial participle; uważać za + accusative

The B2 standard describes the step up from B1 as choosing the form that fits the text type. A rozprawka written in short simple sentences with no connectors reads as B1 regardless of how correct it is. The connectors above are what carry the grade.

📝 The other high-priority forms

Recenzja — review

Co to jest — title, author/director, genre
O czym — brief summary, no spoilers
Ocena — what worked, what didn't, with reasons
Rekomendacja — Polecam / Nie polecam… ze względu na…

Film ten zasługuje na uwagę ze względu na grę aktorów.

feelm ten zahs-woo-GOO-yeh nah oo-VAH-geh zeh VZGLEN-doo nah greh ahk-TOH-roof

This film deserves attention because of the acting. — film ten rather than ten film is a formal inversion

Reklamacja — complaint

Szanowni Państwo,
Składam reklamację dotyczącą [what, genitive], zakupionego dnia [date].
Wada polega na tym, że [the fault].
W związku z tym żądam [wymiany towaru / zwrotu pieniędzy — genitive].
Z poważaniem,

Składam reklamację dotyczącą zakupionego towaru.

SKWAH-dahm reh-klah-MAH-tsyeh doh-ti-CHON-tsohm zah-koo-PYOH-neh-goh toh-VAH-roo

I am submitting a complaint regarding the purchased goods. — two participles at once: dotyczącą active, zakupionego passive

Sprawozdanie — report

Factual account of an event: what, when, where, who, outcome. Past tense throughout, heavy use of reported speech and the -no/-to impersonal — Omówiono… Postanowiono… Zwrócono uwagę na…

Charakterystyka — character study

Describes a person or a milieu: appearance, personality, behaviour, your assessment. Adjective-heavy, so comparison forms and the -ość abstract nouns earn their place here.

🧪 Self-check

Task	What the examiner is looking for
Write a podanie requesting a course place	Correct opening/closing pair · Zwracam się z prośbą o + verbal noun · date top right
Write a rozprawka on remote work	Explicit teza · at least two supported arguments · one conceded counter-argument · summary that adds nothing new
Write a reklamacja about a faulty phone	Names the goods and date · states the fault · states the remedy demanded, in the genitive after żądam
Write a recenzja of a book	Summary without spoilers · reasoned judgement · clear recommendation

Mark your own drafts against the frame, not the content. Did you use the right opening? Is there a real counter-argument? Is the closing formula correct? Those are the points a marker can award without debating your opinion — and they are the cheapest marks in the paper.

📌 What the regulation asks for

Beyond the 23 forms, the B2 standard also specifies 17 communicative roles you may be asked to write from — petent (a person making an official request), klient, świadek zdarzenia (witness), przełożony/podwładny (superior/subordinate), wynajmujący (landlord) and others.

It also requires mediation — tłumaczenie wewnątrzjęzykowe, rendering the same content in a different register. That is a direct test of the B1→B2 step-up: take an informal message and rewrite it as an official letter, or the reverse.

Orthography and punctuation are assessed as part of the writing module: ó/u, rz/ż, h/ch, ę/en, and joint versus separate writing. Worth a proofreading pass at the end of every task specifically for those five.