Study guide
4.2 Writing Tarea 2: Option A (Personal Life) or Option B (Photos/Data)
DELE A2 — Spanish Language Diploma Elementary
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1 Chapter 1: Exam Overview, Format & Scoring Structure
1.1 DELE A2 Identity, Purpose & Nationality Requirements 1.2 Four Pruebas & Official Test Administration 1.3 Scoring System: The 30/50 Group Rules & Pass Criteria
2 Chapter 2: Prueba 1 — Reading Comprehension Tasks & Strategies
2.1 Reading Tarea 1: Personal Correspondence & Informational Texts 2.2 Reading Tarea 2: Notices, Bulletins & Short Announcements 2.3 Reading Tarea 3: Matching Statements to Thematic Texts 2.4 Reading Tarea 4: Long Narrative Text & Changes of Topic
3 Chapter 3: Prueba 2 — Listening Comprehension Tasks & Auditory Techniques
3.1 Listening Tarea 1: Six Short Conversations with Picture Options 3.2 Listening Tarea 2: Radio News, Ads & Programme Extracts 3.3 Listening Tarea 3: One Conversation – Man, Woman or Neither 3.4 Listening Tarea 4: Seven Messages Matched to Ten Statements
4 Chapter 4: Prueba 3 — Written Expression & Interaction
4.1 Writing Tarea 1: Replying to a Personal Message (60–70 Words) 4.2 Writing Tarea 2: Option A (Personal Life) or Option B (Photos/Data) 4.3 The Official Writing Scale, Cohesion & Common Errors
5 Chapter 5: Prueba 4 — Oral Expression & Interaction
5.1 Oral Test Structure, 12-Minute Preparation & Official Scales 5.2 Oral Tarea 1: Prepared Presentation on a Personal Topic 5.3 Oral Tarea 2: Describing a Photograph (Monologue) 5.4 Oral Tarea 3: Simulated Conversation Linked to the Photo
6 Chapter 6: Essential A2 Grammar — Verb Systems & Tenses
6.1 Present Indicative Regulars, Stem-Changers & Irregulars 6.2 Reflexive Verbs & Verbs of Preference (Gustar, Encantar, Doler) 6.3 The Past Tenses: Pretérito Perfecto vs. Pretérito Indefinido 6.4 Pretérito Imperfecto & The Three-Way Past Tense Contrast
7 Chapter 7: Essential A2 Grammar — Syntax, Periphrases & Operators
7.1 Expressing the Future: Ir a + Inf, Present & Simple Future 7.2 Verbal Periphrases of Obligation, Ability & Desire 7.3 Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns and Position Rules 7.4 Affirmative Imperative: Tú & Usted Commands
8 Chapter 8: Foundational Contrasts & Sentence Building
8.1 Ser vs. Estar: Attributes, Locations, States & Gerunds 8.2 Por vs. Para: Causes, Destinations, Deadlines & Exchanges 8.3 Comparatives, Superlatives, Quantifiers & Negatives 8.4 The Noun Phrase: Gender, Articles, Demonstratives, Possessives & Relatives
9 Chapter 9: Thematic Vocabulary — Daily Life, Housing & Surroundings
9.1 Personal Identity, Physical Description & Family Relations 9.2 Home, Housing Types, Furniture & Household Tasks 9.3 City Navigation, Places in Town & Giving Directions
10 Chapter 10: Thematic Vocabulary — Services, Transactions & Health
10.1 Food, Dining Out, Supermarket Shopping & Ordering 10.2 Shopping for Clothes, Sizes, Prices & Commercial Transactions 10.3 Health, Body Parts, Illnesses & Pharmacy Visits 10.4 Work, Professions, Workplace Routines & Job Applications 10.5 Studies, Courses, Phones & Everyday Services
11 Chapter 11: Thematic Vocabulary — Leisure, Travel & Environment
11.1 Free Time, Hobbies, Sports & Entertainment 11.2 Travel, Accommodations, Transport Modes & Bookings 11.3 Weather, Climate, Seasons & Natural Environment
12 Chapter 12: Exam Day Strategy, Time Management & Final Review
12.1 Timing, Answer Sheets & Pacing on Exam Day 12.2 Identifying Distractors, False Friends & Traps 12.3 6-Week Structured Study Plan & High-Yield Checklist
4.2 Writing Tarea 2: Option A (Personal Life) or Option B (Photos/Data)
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Tarea 2 offers two options and you write one: Option A, an everyday topic from your personal life, or Option B, a biographical or narrative text from photos or data.
Write 70–80 words and cover every point of the option you choose, as the instructions require.
Past narratives combine the indefinido for events with the imperfecto for background and past habits; present-tense habits often close the text.
Linked sentences with connectors score better than a numbered list of answers.
Last updated: September 2026
Quick Focus: Writing Tarea 2 is expresión escrita . You choose one of two options and write a short composition of 70–80 words that combines description, narration and likes. The official specification defines the options: Option A , a text about an everyday topic from your personal life , and Option B , a biographical or narrative text based on photos or data . You must cover all the points listed for the option you choose. Plan about 25 minutes .
What the Official Specification Says
- Parameter Official detail
- Task Write a short composition that includes description, narration and likes
- Choice Two options; you write only one
- Option A Text on an everyday topic of your personal life
- Option B Biographical or narrative text from photos and/or data
Input Instructions with guidelines, plus a picture and/or written prompt that helps define the text (for example, for a biography)
- Your text 70–80 words
- Domain Personal or public
Skill Write linked sentences about your surroundings (people, places, study or work experiences) and very brief descriptions of events, past activities and personal experiences
In the Modelo 0 paper the options are labelled Opción 1 and Opción 2 , and the instruction says: Elija solo una de las dos opciones. En cada opción tiene que tratar todos los puntos.
The Two Official Model Prompts
Opción 1 – a birthday party you went to. Talk about:
- whose birthday it was, when and where, and who was there;
- what you did at the party (food, music, etc.);
- what present you took and what other presents there were;
- why you liked that party;
what you normally do on your birthday, and whether you remember one.
Opción 2 – two friends, Lucía and Olga. You see photos of them in 1980 , in 1995 and now . Write about:
- how they met;
- what their life was like before;
what their lives are like now, and why you think they no longer see each other.
The two options require different grammar:
- Option A (personal life) Option B (photos/data)
- Person Mostly yo Mostly third person ( ellas, Lucía )
Key tenses indefinido for the event ( fui, comimos ), imperfecto for description ( había, era ), present for habits ( normalmente celebro… ) indefinido for events ( se conocieron ), imperfecto for past life ( vivían, eran, trabajaban ), present for now ( viven, tienen )
Extra skill Opinions and reasons ( me gustó porque… ) Describing people from pictures ( tenía el pelo largo, llevaba gafas ) and guessing ( creo que…, porque… )
Choose the option whose points you can answer with vocabulary you control. Don't choose by topic alone.
Covering Every Point in 70–80 Words
With five points and about 75 words, you have roughly 15 words per point . Plan one or two linked sentences for each and join them with connectors.
A model answer for Option 1 (about 73 words)
El mes pasado fui al cumpleaños de mi amiga Sara. La fiesta fue en su casa y estaban sus primos y compañeros de trabajo. Comimos tortilla y una tarta de chocolate, y bailamos con música latina. Le llevé un libro de cocina; otros le regalaron flores y un perfume. Me gustó porque había muy buen ambiente. Normalmente yo celebro mi cumpleaños con una cena familiar, y recuerdo mi fiesta de los veinte años.
Point by point:
Whose, when, where, who: mi amiga Sara, el mes pasado, en su casa, sus primos y compañeros .
What you did: comimos…, bailamos… .
Presents: Le llevé un libro…; otros le regalaron… .
Why you liked it: porque había muy buen ambiente .
Your habits + a memory: Normalmente celebro…, recuerdo… .
Building Option B from photos
For a photo-based text, use the pictures as data:
Then: En 1980 Lucía y Olga eran compañeras de colegio. Tenían el pelo largo y siempre iban juntas.
Change: En 1995 trabajaban en la misma empresa, pero luego Olga se fue a vivir a otra ciudad.
Now: Ahora Lucía tiene dos hijos y vive en el campo; Olga es médica en Barcelona. Creo que no se ven porque viven lejos y trabajan mucho.
Describe people with ser (character, build), tener (hair, eyes, age) and llevar (clothes, glasses). Use creo que or seguramente for guesses.
Tense Control: The Heart of Tarea 2
The official scale's band-2 descriptor mentions "regular and irregular pasts" among the basic structures where errors are expected but must not block understanding. Band 3 mentions "combination of pasts". So the contrast between past tenses matters:
Use Tense Example
Completed events in the story Pretérito indefinido Fuimos a un restaurante y después bailamos.
Background, description, habits in the past Pretérito imperfecto Hacía calor. Había mucha gente. Antes vivían en Madrid.
Past events in a period that includes now Pretérito perfecto Este año he ido a tres bodas.
Current habits Presente Normalmente celebro mi cumpleaños en casa.
A text that uses only the present tense cannot answer the past-tense points correctly, so it risks both categories.
Organizing the Text
Paragraphs: two or three short paragraphs make the structure visible: situation, events, opinion or habits.
Connectors: primero, después, luego, al final for sequence; porque, como for cause; por eso, así que for result; pero, aunque for contrast; además for adding.
Don't write a list. The scale rewards linked sentences. Numbered answers to each point read like a questionnaire, not a composition.
The 25-Minute Routine
Choose (2 min): read both options' points and pick the one you can cover completely.
Plan (5 min): note one idea and the tense for each point.
Write (13–15 min): write in the space for Tarea 2.
Check (3–5 min): tick each point, count the words roughly (70–80), and check past-tense endings and accents ( fui, comí, bailó, conocieron ).