Writing in Chinese: Producing Accurate, Varied Text
What is assessed
Writing in Chinese requires you to produce short texts - messages, emails, diary entries, notices, and short descriptions - of roughly 50 to 150 characters depending on the task. Marks reward task fulfilment, range of vocabulary and structure, accuracy, and character correctness.
Planning before writing
Identify the text type, audience, and purpose. An email to a friend opens with 你好 and closes with 再见 or 祝好; a notice (通知) states time, place, and action directly. Plan three or four content points so you answer every part of the prompt.
Sentence patterns worth memorising
- Time + place + action: 我星期六在图书馆看书。
- 因为…所以… for reasons.
- 虽然…但是… for contrast.
- 先…然后…最后… for sequence.
- 比 for comparison: 我比弟弟高。
- 得 for degree: 他跑得很快。
- 了 for completed actions: 我昨天买了三本书。
Traps that lose marks
- Writing pinyin instead of characters - no credit for the word.
- Incorrect stroke detail: 我, 谢, 喜, 觉 are commonly misspelled; practise them.
- Missing measure words after numbers.
- Inconsistent tense/aspect, mixing 了 where no completion is meant.
- Copying the prompt instead of generating language; this earns little range credit.
- Ignoring the word count - too short means undeveloped content.
Worked example
Prompt: Write an email to a Chinese friend inviting them to your birthday party (about 60 characters).
Model: 你好！下个星期六是我的生日。我想请你来我家参加生日会。下午三点开始，我们一起吃饭、吃蛋糕。你家离我家远吗？要不要我去接你？希望你能来。
This fulfils the task, uses 下个星期六, 请, 要不要, and 希望, and closes appropriately. Rule of thumb: one idea per sentence, connectives between sentences, and a greeting plus sign-off for any message.
Checking your work
Reserve two minutes to check measure words, 的/得/地, and characters you are unsure of; rewriting a doubtful character in a simpler synonym is safer than guessing.