Writing: Register, Structure, and Accuracy
What this section tests
Writing tasks ask you to produce a short text such as a message, email, diary entry, or opinion paragraph. Marks come from task fulfilment, coherence, range of vocabulary and grammar, and accuracy. The biggest single lever is register: choose です・ます for teachers, strangers, and formal writing, and plain form (だ・する・〜た) for friends, diaries, and essays. Mixing the two within one text is a common penalty.
Structure that earns marks
Use a clear frame: greeting or opening, purpose, two or three supporting points, closing. Connect ideas with まず, それから, でも, だから, そして. For opinion tasks, state the claim, give one reason and one example, then restate. Keep sentences short enough to control particles.
Traps to expect
- Silent register slip. Ending one sentence in だ and the next in です. Choose once and stay consistent.
- Particle errors. に for time and destination, で for place of action and means, を for direct object, は versus が for topic versus new information.
- Over-reaching grammar. Attempting complex forms and breaking them costs more than using simple correct forms.
- Ignoring the prompt's details. If the task says include a time and a reason, both must appear.
Rule of thumb
Spend two minutes planning the register and three content points, then write. Leave time to check every verb ending and particle.
Worked example
Task: write to a host family about arriving. Wrong: 「あした六時に駅に着く。迎えに来てください。」 The plain 着く clashes with the polite request. Right: 「あした六時に駅に着きます。迎えに来ていただけませんか。」