Text Types and Writing in Korean
What this domain asks of you
You must produce several written text types accurately and appropriately: 논설문/주장하는 글 (argumentative essay), 설명문 (expository), 보고서 (report), 편지/이메일 (personal and formal correspondence), 기사문 (news article), 광고/홍보문 (advertisement), 연설문 (speech), 일기, 이야기/수필, and 대화/인터뷰. Each has a fixed skeleton, and examiners award marks for that skeleton before they judge your ideas.
Concepts you must control
Structural conventions: 논설문 needs 서론(문제 제기)–본론(근거)–결론(주장 재확인); 기사문 needs a headline plus a lead answering 누가, 언제, 어디서, 무엇을, 왜, 어떻게, with inverted-pyramid ordering; 편지 needs 호칭, 안부, 용건, 맺음말, 서명; 연설문 needs 청중 호명 (여러분,), rhetorical questions and a call to action.
Language markers: 문어체 vs 구어체, objective reporting (∼로 밝혀졌다, ∼라고 전했다) versus personal stance (∼라고 생각한다), and hedging in reports.
Cohesion: paragraph openers and connectors (첫째, 둘째, 또한, 반면, 결국), and pronoun/reference chains so the reader always knows the subject.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing a 기사문 with personal opinion - news reports must attribute, not advocate.
- Forgetting the headline or the 호칭/서명 in a letter; these are easy format marks.
- Using spoken forms in formal writing (∼거든요, ∼잖아요) or slang.
- A 결론 that introduces a new argument rather than restating the position.
- Ignoring the intended reader: a letter to a friend and a letter to a principal are not the same document.
Worked example
Turning one idea into two text types. Idea: school should start later.
- 기사문 lead: ○○고등학교가 다음 학기부터 등교 시간을 30분 늦춘다. 수면 부족 문제를 개선하기 위한 조치로, 학교 측은 학생 설문 결과를 근거로 들었다.
- 논설문 conclusion: 이상에서 살펴본 바와 같이, 등교 시간 조정은 학습 효율과 건강을 함께 고려한 합리적 대안이라고 볼 수 있다.
Rule of thumb: before writing, list the mandatory elements of the text type and tick each one off; format marks are the cheapest marks on the paper.