쓰기: Writing
What this section tests
The writing section requires produced Korean in response to a prompt - often a short transactional text (email, notice, message) and a longer piece such as an opinion, a personal recount, or a description. You are assessed on task fulfilment, content and ideas, range and accuracy of grammar and vocabulary, and text organisation.
Concepts you must control
Register selection is the first decision: choose 합니다체 for formal letters and applications, 해요체 for friendly but polite messages, 반말 only where the prompt clearly permits. Structure longer pieces with a clear introduction, two or three developed body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Deploy connectives deliberately - 첫째, 둘째, 반면에, 따라서, 결론적으로. Show grammatical range: try -는데, -기 위해, -(으)ㄴ/는 반면, -도록, and honorific forms where appropriate, but only where you control them. Vocabulary should be topic-specific rather than generic.
Traps to expect
Under-length answers that lose content marks. Ignoring a required element of the prompt (for example, a letter that omits the reason for writing). Mixing speech levels within one text. Spelling errors in frequent patterns: -ㄹ게요 vs -ㄹ 거예요, 돼 vs 되, -이에요 vs -예요 after a vowel. Overusing a memorised template that does not answer the question.
Rule of thumb
Spend the first three minutes planning: identify audience, register, purpose, and the three points you will make. Write to the required length, then reserve time to check every verb ending for consistency of speech level and every spelling of 되/돼.
Worked example
Prompt: write an email to a teacher requesting a letter of recommendation. Correct opening: "안녕하세요, 선생님. 바쁘신 중에 죄송합니다만, 부탁드릴 것이 있어 연락드렸습니다." Note 합니다체 throughout, the honorific 바쁘신, and the explicit statement of purpose in the first two lines - the three markers examiners look for first.