Writing
What the writing task requires
The writing item gives a Japanese prompt and several conditions: a topic, a minimum word count, and required words or content. You are marked on whether you complete the task, organize a clear sentence or two, and use English you control. A short, correct answer that meets every condition beats a long, broken one.
Core rules
- Underline every condition before writing: topic, word count, required words, required content (reason, example, opinion).
- Plan three beats: answer, reason, detail. One sentence can carry all three.
- Use a familiar pattern: 'I want to ... because ...' / 'I think ... For example, ...'
- Count words after writing. If you are short, add a reason or example, not repeated adjectives.
- Check tense, third-person -s, plurals, and spelling of required words.
- Do not copy the Japanese prompt word for word; paraphrase into simple English.
Worked example
Prompt: 'Write about what you want to do this summer. Give one reason and use the words because and family.' Minimum: 20 words. Draft: 'I want to go to the beach with my family this summer because we enjoy swimming together.' Reasoning: It answers the topic (beach), gives a reason with 'because', uses 'family', and is grammatical. It is 17 words, so it fails the minimum. Expand: 'I want to go to the beach with my family this summer because we enjoy swimming together, and I want to take photos.' Now 23 words and still controlled.
Traps
- Ignoring one condition; this usually costs more than a grammar slip.
- Writing a memorized essay that does not answer the prompt.
- Using a required word in a grammatically wrong form.
- Forgetting the word count; being under is a task failure.