Korean Language and Composition: Orthography Rules and Argumentative Structure
What this domain tests
Korean language and composition tests 어문 규범 accuracy together with the ability to build an argument in clean formal Korean.
Core rules
- 되 versus 돼: substitute 되어; if it fits, write 돼. 되 is the bare stem, 돼 the contraction.
- 안 versus 않: 안 is an adverb (안 가다); 않 is a verb stem (가지 않다).
- 사이시옷: applies to native compounds (냇가, 샛별, 나뭇잎) but not to most Sino-Korean compounds (개수, 소수, 초점), with a small set of established exceptions such as 곳간 and 셋방.
- 띄어쓰기: dependent nouns (것, 수, 바, 지) are spaced after the modifier; auxiliary verbs are not.
- 로마자 표기: ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ become g, d, b before a vowel and k, t, p at the end or before a consonant; ㄹ is r before a vowel and l otherwise; ㅅ is s but sh before ㅣ.
- Composition: one thesis, paragraph-level topic sentences, evidence, and a conclusion that answers the prompt rather than restating it.
Worked example
Is 몇 일 correct? No - the word is 며칠, a single lexical item; 몇 일 is a spelling error from an irregular contraction. Likewise 할께요 is wrong: the ending is -ㄹ게, so 할게요. Test 되/돼 the same way: "안 돼" expands to "안 되어", which confirms the spelling.
Traps that cost marks
- Over-applying 사이시옷 to Sino-Korean compounds.
- Writing 로서 where 로써 (by means of) is required.
- Confusing -므로 (cause) with -ㅁ으로 (means or status).
- Comma splices and sentences that run past the reader's ability to track the subject.