Written Expression
Written Expression assesses your ability to produce coherent, register-appropriate Russian in letters, essays, summaries, and short reports. Graders reward clear structure, accurate case and aspect, and control of cohesion; they penalize English-influenced syntax, inconsistent address, and punctuation errors in complex sentences.
Core rules
- Plan by function: opening, purpose, development, conclusion. In formal письмо use Здравствуйте, Уважаемый(ая)…, and closing С уважением.
- Keep one address system: ты + second-person singular or вы + plural/respectful forms; do not mix.
- Use aspect to shape narrative: imperfective for background and repeated actions, perfective for foreground events.
- Build cohesion with поэтому, однако, кроме того, таким образом, что касается…
- Prefer subordinate clauses and participles over literal English word order; Russian allows flexible order for theme and rheme.
Worked example
Informal: «Привет! Я хочу узнать, когда будет экзамен.» Formal rewrite: «Здравствуйте! Не могли бы вы сообщить, когда состоится экзамен?» The conditional «не могли бы вы» softens the request; «сообщить» is a formal infinitive after the modal; «состоится» is a neutral formal verb for an event. Keeping «хочу узнать» would be grammatical but too direct for the register.
Traps
- Translating 'I am interested in…' as «Я интересуюсь…» when a neutral «Меня интересует…» is needed.
- Mixing «ты» and «вы» within one letter.
- Overusing «очень» where a stronger verb or adjective is idiomatic.
- Misplacing commas in сложноподчинённое предложение, especially before что, чтобы, который.