HSK Advanced- Writing Section

[muyongshi]

Okay, I know there are 100+ threads on HSK but I know this question hasn't been asked yet...

Roddy talking about learning to write and especially the faster he writes the worse it looks so that got me thinking about the HSK writing section. How do they look at the handwriting? Is everything supposed to be "printed" or is "cursive" like most Chinese write acceptable as well? It seems that even if you write fast getting the 400+ character limit in a half hour (adding on the time you need to think through and organize what you are going to say) is kind of hard to attain to isn't it?

[LiYuanXi]

I think 400+ characters should be ok but of course you have to write fast enough. I don't know about HSK cuz I have never taken one (don't know what is it too ) but over here we have to write an essay of 800 words in 45 minutes during our exams so I guess 400+ words can be done.

[roddy]

I have looked, but I've never been able to find any actual standards for character writing beyond the 清楚工整 mentioned in the exam rubric - so clear and neat.

As for thirty minutes not being enough - you wait till you're in the exam and all you can hear is the frantic pencil scratching of dozens of Korean and Japanese students.

[heifeng]

Don't write in cursive! Just write all the characters properly (showing all strokes correctly) is what you need to do. It's better if it looks nice, but characters correctly is the most important!

[chrix]

Is there a link that contains sample writing questions for the Advanced HSK? Also, if anyone knew of a book that has all the topics, I'd also be most grateful...

[doraemon]

Chrix, I don't really know if there's a specific link that shows sample writing questions for the HSK, but I'm sure if you buy books which contain mock tests or practice questions for HSK Advanced, you're bound to find some in there. The book I used for last minute preparation was called <>. I can give you some sample questions in here if you like just so you get an idea of what would be in the actual exam:

1) <<爱是...>>

2) 请向大家介绍一种你喜欢的食品．

3) 莎士比亚说过 "庄严的大海产生蛟龙,清浅的小河里只有一些鱼虾",你同意他的观点吗?请以环境与人为题写一篇议论问,阐明自己的观点．

4) <<我在中国的日子>> (请根据自己的生活体验,写一篇散文).

You'll also be expected to know how to write some form of letter (very likely a 求职信), so be prepared for that too. You may also get a question asking you to write research report, but I think that's quite rare.

The writing questions I think can be classified into these categories:

-a type of letter

-a description of something/someone

-a recount of an incident

-requires you to formulate your own opinion on an issue based on stimulus (a quote, a picture etc)

Just in case you're interested, the question I got in the HSK was 请介绍你一次难忘的旅行.

[chrix]

thank you, doraemon.

At our last local meeting, renzhe gave me an interesting idea: in order to practice your writing on a site such as lang8, I could just use the writing topics for the HSK, so it would be一舉兩得 as it were... I know they have collections of all the essay questions online for the TOEFL and the GRE, so I was hoping you'd get the same thing for the HSK, not to do them all, which would be madness, but to pick and choose nice topics for me to practice writing....

[doraemon]

There's this book which could be really helpful called <>. Here's the link if you want to see what it looks like so you know what you're looking for if you're buying it: http://www.chinesemall.com/noname206.html

I think it should have practice questions for you, but it probably focuses more on teaching you the techniques and strategies on how to write well...

[chrix]

thank you, that looks quite a good book, I'll look into buying it

[Daan]

My memory suddenly tells me I bought a book called 考前强化 - 写作（高等） for you in Beijing, so if I'm not very much mistaken, wait till the postman comes round

It's amazing what buying books can do to your memory. Perhaps it has something to do with the sheer amount of books I bought

[chrix]

Thanks, I'll be awaiting the postman 垂涎三尺 !

[taylor04]

Has anyone tried writing in cursive on the HSK advanced? I was very curious about this as well

[chrix]

I think somewhere it says "neat characters"

[taylor04]

While it may say "neat" characters, I could see a grader even appreciating the fact you can write Chinese cursive, assuming you are good. If they wouldn't throw the test away for writing in cursive, it would even be beneficial because its harder to tell if you wrote it wrong:mrgreen:

[imron]

I thought they specify somewhere that they need to be 规范, which would probably rule out cursive.

[heifeng]

it would even be beneficial because its harder to tell if you wrote it wrong

I am sure you are not the first one to think of this:mrgreen:

I could see a grader even appreciating the fact you can write Chinese cursive, assuming you are good.,

I see this as doubtful b/c all of the Korean and Japanese students I knew had great writing and did not have to prove this by writing in cursive. I think many westerners trick themselves into believing their cursive looks good..... whereas, in reality, it probably looks like something a junior high student scribbled. (Go ahead beat me up over this, but I'll stick to my guns, unless of course, a western student really, seriously spent some long hours practicing writing and trying to improve their penmenship, then I'd totally give 'em the benefit of the doubt:wink:)

If they wouldn't throw the test away for writing in cursive

I wouldn't want to bet a test grade on this though. They might still give you a few deductions since you made them try to figure out what your chicken scratch says...i think they are able to appreciate that the characters are written perfectly standard period.

Edited December 12, 2009 at 05:21 AM by heifeng

[taylor04]

I downloaded the hsk advanced instruction sheet off their website. It's the instructions the examiner reads aloud, all it says is you have to write with a pencil without exception. I'm not saying there isn't additional instructions on the actual exam itself, but I've never taken it.

考试材料有两种，一种是试卷，一种是答卷，作文必须写在答卷上，请一律用铅笔书写。

现在请大家在答卷上填写姓名、国籍、试卷号码、序号等项内容（停顿30秒）。

作文考试现在开始，时间是30分钟。

[doraemon]

I would play safe and not attempt to do cursive. Legibility is the first thing you should be looking to achieve in the exam, not how pretty or classy the writing looks. As long as the examiner can read it, your mark would not be affected (although they may be inclined to be more lenient if you're handwriting's stunning...). Anyway, I just feel it's better to err on the side of caution than try to do something which can be a little risky.