Elem-Int HSK's ZongHe TianKong

[my3rdlang]

I am planning to take the elem-int HSK this month & I am particularly worried about the ZongHe TianKong section. I find this section to be the most difficult coz of the specific characters they expect us to wirte. Is there a curve in this section? I am really scared that this section will just bomb my overall score.

I have never taken the HSK, but have taken several practise tests under timed conditions. These are my raw scores converted to %:

Tingli: 66-74%

Yufa: 70-77%

Yuedu: around 60%

Zonghe Tiankong: around 40%

1. I am aware that HSK scores are normalised. After being normalised, is my Zonghe score likely to be around 40%? (I am not familiar with the magnitude of the curve)

2. Besides the few practise tests I did, I haven't prepared for the HSK. I am planning to only practise zonghe and yuedu. Is this what you would personally do if you were me?

3. By the time I sit for the HSK, I will have had around 1,200 hours of class instruction (450 hours in usa, 750 hours in china). I am currently in lower int in yuedu & upper int in tingli. I am just wondering what ppl around my level &/or hours of class instruction score.

[roddy]

I think you're in the same boat as a lot of students. Either you put loads of time into learning to write so that you can tackle those ten questions, or you just say to yourself that your score in that section is going to drag you down overall, so be it, and then concentrate on what you feel you need to learn. There's a real chance that section will drag you down overall, but you can still look at your individual scores for the four sections and see how you've done on those.

Is that lower score on the zonghe section caused just by the 'write in the characters' part, or are you weaker on the multiple choice questions also?

[my3rdlang]

I am weak on the multiple choice section (usually get around 50-55% correct) & even weaker on the fill-in section (could only get around 5 characters right).