Can you write on the HSK exam paper?

[phatpeechez]

Is it ok to write on the HSK exam paper (to make notes, cross out answers you know are incorrect, ect)? This comes from the HSK handbook:

The test taker shall not open the test paper beforehand, answer questions in a

cross-part way, tear, change, or copy contents of the Test Paper, take the Test Paper

and the Answer Sheet out of the test room, or conduct other cheating behaviors.

I'm not really sure what answering questions in a "cross-part way" refers to.

[edelweis]

The chinesetesting.cn website has an additional sentence:

The test taker should not open the exam paper beforehand, answer questions in a cross-part way (i.e., test takers should answer specified questions within the corresponding given time, instead of shifting among different sections of the Test), tear, change or copy contents of the exam paper, take the exam paper and the answer sheet out of the test room, or conduct other cheating behavior.

My experience is that you are supposed to write the answers (and anything you want) on the test paper. At the end of the test, there were about 10' dedicated to copying the answers from the test paper to the answer sheet.

However, when I look at the samples and general information for HSK3 available on the website, it says "听力结束后，有5 分钟填写答题卡" which suggests that there are 5' between the listening and reading parts during which you copy the listening answers from the test paper to the answer sheet, and no special time will be dedicated to copying the reading and writing answers - you have to fit that into the normal time allotted to those parts of the test...

[phatpeechez]

That makes sense now. Thanks, edelweis!

[milin]

Last june I took the HSK 3 exam in the Netherlands, and apparently the rules about the time you have to copy the answers are very confusing.

The people taking level 3 were divided amongst at least 3 classrooms. In my classroom the procedure Edelweis describes was followed, 5 minutes after the listening part to copy the answers, and no time at all after the reading part to copy the answers.

But in a classroom where a friend of mine was seated, they got 5 minutes after the listening and 5 minutes after the reading part.

And in yet another classroom, they initially followed the same procedure as in mine. But a gentleman told me he got very angry, because they didn't clearly communicate this in advance (I was very confused too, and this has doubtlessly cost me some points), and after some deliberation the examiners decided to give 5 minutes after the reading part after all.

Later I checked an examiner's manual (don't know where I got it from), and it says:

听力、阅读答案先写在试卷上，最后10分钟再写在答题卡上。

So apparently you should get 10 minutes in total to copy the answers (if I understand correctly).

汉克 (Henk)

[edelweis]

oh, no wonder the actual examination process is random then, since the examiner's manual instructions are not the same as the exam paper and student manual instructions

But perhaps this is part of the "let's introduce those foreigners to Chinese culture" process (joking)