The writing section (쓰기) of TOPIK II scares many learners. But its first two questions — 51 and 52 — are actually the easiest points in the section: 10 points each, 20 in total, and the whole answer is just four sentences. Learn the rules and you won't lose these 20 points.
How the writing section is built
| Question | What you write | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | 2 blanks in an everyday text | 10 |
| 52 | 2 blanks in an explanatory text | 10 |
| 53 | A short text of 200–300 characters | 30 |
| 54 | An essay of 600–700 characters | 50 |
You get 50 minutes for writing, in the first session (1교시) together with listening. Don't spend too long on 51–52 — you will need the time for 53 and 54.
Question 51: an everyday text
Question 51 gives you a practical text such as a notice, an invitation or an advertisement. It has two blanks — ㉠ and ㉡ — and you write one sentence for each.
In the official sample, the text is an invitation to a housewarming party (집들이), and the answers follow the same formal style as the text:
- - ㉠ 집들이를 할까 합니다
- - ㉡ 와 주시겠습니까?
Key rule: your answer must match the style of the text. If the text uses -습니다, you write with -습니다 too.
Question 52: an explanatory text
Question 52 gives you a short text that explains an idea — in the official sample, the proverb 칭찬은 고래도 춤추게 한다 ("praise makes even a whale dance"). Again there are two blanks.
Key rule: the text is written in the -다 style (written style), and so is your answer — for example 잘 성장할 것이다. Don't use -아요/어요 or -습니다 here.
Read the sentences before and after each blank carefully. They usually point to the answer — especially connectors like 그러나, 따라서 and 예를 들어.
Mistakes that cost points
According to the official scoring criteria, you lose points for:
- Words or grammar that don't fit the content of the text.
- Adding extra information that changes the original meaning.
- Spelling mistakes and a style that doesn't match the text (for example, casual speech in a formal text).
- Copying the words right before or after the blank into your answer.
- Writing more than one sentence — one blank, one sentence.
One more rule: write your answer in the right box. If it goes outside the box or you swap ㉠ and ㉡, you get no points. Draft it first, then copy it neatly.
The 4-step template
- Identify the text type — an invitation or notice (51), or an explanatory text (52).
- Identify the style — look at the sentence endings: -습니다, -아요 or -다.
- Read around the blank — what do the sentences before and after say? If a question mark (?) follows the blank, your sentence must be a question.
- Write one complete sentence — without repeating the words around the blank.
Practice
The fastest way to master 51–52 is to see many examples. TOPIKly has real TOPIK II questions, including the writing section — try TOPIK II questions.
To see how many points you need for each level, read our TOPIK score table.
Source: TOPIK official website — topik.go.kr, sample writing questions and scoring criteria.