TOPIK II Writing Questions 51–54: Format, Marking and Structure

Writing is where TOPIK II scores split. Listening and reading are 50 multiple-choice questions each, but writing is just four items, and the last two are worth 80 of its 100 points. You can't guess your way through them. The good news is that NIIED, which runs TOPIK, publishes its marking criteria and model answers, so you know exactly what the markers look for.

Here is the format, the official marking rules for each question, and how to build answers that score, using the 102nd test (the most recent TOPIK II paper NIIED has released) as the example throughout.

The four questions at a glance

Writing shares the first period with listening, but it has its own fixed slot. In Korea, period 1 of TOPIK II runs from 13:00 to 14:50: listening from 13:00 to 14:00, then the listening answer sheet is collected, then writing from 14:00 to 14:50. NIIED's rules for candidates set out that split (60 minutes of listening, 50 of writing) and say that working on writing during the listening hour is treated as cheating. So you get exactly 50 minutes for all four questions. The audio fits the slot: in the 102nd paper we checked, the tracks for questions 1–50 add up to almost exactly 60 minutes, after an 85-second introduction track.

This is the paper-based test. TOPIK IBT has three writing items instead of four, so if you are deciding between the two formats, see internet-based vs paper TOPIK.

Questions 51 and 52: two blanks, 5 points each

Each question gives a short text with two gaps, ㉠ and ㉡. NIIED's answer guide says each blank is worth 5 points, and it takes marks off for:

• vocabulary or grammar that doesn't fit the context
• adding content that changes the original meaning
• spelling mistakes, or a style that doesn't match the text (formal vs informal)
• copying the words just before or after the brackets into your answer
• writing more than one sentence in a blank

Question 51 is a practical text. In the 102nd paper it was an email from a student club president. The club room has to move because of building work, and members have too many personal belongings in it. Blank ㉠ needs "you have to tidy these up first", built from 정리하다 with -아/어야 합니다. The work starts as soon as the vacation begins, so blank ㉡, which follows 방학이, needs "before (the vacation) starts", using 시작되다 with -기 전에. The email is written in the -ㅂ니다 style, so your blanks must use it too.

Question 52 is an explanatory paragraph in the plain -다 style. In the 102nd paper it was about why large aircraft fly high and small ones fly low. The clues are the connectors. A sentence beginning with 반면 tells you the next idea is a contrast. A sentence starting with 왜냐하면 tells you the blank is a condition that ends in a reason (때문이다). NIIED's model answers were a negative cause (받지 않아서) and a purpose condition (-기 위해서는).

How to work a blank:

1. Read the sentence after the blank first. It usually shows what grammar must come next.
2. Check the text's ending style and copy it.
3. Write one complete clause, with nothing extra.

Question 53: describe the data, nothing more

You get a chart or diagram and must turn it into a 200–300 character paragraph. NIIED's criteria:

Language use counts double. That alone tells you where the points are.

The 102nd paper's question 53 showed a Korea Tourism Organization survey with three parts. The first was the camping population, which rose from 3.4 million in 2019 to 6.5 million in 2024, about double. The second was age rankings: people in their 20s–30s were first in 2019, and people in their 40s–50s were first in 2024. The third gave two causes: pricier gear and campsite fees meant camping now needed more money, and more families went camping together.

NIIED's model answer (300 characters) follows the data in exactly that order:

1. Source and headline change. Name the survey body, give both numbers and say it roughly doubled.
2. Comparison. The ranking in 2019, then the reversal in 2024, joined with a contrast marker such as 이와 달리.
3. Causes. One sentence giving both reasons, ending in -기 때문으로 나타났다 or similar.

The official guide warns against interpreting the data your own way or adding opinions that have nothing to do with it. No title, no bullet points (개조식), no -ㅂ니다 or -아/어요 endings. Useful patterns to have ready: -에 따르면, -(으)ㄴ 것으로 나타났다, -에서 -(으)로 증가하였다, 약 두 배, 반면(에), 이처럼.

Question 54: a 600–700 character essay

The topic comes with three guiding questions, and the instruction says not to copy the prompt into your answer. The criteria have the same three categories, with more points:

The 102nd paper's question 54 was about digital exclusion. Digital devices are everywhere, from restaurants to banks and hospitals, but some people can't use them. The three guiding questions asked:

• how digital technology is used in daily life
• who is left out and what problems they face
• what individuals and society should do about it

NIIED's model answer (675 characters) uses one paragraph per guiding question:

That three-paragraph pattern works for almost every question 54, because the three guiding questions nearly always go context → problem/reason → solution/opinion. The official guide also says to start a new paragraph when the content shifts, and that the same idea written with higher-level vocabulary and grammar earns more in language use.

Manuscript paper rules

Questions 53 and 54 are answered on 원고지 (manuscript paper), and the character counts are the boxes you fill. NIIED's own guide sets these rules:

• One character per box.
• Leave the first box empty at the start of the answer and at each new paragraph. Within a paragraph, don't leave the first box of a line empty.
• If a space falls at the end of a line, don't carry it to the next line. Start the next line in the first box.
• Arabic numerals go two digits per box, so 2024 takes two boxes.
• Each punctuation mark takes its own box. Leave a box after ? and !, but not after a full stop or comma.
• If your last character fills the final box of a line, put the punctuation in that same box.

A 50-minute plan

This is the split I'd recommend for the 14:00–14:50 writing slot:

Do 54 before you polish 51–52 if you are slow. An unfinished 54 costs far more than a weak blank.

Before you hand in: checklist

• Each 51/52 blank is a single sentence in the same style as the text
• No words copied from either side of the brackets
• 53 is between 200 and 300 characters, with no title and no opinion
• 53 mentions every part of the chart, including the causes
• 54 answers all three guiding questions, in separate paragraphs
• 54 is between 600 and 700 characters and doesn't copy the prompt
• Every sentence in 53 and 54 ends in the written -다 style
• Paragraph indents and two-digit number boxes are correct

To practise with NIIED's real questions and model answers, start with where to download official past papers. For how writing points feed into your level (120 points overall for level 3, 150 for level 4), see TOPIK levels and score bands.