Mastering TOPIK 52: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Success

Chapter Korean Eva

December 15, 2023
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“How to Tackle TOPIK 52?”

Hello, passionate Korean language learners! I want to share some strategies with you today to upgrade your TOPIK writing skills. Have you read the previous posts on “The 5 Aspects of TOPIK Writing”와 and “TOPIK Writing Question 51”? Let’s study together joyfully and enhance your Korean language proficiency! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I look forward to growing together! 🚀📚

TOPIK 52 require writing on the answer sheet, and if you interpret the sentences well, you can quickly find the answers.

The approach for solving TOPIK 52 is not significantly different from before. It might even be easier! Let’s go through it step by step. It might even be easier! Let’s go through it step by step.

TOPIK 52 is a fill-in-the-blank type, and the effective test preparation strategy is as follows:

Check Blank Sentence Patterns: Consider expressions that can fill in the blank and choose an expression that fits the context of the sentence.
Check Front/Back Sentence Patterns: Carefully examine the vocabulary and grammar of the sentences around the blank to anticipate an expression that fits the blank.
Utilize Frequently Occurring Sentence Patterns or Utilize 100% of Exam Question Expressions: It is crucial to use frequently occurring sentence patterns or make the most of expressions provided in the exam question.

The difference from Question 51 is the absence of ‘formal’ in the answer.

Step 1. Check Blank Sentence Patterns

When solving TOPIK 52, it is crucial to carefully check sentences with parentheses and understand the corresponding sentence patterns. Through this process, you can grasp the flow of the sentences and choose expressions that fit the context.

Understanding the Given Context: You need to understand what might be suitable for the content of the blank while reading the sentence with the blank.
Vocabulary Analysis: Pay close attention to the expressions or words in the sentences around the blank.
Checking Sentence Patterns: Check if the sentence with parentheses follows a specific sentence pattern. Especially in TOPIK 52, pay attention to frequently occurring sentence patterns

and use them to recall appropriate expressions for the blank. It is essential to check the possible sentence patterns that can fill in the blank. The practice problem above asks about suitable sentence patterns for “이 소리는 동물을 깜짝 ( ㄱ )” and “식물학자들은 이것이 바로 이 나무가 자신을 보호하는 ( ㄴ ).” Writing down potential sentence patterns in advance can be helpful.
ㄱ. 깜짝 + 놀라다 / 놀라게하다
ㄴ. 식물학자들은(전문가는) + ~라고/다고 하다.

Step 2. Check Front/Back Sentence Patterns

If you don’t know the vocabulary or expressions well, it’s okay. Just examining the sentences before and after the blank, you can get hints about what expressions, words, or vocabulary to use.

Looking at the sentence following “깜짝 ( ㄱ ),” it says, “결국 놀란 동물은~,” indicating that an animal has experienced being surprised in the previous sentence. Therefore, even if you don’t know expressions that go well with ‘깜짝,’ you get a hint that using the expression ‘놀라다’ would be appropriate.

Step 3. Utilize Frequently Occurring Sentence Patterns or Utilize 100% of Exam Question Expressions

For TOPIK 52 and similar writing exams, it’s crucial to make use of frequently occurring sentence patterns or maximize the use of expressions provided in the exam question.

Utilize Frequently Occurring Sentence Patterns:
- In TOPIK Writing exams, expressions or sentence patterns related to specific topics often repeat. For example, basic expressions related to introducing an expert’s opinion, such as “전문가는 ~다고/라고 하다,” may appear several times.
- Memorize these frequently occurring sentence patterns, and when such expressions appear in the actual exam, actively incorporate them into your writing for TOPIK 52.
Utilize 100% of Exam Question Expressions:
- It’s advisable to make the most of the expressions or sentence structures provided in the exam question. By directly utilizing the expressions given in the question, you can complete the sentence accurately and naturally.
- By fully utilizing the expressions provided in the question, one can obtain a score without deductions in terms of evaluating writing ability. Pay close attention to not miss important expressions or keywords when solving the problem.

By combining these two strategies, remembering frequently occurring sentence patterns, and practicing using expressions provided in the exam, you can tackle TOPIK 52 effectively and achieve high scores. Continuous practice of utilizing learned expressions is essential for improving writing skills, so make an effort to solve various problems on different topics.

Let’s check the answers one by one.

㉠ Find the Expression: Looking at the sentence before the blank, “이 소리는 동물을 깜짝,” the expression that fits with ‘깜짝’ could be ‘놀라게 하다’ or similar. Therefore, the expression should be “깜짝 (놀라게 한다.)”
㉡ Find the Expression: Next, to fill in “( ㉡ )” after the blank, an expression about how the tree protects itself is needed. The first sentence mentions, “Considering the characteristics of the tree, the climbing palm tree uses ants to surprise animals.” It says, “Plants protect themselves in various ways.” Using this information, an expression like “식물학자들은 ~~~ 방법이라고 한다./방법이라고 해석한다.” with a citation expression would be the correct answer.

By following these three steps, accurately interpreting sentences with parentheses, and selecting suitable expressions for the blank using corresponding sentence patterns, you can successfully answer TOPIK 52 and achieve a high score.

TOPIK 52: Frequently Occurring Sentence Patterns

Please remind and memorize the below sentence patterns! Basically, these are the essential expressions that you have to know before taking the TOPIK test.

Category	Contents	Example sentence
나열 in order : When adding content related to the previous information	그리고 또 또한 게다가	[ 건강을 위해서는 물을 자주 마시는 방법이 있다. 또 (ㄱ). ] (ㄱ) : 또 운동을 하는 방법이 있다.
대조 contrast : When expressing differences or contrasting information with the preceding content	하지만 그렇지만 그러나 그런데 반면에 -(으)ㄴ/는 반면에 -(으)ㄴ/는데 반해	[ 사람들은 건강하기 위해 다이어트를 한다. 다이어트의 방법에는 여러가지가 있지만, 한 가지 음식만 먹으면서 다이어트를 하는 방법이 있다. 하지만 (ㄱ). 다이어트를 할 때는 건강에 좋은 방법을 선택해야 한다. ] (ㄱ) : 한 가지 음식만 먹으면서 다이어트를 하면 건강에 좋지 않다.
이유 reason : When expressing the reason of the previous sentence	왜냐하면 –기 때문이다.	[ 건강을 위해서는 물을 자주 마셔야 한다. 왜냐하면 (ㄱ). ] (ㄱ) : 물이 혈액 순환을 도와 건강에 도움을 주기 때문이다.
결론 conclusion : to sum up the previous sentences, When indicating what should be done or suggesting a course of action	그러므로 따라서 그렇기 때문에 그래서 + -는 것이 좋다. -아/어야 한다 -(으)ㄹ 필요가 있다. – 해야 한다.	[ 사람들은 다양한 방법으로 다이어트를 한다. 다이어트를 하는 사람 중에는 건강을 해치는 방법으로 다이어트를 하는 사람이 많다. 하지만 다이어트는 더욱 건강해지기 위해서 하는 것이다. 그러므로, (ㄱ). ] (ㄱ) : 건강한 방법으로 다이어트를 하는 것이 좋다.
유추 assumption : When speculating on the next content that is similar to the preceding one,	이처럼 이와 같이	[ 나무는 같은 자리에서 비와 바람 등 많은 어려움을 이겨낸다. 이처럼 (ㄱ). 사람도 삶을 살면서 많은 고난과 역경을 이겨 나간다. ] (ㄱ) : 우리 인생도 이와 같다./마찬가지이다. / 동일하다.

TOPIK 52 Strategies: 3 Key Approaches

1. Read a Variety of Korean Texts:

Reading Korean texts is beneficial for expanding your vocabulary and understanding sentence structures. Feel free to explore sources like TOPIK Reading questions, blog posts, and newspaper articles. Even if the content is easy, it’s okay – just read comfortably.

2. Actively Use Learned Expressions:

It’s crucial to practice writing by actively using the expressions you’ve learned. Incorporating these expressions into your writing helps enhance your natural writing style. Don’t hesitate to seek feedback from friends or teachers; it can be really helpful!

3. Familiarize Yourself with Common Sentence Patterns:

Analyze past test questions to identify common topics and sentence patterns Knowing the types of questions that frequently appear in previous tests can boost your confidence on the actual test day. Additionally, make sure to practice with mock exams for a real-life feel!

Writing on various topics comes from regular reading and writing practices. Express your experiences freely and try out different expressions. Study comfortably and best of luck in achieving a high score! 👍 Fighting!

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