EXAM QUICK REFERENCE
This subject tests not how much grammar you know but whether you can process academic Japanese under time pressure. The twelve chapters follow the syllabus's four sections: the reading chapters match the drills now open, while the listening-reading, listening, and writing chapters are marked as official scope with their banks still in preparation.
Written from the four sections of JASSO's Japanese syllabus. The current bank leads with reading; the listening-reading, listening, and writing chapters describe official scope while their drills are added in later batches.
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QUICK REFERENCE
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記述の形式
Choose one of two prompts and write 400 to 500 characters in 30 minutes.
Read both prompts and decide within two minutes.
Pick the one for which two concrete examples come at once.
Once chosen, do not switch back.
Choosing the prompt is itself a scoring act: take the one you have concrete examples for, not the one that sounds more impressive.
課題の型
Two forms dominate: agree or disagree with a claim, and compare two positions before stating your own.
Identify which form the prompt takes.
Develop it along that form's standard structure.
State your own position explicitly in the conclusion.
Both require an explicit stance; ending with "both sides have a point" scores lowest.
立場の明確化
State your position in the opening so the marker knows what you will argue from the first sentence.
Put the position in the last sentence of the first paragraph.
Let the middle paragraphs serve only that position.
Restate the position at the end rather than adding a new point.
Withholding the conclusion until the end reads as unclear structure in this format.
構成メモ
Three to five minutes on an outline prevents discovering mid-essay that you have run out of support.
Jot down the position, two reasons, and one example.
Check the reasons do not overlap.
Estimate the length of each paragraph before writing.
Thirty minutes leaves no room to rewrite; the outline is what lets you get it right in one pass.
30分の配分
Two minutes to choose, four to outline, twenty to write, and four to check is a stable split.
Write the four checkpoints down at the start.
Move to the next stage when each checkpoint arrives.
Shorten the argument if necessary, but finish the conclusion.
Not finishing costs more than writing imperfectly, so the concluding paragraph must be done before time runs out.
評価の観点
Assessment looks at whether you answered the prompt, structural clarity, concreteness of support, and accuracy of Japanese.
After writing, confirm you actually answered the prompt.
Check each paragraph makes only one point.
Replace expressions you are unsure of with ones you control.
Advanced vocabulary earns nothing but misuse costs marks; clear structure in expressions you control is worth more.
