These eight tasks practise the skills in expository and practical writing: audience and purpose, format and register, process and description. Write your answer on paper, then open the details box.
Use the timed original practice session builder if you want to practise under time.
Questions 1 to 3: audience, purpose and cutting
Question 1
Task: 你是篮球队队长。星期四的训练改到星期五下午四点，在体育馆举行。写一则通知给队员。Name the audience and purpose, then write it.
Answer
Audience: team members. Purpose: tell them the new day, time and place.
Model: 通知：本周四的篮球训练改在星期五下午四点，于体育馆举行。请队员准时到场。篮球队队长谨启
The piece gives three facts and one action, with no extra remarks.
Question 2
In a notice about a school trip, one sentence does not serve the reader. Which one, and why?
通告：本校将于十二月第一个星期六举行全校旅行。集合地点是校门口，早上七点。天气最近很热，大家都辛苦了。请同学带水和帽子。
Answer
天气最近很热，大家都辛苦了 does not serve the purpose. It gives no fact about the trip and does not tell students what to do.
Keep the event, the place, the time and the things to bring. Note that the advice on water and hats already covers the heat.
Question 3
Why might a student lose marks for this reply to 《写信给校长，申请使用礼堂》?
喂，校长，我们想用礼堂，可以吗？
Answer
The register is casual (喂 and a bare question) for a formal reader. It also gives no facts: who, for what event, on which date.
Better: 尊敬的校长：学生谨代表华文学会，申请于下个月第二个星期五借用学校礼堂举办义卖，恳请校长批准。
Questions 4 to 6: register and process
Question 4
Rewrite for a teacher: 老师，我明天来不了，因为我要去看医生啦。
Answer
老师您好，我明天需要去看医生，不能来上课，恳请老师准假。
啦 is a casual particle, and 来不了 is relaxed. The rewrite uses complete, polite sentences and a respectful request.
Question 5
Put these steps for growing a bean seedling in order:
- A 每天浇水
- B 把豆子放进湿棉花
- C 把杯子放在有阳光的地方
- D 豆芽长出后移到泥土里
Answer
The order is B, C, A, D: put the bean in damp cotton, place the cup where there is sunlight, water daily, then move the sprout into soil after it has grown.
Model opening: 首先，把豆子放进湿棉花里。接着，把杯子放在有阳光的地方。然后每天浇水。最后，豆芽长出后，把它移到泥土里。
Question 6
A student wrote: 先把米放进电饭锅，接着按下开关，最后盛饭。 Which stages are missing?
Answer
Two actions a beginner needs: washing the rice (洗米) and adding water (加水). The cooker will not make rice without water, and the rice needs washing first.
Improved: 首先，把米洗干净。接着，加入适量的水，放进电饭锅。然后按下开关。饭煮好后，焖几分钟再盛饭。
Questions 7 and 8: description and planning
Question 7
Rewrite with facts: 我家附近的公园很漂亮，很大。
Answer
Replace the adjectives with facts. Example: 我家附近的公园有一个湖，湖边种着二十多棵大树，西边有一个儿童游乐场。
Facts such as a lake, trees and a playground can be checked, but 漂亮 and 很大 cannot.
Question 8
Plan a description of a school canteen in five lines: order chosen, then four items.
Answer
Model plan:
- Order: from the entrance to the back.
- Entrance: 门口有一个告示板，写着今天的菜单。
- Middle: 中间摆放长桌和长椅。
- Left: 左边是几个卖饭和饮料的摊位。
- Back: 后面有洗手处和垃圾桶。
Check that every line has a position word and a fact, with no opinion.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 and 2: checking task audience and purpose.
- Questions 3 and 4: choosing appropriate format and register.
- Questions 5 and 6: explaining a process in clear stages.
- Questions 7 and 8: organising a factual description.
Plan longer pieces with the Chinese composition structure planner. A teacher in online one-to-one Chinese tuition can set new tasks for the skill you miss most.