So, it’s the day before your exam and although you have spent 3-6+ years learning Japanese, it seems like at this point you may know more Latin than Japanese… Fear not. This page will highlight some of the key things you need to implement NOW in order to score your best in the writing exam.

Quick Facts: The Writing exam

	Japanese B SL	Japanese B HL
Duration	1 hour 15 mins + 5 mins reading	1 hour 30 mins + 5 mins reading
Total marks	30	30
Character Count	500-800字	900-1,200字

Keys to success

1. Pace yourself
2. Choosing the right prompt for you
3. Selecting the MOST CORRECT text type
4. Quality of writing
5. Editing and timing

1. Pace yourself

It’s important – as with any exam – to understand how much time you have. Most specifically, depending on your exam style or writing style how much time you have THINKING vs WRITING.

The full exam for SL students is 1 hour and 15 minutes with 5 minutes of reading time. Below is an IDEAL breakdown of your time. A similar structure may be useful for HL students.

AMOUNT OF TIME	ACTIVITY
5 minutes (perusal)	Read through ALL your prompts
10-30 minutes	Planning
50-70 minutes	Writing
10 minutes	Editing

Of course, this is just a guide, but my advice – as with any writing exam – is to have a solid plan and leave time to edit. Failing to have a good plan at the beginning of the exam can derail your entire response. Additionally, simple errors can add up over time, risking you even a mediocre mark in Criteria D. So, BE CAREFUL.

It would be best to work out what timing works best for you BEFORE your exam and try to stick with it in the exam. Additionally, if you’re slow like me, you can try gaslighting yourself into thinking you have 10 minutes less than you actually do (works wonders!).

2. Choosing the right prompt for you

In case you do not already know (and this would be very concerning indeed), all Japanese B writing exams now come with three writing prompts which all have a choice of three text types. Below are the criteria you should use to decide which prompt is right for you.

1. Do I understand the purpose of the prompt (i.e. what does the prompt want me to do)?
2. Do I know the audience?
3. Do I get the vibes of the context?

Note that understanding every single word, kanji or sentence in the prompt is not a prerequisite to being able to use the prompt. Although being able to would be MOST IDEAL, if you know the audience, purpose and general gist of the context, this is sufficient knowledge to continue.

BUT!!!

If there is a word (most probably a kanji compound) which is repeated multiple times throughout the prompt and you cannot make an educated guess of what it means, I would be very very weary. Misinterpreting something major like this could cost you a lot, so if you do find yourself in that situation, I would recommend choosing another prompt.

3. Selecting the MOST CORRECT text type

Check out this page about picking text types!

4. Quality of writing

There is a MULTITUDE of things that can affect your quality of writing, but I’ve summarised them to the following few points.

1. Grammar choice
2. Word choice and use of kanji
3. Integration of IB concepts
4. (BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY) links to broader impacts

At this point in time, fixing 1 and 2 (and maybe 3) may be difficult. I would still spam through vocabulary banks and write out kanji you find difficult to remember. However, these are all things you should be doing REGULARLY throughout your learning journey to have the biggest impact.

If you have a bit more time, you will realise that fixing points 3 and 4 is actually quite simple. For this, it would be best to talk to your teacher or tutor. Throughout the year, your teacher constructs lessons around real-life examples and IB concepts, and if you were paying attention, they will always make links between AUSTRALIA and JAPAN.

This is VITAL to your response (especially in your IO too). Anywhere, where you can show that you understand Japanese culture, understand your own culture, and have the capacity to compare and consider stakeholders is a major GREEN FLAG to your marker. Contructing a list of examples may be unnecessary but getting into the critical-thinking mindset before your exam would be very helpful.

(Side note: You know how your teachers always say you can lie in your response? This is when you can do that if you have another culture you feel you can talk about more strongly!)

5. Editing and timing

The reason I talk about timing twice is because it is just SO IMPORTANT that you keep an eye on that clock. Unlike your more dominant language, BS-ing a whole two paragraphs and a conclusion in Japanese is – you know – kind hard.

As I said before, catching simple mistakes like grammar, word choice, or any silly mistake can really boost your Criteria D mark. Leaving around 10 minutes (or at least 3-5 minutes) should allow you to safely reread and edit your entire response.

Other Tips!

SITUATION	SOLUTION
Idk a kanji	Write it in hiragana and make a note to come back.
I’m not sure about this grammar	Gamble. If you’re 70% sure you’re right perhaps, go with it, otherwise stay safe and use a more simple grammar pattern. Remember, accuracy and response construction makes up more criteria.
Idk who the audience is/I’m not sure about ANY of the text types	CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PROMPT
Idk the cultural context behind this text/idk any good examples to use	CHOOSE A DIFFERENT PROMPT (do not waste time in your mocks or finals trying to remember what random conversation you had in class on that topic).

Final word of advice

If you read to the very end, thank you so much. You taking the time to improve your writing ITSELF shows how much you care, so I’m sure you’ll do just fine.

Remember to stay calm, keep an eye on the clock, and switch your brain to Japanese after you walk past those pocket-checks (英語ダメ！)

頑張ってください~！！