This post is a part of my post series on passing YKI Keskitaso.
Gaining a high grade on writing is important for two reasons. First, it secures you a pass, even though you did not perform well in text comprehension (tekstin ymmärtäminen), just based on the pass-fail logic of YKI. Second, if you plan to apply for study programmes taught in Finnish, 4 (correspinding to B2 under CEFR framework) in writing can be a mandatory requirement for being an eligible candidate to apply.
What are you expected to write?
It will be three writing tasks. Based on tests my peers and I had, it is likely to be 2 different tasks on writing e-mails/mails with different levels of formality, and one opinion essay.
I had following tasks:
1. Write an e-mail to your friend to agree on the appointment.
2. Write an e-mail to the store to notify about broken mobile phone and ask for options.
3. Write an opinion essay (mielipidekirjoitus) on modern jobs (unfortunately, I cannot recall a more exact framing of a topic).
Check sample test questions
What is tested?
This part both tests your ability to understand quite detailed instructions on writing (you are given a description of the situation) and your ability to tailor your vocabulary knowledge to these described situations to produce logical texts.
Read more at University of Jyväskylä Centre for Applied Language Studies pages
What should you know?
Gaining a high grade on writing is important for two reasons. First, it secures you a pass, even though you did not perform well in text comprehension (tekstin ymmärtäminen), just based on the pass-fail logic of YKI. Second, if you plan to apply for study programmes taught in Finnish, 4 (correspinding to B2 under CEFR framework) in writing can be a mandatory requirement for being an eligible candidate to apply.
What are you expected to write?
It will be three writing tasks. Based on tests my peers and I had, it is likely to be 2 different tasks on writing e-mails/mails with different levels of formality, and one opinion essay.
I had following tasks:
1. Write an e-mail to your friend to agree on the appointment.
2. Write an e-mail to the store to notify about broken mobile phone and ask for options.
3. Write an opinion essay (mielipidekirjoitus) on modern jobs (unfortunately, I cannot recall a more exact framing of a topic).
Check sample test questions
What is tested?
This part both tests your ability to understand quite detailed instructions on writing (you are given a description of the situation) and your ability to tailor your vocabulary knowledge to these described situations to produce logical texts.
Read more at University of Jyväskylä Centre for Applied Language Studies pages
What should you know?
- How to write a lot, even if you are scared or not comfortable with your language level. If you write more, the chances are increasing that you make a mistake, that is true. But what is assessed, is your general intermediate survival skill, and you should provide examinator a material to assess this skill. Read more at Finnish National Agency for Education pages
- How to structure your text, as it is likely that you will not be given a preset structure, especially when it comes to the opinion essay. Just remember the basic model of introduction - arguments - conclusion.
- How to frame your thoughts. Knowledge of phrases and linking words not only adds the amount of words to your text, but also makes you feel more confident about your writing progress and style.
Bab.la phrases for e-mails (English-Finnish) - business
Bab.la phrases for letters - business
Bab.la phrases for essays (English-Finnish)
- What grammar constructions you are good at. Again, it is all about confidence! When preparing for an exam, I looked through some mock tests, to identify what grammar constructions I should rehearse first. For opinion essays, it would make sense to look into modal verbs, whereas for e-mails, it could be all about asking questions and describing consequences of the events in the past tense.
More posts to follow - feel free to drop me a message with your questions and suggestions at #startyourFinnish Facebook page.