You already know the rule: an essay is written in -ㄴ/는다, not -아요/어요. The TOPIK II course said so, and it is the first thing a marker checks.
But changing the ending is only a third of it. Spoken Korean also has its own connectives, intensifiers and contractions, and an essay in perfect -ㄴ/는다 that still says 근데 and 진짜 reads as a transcript, not an essay.
1 · The conversion table
| Spoken | Written | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| -아요/어요 · -습니다 | -ㄴ/는다 · -다 | Sentence ending |
| 근데 · 그런데 | 그러나 · 하지만 | But |
| 그래서 | 따라서 · 그러므로 | So |
| 그리고 또 | 또한 | And also |
| 진짜 · 정말 | 실제로 · 매우 | Really |
| 너무 · 되게 | 매우 · 상당히 | Very |
| 좀 | 다소 · 약간 | A bit |
| -거든요 · -잖아요 | -기 때문이다 | Giving a reason |
| 제 생각에는 | (leave it out) | In my opinion |
2 · Contractions come apart
| Spoken | Written |
|---|---|
| 걸 | 것을 |
| 게 | 것이 |
| 건 | 것은 |
| 안 돼 | 안 된다 |
| 이건 · 그건 | 이것은 · 그것은 |
| 뭐 | 무엇 |
3 · The first person disappears
Korean essays rarely say 나는 or 저는. The writer's position is carried by the sentence endings — -아야 한다, -ㄹ 필요가 있다 — rather than by announcing I think.
Drop 제 생각에는 entirely. If you must mark the opinion, 필자는 … 생각한다 is the written form, and it is used sparingly.
근데 온라인 수업은 진짜 편해서 요즘 너무 많이 들어요.
geunde ollain sueobeun jinjja pyeonhaeseo yojeum neomu mani deureoyo.But online classes are really convenient, so people take loads of them these days.Spoken. Four things to change.그러나 온라인 수업은 매우 편리하기 때문에 최근 이용자가 크게 늘고 있다.
geureona ollain sueobeun maeu pyeollihagi ttaemune choegeun iyongjaga keuge neulgo itda.However, because online classes are highly convenient, the number of users has risen sharply of late.Written. Connective, intensifier, reason and ending all converted.Day 1 words
글투 · 문어체
geultu · muneochewritten register상당히
sangdanghiconsiderably다소
dasosomewhat또한
ttohanalso, moreover최근
choegeunrecently필자
piljathe writer (of this piece)Write 근데 in the written register.
Write 그건 중요해요 in the written register.
Before the quiz
- I can convert the ending, the connectives and the intensifiers.
- I avoid 너무 in essays.
- I undo contractions like 걸 and 건.
- I leave out 제 생각에는.