People arrive at TOPIK II expecting TOPIK I with harder words. That is not what happens.
The question shapes change, a whole paper you have never written appears, and — the part nobody warns you about — one paper decides four different grades. You do not sit a level-4 exam. You sit the same paper as everyone from level 3 to level 6, and your score decides which of those you walk away with.
1 · What actually changes
| TOPIK I | TOPIK II | |
|---|---|---|
| Papers | Listening, reading | Listening, **writing**, reading |
| Sittings | One | Two |
| Grades awarded | 1 and 2 | 3, 4, 5 and 6 |
| Audio | Short exchanges | Interviews, lectures, discussions |
| Reading passages | Two or three lines | Paragraphs, then full essays |
| Answers | Multiple choice only | Multiple choice **and writing by hand** |
2 · Speed is half the exam
Work out the seconds per question from the exam guide. It is not generous.
On the reading paper the passages get longer as you go, so the last questions need more time than the first ones — which means you have to save time early. Candidates who read the first passages carefully and thoroughly run out of paper before they run out of ability.
3 · Decide the grade now, not in the exam hall
Someone who needs level 3 for a visa and someone who needs level 6 for a graduate programme should not study the same way, and should not sit the exam the same way.
Open the exam guide, find the cut-off for the grade you actually need, and subtract it from the total. That difference is how many marks you are allowed to lose. It is usually a much larger number than people expect, and knowing it changes what you do when a question is taking too long.
| If you need | Then |
|---|---|
| The lowest grade of TOPIK II | You can afford to lose a lot. Never stall on one question. Write *something* in every writing box. |
| A middle grade | Listening and reading alone will not carry you. Question 53 has to be practised. |
| The top grades | Question 54 has to be practised, repeatedly, under a clock. There is no other way up there. |
Exam words for this week
Which paper does TOPIK II add that TOPIK I does not have?
In what order do you read a reading item?
Before the quiz
- I know TOPIK II awards four grades from one paper.
- I know where the exam numbers live and I have looked at them.
- I have named the grade I actually need.
- I know the audio plays once.