Writing 51 Filling a Blank in a Practical Text (Notice or Inquiry)

Writing · Easy–Medium

One sentence each — the best return on effort.

Item 51 asks you to write one sentence for a single blank in a practical text — a notice, an inquiry post, or an announcement. It's worth 10 points, but it's one half of the 51–52 pair, where writing just two sentences correctly earns 20 points, so it's considered the item with the best score return per study hour in all of TOPIK II. The real exam is a written-response format graded on the sentence you produce yourself, but on this site you practice with a four-option multiple-choice format that asks you to pick out the correct sentence pattern instead. The key is that each type of text already has fixed sentence patterns. Inquiry or request posts repeat expressions like '~(으)ㄹ 수 있습니까?,' '~아/어야 합니까?,' and '~(으)면 좋겠습니다,' while notices and announcements use fixed forms like '~기 바랍니다' and '~(으)니 참고하시기 바랍니다.' This unit's questions cover three different situations — a lost-item notice, a library inquiry post, and a management-office announcement — so you build a feel for approaching whatever practical text comes up with the same underlying principle. Points get docked in this item type for mostly three reasons: not finishing the sentence to its ending — leaving out the final ending; mixing in casual speech that doesn't match the honorific level of the rest of the text; and using a particle that doesn't match the ones around the blank. This unit's wrong options are built directly from those same three deduction factors, so practicing filtering them out one by one builds the same instinct that helps you avoid these mistakes when you actually write. Item 51 doesn't require understanding the whole passage — you only need to judge one blank, one sentence, correctly. That makes the learning curve gentle, and memorizing just a handful of fixed expressions lets you secure it without mistakes.

Filling a Blank in a Practical Text (Notice or Inquiry)

• 문의·요청 — A polite question form used to ask whether something is possible or how to do it. A casual question form (-아/어?) must not be used in formal writing.
• 안내·공지 — 요청형 — A fixed expression an administrator or institution uses to ask readers for cooperation. It's a formal register gentler than the imperative (-세요).
• 희망·바람 — Used to politely express the writer's hope. It must be '좋겠습니다,' not '좋겠다' — keep the honorific level all the way through.
• 사과·양해 구하기 — A fixed expression used in situations that caused inconvenience. Ending with just '죄송합니다' ('I'm sorry') and no explanation of the cause loses points.
• 변경 통보 — Used to notify that a schedule, location, etc. has changed. Delivers the result objectively in the form '~게 되었음을 알려 드립니다' ('we would like to inform you that...').
• 모집·초대 — Used to encourage participation in an event or gathering. Combines '~고자 합니다' (stating a plan) with '~기 바랍니다' (inviting).
• 감사 인사 — Often appears as a closing greeting after receiving help. Attached at the end of the text, it closes the writing politely.
• 확인 요청 — Used to ask whether something already sent has arrived or been processed properly. '-았/었는지' checks on a completed matter.
• 취소·부득이한 사정 — Used when a planned event has to be canceled or postponed for unavoidable reasons. '부득이하게' ('unavoidably') is the signal word marking the cause.
• 분실물 안내 — '혹시' ('by any chance') is a signal adverb that pairs with a hypothetical/request expression that follows. The fixed form is '보신 분은 연락해 주시기 바랍니다' ('if you happened to see it, please contact us').

• The title and greeting that signal the type of text (notice / inquiry post / announcement)
• The signal word right before the blank ('혹시,' '문의드립니다,' etc.)
• The honorific form kept consistent throughout the text (-습니다/-세요)

• First identify the type and purpose of the text.
• Check the sentence pattern required by the sentences before and after the blank.
• Among the four options, rule out first any that don't complete the final ending.
• Among the remaining options, do a final check of the honorific level and particle agreement across the whole text.

• Mistaking an option that ends in a noun form — and so isn't a finished sentence — for the answer.
• Letting an option that mixes casual and honorific speech pass as natural.

Item 51 only requires judging a single sentence correctly, so it has the best score return on effort in the whole test. Memorize the sentence patterns whole and you can secure it without mistakes.