HSK 3.0 · HSK 6 · Writing · Part 1

HSK 6 Writing Part 1: Read and Summarise

This part tests whether you can retell a long text in your own words. 1 questions — answer format: write a summary of about 400 characters.

1Questions in this part
Part 1 of 1Writing section
~45 minWhole Writing section
By an examinerMarking
Not printedPinyin

How HSK 6 Writing Part 1 works

You read a story of about 1,000 characters for ten minutes. The text is then taken away, and you have 35 minutes to write it back as a summary of about 400 characters, with a title.

It is a memory task and a writing task at once: you need the main characters, the sequence of events and the turning point, told in your own words. You do not add opinions.

The instruction on the paper

缩写。先读短文,然后把它缩写成一篇短文。

Read the passage, then write it back in your own words, much shorter.

HSK 6 Writing Part 1 sample questions with answers

3 questions from our practice bank, in the format of the real paper. Try each one before opening the answer.

Sample 1
  1. 林平大学毕业后进了一家小设计公司。头一年,他几乎每天加班,做的却都是最零碎的活儿:改字号、换颜色、把别人定好的方案排整齐。同事劝他跳槽,说这样下去学不到东西。他也动摇过,但一直没走。 第二年,公司接了一个博物馆的项目。方案改到第七版时,甲方仍然说"感觉不对",却说不出哪里不对。主创设计师快要放弃了。那天晚上,林平把七个版本全部打印出来,一张一张贴在墙上,然后按时间顺序看了一遍。他发现,从第三版开始,每一次修改都在让画面更"好看",却离博物馆本身越来越远。 第二天,他把这面墙拍下来,发给了主创。主创看了很久,说了一句:我们一直在解决错的问题。最后交出去的方案,回到了第二版的骨架,只做了很小的调整,甲方当场通过了。 很多年以后,林平自己带团队,常跟新人说一句话:那一年我改的不是字号和颜色,是眼睛。

    lín píng dà xué bì yè hòu jìn le yī jiā xiǎo shè jì gōng sī 。 tóu yī nián , tā jī hū měi tiān jiā bān , zuò de què dōu shì zuì líng suì de huó er : gǎi zì hào 、 huàn yán sè 、 bǎ bié rén dìng hǎo de fāng àn pái zhěng qí 。 tóng shì quàn tā tiào cáo , shuō zhè yàng xià qù xué bú dào dōng xī 。 tā yě dòng yáo guò , dàn yì zhí méi zǒu 。 dì èr nián , gōng sī jiē le yí gè bó wù guǎn de xiàng mù 。 fāng àn gǎi dào dì qī bǎn shí , jiǎ fāng réng rán shuō " gǎn jué bú duì ", què shuō bù chū nǎ lǐ bú duì 。 zhǔ chuàng shè jì shī kuài yào fàng qì le 。 nà tiān wǎn shàng , lín píng bǎ qī gè bǎn běn quán bù dǎ yìn chū lái , yī zhāng yī zhāng tiē zài qiáng shàng , rán hòu àn shí jiān shùn xù kàn le yī biàn 。 tā fā xiàn , cóng dì sān bǎn kāi shǐ , měi yī cì xiū gǎi dōu zài ràng huà miàn gèng " hǎo kàn ", què lí bó wù guǎn běn shēn yuè lái yuè yuǎn 。 dì èr tiān , tā bǎ zhè miàn qiáng pāi xià lái , fā gěi le zhǔ chuàng 。 zhǔ chuàng kàn le hěn jiǔ , shuō le yī jù : wǒ men yì zhí zài jiě jué cuò de wèn tí 。 zuì hòu jiāo chū qù de fāng àn , huí dào le dì èr bǎn de gǔ jià , zhǐ zuò le hěn xiǎo de tiáo zhěng , jiǎ fāng dāng chǎng tōng guò le 。 hěn duō nián yǐ hòu , lín píng zì jǐ dài tuán duì , cháng gēn xīn rén shuō yī jù huà : nà yī nián wǒ gǎi de bú shì zì hào hé yán sè , shì yǎn jīng 。

    Read the story, then write it back in about 400 characters.

    Target length 400 characters

    Show a model answer

    林平毕业后进了一家小设计公司,第一年做的都是零碎的工作,同事劝他跳槽,他没有走。第二年公司接了一个博物馆项目,方案改了七版,甲方仍然不满意,主创快要放弃。林平把七个版本贴在墙上按顺序比较,发现从第三版起,修改都在让画面更好看,却离博物馆本身越来越远。他把这面墙拍给主创,主创意识到他们一直在解决错的问题。最后交付的方案回到第二版的骨架,只做小调整,甲方当场通过。多年以后林平带团队时说,那一年他改的不是字号和颜色,而是眼睛。

    lín píng bì yè hòu jìn le yī jiā xiǎo shè jì gōng sī , dì yī nián zuò de dōu shì líng suì de gōng zuò , tóng shì quàn tā tiào cáo , tā méi yǒu zǒu 。 dì èr nián gōng sī jiē le yí gè bó wù guǎn xiàng mù , fāng àn gǎi le qī bǎn , jiǎ fāng réng rán bù mǎn yì , zhǔ chuàng kuài yào fàng qì 。 lín píng bǎ qī gè bǎn běn tiē zài qiáng shàng àn shùn xù bǐ jiào , fā xiàn cóng dì sān bǎn qǐ , xiū gǎi dōu zài ràng huà miàn gèng hǎo kàn , què lí bó wù guǎn běn shēn yuè lái yuè yuǎn 。 tā bǎ zhè miàn qiáng pāi gěi zhǔ chuàng , zhǔ chuàng yì shí dào tā men yì zhí zài jiě jué cuò de wèn tí 。 zuì hòu jiāo fù de fāng àn huí dào dì èr bǎn de gǔ jià , zhǐ zuò xiǎo diào zhěng , jiǎ fāng dāng chǎng tōng guò 。 duō nián yǐ hòu lín píng dài tuán duì shí shuō , nà yī nián tā gǎi de bú shì zì hào hé yán sè , ér shì yǎn jīng 。

    What the marker looks for
    • 保留了主要人物和事件的顺序
    • 写出了转折点:把七个版本贴在墙上比较
    • 写出了结论:一直在解决错的问题
    • 字数在400字左右,没有加入原文没有的内容
    • 用自己的话,不是整段抄写
Sample 2
  1. 小王在一家书店工作。书店生意越来越差,老板打算关门。小王提出,不如把书店的一角改成咖啡区,让顾客可以坐下来慢慢看书。老板一开始不同意,担心花钱太多。小王就先用自己的周末,在门口摆了几张桌子试了一个月。来的人果然多了,书也卖得比以前好。老板终于同意改造,书店不但没有关门,还成了附近有名的地方。

    A bookshop clerk saves a failing shop by trying out a café corner in his own time. (Shortened here; the passage in the exam is about 1,000 characters.)

    Target length 400 characters

    Show a model answer

    小王工作的书店生意不好,老板想关门。小王建议在店里开一个咖啡区,老板怕花钱,没有同意。小王就用周末在门口摆桌子试了一个月,结果顾客多了,书也好卖了。老板同意改造,书店后来成了附近有名的地方。

    What the marker looks for
    • 保留了人物和事情的先后顺序
    • 写出了转折:小王先自己试了一个月
    • 写出了结果:书店没有关门
    • 用自己的话,不照抄原文
Sample 3
  1. 李阿姨退休后开始学画画。她年纪大了,手不太稳,第一次上课画的苹果像个土豆,同学们都笑了。回家后她没有放弃,每天早上花一个小时练习画线条。半年后,社区举办画展,老师选了她的一幅画。画展那天,很多人在她的画前停下来。有人问她学了多久,她笑着说:“画了半年,但是等了六十年。”

    A retired woman takes up painting, keeps practising every morning and is chosen for a community exhibition. (Shortened here; the passage in the exam is about 1,000 characters.)

    Target length 400 characters

    Show a model answer

    李阿姨退休后开始学画画,刚开始画得不好,被同学们笑话。她没有放弃,每天早上练习一个小时。半年后,社区举办画展,她的画被老师选上了,很多人都很喜欢。别人问她学了多久,她说画了半年,但等了六十年。

    What the marker looks for
    • 保留了人物和事情的先后顺序
    • 写出了困难:刚开始画得不好
    • 写出了结果:画被选进画展
    • 保留了结尾那句话的意思

How to approach it

  1. While reading, fix the skeleton: who, where, what happened in order, the turning point, the ending.
  2. Remember a few key phrases you will want to reuse.
  3. Write a title, then the story in three or four paragraphs.
  4. Aim for about 400 characters, and do not try to reproduce the original.

Common mistakes

  • Spending the ten minutes on details and forgetting the structure.
  • Adding your own opinion or a moral.
  • Writing far less than 400 characters.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are in HSK 6 Writing Part 1?

1. It is part 1 of 1 in the HSK 6 Writing section, which has 1 questions and lasts about 45 minutes, for 100 points.

How is HSK 6 Writing Part 1 marked?

By trained examiners, not automatically. Your answer is marked against set criteria: whether the task is done, how accurate and varied the language is, and how well it is organised.

Is pinyin printed at HSK 6?

No. At HSK 6 the paper is printed in characters only, so you need to recognise the characters themselves.

Can I take notes while reading?

No. You read without writing, then the text is collected.

Do I need a title?

Yes. Give the summary a short title.

Can I practise HSK 6 Writing Part 1 online?

Yes. HSK Test has practice sets for this part, built like the real paper. Create a free account to start; your answers and scores are saved, so you can see how you are improving.

Every part of HSK 6

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