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TOPIK Writing 51-52: How to Fill In the Blank in a Letter or Article
Level
B1
Type
Guide
Theme
Reading strategy
작성자
Y
작성시각
Question 51 shows up and it isn't multiple choice. It's a short letter or notice with two blanks marked ㉠ and ㉡, and you have to write a full sentence for each one yourself. No answer choices to lean on this time.
This only appears on TOPIK II, since TOPIK I has no writing section at all. Questions 51 and 52 are worth 10 points each, and both work the same way: read the whole passage, then write one sentence per blank that fits the context, the grammar, and the tone of everything around it.
What 51 and 52 actually test
Question 51 gives you something practical: a text message, a notice, an invitation, or a short letter between two people who know each other. Question 52 gives you a more descriptive or informational passage, closer to something you'd read in an article. Both ask the same core skill: figure out what the missing sentence needs to do, then write it in a way that matches the register of the rest of the text. If the letter uses casual polite endings like 어요, your blank shouldn't suddenly switch to formal 습니다, and the reverse is just as noticeable to a grader. Question 52's informational passages often use a third register instead, the plain written style ending in 다 (like 성장한다 or 성장할 것이다), which needs its own separate check since neither 어요 nor 습니다 belongs there.
A practice example
민정 씨, 지난주에 책을 ( ㉠ ) 고마워요. 민정 씨 덕분에 시험 공부를 잘 할 수 있었어요. 그런데 책을 언제 ( ㉡ )? 편하신 시간 알려주시면 가지고 갈게요.
Read the sentence right after each blank before you write anything. The line after ㉠ says 고마워요, "thank you," so ㉠ has to be the reason for the thanks: 빌려줘서 (for lending it to me) fits directly into "책을 빌려줘서 고마워요." For ㉡, the writer is clearly asking when to give the book back, and the next line offers to come pick a time, so ㉡ needs to be a question in the same casual polite register: 돌려주면 될까요 (would it be okay to return it) completes "책을 언제 돌려주면 될까요?" naturally.
Notice that neither blank is a single word. Each one is a full verb phrase that finishes the sentence it's sitting in, which is exactly what the task is asking for.
Where to spend your five minutes
Since these two questions are considered the easiest points in the writing section, read both blanks' surrounding sentences before writing either one. The sentence right before a blank gives you the topic, and the sentence right after gives you the reaction. Once you've drafted both sentences, check the ending style one more time: matching 어요 to 어요 or 습니다 to 습니다 across the whole passage is worth catching before you move on to question 53.
Next time you see ㉠ and ㉡ waiting in a half-finished letter, you'll know to read outward from the blank first, not just fill it in on instinct.