How can I write a good Chinese essay?
Like any essay, a good piece of Chinese writing is above all one which flows and sounds natural. Here are some quick and simple tips for achieving this.
- Use connectives in your writing.
These are some useful ones that are often seen in native Chinese essays...
In addition/also:
另外 此外 除此之外
However/but:
但是 不过
For example:
比方说 比如 例如
- Use ‘chengyus' (idioms).
These are very commonly used in Chinese writing and will give your essay a sense of fluency and flair. Be careful to make sure you fully understand the meaning of the idiom and the context in which it can be used before using it in your work.
Here are some useful ‘chengyus' that can be used in a variety of contexts in an essay...
显而易见: evident, obvious (‘the issue here is obvious’) 首屈一指: top notch, second to none (‘this hospital’s health care is top notch’) 耳熟能详: well known, talked about (‘such as the well known product..’) 成千上万: innumerable, many (‘many rural workers have migrated to the cities’)
- Say the sentence out loud first.
To make an essay sound more natural and less like an English sentence that has been directly translated into the Chinese equivalent, I find it helpful to sometimes say a sentence out loud before writing it, or to think how a native speaker would phrase it.
