What school is like: day, subjects, rules & pressures 学校生活：作息、科目、校规与压力

Read exactly which pressure the task means. ✗ 我的父母希望我考上大学 (my parents hope I get into university) when the bullet asks about pressure faced AT SCHOOL ✓ 在学校，我的压力主要来自考试和作业。(Zài xuéxiào, wǒ de yālì zhǔyào láizì kǎoshì hé zuòyè.) Answer the exact source named — school workload, exams, competition — not the wishes of parents.

When the text makes a comparison, your answer must carry the degree word. ✗ 很多功课 (a lot of homework) when the point was 比以前更多 (MORE than before) ✓ 我们学校的功课比以前更多。(Wǒmen xuéxiào de gōngkè bǐ yǐqián gèng duō.) Use 比 (bǐ) or 更/最 (gèng/zuì) to signal it, and never put 很 in a 比-sentence. If the English says more, easier or harder, keep that comparative.

Match the facet the question asks for. ✗ 我很喜欢中文课，觉得很有意思 (a feeling) when the card asks what you DO in the foreign-language class ✓ 在中文课上，我们读课文、听录音、做练习。(Zài Zhōngwén kè shàng, wǒmen dú kèwén, tīng lùyīn, zuò liànxí.) If the bullet asks ACTIVITIES, list what you do (verbs); if OPINIONS, give feelings + reasons. Decide which before you answer.

English word order leaks in: time and place adverbials go BEFORE the verb, not after. ✗ 放学在四点 / 上课在八点 ✓ 我们四点放学，八点上课。(Wǒmen sì diǎn fàngxué, bā diǎn shàngkè.) ✗ 我学习在家 ✓ 我在家学习。(Wǒ zài jiā xuéxí.) The order is topic–time–place–verb, so put 八点 and 在学校 in front of the verb. Re-reading catches these slips.

Three homophones (all read de) do different jobs; mixing them is a classic 错别字 slip. 的 = attributive, before a noun: 我的书, 有意思的科目. 地 = adverbial, before a verb: 认真地学习 (rènzhēn de xuéxí — study hard). 得 = complement, after a verb: 考得很好 (kǎo de hěn hǎo — did well). Test: noun after → 的; verb after → 地; result of a verb before → 得.

On a choose-one writing task (Q1 or Q2) pick ONE option — answering both gains nothing — and read every bullet exactly. ✗ answering what you ALWAYS do when the bullet says what you USED TO do, or dropping the qualifier at home ✓ answer the precise wording: 以前 for used to, 在家 for at home. Underline each bullet and its qualifier, and develop a single option well.

很 (hěn — very) and 很多 (hěn duō — a lot) state an AMOUNT, not a COMPARISON. To compare, use 比 (A 比 B + adjective) or 更/最 (gèng/zuì — more/most). ✗ 我们学校功课很多 to mean MORE than before — this only means there is a lot ✓ 我们学校的功课比以前更多。(Wǒmen xuéxiào de gōngkè bǐ yǐqián gèng duō.) Never put 很 inside a 比-sentence: ✗ 今天比昨天很热 ✓ 今天比昨天热。 Decide: an amount (很/很多) or a comparison (比/更)?