Ambitions: further study, volunteering & training 志向：升学、志愿服务与培训

Distinguish a past duration from a future intention. ✗ 我会学三年 (I WILL study for three years) when asked 你已经学了多久中文？(how long HAVE you studied Chinese?) ✓ 我已经学了三年中文了。(Wǒ yǐjīng xué le sān nián Zhōngwén le.) — I have already studied Chinese for three years. Mark a past duration with 了……了 and 已经 (already); mark a future intention with 打算 / 要 / 会 and 以后 / 将来.

Ambitions answers often need a comparison, and dropping the degree word loses the mark. ✗ 做志愿者让我有信心 when the point was that it made you MORE confident ✓ 做志愿者让我变得更有信心。(Zuò zhìyuànzhě ràng wǒ biàn de gèng yǒu xìnxīn.) — Being a volunteer made me become more confident. Keep 更 (gèng — more) or 最 (zuì — most), and in a 比 comparison use the degree word, never 很: 上大学比工作更有意义。

When the task asks about the FUTURE (你以后打算做什么？), answer with a future intention, not the present. ✗ 我学习中文 (present habit) or 我上了大学 (completed, with 了) ✓ 我打算以后上大学，学习中文。(Wǒ dǎsuàn yǐhòu shàng dàxué, xuéxí Zhōngwén.) — I plan to go to university in future. 了 marks completion, not the future — never add it to a plan; use 打算 / 要 / 会 instead.

Answer only what is asked; extra, unsupported content can contradict the point and earn nothing. ✗ drifting into 我还喜欢打篮球、看电影…… when the bullet asked only for your STUDY plan, or claiming 学好中文 where the text does not support it ✓ give the plan and stop: 我打算上大学，学习医学。Adding unnecessary detail that changes the meaning is a repeated cross-cutting error — write only what you need.

Chinese has no plural ending, so number + correct 量词 + noun is the only way to signal quantity, and a wrong measure word is a stock error. ✗ 一个大学、一个工作 ✓ 一所大学 (yì suǒ dàxué — a university), 一份工作 (yí fèn gōngzuò — a job), 一家公司 (yì jiā gōngsī — a company), 一名护士 (yì míng hùshi — a nurse). Learn the measure word together with the noun; never default to 个 for these.

Chinese puts the time phrase BEFORE the verb, unlike English word order. ✗ 我想去留学明年 (calquing "study abroad next year") ✓ 明年我想去留学。(Míngnián wǒ xiǎng qù liúxué.) — Next year I would like to study abroad. The same holds for 以后 / 现在 / 去年: 大学毕业以后，我打算再学两年。Put 明年 / 以后 / 将来 at the front or just after the subject, never after the main verb.

These four are NOT interchangeable, and the wrong one changes the meaning. 想 (xiǎng) = would like to, a softer wish; 打算 (dǎsuàn) = to plan to, a worked-out plan; 要 (yào) = want to / going to, a firm intention; 会 (huì) = will, a prediction. ✗ 我会当医生 to mean I WANT to be a doctor ✓ 我想当医生。Match the verb to a wish (想), a plan (打算), an intention (要) or a prediction (会).