Show Notes
Most TOPIK II conclusions restate the introduction and call it done. Examiners see this pattern in the majority of Level 3 essays -and it keeps scores stuck. In this episode of TOPIK & Beyond, host Eliza completes the four-part TOPIK II writing series by addressing the most overlooked section of the essay: the conclusion. This episode diagnoses the three Level 3 conclusion patterns (재진술, 단순 요약, 빈약한 마무리), introduces three conclusion structures that signal Level 4 and above thinking, and provides a full vocabulary set of conclusion connectors and a four-question self-check for every conclusion you write. This is the final episode in the TOPIK II writing strategy series (Episodes 74, 79, 81, 85) and is directly applicable to TOPIK II Questions 53 and 54, Levels 4, 5, and 6. TOPIK II Writing Strategy Series • Episode 74 - How to Start a TOPIK II Essay Without Sounding Like Everyone Else (opening sentences)
• Episode 79 - Why Your TOPIK II Body Paragraph Stops Too Soon (body paragraph structure)
• Episode 81 - How to Read a TOPIK II Question and Know Exactly What to Write (question analysis)
• Episode 85 - How to Write a TOPIK II Conclusion That Actually Concludes (this episode)
What You’ll Learn in This Episode Core concepts Three conclusion structures Key connectors
TOPIK II Writing Confidence Lab Grammar and vocabulary are not what’s holding your TOPIK II writing back. What’s holding you back is not knowing what to write - and not having a strategy that works from the first sentence to the last. The Writing Confidence Lab gives you video lessons, written frameworks for Questions 51 to 54, and personal essay feedback from Eliza - covering every part of the essay series. Spots are limited. Details → https://www.joaacademy.com/topik-ii-writing-confidence-lab-waitlist Connect 🌐 Website: https://www.joaacademy.com/ 📸 Instagram: @korean.joaacademy 🎧 Podcast: TOPIK & Beyond - available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms 📝 Read this episode on Substack: @ Korean Joa Academy
More from Korean Unpacked
잘 먹겠습니다 translates as “I will eat well” - but nobody at a Korean dinner table is making a promise about their eating. In this episode of Korean Unpacked, Eliza unpacks the everyday Korean phrases that don’t translate neatly into English, and what they’re really doing: marking a moment, and noticing the people in it.
In a textbook, it’s 저는 어제 친구를 만났어요. Between friends, it’s 나 어제 친구 만났어. So where did the particles go? In this episode of Korean Unpacked, Eliza shows what really happens to Korean particles in everyday conversation - when they disappear, when they shrink, and when they stay.
You learned that 을/를 marks the thing you like, need, or have. So why does Korean say 커피가 좋아요, 시간이 필요해요 and 돈이 없어요? In this episode of Korean Unpacked, Eliza shows why these aren’t mistakes - and the one simple question that helps you choose the right particle.
You know 은/는 is the topic particle and 이/가 marks the subject. So why do particles still feel uncertain in real Korean? In the first episode of Korean Unpacked (formerly TOPIK & Beyond), Eliza looks at what particles are actually doing in a conversation: framing, identifying, contrasting, and sometimes quietly disappearing.
Episode 100 breaks the usual format on purpose. No structured lesson, no vocabulary cluster. Just Eliza, speaking honestly about what surprised her over a hundred episodes, what she got wrong early on, and one practical thing she wants every listener to take away - plus what she'd tell the version of herself who recorded Episode 1. It closes with a genuine thank-you to everyone who's been listening - however long you've been here.