HSK 4 writing: how to write the 80-character short text (with a model answer)
The last writing question in the new HSK 4 asks for a short text of at least 80 characters. Eighty characters is only four or five sentences, so a simple plan and clean grammar matter more than fancy words.
Updated 15 November 2026
In the official HSK 3.0 sample paper, this is question 70: 请写一篇不少于 80 字的短文，介绍一下你最难忘的一次旅行。 ("Write a short text of at least 80 characters about your most memorable trip.") You have 25 minutes for the whole writing section, including five picture sentences before it, so plan to spend about 15 minutes on the text. See what each level's writing section asks for the full format.
A four-sentence plan that always works
- When and where. Set the scene in one sentence.
- What happened. Two or three things you did, in order.
- One detail. Something specific that made it special: a person, a problem, a surprise.
- How you feel about it now. Why it was memorable, or what you learned.
This order matches how examiners read: they look for a clear topic, events that follow each other, and an ending that answers the question.
Model answer
我最难忘的一次旅行是去年夏天和朋友一起去云南。我们先到了昆明，那里的天气非常舒服，不冷也不热。后来我们坐火车去了大理，每天骑自行车在湖边玩儿。有一天下大雨，我们迷路了，一位当地的老人不但给我们指了路，还请我们去他家喝茶。虽然那次旅行只有一个星期，但是我到现在还常常想起那位热情的老人。
This answer is about 130 characters, comfortably over the minimum. Notice what makes it work:
- Order words make the sequence clear: 先, 后来, 有一天.
- Two HSK 4 patterns, used correctly: 不但……还…… and 虽然……但是…….
- 了 only for completed events (到了昆明, 去了大理, 迷路了), and none for the repeated action 每天骑自行车.
- A real detail (the old man and the tea) instead of a list of places, which gives the ending something to refer back to.
Linking words worth having ready
| To | Use |
|---|---|
| Order events | 先……，然后……，后来……，最后…… |
| Add a point | 不但……而且／还……；另外 |
| Contrast | 虽然……但是……；不过 |
| Cause and result | 因为……所以……；于是 |
| Surprise | 没想到……；突然 |
| Conclude | 总之；到现在我还…… |
Mistakes that cost the most marks here
我们骑自行车了一个小时。
我们骑了一个小时自行车。
这次旅行是很有意思。
这次旅行很有意思。
那里的人都很热情的帮助我们。
那里的人都很热情地帮助我们。
Duration word order, an extra 是 before adjectives, and 的／地 are the three we see most in travel stories. Our 10 common HSK 4 writing mistakes covers the rest.
Practise it
Write your own answer to the same question in 15 minutes, aiming for 90 to 120 characters, then check it. Other topics in the same style to try next:
- 介绍一位对你影响很大的人。 (A person who influenced you.)
- 介绍一下你周末常做的事情。 (What you usually do at weekends.)
- 说说你学习中文的一次经历。 (An experience you had learning Chinese.)