The Gaokao Composition Scoring Criteria
The Gaokao writing section (作文) is typically worth 60 points (full-paper score of 150). Papers are double-blind marked by two examiners using a criteria grid. Primary criteria (内容, 50% of marks): theme relevance — the composition must directly respond to the given prompt without straying into tangential territory; depth of argument — surface-level observations score in the lower bands while nuanced, multi-layered reasoning scores in the top band (一等 52–60 points). Secondary criteria (表达, 40% of marks): language precision, rhetorical sophistication, and structural clarity. A common error among students scoring in the 40–48 range is providing many examples without connecting them explicitly to the argument's central claim — the examiner must see the logical bridge between evidence and thesis. Top-band compositions are characterised by: a clear, specific 中心论点 (central thesis) stated in the opening paragraph, at least three 分论点 (sub-arguments) that each independently support the thesis, and a conclusion that synthesises rather than merely repeats the thesis with a broader observation about the topic's significance.