Are abbreviations allowed in TOPIK Writting?

Question

I am practicing writing TOPIK. As far as I know, in the TOPIK Writing, abbreviations are not allowed (e.g. 는 것이 can not be abbreviated to 는게, 무엇을 can not be abbreviated to 뭘), so why in the Answer section of Topik Writing, I still see some abbreviations. Such as :

2000 년에 4천 명이던 유학생이 가파른 상승세를 보이다 잠시 주춤하더니 다시 증가세를 보이며 2016년에 이르러 10만 명이 되었다. (모법답안, question 53)

and

우리는 칭찬을 들으면 일을 더 잘하고 싶어질 뿐만 아니라 좀 더 나은 사람이 되고 싶은 마음이 든다. 그리고 자신감이 생겨 공부나 일의 성과에도 긍정적인 영향을 마친다. (모법답안, question 54)

As far as I know, 보다 stands for 보다가 and 생겨 stands for 생겨서. Why are abbreviations used in the sentences above?

Answer 1

I don't know much about the TOPIK rules, but I'll give you my opinion about the subject. It seems to me the TOPIK rule is just advising against using colloquial abbreviations rather than all abbreviations.

Certain abbreviations are primarily intended to make informal speech smoother and shorter, and thus don't sound too good if used in writing. 게 for 것이, 걸 for 것을, 뭘 for 무엇을, 웬 or 뭔 for 무슨, 전 for 저는, etc. fall in this category. They sound really out of place in a serious writing. For instance, 뭔 in 정부는 뭔 일이 있어도 물가 상승률을 3퍼센트 이내로 잡는 것이 목표라고 했다 doesn't fit the serious subject of the sentence.

On the other hand, abbreviations like 다가 reducing to 다, 아/어서 to 아/어, 으로서 to 으로 and many others do not sound any more informal than the original, so there is no reason to discourage their use in writing. Most abbreviations where a whole syllable is dropped are probably in this class.

It might be difficult initially for learners to pick up the subtle nuance of each such abbreviation to determine whether they are acceptable in writing, but it is an ability you develop over time as you get further in your study.