I think I would like to add something regarding the
argumentative essay portion.
To score well for Chinese, I feel that we have to expose
ourselves to the language, written or spoken, every single day. Or
in the least, try to make an effort to.
Benefits of watching Chinese News
daily
1. Over time, you build up a bank of vocabulary without having
to deliberately memorise.
2. You get updated to news and current affairs (for your
报章读后感).
3. You get to know the 汉语拼音 of words you do not know straight
away, so this saves you the trouble of going to find out the
pronunciation again later.
4. This also helps you in your oral (another major component for
Chinese)! You will learn the 'correct' way of reading over time (:
(语速，语音，眼神交流）
5. Because these TV news are just like newspapers, you get to
understand better because news reports on TV are often coupled with
videos/images.
Watching the news on TV is
also very accessible, because for those who do not order Chinese
newspapers, or are too lazy to buy them from the news stands, the
television should be right in your home and you can just sit on the
couch while you watch.
As mentioned by hiphop2009,
writing words you do not know down on a notepad would also help as
you watch the news. (:
