Full timed practice
Do complete practice tests under exam conditions and review every wrong answer by category. The point is not the score on any single test — it is the pattern of where you lose points, so you know exactly what to drill next.
Writing under pressure
Write full essays, not just structures, inside the allotted time. Lean on your sentence-structure list rather than memorised idioms. The list is portable across topics; memorised idioms break the moment the prompt shifts.
Targeted vocab review
Run your Pleco deck in weak-cards mode. Every card you consistently miss gets flagged and re-learned with a fresh example sentence. By the final month, no card should be untouched.
The AI feedback loop
Paste practice essays into an AI tutor with a clear prompt: act as an HSK5 examiner, score this essay, and name the two biggest structural weaknesses. Iterate. Used this way, AI is a patient examiner available at any hour — not a shortcut.
The final three weeks
Week one: two full timed tests, every wrong answer reviewed by category. Week two: targeted drilling on your weakest category, plus one more full test. Week three: light review only. Do not cram. Your preparation is in the reps, not the last-minute push. Sleep well the night before.