Chinese Beginners 2018 HSC exam pack

Conversation

Students should:

• prepare thoroughly in relation to the prescribed themes in the syllabus
• demonstrate their capacity to manipulate the language when expressing information, opinions and experiences.

In better responses, students were able to:

• elaborate with appropriate and relevant information, for example, describing, listing, giving reasons
• use appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures, for example, 因为 ……所以; 如果……,就……; ……的时候,……
• use clear and accurate pronunciation and intonation. 

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to questions with more detailed and better organised information, for example, when asked about hobbies, the answer could include the name of the hobby, how you are engaged in it and why you like it
• further developing their listening skills so they can better understand the questions asked using a wider range of vocabulary and sentence structures.

Students should:

• make notes in the Candidates Notescolumnon the right-hand side of the page
• transcribe their response on to the allocated lines under the question
• read the question carefully and address all parts of the question in their response
• respond using their own words and avoid giving a translation of the text as their response.
• learn of a variety of vocabulary and expressions related to the topics set for study in the syllabus
• develop responses that demonstrate holistic understanding of texts as well as understanding of specific information. 

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify a wide range of vocabulary and expressions from the texts and provide details required by the question
• analyse the text and respond to questions demonstrating a holistic understanding of the texts
• support their responses with detailed references to the text
• demonstrate a good understanding of the whole text without repeating information
• summarise key information as required by question. 

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing detailed information to support ideas or justify points of view
• transcribing answer from the Candidates Notes column to the allocated lines beneath the question
• avoiding  translation of segments of the text as part of response
• revising vocabulary related to topics set for study.

Students should:

• read questions carefully and address all parts of the question
• demonstrate an understanding of the whole text in their response
• use their own words in their response and avoid simply translating text without an explanation
• use the number of lines and the mark value of each question as an indication of required length for each response
• use the dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning for the context. 

In better responses, students were able to:

• analyse the texts and produce detailed responses relevant to the question
• support their answer with appropriate reference to the text
• identify key information, vocabulary and expressions related to topics set for study in the syllabus
• avoid a literal translation of vocabulary and expressions and use their own words to respond to the question. 

Areas for students to improve include:

• attempting all questions and sections of the examination
• avoiding translation of segments of texts as part of their response
• using the dictionary appropriately to find the correct meaning of words or expressions for the context
• providing more detailed references to the text to support and justify their opinion
• identifying the key words of the question and the main ideas in the text to answer the question fully
• editing their responses to ensure that meaning is clear.

Students should:

• address audience, purpose and context correctly
• write using a wide variety of sentence structures and avoid repeating the same sentence structure throughout a text
• write with consistent register and tense appropriate to context of response
• use dictionary carefully to access vocabulary and expressions that are meaningful in the context used. 

In better responses, students were able to:

• write to the word length required by the question
• write using the conventions of the type of text required by each question
• organise response in a logical and coherent manner, addressing all parts of the question
• use relevant vocabulary and accurate grammatical structures and appropriate expressions. 

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing the audience, purpose and context of the question in their response
• applying the conventions of commencing and ending the type of task required by question
• including relevant ideas and examples that support response
• meeting the required word limit
• using a range of vocabulary and expressions avoiding repetition of the same grammatical structures
• revising spelling and accurate verbs construction
• using conjunctions correctly when constructing complex sentences
• edit their work for clarity.