Chinese in Context 2020 HSC exam pack (archive)

Interview

Students should:

• choose a topic for Personal Investigation that is related to one of the issues set for study
• ensure they support their research using relevant and quality texts and sources
• discuss and substantiate a point of view effectively by providing evidence from their research
• reflect on their research findings to help them express opinions or develop new perceptions about their Personal Investigation
• reflect on their research findings to indicate how the research helped them to express opinion/change opinion or develop a new perception about the issue related to the Personal Investigation
• manipulate language to respond in a coherent and logical way to the questions asked
• use a variety of relevant vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and expressions
• avoid responding with pre-prepared responses that do not address the question asked.

In better responses, students were able to:

• make a very clear connection between the syllabus issue and the chosen topic
• support and substantiate a point of view effectively with strong research evidences
• answer the questions directly with relevant opinions and information
• demonstrate the scope and depth of their research with the use of a variety of resources, including online articles, songs, films
• demonstrate a strong control of language and high level of language accuracy throughout the interview
• use sophisticated vocabulary, idioms and expressions, for example, ‘己所不欲，勿施于人’, ‘取其精华，去其糟粕’, ‘传承文化精髓’, ‘一箭双雕’, ‘各有千秋’
• address both sides of the arguments logically and effectively when making comparisons, for example, ‘ A……，而相比之下， B…...’
• use conjunctions effectively, for example, ‘首先，其次，再者’, ‘尽管…但是…’
• speak with a clear voice and a calm manner using accurate pronunciation and intonation
• make an appropriate sound, such as 嗯……when more time is needed to gather ideas after a question, in order to avoid examiner taking the silence as inability to answer the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• choosing an appropriate research topic that’s not too broad nor narrow
• demonstrating a clear link between the chosen topic and the syllabus issue
• avoiding generalised information or common knowledge without much support of resources
• improving language use with more sophisticated terms and formal expressions
• avoiding the use of long and pre-prepared responses and focusing on answering the questions asked
• avoiding the repetition of the same points throughout the interview
• elaborating on a point of view with the use of relevant resources.

Students should:

• respond in English or Chinese as required by question
• demonstrate their understanding of the issue(s) raised in the text
• include all relevant details and support their response with reference to the text
• use appropriate vocabulary, expressions and language to address the style of writing required by the question
• use appropriate register when responding in Chinese
• respond within the required word and/or character limit
• respond to the number of texts referred to in the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• summarize and/or synthesise the text effectively by including the main points
• paraphrase the information from the written text or elaborate on it instead of directly copying it.  For example, for “入学要求：中学毕业” (Q3), students can use the information from the spoken text to elaborate like this “ 他们的入学要求不高，只要中学毕业就行。你都已经上大学了，肯定没问题。”
• understand what they are required to do, for example, students need to include their evaluation of the two responses and their own decision (Q5)
• use correct formats and answer questions with detailed information.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding using too much information without enough textual reference
• avoiding missing key information and ideas in the texts
• answering questions in the language required (Q2).

Students should:

• use the conventions of the style of writing required by the question
• use language appropriate for the context, purpose and audience of the question
• use a wide variety of vocabulary, sentence structures and prescribed words and/or characters
• structure the response in a logical and coherent manner
• support their ideas and opinions with appropriate examples
• respond in Chinese as stated in the question
• use appropriate register consistently throughout response
• use vocabulary, expressions and structures that are suitably connected with the issue raised in the question.

In better responses, students were able to:

• understand questions perceptively and answer questions effectively
• use effective comparison, eg compare maths and science subjects with language or communication skills
• produce two or three ideas regarding the topics
• use sayings to express ideas, for example, 山外有山，人外有人.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the topics
• organising information and ideas into paragraphs
• reading both Chinese and English versions of questions.