Japanese in Context 2019 HSC exam pack (archive)

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 opinions or develop new perceptions 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:

• demonstrate an excellent understanding of their researched topic
• use vocabulary, expressions and language structures appropriate to their topic of research.

Areas for students to improve include:

• referring to appropriate sources and texts to support their responses
• addressing the key words of the questions asked in the interview and avoiding pre-learnt responses
• presenting their point of view and supporting it with evidence from their research
• providing explanations for their opinions and elaborating on their response with relevant information
• avoiding making comments without giving examples to support them.

Students should:

• respond in English or Japanese as required by question
• demonstrate their understanding of the issues 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 Japanese
• use language appropriate to the context, purpose and audience
• respond within the required word and/or character limit
• respond to the number of texts referred to in the question
• apply the conventions of the text type.

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly explain the relationship between the two speakers with specific language examples from both speakers (Q1)
• demonstrate both, an understanding of the text and a critical reflection on the activities of last year’s Australia Day celebrations in Japan format (Q2)
• demonstrate a perceptive understanding of the text by reflecting on the speaker’s views regarding new trends in kimono fashion, affordability and popularity (Q3)
• summarise and synthesise both texts effectively (Q4)
• write a persuasive application letter for the correct job (out of tree choices) to the correct audience using appropriate level of language (Q4)
• discuss the issues raised in the text and offer Sakura some appropriate advice (Q5)
• demonstrate an understanding of the text by including relevant details from the text only (Q5)
• identify the author’s message with evidence from the text (Q6)
• refer to both the content and language use of the short story (Q6).

Areas for students to improve include:

• adhering to the required word limit in responses
• ensuring that responses are in the language stated in the question
• referring to relevant information from the text
• using appropriate expressions
• referring to both texts where necessary.

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 Japanese 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:

• use a wide variety of vocabulary, sentence structures and suggested kanji
• manipulate language with high grammatical accuracy
• include highly relevant ideas which were well-structured and sequenced
• use appropriate vocabulary and expressions to engage the audience
• provide valid examples and reasons to support ideas and opinions
• effectively express opinions/views through the comparison of smaller family and extended family (Q7) OR Japanese society and Australian society (Q8).

Areas for students to improve include:

• using accurate spelling, kanji and grammar structures
• using appropriate language register and authentic expressions
• demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of texts by including relevant ideas and information in responses
• sequencing for a logical flow of ideas and information
• using formal language appropriately, where necessary
• addressing the specified audience
• relating the topic discussed to the prescribed issue(s) in the course.