16 October 2017 W134 EDB Kowloon Tong Centre

Dr. Neil DRAVE

Senior Manager Assessment Development Division

HKDSE 2017 Literature in English – Briefing

Rundown

• 3pm Welcome and introductions

• 3.10 Overview of the 2017 exam

• 3.40 Paper 1

• 4.00 Paper 2

• 4.20 Paper 3

• 4.40 2018 Paper & beyond

• 5.00 SBA

• 6.00 Finish

Candidates’ performance

• 304 candidates sat (-21% cf. 2016)

• 3+ 82% (+c.2% cf. 2016)

• 4+ 61% (+c.2.5%)

• 5+ 25% (-c.1.5%)

• Comparable to 2016, with fewer top-performers

• Samples of 2017 performance posted on web early November

Questions • Aims

– coverage of important issues – test what candidates know rather than trick them – stimulate critical thinking rather than plot recall – focus on how (technique) as well as what

(effect/outcome) – Film technique and language

• Allow for choice of texts to answer on • Too much choice ?(22 questions in P1 with 8

choices in Pt II…)

Marking scheme

• Aims – indicative only, not model answers

– give markers a sense of the range of answers that might be expected

– quantitative (marks) and qualitative

– appropriate literary terms are included but may not be required to score well

– intended to be used with training and feedback from CE, not a guide to teaching

Mark penalties for incomplete coverage

Genres NOT covered (2016 figure in brackets)

Genre Novel Play Film Stories TOTAL

No. cases 7 5 4 0 16 (26)

Candidates with 1 genre missing

12 (18)

Candidates with 2 genres missing

1 (4)

Paper 1 Essay Popularity [nq/N] & (Mean raw score)

Part 1 Novel MB I LF

Play O I C

Q1 Q2

Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8

Pop. (%) Mean (%)

10 (61 )

1 (--)

6 (53)

56 (50)

23 (56)

17 (52)

1 (--)

2 (--)

Film PV I LP

Short Stories

Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14

Pop. (%) Mean (%)

18 (57)

27 (54)

1 (--)

2 (--)

16 (49)

16 (46)

Paper 1 Essay Popularity & (Mean raw score)

Part II

Q15 Q16

Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21 Q22

Pop. (%) Mean (%)

2 (--)

11 (50)

7 (56)

7 (50)

30 (49)

3 (--)

8 (47)

32 (48)

Paper 1 Strengths

• Overall, the standard this year is similar to last year’s

– Candidates demonstrated familiarity with texts and a competent level of critical ability

• The number of students not covering all four genres has continued to drop

Areas for Improvement (1)

• Formulating succinct and relevant answers

– tendency to write more than necessary

– filling pages with extraneous details is counter-productive

• Supporting answers with close reference to text

Areas for Improvement (2)

• Addressing 'how…used/presented' questions (e.g. Qs. 9, 11, 13, 22)

—questions rarely one-dimensional or seeking purely descriptive responses

—consider discussing aspects other than characters’ actions

Question 4

• Strong responses provided detailed analyses of a range of symbols

• Some weak responses treated question as one about characters, discussing them as symbols without clarifying the context

Question 5

• A number of good answers

– discussing whether Desdemona is virtuous but weak by giving sound reasons

• Weak scripts were unbalanced

– focusing on her strengths/weaknesses without considering whether she is the most virtuous

Question 10

This ‘role-play’ question was generally well-answered

• Strong answers: – were able to reflect critically on key events

– offered new insights into characters’ relationships

• Weak answers: – mostly emotional and strongly worded responses to

Charlie’s behaviour, without citing specific details from film

Question 13

• Strong answers:

– Related the physical environment to plot, themes and characters

• Weak ones:

– had much less to say about ‘Seventeen Syllables’

– focused on discussing overall themes, with little attempt to discuss the physical environment

Question 19

Question attracted a number of interesting answers

• Strong answers:

– compared characters’ various motives and methods of revenge

• Weak answers:

– tended to be uneven discussions

Question 22 (1) • A number of superficial answers

• Most candidates approached question from the point of view of plot, but overlooked the question’s key focus:

‘…how mental suffering and physical suffering are presented’

• Question is not really about providing examples of suffering or proving that characters have suffered

Question 22 (2) • Strong answers:

– discussed characters’ actions

– explored literary techniques; and/or

– considered how suffering was a reflection of wider social issues (e.g. Tom Robinson’s suffering is suggestive of racism of the American South)

Paper 2 Appreciation Popularity & (Mean raw score)

A Q1 O

Q2 C

Q3 MB

Q4 LF

B Q5 SP

Q6 SP

C Q7 UP

Q8 UP

Pop. (%)

Means of sub-qu. (%)

53

(67/43)

3

(--)

12

(73/64)

33

(59/53)

79

(61/53/55)

21

(58/53/52)

25

(61/55/44)

75

(69/47/58)

Section A: Critical Analysis All responses

fully completed

Knowledge of background to extracts evident

Less reliance on quotes

Sound analysis of significant details

Organisation: repetition of points Content: - unnecessary plot narration/ recounting dialogue - moving away from a focused analysis ‘in this extract’ ‘in this prison scene’ ‘in lines 32-36’ ‘the movements here…’

Section B: Poetry

More developed capability in responding to technical questions – How are images

used…/Discuss the use of…../Comment on the use of…

Less reliance on heavy/ unnecessary quotations

All elements of

question(s) addressed

Section B (The Rattlebag) produced the least satisfactory responses Candidates who try to establish connections between the poems will generally score higher marks

Common weaknesses Q5

Confusion over different ‘voices’ (ii) Comment on the use of the first voice in La Belle Dame?

‘This is the knight’s voice telling us about the fairy woman.’ ‘The whole poem is about the knight at arms who was abused by the fairy.’ ‘The supernatural woman is whispering to her lover.’

Misunderstanding (iii) How are images of colour/colorlessness used in Poppies in July?

‘Red is negative to describe the pain of the speaker.’

‘The colour red is associated with luck. She wishes she had better luck.’

‘Opium has no colour and she needs drugs to deal with her pain.’

Imagery is an uncountable noun

Q6

Stating the obvious

(i) 'A is about the events of one day in a Bight, and B is about days.'

'A is about her birthday. Poem B does not mention birthdays.'

Confusion between poet and persona

Misreading

(ii) Nouns or verbs selected rather than adjectives

• Terminology – ‘Diction’ Mistakenly referred to in general terms of a ‘word’ or vocabulary. Uncountable. 'The diction ‘exotic’

tells us the son lives overseas'

'There is lots of dictions about Thailand'

• Tone

Misinterpreting tone suggests misinterpreting meaning

'The tone of the poem is explaining the differences'

'The tone of the way the cats behave is inspirational'

Section C: Unseen Poetry

Q7

(i) How do the mother’s feelings relate to title?

Summarising entire poem

No reference/link to title

Q8

(i) What are the differences between cats & humans?

Answer too literal

'Humans know more knowledge than cats'

'Cats have no concerns'

'Cats walk with dignity, humans don’t'

Paper 3 Portfolio

• Problem cases – 2 cases of (limited) plagiarism – 2 non-English texts – 1 set text discussed

• Analytical essays on films or adaptations of books were the most popular

• Comparative essays on one or two films • Creative writing popular • Film reviews and book reviews least popular

What is a good portfolio?

• A well-defined and focussed topic or thesis that provides a framework for discussion

• Avoid using a noun phrase, e.g. differences in gender, use of colour, as the title

• Thesis or topic should

– be controversial or debatable to allow critical discussion from different angles or perspectives

– demonstrate critical understanding of the texts

• Critical and relevant use of textual materials or filmic/narrative techniques to substantiate the central argument

• Demonstrate understanding of literary texts and applications of literary terms on the texts

• A balance between research and original insights

• Widen the scope of research other than that of online dictionary, Wikipedia or online film reviews

• Use of footnotes for any quoted materials

• Purposeful rather than decorative use of pictures or screen shots to illustrate ideas

• Coherent organisation rather than writing in sections or headings with no connection between them

• Discussion of individual shots should be relevant and contextualised

Technicalities

• Paragraphing – avoid long and wordy paragraphs

• Grammatical and spelling mistakes

• Quality of screen shots and pictures

• Sources of references and secondary materials

• Creative short stories with plausible and convincing development of plot and characters

• Effective use of the different elements of story like setting, symbolism, use of suspense, dialogues etc.

• Stories that come to a convincing ending

• 2018 Examination (4 April) – Paper 1 Essay (50%, 3 hours)

• Double marked

– Paper 2 Appreciation (30% 2 hours) • Double marked • A – 2 or 3 sub-questions

– Paper 3 = Portfolio (20%) • Double marked

• 2018 Texts – Othello Taming – 17 Syllables, Red Convertible – Bear, Happy Endings – Larkin – Thomas

• Assessment Frameworks – 2020 on web

http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/hkdse/assessment/subject_information/category_a_subjects/hkdse_subj.html?A2&2&17_1

– 2021 confirmed – available

on request or from EDB (on web early July 2018)

– 2022-2024 TBC in 2018 – send EDB suggestions for texts

2018 Paper

SBA 1

• 2018, 2019, 2020 SBA Handbooks on web http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/sba/sub_info_sba/dse_subject.html?17&2

• 2018 optional trial (SBA marks not counted)

• 2019 full implementation

• Same format as Portfolio

SBA 2

Key dates

• Nov 2016 – deadline for opting in/out & giving staff details

• Late Nov/early Dec 2016 –S/DC details sent out

• Sept 2017 – (annual) letter to schools explaining process & giving links

SBA 3 • December 2017

– set up internal school system for handling Lit SBA (e.g. which teachers will do what? When? Internal moderation? Consult your DC)

– review & mark your students’ work (see Ch 2 of HB for new MG)

• End January 2018 – all (trial & non-trial) schools submit Portfolios as usual – trial schools submit 6 samples of SBA work and school’s marks online

(h-m-l); plagiarism detection software (PDFs converted from Word OK)

• March 2018 – Portfolios marked as usual by markers (MM 3 March TBC) – SBA work marked by S/DCs OR compared with Portfolio scores (TBC) – Scores of schools adjusted if necessary but these scores do not count

towards actual 2018 exam results

SBA 4

• Meeting on Thursday 7 December (4pm) at St Rose of Lima’s College, Shatin (near Prince of Wales Hospital)

• If you don’t get an invitation, please let me know

• Trial schools will benefit most but all are welcome

More information

• www.hkeaa.edu.hk

• ndrave@hkeaa.edu.hk