Dr. Neil DRAVE

Senior Manager (English)

Assessment Development Division

HKEAA

HKDSE 2020 Literature in English – Briefing

Rundown

• Welcome

• Overview of the 2020 exam

• Paper 1

• Paper 2

• SBA: 2020 review & 2021

• Set texts 2022-24

Candidates’ performance

• 254 candidates sat (-10% cf. 2019)

• 3+ c.81% (same as 2019)

• 4+ c.54% (same)

• 5+ c.18.5% (- c.4%)

• Comparable to previous years – fewer high achievers

• Samples of 2020 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 • Part II of Essay paper

– SC/OneCom propose a reduction in no. questions from 8 to 4/5/6

– Teacher survey

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 (2019 figure in brackets)

Genre Novel Play Film Stories TOTAL

No. texts 0 6 9 3 18 (14)

Candidates with 1 genremissing

14 (10)

2 genres missing

2(2)

3 genres missing

0 (0)

Blank all/Pt2 0 (0)

Paper 1 EssayPopularity [nq/N] & (Mean score)

Part 1 NovelMB / GG

PlayT / C

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8

Pop. (%)Mean (%)

9(--)

11(59)

18(52)

23(53)

27(49)

18(59)

5(--)

1(--)

FilmRD / V

Short Stories

Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14

Pop. (%)Mean

5(--)

2(--)

34(56)

6(--)

4(--)

34(49)

Paper 1 EssayPopularity & (Mean raw score)

Part II

Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21 Q22

Pop. (%)Mean

11(55)

11(30)

13(--)

8(--)

1(--)

24(48)

12(52)

18(56)

Paper 1

Strengths

• Essays were generally varied and relevant in content

• Best work was clear, balanced and insightful

• Candidates responded very well to questions on language and technique

Areas for Improvement (1)

• Some blank or very brief answers

• Some candidates not covering all four genres

• Some answers with excessive and unnecessary information

Areas for Improvement (2)

• Lack of attempt to explain or interpret terms and

symbols➢ assuming meanings of key terms were self-evident (e.g. ‘romantic’

(Q16), ‘vice and virtue’ (Q18), ‘illusions’ (Q20))

➢ making assertions about symbolic meanings without elaboration (e.g.

what green as a colour represents in Vertigo)

• Unbalanced answers

Question 4

• Good responses

➢ showed understanding of Daisy and Myrtle as

characters

➢ gave sound reasons why they deserve our sympathy

• Weak responses

➢ gave dubious reasons why characters deserve our sympathy

➢ were inclined to moralise excessively about how Daisy and

Myrtle are ‘immoral’ characters

Question 5

• Question generally well-answered

• Most responses were able to demonstrate how use of language (e.g. puns,

hyperbole, imagery, innuendos, flattery and lies) contributes to Petruchio’s plan

• High-scoring responses gave penetrating analysis, supported by quotations

and examples

• Weak responses relied on describing characters’ actions

Question 11• Very well-answered

• Answers generally showed candidates’ wide-ranging knowledge of

how filmic techniques are used to create suspense

• Advanced answers gave extensive and coherent comments

• Weaker answers tended to be uneven, with some techniques

receiving notable attention while others remained undeveloped

Question 14 (1)

• Few effective answers

• Many answers were filled with superfluous details

• Analyses also tended to be broad-brush and

superficial

Question 14 (2)

• Better answers approached the question from the perspectives

of character and technique

➢ How do characters develop insights as they undergo different

experiences?

➢ How are narrative techniques (flashback, foreshadowing, epiphany etc.)

used to show how characters gain self-understanding?

Question 20 (1)

• Most candidates were able to cope with the topic

• Substantial answers considered how the characters’ illusions

➢ reveal their personality

➢ affect them as a person, their actions and the people around them

➢ tie in with broader themes

Question 20 (2)

• Weak answers

➢ provided a list of examples of the characters’ illusions

➢ described any experience that the characters have as illusory without

any attempt at elaboration

Question 22

• Quite a number of superficial analyses

➢ There was a tendency towards story recount

➢ Some offered simplistic character sketches

• Only a few answers undertook to examine factors other than

personality traits that cause one to achieve, or not achieve, personal

growth

Paper 2 Appreciation Popularity & (Mean score)

A Q1T

Max 40

Q2C

Q3GG

Q4KM

Max 40

B Q5SP

Max 48

Q6SP

Max 48

C Q7UP

Max 32

Q8UP

Max 32

Pop. (%)

Mean (%)

30

(68)

3

(--)

53

(60)

14

(61)

61

(58)

37

(56)

23

(51)

74

(61)

Q1 – 8: Areas for improvement

Give due weight to KEY WORDS in a question:

• Comment on the significance of lines 63-67

• Compare the behaviour of…

• How is the interaction presented?

• Comment on the diction in relation to theme

• Comment on the significance of title

• How does the form add to its effect?

Section A: Critical Analysis (Q1 – 4) Sound knowledge of texts

Areas for improvement

• Spend less time describing circumstances/action and more on inference and examination of the language

• Use fewer (redundant) quotations

• Develop a stronger awareness of the performance aspects of texts

• Pay closer attention to key words in a questione.g. Q1(ii): Comment on the significance of lines 63-67 asks candidates to demonstrate how these lines are important to the scene/play overall, not just a literal explanation.

Section B: Set Poetry Fewer instances of noting superficial features without explaining how their use enhanced the poem • Markers reward comment on the impact of figurative

language, not its identification • Candidates who sustained interwoven comparisons in Q5(1)

and 6(i) were duly rewarded

Areas for improvement5(i) Compare movement and stillness: Overall mistaken assumption that there is movement in (B) and only stillness in (A)

6(i) Discuss the ways in which each poem presents animals: • Very few attempts at contrast • Tended to be separate discussions, merely describing the animals

mentioned and not relating to overall meaning • Majority omitted ‘bucks’ (Poem A) and ‘periwinkles’ (Poem B)

• Concepts relating to relationship between technique and meaning are often hazy or incorrect. These examples are vague, unclear or meaningless:e.g. The personification in 2nd stanza shows a sense of continuity

in nature e.g. Dark imagery is oppressive to show how the speaker glorifies death

• Sharper focus on key words is needed: e.g. 5(iii) How does the form add to its effect?e.g. 6(ii) Comment on the use of repetition

• Literary terminology over-/ inappropriately used

– Diction

– Form

– Theme

– Tone

– Caesura

– Anaphora

– Irony

• Note that poems do not usually have ‘paragraphs’ or ‘sentences’

Section C: Unseen Poem (Q7 & 8)End of April• Many candidates simply reworded the lines. A more perceptive

reading was expected of what ‘such things’ might suggest• Tone was not often properly identified, despite clues in diction

(end/broken/blue/missing/gone)

Temptation• The nature of the addiction was often not identified correctly: it is to

alcohol (line 32 refers to ‘one more bottle’) not drugs, adultery or mobile phones!

• Majority only identified two voices • Some candidates merely rephrased lines without explaining how they

inform our understanding of entire poem

SBA

• Analytical essays on films were the most popular

• Creative writing getting more popular

• Film reviews and book reviews least popular

General advice for teachers

• Choice of portfolios

• Should display a variety of genres

• Students should be encouraged to diversify their topics

• Students from the same school should try to work on different genres and topics

• Teachers are advised to adhere to the curriculum and marking criteria when supervising students

What is a good SBA portfolio?

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

• Avoid using a general noun phrase e.g. differences in gender, patriarchal influence etc. as the title

• Common topic: e.g. exploring entrapment in a text; question of fidelity in Romeo and Juliet

• Key terms need to be defined to contextualise the discussion

Analytical essays (1)

• Should display critical discussion of the topic from different angles or perspectives

• Should demonstrate critical understanding of texts and how literary terms apply

• Should display critical and relevant use of textual materials or filmic/narrative techniques to substantiate central argument

Analytical essays (2)

• Balance of research and original insights

• Wide scope of research (authentic and reliable sources better than Wikipedia, online film reviews or online essays)

• Well-referenced, with proper use of in-text references or footnotes for any quoted materials

Analytical essays (3)

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

• Organisation needs to be coherent rather than divided into 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

• Quantity of screen shots and pictures

• Sources of references and secondary materials

Creative writing• Creative short stories with plausible and

convincing development of plot and characters• Avoid stories that are merely narrative accounts of

events • Stories should be shown rather than told• Writing style and dialogue should go with the

genre or themes of the stories• Effective use of the different elements of story like

setting, symbolism, use of suspense, dialogue etc.• Stories that come to a convincing ending

SBA administration

• 2020 SBA

– Efficiency of process

– Reliability of marking: 25 schools as expected, 1 school gave slightly higher marks

• 2021 SBA Cancelled

• 2023 SBA Handbook on web http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/sba/sub_info_sba/dse_subject.html?17&2

• 2021 Examination (24 April)– Paper 1 Essay (62%, 3 hours) – Paper 2 Appreciation (38% 2

hours)– SBA (Cancelled)

• 2021 Texts – replacements– Educating Rita (Crucible)– How to become a

writer/Temporary matter (Cathedral/Everyday use)

– Blake (Keats)

• Assessment Frameworks

– 2023 on web http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/hkdse/assessment/subject_information/category_a_subjects/hkdse_subj.html?A2&2&17_1

– 2022-2024 confirmed

2021 Paper

Set texts 2022, 2023, 2024

Test

year

Teac

h

from

Sept

…

Number of years on syllabus

HL = new

Replace 2 stories per year

(from same volume)

Replace 1 poet per year (3 poems)

Novel Play Film Stories Poets

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5

2022 20

19

Great

Gatsby

4

Rebecc

a

1

Taming

of the

Shrew 5

Educati

ng Rita

2

The

Remain

s of the

Day

3

Vertigo 3 Rip van

Winkle

4 – final

year

Araby 4

– final

year

Memory

3

In the

Americ

an

Society

3

How to

Become

a

Writer

2

Temp

orary

Matte

r 2

Tim

O’Brien

The

Things

They

Carried

1

James

Thurber

The

Secret

Life of

Walter

Mitty

1

Stevens 4 WC

Williams 3

Blake 2 Thomas 5 Hardy 1

Afterwar

ds/Bags

of meat/

Weather

s

2023 20

20

Great

Gatsby

5

Rebecc

a

2

Taming

of the

Shrew 6

– final

year

Educati

ng Rita

3

The

Remain

s of the

Day

4

Vertigo 4 Anita

Desai

Games

at

Twilight

1

Ray

Bradbur

y

The

Veldt

1

Memory

4 – final

year

In the

Americ

an

Society

4 – final

year

How to

Become

a

Writer

3

Temp

orary

Matte

r 3

Tim

O’Brien

The

Things

They

Carried

2

James

Thurber

The

Secret

Life of

Walter

Mitty

2

Stevens 5 WC

Williams 4

Blake 3 EE

Cummings 1

Buffalo

Bill’s/Maggi

e and millie

and mollie

and

may/nobod

y loses all

the time

Hardy 2

2024 20

21

Great

Gatsby

6 –

final

year

Rebecc

a

3

Mercha

nt of

Venice1

Educati

ng Rita

4

The

Remain

s of the

Day

5

Vertigo 5

(could

change

this year

instead)

Anita

Desai

Games

at

Twilight

2

Ray

Bradbur

y

The

Veldt

2

Roald

Dahl

Parson’s

Pleasure

1

Kate

Chopin

The

Story of

an Hour

1

How to

Become

a

Writer

4 – final

year

Temp

orary

Matte

r 4 –

final

year

Tim

O’Brien

The

Things

They

Carried

3

James

Thurber

The

Secret

Life of

Walter

Mitty

3

Emily

Dickinson

1

Like Rain it

sounded/T

here came

a

wind/Ther

e’s a

certain

Slant of

light

WC

Williams 4

Blake 4 EE

Cummings 2

Hardy 3

More information

• www.hkeaa.edu.hk