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How to approach the Written Examination

Introduction

The written examination

You will have two hours (including 10 minutes reading time) to complete the whole of the Written Examination paper. You will be required to complete two sections on the paper:

• Section I: Response to prescribed text Part A and Part B; and
• Section II: Writing in Chinese.

You should consider the allocation of marks and organise your time accordingly.
Suggested approach:

Question	Marks	Time
Section I: Response to prescribed text (Part A)	15	45 min
Section I: Response to prescribed text (Part B)	10	30 min
Section II: Writing in Chinese	15	45 min

Make sure you allow sufficient time to:

• plan your answers before you commence
• revise your work and check the quality of your responses, ensuring your intention is clear and there are no ambiguities.

To ensure that you are fully prepared for the Chinese Extension examination paper, you could ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the prescribed text? i.e. Together.
  
  
• Am I able to discuss questions in English relating to the themes, characterisation, language features, style, context and issues, etc.?
  
  
• Am I able to respond personally and creatively in Chinese to the prescribed text?
  
  
• Am I familiar with the three prescribed issues?
  • Divisions in society
  • The individual’s search for identity
  • Urban versus rural life.
    
    
• Have I developed the skills required to write in the texts (text types) prescribed for both the Chinese Continuers Stage 6 Syllabus and the Chinese Extension Stage 6 Syllabus?
  
  
• Am I able to write a response in approximately 350 characters in Chinese, to present, explain or justify opinions, ideas and points of view in Chinese?

Remember, you may use monolingual and/or bilingual print dictionaries in the written examination.

Note: The Board of Studies NSW has developed a Chinese Standards Package of CD-ROMs, which contains detailed information on the level of achievement for each performance band, including examples of student responses. Reading and hearing actual student responses is an excellent way to see how the marking criteria are put into practice. This will reassure you of the standard expected. The packages are available at http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/hsc/std-packs/ .