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Future plans:
sample reading and responding task answers
Sample task 1.1
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Comprehensively explains Masao’s situation | 2 marks |
| Gives some information about Masao’s situation | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: Because Masao failed the uni entrance exam last year, he has become a “roonin” i.e. he goes to special cram school to try again. He is studying English, Japanese language and geography and trying to gain entrance to Tokyo Uni.
Sample task 1.2
| Marking Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the writer’s viewpoint of Japanese education with detailed, relevant examples | 5 marks |
| Demonstrates an excellent understanding of the writer’s viewpoint of Japanese education with detailed, relevant examples | 4 marks |
| Demonstrates a good understanding of the writer’s viewpoint of Japanese education with relevant examples from the text | 3 marks |
| Demonstrates some understanding of the writer’s viewpoint of Japanese education with examples | 2 marks |
| Gives some information education in Japan | 1 mark |
Sample Answer: The writer appears somewhat critical of the extremities to which Japanese education pushes its students. He/She states that there are a lot of students who, like Masao, have become “masterless samurai” in order to try to enter good universities. The choice of the word “roonin”, which was once a specific term for a warrior whose master had been disgraced has negative connotations. It emphasises that they have not passed the entrance examinations and shows their unenviable situation.
Masao is said to be worried whether he will pass or not, even though he puts on a brave face by saying: “This year I’ll definitely pass!” Masao is a symbol of the youth who are put under incredible stress in order to get into the best universities, which, in turn, will get them into the best companies. The fact that Masao is, in the first paragraph, described as “easygoing”, also emphasises how much stress he must be under if he is “worried” about his future.
The writer does not call Masao’s mother a “kyooiku mama” but the examples that are given emphasise how important it is for Masao to pass this year. She cooks him delicious meals; makes him tea; gets his vitamins ready and even goes to the local shrine with him to pray for his success. These examples demonstrate the extent to which she will go to help him and makes the reader wonder what a “kyooiku mama” would do.
The writer expresses surprise that, although Masao’s written English is excellent, his spoken conversation certainly is not and that his accent is American.
Altogether, the writer appears to have a critical view of Japanese education, as there are no ‘positives’ that come to light but plenty of negatives.
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