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HKAL 2000 USE OF ENGLISH

ADVANCED SUPPLEMENTARY LEVEL

Section A Listening Test

Overview

Most markers felt that this years paper was pitched at an appropriate level

with a mean of 50% and a standard deviation of 18%.

Following on from the 1999 paper, this years listening test included a

variety of item types in order to provide a more thorough assessment of the

candidates listening ability. Authentic materials such as maps, video covers,

PC game reviews and TV programme schedules were used to form items, as

well as the usual note-headings and tables. Multiple-choice items testing

candidates ability to infer the speakers general meaning and attitude were

also included. Some of these item types did not require the listener to write

complete words in response, therefore reducing the chance of mark loss due

to poor spelling or illegible handwriting, which often make it difficult to

assess whether a candidate has heard and understood an item clearly.

Whenever necessary, capital letters are given to help candidates with spelling.

This year also saw the inclusion of a section containing authentic spoken text,

this particular example taken from an RTHK radio interview with a local

expert on drug-abuse. A number of complaints about the sound quality ofthis section (relating specifically to a hissing sound resulting from efforts to

enhance the sharpness of the original recording) and considerable negative

media coverage compelled the HKEA to provide a compensatory mark

adjustment for all candidates on this section. Statistical analysis, however,

showed no particular trends for this section, and it should be noted that the

item types (true/false, multiple-choice inferencing and single word or figure

recall) were pitched at a level which allowed for the natural speed at which

the speaker delivered the information. Significantly, some of the best

candidates scored very highly in this section, proving themselves more

proficient than several figures in the Hong Kong media and political scene

who found them too challenging! Because of the adverse reaction to this

section, the HKEA has decided that authentic spoken texts will not be used in

future listening tests.

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Candidates performance

Weaknesses

(a) Reading the note-headings

It is always useful to pay careful attention to the wording of the

note-prompts as they provide important clues as to what the

candidate is expected to write down. Many candidates unfortunately

seem to ignore these clues. For example, the column-heading

What she did in Question 4 on page 1 hints that a verb is needed

in the answers. Candidates should endeavour to make sure that the

answers they write down form some kind of coherent link with the

note-headings.

Candidates should realize that the moderating committee is not in

the habit of setting questions which may be answered from common

knowledge. When such questions do appear, the answers are likely

to be counter-expectational. Many candidates ticked He agrees for

Question 26, perhaps because this is the most obvious reaction to the

statement Heroin is the most dangerous drug. However, the

speaker makes it quite clear that heroin itself is not as dangerous as

the circumstances in which it is taken, nor indeed as poisonous as

nicotine. Many candidates who answered item 26 wrongly got item

28 (the relative levels of poison in heroin and nicotine) correct.

Item 28 gives some clue as to the correct answer for item 26, thoughfew candidates seemed aware of this.

(b) Providing vital information

Candidates answers often lacked vital information. The answer to

item 4b on page 1 is one example. Many candidates wrote local

branch in answer to What she did, but did not specify what kind

of branch, nor indicated whether the speaker wanted to open one,

close one, or set one up (which was the correct answer). Similarly,

item 5b required a reason why a school survey was needed. The

correct answer should have been to show that society cares, but

many candidates wrote society cares instead. Such a truncated

answer gives no clear indication whether the candidate has

comprehended what was spoken, so no marks can be given.

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(c) Word order

Although the main focus of this paper is on listening proficiency,

not grammatical accuracy, some candidates lost marks on one or

two items because their choice of word order gave their answers a

different meaning from that required. One such item is 16a on page

6. Here, many candidates wrote how children are familiar with

computers as opposed to how familiar children are with

computers a subtle distinction perhaps, but one which

discriminated between the good and the very good candidates.

(d) Identifying the speakers tone

A few multiple-choice questions tested the understanding of thespeakers attitudes, often indirectly indicated by the tone of voice.

Candidates need to be more sensitive to the attitudes of the speakers

and what their reactions are to a given situation. Those candidates

who only listen for specific information and not for gist tend to miss

out on such questions.

(e) Concluding effectively

The last three items in the paper proved to be quite challenging and

perhaps caught candidates in a state of fatigue at the end of the test.

Performance was rather disappointing here.

Strengths

(a) Following instructions

Candidates performed particularly well on page 3 where they were

required to write the questions as they would appear on the

questionnaire. While it was considered to be unfair to penalize

those candidates who picked up the content points but who did not

write direct questions, it was reassuring to see so many candidates

following the instructions and examples given.

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(b) Reading and listening

Performance on items 35, 38 and 41 showed that most candidates

were adept at skimming the texts and matching their overall format

with the aural clues given.

(c) Authentic speech awareness

Those candidates who scored reasonably well on the authentic

section showed a commendable ability to deal with spontaneous

English spoken at natural speed.

Conclusion

In spite of the problems encountered with the use of authentic material in this

years test, it is strongly recommended that candidates continue to listen

regularly to authentic materials such as TV and radio broadcasts,

documentaries and movies in English. They will also find the practice of

taking notes from spoken texts produced at normal speed helpful to their

future studies. Listening to authentic recordings will enlarge candidates

knowledge base, extend their vocabulary repertoire and aid in the recognition

of different accents. These outcomes will prove to be valuable assets in all

sorts of study, work and social situations.

Section B Writing

General comments

Section B was comprised of questions requiring discursive and argumentative

writing, with students writing on topics both social and educational. A total

of 128 markers assessed some 35,000 papers. An overwhelming majority of

markers judged all four questions to be suitable for candidates. All in all, the

response of markers to the paper as a whole was extremely positive. The

popularity of questions varied a great deal, as Table 1 below illustrates.

Comments on candidates performance

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Table 1The popularity of essay questions and general comments

Question Popularity General Comments

(1) Using English

outside the

classroom

17% Some candidates misunderstood the

question and wrote about study

overseas, government measures to

improve English, etc.

Question Popularity General Comments

(2) The negative

aspects of mobile

phones

15% This question produced a wide range

of answers and perhaps, of the four

questions, worked best as a test of

rhetorical skills.

(3) A gap year

before beginning

university

54% Some weak argumentation, as many

candidates chose to focus on

financial considerations only.

(4) Suggesting

improvements in

the school

14% Some candidates ignored the

directive to exclude IT from the

discussion.

Problems with individual questions

Question 1

Some candidates misinterpreted the question, as noted above.

Markers were disappointed with the unimaginative suggestions of mostcandidates.

Question 2

Many candidates talked only about mobile phones in the school context.

Otherwise there were few problems with this question.

Question 3

Many candidates mainly discussed the advantages of earning money

during their gap year.

Some candidates failed to cover all parts of the question.

Question 4 The greatest problem here was that, in spite of clear directions to the

contrary, some candidates attempted to write answers related to

computers and information technology (IT).

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Some candidates had problems with the letter format required by thequestion.

Language errors

As has been shown by previous years results, the essays of the weaker

candidates contained a large number of language errors, including spelling,

vocabulary, tense/aspect, use of passives, the use of connectives and articles,

word order, question forms, etc. Generally, these errors followed the pattern

of learners errors reported on in the 1996, 1997 and 1999 Chief Examiners

report, which should be consulted for a detailed breakdown of error types.

Memorisation

Memorised answers were not generally a problem this year, although in a

small number of cases candidates seemed to have attempted to insert pre-

learnt chunks of text into their essays. Typically, such insertions were off-

target, and essays including such material were marked down because of the

irrelevance of much of the essay. Candidates should be reminded that the use

of such memorised chunks is not a useful strategy.

Conclusion

In the judgement of the Chief Examiner, Assistant Examiners, and the

markers, the 2000 Section B (Writing) examination was once more

successful in providing a test of argumentative and discursive writing. Theadministration of this year s examination once again went very smoothly.

Section C Reading and Language Systems

General comments

The mean percentage correct for the entire 2000 Section C was 49 compared

to 46 in 1999.

In general, the candidates performed quite satisfactorily on the multiple-

choice sections of the paper (i.e. reading comprehension, multiple-choice

cloze and theme) with a mean percentage correct of 55. The mean

percentage correct for the non-multiple-choice sections of the paper was 43.

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All sections of the paper discriminated very well between the better andweaker candidates.

Part 1 Reading Comprehension, Questions 117

The reading comprehension passage was about a topic with which most

candidates should have been very familiar: the need for Hong Kong to

address environmental issues in order to maintain and improve upon its

standing as a major business centre and a comfortable place to live in. The

article referred to a speech delivered by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa to a

meeting of Hong Kong bankers in which he called for business cooperation

to improve the quality of life for all residents and to help the SAR to become

a world-class city. This has become a common rallying cry of Hong Kong

officials over the past few years.

Interestingly, Question 17 asked candidates to choose a good alternative

title for the article. In fact, three of the options, A. The politics of Hong

Kong, C. A more accountable Government, and D. Cleaning up the

environment, each contained one element of the arguments made in the

article. However, the article was not about any one of those three elements

alone, but was really about the interaction of all three elements. Therefore,

the best alternative title would be option B. A vision of greatness (44%

correct),a title which is quite general and does not focus on only one aspect

of the article as do the other three options. Candidates should realise when

considering questions about the overall message of a reading passage that the

message should be inclusive of all themes and not simply partially correct.

The most difficult question in Part 1 was Question 5 (20% correct, key A).

This question asked the candidates to infer what the reaction of the bankers

was to Mr Tungs speech. For an inferencing question, the answer will not

be explicitly stated in the passage. The reader must read the relevant portion

of the text and then decide what is implied. This is, in fact, an important

skill to develop as it is often necessary to be able to understand attitudes

implied in written texts. For Question 5, the fact that Mr Tungs talk was

an unusual speech to a group of hard-nosed businessmen meant that the

businessmen would not have been expecting a speech with such a theme.

Therefore, it could be inferred that the bankers were somewhat surprised by

the speechs message. (option C). Candidates could have eliminated

options B and D because in the text it states that the audience greeted the

speech ...... without marked enthusiasm. Option C (incorrectly chosen by

42% of the candidates), thought the speech, was too quiet is actually quite

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non-sensical, as it simply indicates that the bankers thought the soundvolume was too low.

Candidates generally performed well on the vocabulary-interpretation type of

questions and on other questions from specific, localized parts of the text.

Part 2 Language Systems

Multiplechoice Cloze, Questions 1835

The text used for the multiple-choice cloze section was a newspaper report of

a scientific study on the psychological effects of Internet use. The mean

percentage correct for the section was 54.

The item which proved most difficult was Question 31 (26% correct, key A)which even the stronger candidates found hard. Perhaps candidates thought

that the word average is always either a noun (as in, The average for the

test was 51%.) or an adjective (The average student does three hours of

homework a day.). In fact, the word average is commonly used as a verb.

(She averages eight hours of sleep per night.)

Items 1 (29% correct, key D) and 30 (40% correct, key C) were both

grammatical items. Item 1 is a fairly common construction: The study, the

first to examine the emotional impact of peoples Internet use ...... This is

similar to He was the first to leave the classroom. Item 30 involves the use

of the past perfect tense, which learners of English often find difficult to use

correctly. Basically, the past perfect tense is used when talking about a pasttime which is usually established in the textual context by use of the past

tense (e.g., one participant ...... said, she did not feel ......, since the

study began.. If the writer, then, wishes to clearly indicate something which

took place at a point in time prior to that past time already established, the

past perfect tense can be used.

Part 2 Theme exercise, Questions 3647

The theme exercise this year was an editorial about the problems of the sale

of illegal CDs, VCDs and CD-ROMs in Hong Kong and the need for more

stringent enforcement of laws banning pirated products. The candidates did

well on this section of the paper with a mean percentage correct of 55.

Item 37 (49% correct, key C) was one of the more difficult items, with 42%

of the candidates choosing, incorrectly, option B, at prices comparable to

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cheap copies. In fact, option B makes no sense, as the text would then read:selling fake products at prices comparable to cheap copies, but fake

products and cheap copies are the same things.

Item 45 proved the most difficult in the section with only 21% of the

candidates correctly choosing option A. In fact, 51% of the candidates chose

option C, but that option did not actually make sense as US-HK trade

relations would not account for a massive sales loss due to piracy.

Likewise, for item 47 (47% correct, key A), 29% of the candidates wrongly

chose option D. It would not make sense for a delegation to Hong Kong to

complain to authorities with resulting raids on pirate shops if the purpose of

that delegations visit to Hong Kong was to dispute the amount of copying

here.

Part 2 Summary Cloze, Questions 4868

The summary cloze passage was an interesting news story about an Indian

scientist who had visited Hong Kong to promote a process by which he

claimed he could make fuel using nothing more than water, some common

chemicals and a mystery plant. The mean percentage correct for the

section was 41%. Of the six more difficult items, two (Questions 52, and 67)

involved simply copying a word from Version 1, four (Questions 48, 56, 62,

and 65) involved changing the form of the word in Version 1 so that it would

fit grammatically in Version 2, and one (Question 66) required the

candidates to think of a wholly new word.

Version 1 states that Mr Pillai toiled tirelessly ...... to perfect his formula.

Version 2 states that he spent many years looking for the leaf and working

on the (52) formula in order to be able to produce the fuel. The candidate

needed to realise that work on and perfect carry the same meaning here,

but only 20% managed to provide the correct answer.

Only 9% of the candidates managed to write the correct answer, patent, for

Question 67, even though Version 1 clearly states that Mr Pillai says he has

applied for a patent for his fuel and, until he receives it, refuses to reveal the

plant used. It seems likely that few candidates were familiar with the word

patent which is a legal right to make or sell a product. If the inventor of

a new product does not have a patent on that product, he or she would want

to guard against the possible theft of his or her idea.

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For Question 62, only 16% gave an acceptable answer (either scooters ormotorcycles). Candidates had to understand first that a plural noun was

required and that cars or motorcars would not be acceptable (as you

cannot ride them, although, of course you can ride in them) and that

motorists was not acceptable as motorists are people, not vehicles.

The performance on Question 48 (22% correct) was disappointing as it only

required candidates to change Tamil Nadu in the south of India (Version 1)

to the (48) South / south / southern / southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu

(Version 2). Changing the name of countries to their adjectival form (e.g.

France-French, Mexico-Mexican, India-Indian) is something which is

usually taught early on in the study of English.

For Question 56 (16% correct) candidates had to understand that the fuelinitially produced using Mr Pillais process burns with much smoke and

many fumes, but that the purity improves dramatically (Version 1) after a

few days. The acceptable answers to Question 56 were pure / combustible /

flammable / inflammable.

For Question 65 (18% correct), candidates read in Version 1 that Charles

Cheung was the managing director of Amalgamated CNG Vehicles, the

agency which is backing Mr Pillai in Hong Kong. In Version 2, then, they

needed to identify Mr Pillais Hong Kong (65) agent, Charles Cheung.

Other acceptable answers were backer or associate.

Finally, for Question 66, only 4% of the candidates were able to provide theacceptable answer stolen. This word did not appear in Version 1, but

instead candidates had to infer that if Mr Pillai had to guard his

demonstration by surrounding himself with families and friends, it was

because, in the absence of a patent, he wanted to keep his idea from being

stolen. The low percentage correct was probably related to the candidates not

knowing the word patent as discussed above. A few candidates did attempt

the item by writing unacceptable words like swiped (too informal a word

for a serious article) or lost , disclosed, misused (similar to, but not the

same in meaning as stolen).

Part 2 Matching Exercise, Questions 6980

The Matching exercise this year consisted of 12 pairs of statements, each pair

being about a different, interesting or unique aspect of Hong Kong life.

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Candidates did quite well on the exercise with a mean percentage correct of52.

Three of the pairs (Question 72 matched with K, 74 with B, and 76 with E)

had to do with outdoor advertising signs, lights or the night-time skyline of

Hong Kong and two of these, Question 74 (35% correct) and 76 (35% correct)

proved particularly difficult for candidates. Question 72 (73% correct) did

not seem to give candidates much trouble, probably because in the left-hand

sentence the celebratory lights at Christmas and Lunar New Year clearly

linked with the references in the right-hand sentence, K. spectacular

displays ...... for last years festive seasons. In the case of Question 74,

candidates should have remarked that the reference to the Colourful signs

and brilliants features in the left-hand sentence linked lexically with the

reference in the right-hand sentence to the worlds biggest neon one.Likewise, the left-hand sentence for Question 76 refers to a glimpse ...... of

the citys skyline, while the right-hand sentence, E, indicates that the view

is great when there is no polluted haze and you are able to see it..The

left-hand reference for Question 77 (37% correct) refers to some of the

weirdest forms of animal and plant life, including sea-horses and frog

ovaries. Anyone familiar with Hong Kongs traditional Chinese medicine

shops should have recognised that the sentence was referring to such

establishments and been able to choose the correct match, C, which mentions

Hong Kongs dried food shops.

In the case of Question 77 (37% correct), the left-hand sentence talks about

sales and the right-hand matching sentence, A, indicates that inrecessionary days (i.e. times when the economy is in bad shape and many

shops reduce their prices on certain goods), they (a plural pronoun

referring to sales) go on all year.

Part 2 Proofreading Exercise, Questions 8198

The proofreading exercise this year was a letter to the editor about the

deteriorating environmental conditions at Chek Keng bay in Sai Kung. The

candidates performance on this exercise was disappointing, with a mean

percentage correct of only 40.

The most difficult item, and the most disappointing, was Question 96 (6%

correct). Candidates were expected to change the word destructed to the

correct word destroyed. Although it may look like a real English word,

in fact destruct is not and it seems reasonable to expect that candidates at

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the Use of English level should have in their working vocabulary the correctverb destroy.

For Questions 93 (13% correct) and 94 (22% correct), candidates should

have changed die to dying and inserted the word be after will so that

the sentence would correctly read: Chek Kong is dying, and, unless action is

taken to clear up the mess, it will be beyond saving. Some candidates

wrongly changed the word die to dead, but the sentence clearly indicates

that, although the bay is in a bad state environmentally, it is not dead yet,

only on the verge of death. Likewise, changing will to is is not correct,

because, again, though the endangered area is threatened, the sentence leaves

some hope if prompt action is taken. In making their corrections in the

proofreading exercise, candidates must pay close attention not only to the

grammar, but also to the meaning of the text.

For Question 81 (20% correct), candidates were required to delete the word

was. In fact, the use of the modal construction used to be to indicate a

previous state or condition that no longer exists is very common and should

be familiar to Use of English candidates. Similarly, for Question 88 (25%

correct), it would seem reasonable to expect candidates to know that the

multitude of should be followed by the plural form of a countable noun, so

that problem should be changed to problems.

Conclusions and recommendations

1. As has been stated in the annual reports over and over again, the bestway to prepare for Section C is through wide exposure to English,

particularly through extensive reading of books, magazines and

newspapers. By the time candidates reach Use of English-level

proficiency, they should be at a stage of language learning where they

internalise vocabulary and correct grammatical constructions through

frequent exposure to English and where their ability to use English

correctly, read it with comprehension and recognise mistakes becomes

automatic. At this point in their learning, they should be beyond

simply trying to memorise vocabulary items or grammatical rules.

2. When practising for the Section C paper, candidates should remember

that for the exercises which involve grammatical and vocabulary

elements (especially the multiple-choice cloze, summary cloze,

matching, and proofreading exercises), they must always pay careful

attention not only to possibly correct and incorrect use of grammar and

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vocabulary, but also to the meaning of the text and the restrictions thatthe meaning imposes.

3. When doing multiple-choice types of questions, candidates should

employ a combination of strategies for selecting the best answer. They

should probably first read the stem of the question and then try to form

the answer in their own words. Then, they should read through the

options to find the one which best fits the answer that they predicted in

their own words. And, finally, they should read through the

incorrect options to be sure that they can, in fact, be eliminated.

Every candidate has his or her own strategies for multiple-choice

questions, such as eliminating obviously wrong options first before

trying to choose the correct one. No one strategy is necessarily the

best. However, using a combination of strategies is probably the bestadvice for most candidates.

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Section D Oral English

General comments

In this examination candidates are tested on their ability to give a brief

presentation and to participate in a group discussion. Most candidates

seemed familiar with the format and procedures of the examination. On the

whole, candidates were able to make a coherent presentation, initiate a

conversation, speak audibly and ask appropriate and relevant questions,

reflecting candidates increasing confidence in their oral abilities. A number

of candidates gave articulate presentations in which pronunciation and

intonation were totally accurate, and there were group discussions in which

all discussants engaged in a lively, informed and intelligent conversation.

Part 1 Individual Presentation

(a) Time

Candidates are given 10 minutes to read the passage, makes notes

and prepare for the oral presentation. Again this year, a few

candidates copied parts of the passage onto their notecards instead of

writing notes in their own words. Candidates should be aware that a

presentation which lifts heavily from the original text will not receive

high marks.

(b) Passages

Passages are approximately 300 words long. This length is designed

to provide candidates with enough material for their presentations

while deterring them from extensive copying or attempts at

memorization. The moderation committees strive to ensure that the

passages contain enough comprehensible material for even the less

able candidates, although some topics may not be entirely familiar to

candidates. It must be kept in mind that by the completion of the

1999 exam over 400 passages had been used over the six years of the

exam. Most of the obvious topics, especially those pertaining to

Hong Kong, have been covered and so cannot be reused.

(c) Problems

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Almost all examiners maintained that poor pronunciation was thecandidates greatest problem. Poor pronunciation can devalue an

otherwise grammatically accurate and concise presentation. It is

understandable that candidates may experience mother-tongue

interference with some items, for example distinguishing between

let and net , and slow and snow. Less acceptable however,

was the consistent mispronunciation of more common words such as

brain, for example, which many candidates pronounced as brine.

A number of examiners remarked on this. Confusion of numbers, 14

vs. 40, 15 vs. 50 etc prevails. Candidates should pay more attention

to stress and to the articulation of word endings in order to overcome

this difficulty. Candidates should be aware that they are usually not

compelled to pronounce difficult proper nouns. For example, in

place of Stephen Hawking a candidate might say a Britishscientist, or instead of Kuala Lumpur a candidate could say a city

in Malaysia. Such substitutions are perfectly acceptable.

This year, there seemed to be a reduction in the number of stock

phrase openings (My passage is about ......) and rhetorical

questions (Have you ever been to India?) However, it is still

apparent that many candidates have rehearsed the same presentation

techniques, leading to a stilted and rather unnatural performance. In

1999 there arose the curious phenomenon in several centres of

candidates opening their presentations with five or ten seconds of

song. There were no reports of musical introductions this year.

Candidates are reminded that their presentations should be at least 90

seconds long.

Part 2 Group Discussion

(a) Time

Beginning in 2001, candidates will be given two minutes after the

individual presentations to prepare for the group discussion (which

will be reduced to 10 minutes). Examiners continue to observe that

many candidates devote all their preparation time to honing their

presentations and very little to thinking about the group discussion.

It is hoped that the new timings will afford candidates a chance to

unwind after the individual presentations and also to think of more

lively and stimulating things to say in the discussion.

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(b) Discussion topics

The theme for Part 2 is related to the general topic of the passages in

Part 1. Candidates can use the data given in their own passages as

well as those of the other candidates to help them in their discussion.

Some candidates expressed concern after the exam that several of the

topics were too scientific. It should be noted that the Guidelines to

Candidates states that texts are chosen for their interest, current

importance, or relevance to candidates. A topic such as genetic

engineering, for example, has received an enormous amount of media

coverage in recent years, so should be something at least reasonably

familiar to all candidates.

(c) Problems

Many candidates could have benefited from a greater awareness of

the world outside Hong Kong. As stated earlier in this report, it is

neither possible nor desirable for exam texts to be entirely confined to

Hong Kong-related topics, so candidates should have at least some

grasp of significant events going on in the world. This is surely not

an unreasonable demand to make of Form 7 candidates desirous of

pursuing a tertiary education.

As usual, examiners complained about candidates not really listeningto other candidates remarks. Also a recurring problem was

inappropriate use of memorised stock phrases for example,

According to a research.

General recommendations

Candidates should make an effort to be more relaxed and informal, as far as

the stressful atmosphere of an examination will permit. Pronunciation needs

continued attention.

Candidates should expose themselves to English outside the classroom as

much as possible. Reading English newspapers and magazines (including

those published outside of Hong Kong) and watching English television

programmes and videos are all recommended. The Internet can also provide

a great deal of useful exposure to English. Candidates should get into the

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habit of talking in English to their classmates (in pairs or in groups) aboutcurrent affairs and issues.

Section E Practical Skills for Work & Study

The topic for this years paper was preparation for the world of work. The

Careers Centre of a school, Hong Kong College, was arranging a Careers

Centre Open Day

The candidates had to assume the role of a student at the college and

complete a number of tasks. They were asked to write an article about

Selection procedures and questions and complete the Tips for coping with

interviews which would accompany the article. They then had to completethe Programme of Events for visitors to the Open Day. The last task was to

match some Job Description Cards with some Client Information cards to see

if the clients were suitable for the jobs they had selected.

Task 1

The first part of Task 1 involved using information from a memo and

excerpts from books and magazines to write an article for the Careers Centre

Open Day Newsletter. The title of the article was Selection procedures and

questions.

It was important for candidates to read the instructions carefully andunderstand the parameters of the question. The memo in the Data File

clearly explained the task by saying the article will be specifically about

selection procedures and questions asked. Additionally, candidates were

given explicit information about what areas needed to be included.

As well as planning what to include, candidates needed to consider why they

were writing the article and who their audience would be. They were told

that it was one of a series of articles aimed at friends and schoolmates and

needed to be well-organised and informative. The reference to

organisation indicated that candidates should consider how to group the

information within the report. Although they were not given a specific

layout, they needed to think about a suitable opening and closing for the

report and how they could gather ideas together and link sections so that they

produced a coherent and cohesive piece of writing that would be easily

understood by their readers.

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X ...... take you out for lung(lunch)* X ...... talk to one candidate in death(depth)

X roly play / role poly(role play)

X talk to their stuff(staff)

Candidates have to remember that the instructions for the paper emphasise

that all comments made have to be understood by readers who do not have

copies of the Data File to refer to. With such poor spelling to cope with,

some readers would surely be confused by such references.

* An X indicates a wrong answer or an answer with a grammatical mistake.

The second part of Task 1, completing the Tips for coping with Interviews,

proved difficult for candidates, as not only did they have to select the correct

information but also had to form a complete grammatical sentence. Manyfailed to match the rest of the sentence with the structure they had been given

or to include information which made sense. For example, candidates wrote:

X You should leave everything until the last minute.

X Always disagree in a rude and unreasonable way.

Clearly, not sensible tips!

Others lost marks by failing to see the need for parallel structures in the

section on Posture, advising applicants:

X Whatever you do, dont slouch and sit up straight. (This is givingconflicting advice as the parallel structure would mean dont sit up

straight.)

Had they used but the meaning of the sentence would have been clear and

precise:

Whatever you do, dont slouch but sit up straight.

Candidates must also consider the need for generalisation and not just pick

one reference from a list and believe this conveys the message. For example,

in the reference to clothing, candidates needed to show that there was a need

to think about clothing in general. It was not sufficient to advise people to

X polish their shoesor check their buttons.

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This answer also required candidates to mention the need for advancepreparation or the need to check before the interview.

The section on expressing disagreement needed careful consideration. The

message in the text was that it was acceptable to disagree but that

disagreement should be done politely. It was incorrect to advise applicants to

always disagree, as many candidates did.

X Always disagree but be polite and reasonable.

X Always disagree by being polite and reasonable.

X Always disagree and be polite and reasonable.

Task 2

In Task 2 candidates had to complete the Programme of Events for visitors

to the Careers Open Day. There were various sections for completion and

candidates had to select information from a variety of sources (a letter,

extracts from minutes, memos and outlines of oral presentations), in order to

complete the Programme. Most candidates were able to locate the relevant

information but lost marks because they did not follow the instructions or

copy correctly.

In the first part of the Programme, candidates were asked to provide a

complete grammatical sentence which continued the structure, Students

can ....... An example was provided but many repeated the opening words

or wrote something that did not relate to the given opening. They needed tohave a verb form to follow can so such answers as X introductions to

companies were clearly not in an acceptable form. Other candidates made

an attempt to complete the sentence but seemed to lack knowledge of very

basic structures, writing for example X Students can be able to .......

Candidates also failed to realise that simply lifting information from the Data

File without considering its sense is not appropriate. Thus, those candidates

who wroteX find about these libraries were lacking any reference to what

these referred to, whereas in the text it was clear. Similarly, saying that

students couldX sign up for the programme was not clear as the reader did

not know to which programme the writer was referring. Use of references

and the need to check these is an area that requires more thought. Too many

candidates simply use a pronoun, for example, without considering what it

refers to, or lift information without bothering to see the need for the noun to

be mentioned. Such writing leaves the reader at a loss and fails to

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communicate the desired message. It is not the readers job to struggle tointerpret meaning; it is the writers task to write clearly and coherently,

whatever the situation.

In the section on Videos and Lectures/Workshops many candidates were

careless in copying out the selected information. For example, the talk on

Tertiary Education in Hong Kong became X Tertiary Education and

Your First Job became, X First Jobs. It is clearly not acceptable to

randomly change titles that have been given. Although it is important for

candidates to be able to summarise the main details of relevant information

and express points in their own words, it is also vital to be able to recognise

when information cannot be changed, such as in the Programme of Events.

An example of mindless copying was shown by those candidates who wrote,Tertiary Education in Hong Kong? as the title for one of the speeches. The

question mark was in the Data File as there was a query from the writer. It

was not part of the title.

Other candidates lost marks due to incorrect spelling even when the

information was there in the Data File and only required accurate copying.

Others failed to include the plural s and incorrectly wrote X Job Skill,

Sport Field, Career Centre, and Interviewing Skill, and thus also lost

marks.

Task 3

Candidates, in general, were able to locate the correct information but had

difficulty in expressing it in a correct and comprehensible way. Many

markers expressed concern over the inability of candidates to make their

points clearly.

Once again many candidates did not read the instructions carefully enough

and therefore failed to meet the requirements of the question. Some

candidates ticked Yes to show the client was suitable for the job but then

continued to explain why, which was not required. Others explained why the

job was not suitable for the client, whereas the rubric had clearly asked them

to explain why the client was not suitable for the job. Candidates have to

realise they are not given credit for merely writing some vaguely related

information; it has to be relevant to the question and presented in the

required way.

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As mentioned above, markers were concerned over candidates inability toextract relevant information and to express it succinctly and clearly. One

example of this was Question 8184. The job required a good command of

German but German was not mentioned in the language section of the

clients card. This could have been clearly conveyed by saying The client

does not speak German but answers gave such convoluted information asX

Not able to say German , X She cannot be good command of German.

Similarly in the last question the candidate needed to show that the client

was not a polytechnic graduate but many failed to put over the point clearly,

saying such things as, X She has not Polytechnic.

It is clearly disappointing that at the Use of English level, candidates cannot

correctly use basic structures to convey simple information correctly.

Candidates could work on this very fundamental and important skill bysummarising, in their own words, points of information they have heard or

read. This should help them to have confidence in expressing ideas

independently so that they do not feel the need to simply copy or slightly

change words and structures that they find in a text.

General comments

General advice given by markers was the need for candidates to allocate time

more carefully as many seemed to have insufficient time to complete all

sections and therefore lost marks. They also felt that candidates need to be

sure that they have time for proofreading so that errors can be noted.

Candidates should also make sure that they spot where they have erased theirpoint but failed to give the correction. Each year candidates lose marks by

leaving empty spaces in their writing that they obviously intended to return

to and complete.

It was generally felt that candidates needed to have more exposure to a

number of genres and to be aware of their basic structures so they would have

confidence in producing specific writing types themselves.

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Markers expressed disappointment in the inability of candidates to:

select information and organise their points logically;

express their ideas clearly and coherently;

show an awareness of even the most basic of structures;

demonstrate the confidence to express ideas in their own words;

understand their audience and the reason for writing; and

avoid wholesale and mindless copying.

It is clear that candidates need to work on eradicating these basic problems.

When a writing task is being performed, whether in an examination or in

real-life, there is a communication process in action. There is a writer with a

message to convey and an audience to receive the message. Unless the writer

can select information and convey it clearly and succinctly, no message will

be successfully transferred and communication will be hindered.