Nghe An teachers commented that the Literature exam is topical and ensures differentiation.

Easy-to-understand essay topics help students get excited when doing the test

Ms. Phan Thi Hong - teacher of the Provincial Ethnic Minority High School commented that the overall exam was consistent with the previous sample exam structure of the Ministry of Education and Training, and in line with the spirit of promoting learners' capacity.General Education Program 2018.

According to Ms. Hong, the material is the first plus point of this year's essay, with moderate length, easy-to-understand language and details, helping students get interested in doing the essay right after reading the topic: Good material will have a big impact on the candidates' psychology, when they feel comfortable and their emotions are stimulated, they will also be calmer and more confident when developing the whole essay.

From reading comprehension to writing and social discussion, there is consistency in the topic of homeland and country. This is a familiar topic, and is certainly reviewed, tested, and given many mock exams by Literature teachers for students during the teaching and exam preparation process. However, the interesting thing about this topic is the connection between the reality, thoughts, and feelings of the young generation of the past and the young generation of today.

In a detailed analysis, Ms. Phan Thi Hong said that in the reading comprehension section consisting of 5 questions, the first 2 questions are in the form of recognizing basic literary knowledge, which students can easily do. From the 3rd question onwards, it begins to be applied, and questions 4 and 5 have a certain level of difficulty and differentiation of students.

Example sentence 4: State the role of the detail “they shared a sleeping mat, a few shirts that smelled of gunpowder, and shared the sky of the Fatherland above their heads” in expressing the content of the text. Average students can do it and write it, but to analyze it thoroughly, they must be good students with literary ability.

Or like question 5, usually in practice tests, the emphasis is on which action, what message is conveyed. But here, the way of posing the question is more novel, which is to point out the similarity in meaning of the two passages of text. This way of posing the question makes students think, compare, and express the meaning from the details, rather than the question not stating the message for students to analyze.

Similarly, the essay analyzing Le’s feelings for Son in the text in the reading comprehension section is not too difficult. This is a familiar requirement when analyzing a text. But the “differentiation” of this question is that in the text there are no details, words, or images that directly express the feelings of the two characters. The candidate must feel for himself, point out the details, and analyze the role and meaning of the details that express the feelings of the characters.

For social argumentation, it is not difficult for students to write, and they can do it in many different ways. The familiar topic of homeland and country, along with understanding from real life, students can apply it to do it in many different ways, according to their own understanding and illustrative evidence.

Reading this question, many students will find it vague and general, because to fully recognize the "question" must be a good student in literature. This is also a high differentiation in the essay questions of the 2018 General Education Program this year.

That requires finding the given material in the article, sticking to the details to draw out the discussion issue.

According to Ms. Hong, with this year’s Literature exam, candidates with good knowledge and literary skills can achieve 8 points. But 8 points or more will be difficult and has met the target requirements of an exam that is both for graduation and university admission.

The topic is not new but still ensures topicality

Comments on the examLiterature, a Literature teacher from a public high school in Yen Thanh district, said that this year's exam was about love for the homeland but still had topicality: We are in a historical period of the country, including the issue of merging provinces and cities. The exam refers to the country's sky and that is the common sky and no matter where we are, we are still in our homeland, our country.

Analyzing the topic further, this teacher also said that the topic took the text of a writer who has contributed a lot to the country's literary career, so it was quite good. The excerpt brought many messages, that is the sky, the Fatherland, the feelings, the camaraderie with connection. The story of a soldier from Hanoi and a soldier from Nghe An is like any other soldier in this country, they are willing to leave their hometown to protect the peace of another land without fear of difficulties and hardships.

Commenting on the exam, this female teacher said that the exam is suitable for graduation and university admission: The most differentiating question is the 4-point Social Essay question. In this question, for average students and below, it will be difficult to write about metaphorical issues such as the sky. To answer the question, students must have a stepping stone to solve and clearly identify the problem. This question is suitable for the spirit of innovation and there will not be many students with high scores.