DSE 2023: English paper with excerpt from Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ most challenging in years, students and teachers say

DSE 2023: Study different text types for English listening exam

“Everyone saw ‘Michelle Obama’ and immediately thought it was about Obama herself. But it was more than that. It was about her personal growth, including how she learned to play the piano, the difficulties she faced with her piano teacher, her great-aunt, and her mother’s parenting style,” Lee said.

She added that the text contained many uncommon adjectives, slang, and a significant amount of informal language, citing words such as “chastened” and “ornery”.

Compared to previous years, the reading paper included more inference and critical thinking questions, testing beyond basic comprehension to get students to read between the lines and form their own opinions.

Tang Ngai-hong, a 17-year-old Po Leung Kuk Ma Kam Ming College student, agreed with Lee’s assessment.

“Many long questions in Part B required a lot of time to think. I think it was important to allocate your time wisely when it came to the reading paper,” he said, noting that he skipped the most difficult questions at the beginning.

The student chose to answer Question 3 in the writing section, which required students to write about the Anime Expo, Hong Kong’s largest anime, manga and video game exhibition, as a school reporter.

“I think that question was a good one that allowed me to write more. And Part A was split into three parts, which was relatively easy,” he said.

DSE 2023: Read the news and consider comparisons for geography exam

Lee said she believed the exam authority is attempting to “promote reading among candidates with varying levels of English proficiency”.

“Those who are used to learning formal English and rarely read may not fully understand the article,” she added. “If I were a student who didn’t aim for Level 5 and above, I would definitely choose B1.”

In Question 61, candidates were asked to infer the personalities of Michelle Obama and her great-aunt based on the phrase “hot and unyielding” in the passage.

According to Alan Chan from King’s Glory Education, the phrase suggested the duo’s hot-headed temperament and their uncompromising nature.

DSE 2023: Top tutor suggests preparing for economics exam by focusing on hot topics

Kenneth Lau, an English tutor from Beacon College, agreed that this year’s Paper 1 was the most difficult in recent years. He pointed out that Part B2 was similar to the 2019 DSE, featuring Clive James, and the 2020 DSE, which was about Graham Norton.

“There were many long questions. Time management was key to success in this year’s paper,” said the tutor, adding that many questions asked candidates to explain their reasoning and show they understood the flow and tone of the passage.

He noted that Question 68 involved matching summary headings, which could be “very time-consuming” and was undoubtedly “one of the most challenging questions this year”.

“The HKEAA paraphrased words in the questions by using synonyms. As a result, students may have found it difficult and confusing to do the matching,” he said.

Another challenging question was Question 65, Lau said. The question was a summary cloze task in which candidates could not copy word for word to fill in the blanks.

“Questions 53 and 67 required candidates to find examples from the passage. This task required higher-level logical thinking, as students had to distinguish between main arguments and evidence,” he said.

DSE 2023: Read up on artificial intelligence, China’s latest five-year plan for liberal studies exam

DSE candidate Kathleen Wong from Good Hope School commented that the reading paper was “slightly more challenging” than previous years.

“Usually, my school exams are way harder than the DSE, but this year’s DSE felt like my usual internal exams,” the 17-year-old student said, adding that some of her classmates could not finish the paper.

“In my experience doing past papers, the questions are very straightforward, and they basically give you the line you can copy the answer from; not much thinking is involved. But this year you actually had to read the passage and understand it before answering the questions,” she said.

DSE 2023: Tips for tackling the Maths exam, straight from a top Hong Kong tutor

Paper 2, Part A asked candidates to write an application form for a company to set up a pop-up shop that sells eco-friendly products.

An English teacher from a local elite secondary school in Yau Ma Tei noted that some candidates might have been confused about the meaning of “pop-up stores” and a company that sells such products.

“They may not have been familiar with the purpose, features and functions of these stores,” said the teacher surnamed Pang, explaining that students may not have shopped in them before.

He added that students from band one schools who use English to study Liberal Studies would have a wide range of vocabulary to describe eco-friendly products and sustainability, as part of the syllabus covers sustainable development.

“They should be more confident and familiar with eco-friendly products and sustainability. So it would be a disadvantage for students from lower band schools,” he said.

He added that the tone of the passage should be formal and sincere, as the company would like to attract customers and get permission to set up a pop-up store in a shopping mall.

3 tips from HKDSE top scorers to help you revise smarter and get better grades

“From the perspective of the mall, they want more shoppers, so the store or its products should be innovative, sustainable and lucrative,” Pang said.

He believed the most popular long question would be Question 3, but cautioned that students might not be familiar with the format of school magazines.

“Hopefully, students can actively partake in school publications if they want to write a creative, informative and dynamic article.”