Hanoi students discover that the 12th grade Literature midterm exam is "inaccurate" and "difficult"

The 12th grade Literature midterm exam in Hanoi is receiving attention from students and teachers because it includes material about the animated film "Inside Out".

Recently, high school students in Hanoi took the second midterm exam with the common exam of the Department of Education and Training. Right after the Literature exam ended, the 12th grade exam received many comments from students.

Accordingly, in question 2 of the Writing section, the test has material from the animated film "Inside Out". There are 6 characters (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust, Anxiety) and suggestive words, combined with their own understanding, the question requires students to write an essay (about 600 words) presenting their thoughts on the message: Listen to understand your own emotions.

Literature exam for grade 12 midterm 2 of Hanoi Department of Education and Training. Photo: CMH

Many students said that this test was difficult to analyze because they had not seen the movie Inside Out so they did not have much to "feel" to write about. Some students who had watched the movie discovered that the material was missing information because there were 9 emotions: Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear, Anger, Anxiety , Jealousy, Boredom and Shame, not 6 as the question gave.

Sharing with Dan Viet newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hao, Literature teacher at Le Quy Don High School - Ha Dong, Hanoi commented on the entire literature exam as follows:

The 12th grade Literature midterm exam in Hanoi consists of two main parts: Reading comprehension (4.0 points) includes 5 questions revolving around an excerpt from Soldier's Footprints by Nguyen Minh Chau. The questions have increasing difficulty, from identification to analysis and practical connection.

The topic uses an excerpt from Soldier's Footprints , a work about the lives of soldiers during the war. The excerpt not only talks about war but also emphasizes the feelings, comradeship, and attachment of people to their homeland.

Question 1 (0.5 points): Identify the formal signs of the narrator. This question is quite basic, testing the ability to identify the narrator in a text. The answer is third person but there is a combination of the narrator's words and the character's inner monologue. This question is easy, helping students get points.

Question 2 (0.5 points): The image of the fire symbolizes the warmth, camaraderie, hope and fighting spirit of the soldiers. This question requires students to be able to perceive the images in the text but is still a knowledge reproduction question, not too difficult.

Question 3 (1.0 point): Analyze the value of a detail in the text. Students need to analyze in detail the sound, the character's dialogue and the contrast between wartime life and childhood memories. This question requires students to be able to analyze more deeply about art and content, with differentiation.

Question 4 (1.0 point): State the effect of dialogue and internal monologue in the work. Dialogue helps to express the character's personality and create a realistic atmosphere. Internal monologue reveals deep thoughts, helping readers better understand the character's thoughts. The question tests artistic analysis skills, in line with the new teaching orientation.

Question 5 (1.0 point): The character Net's quote and the lesson learned. The quote "I will never cry, Du. When I'm done here, I will cry" shows the character's strength and resilience. Students need to learn a lesson about how to face difficulties in life: sometimes you have to be resilient, sometimes you need to express your emotions. This question requires students to relate to themselves, helping to test their critical thinking ability.

General assessment of the Reading Comprehension section: The test selected appropriate texts, with both literary and practical value; Questions were arranged logically, from easy to difficult, ensuring differentiation; There was a combination of testing reading comprehension skills and training thinking.

Writing Section (6.0 points): Includes a short social argumentative essay (2.0 points) and a longer social argumentative essay (4.0 points) with an open-ended topic related to the movie Inside Out.

Question 1 (2.0 points) requires students to write a paragraph of about 200 words about the spiritual beauty of people on the Truong Son route. Students need to clarify the resilience, will and patriotism of soldiers and youth volunteers during wartime. This question is not too difficult but requires students to have comprehensive thinking and concise writing skills.

Question 2 (4.0 points), social essay based on the movie Inside Out. The question requires students to write an essay (about 600 words) about the message: "Listen to understand your own emotions". The movie Inside Out deals with human emotions, especially the harmony between joy and sadness in psychology. Students can analyze the role of understanding personal emotions and how to manage emotions to have a healthy life. This is an open-ended question, helping students combine psychological knowledge and argumentation skills.

According to Mr. Hao, the advantages of the exam are: it has a clear structure, consistent with the orientation of the new Literature program; it combines literary texts and practice, helping students develop comprehensive thinking; it has good differentiation, from basic questions to high-level application questions; the Writing section has interesting topics, helping students not feel bored.

Limitations of the test, the Reading section could add a question about Nguyen Minh Chau's artistic style to help students understand the author more deeply. The Writing section (question 2) may be difficult for some students who have not seen the movie Inside Out, although the message of the question can still be understood without watching the movie.

Overall, this is a good test, innovative and not stereotyped. The test tests all skills from reading comprehension, analysis to essay writing. The difficulty level is moderate but there are still differentiated questions, helping to accurately assess students' abilities.

Source: https://danviet.vn/hoc-sinh-ha-noi-phat-hien-de-thi-van-lop-12-giua-ky-2-chua-chinh-xac-va-gay-kho-20250322121737628.htm