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HKDSE Literature in English Practice Paper: Poetry, Prose Fiction and Drama (12 Questions, 100 Marks, 75 Minutes, with Answers)
HKDSE Literature in English: poetry, prose fiction and drama in one full mock paper
HKDSE Literature in English paper: stanza, rhyme, imagery, sonnet comparison, narrative voice, character change, stage directions, dramatic irony, with marking points.
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Paper details Level: S6 | Subject: Literature in English | Time: 75 minutes | Marks: 100 | Questions: 12 | Answers included
Section A: Poetry Analysis (32 marks)
Answer ALL questions.
| # | Question | Answer and marking notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the following original poem “Morning Ferry”. It has 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Morning Ferry The harbour wakes in silver light, The ferries hum before the bright And busy day begins to climb; The gulls keep perfect, patient time. Across the water, towers stand Like sentries on a borrowed land, And windows catch the rising sun Before the working day has run. A fisherman coils up his line, His patience older than the brine; He casts once more and waits to see What morning keeps beneath the sea. The city counts its tides and days, Its people walk their usual ways, And still the water, cool and grey, Carries the morning far away. (a) Work out the total number of lines and describe the stanza structure. (4 marks) (b) Identify the rhyme scheme of each stanza and state how many rhyme pairs the poem has. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 4 stanzas times 4 lines gives 16 lines in total. (b) Lines 1 and 2 rhyme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme, so every stanza uses an AABB rhyme scheme; that is 2 rhyme pairs per stanza and 8 rhyme pairs across the poem. The paired rhyme gives each stanza a calm, regular close that matches the unhurried rhythm of a harbour at daybreak. Marking: 2 marks for the total, 2 for the structure, 2 for naming the scheme, 2 for the count and effect. |
| 2 | The whole paper is worth 100 marks and lasts 75 minutes. (a) A single question carries 8 marks. What percentage of the paper is that? (4 marks) (b) If time is shared in proportion to marks, how many minutes should it take? (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 8 out of 100 is 8.0 per cent of the paper. (b) 75 minutes divided by 100 marks gives 0.75 minutes per mark, so 8 marks take 6 minutes. A workable split is 1 minute for two topic sentences, 4 minutes for the body and 1 minute to check quotations. |
| 3 | From stanza 1 and stanza 3 of “Morning Ferry”, choose one image from each and explain how the two together build the atmosphere of a harbour at daybreak. 4 marks for each image (8 marks). | Answer: Stanza 1 places a visual image, the silver light on the harbour, beside an aural image, the humming ferries, so the city wakes as sound before shape. Stanza 3 uses the fisherman coiling his line, an image of patience, and the line about brine older than salt adds the weight of time. Together the imagery makes the harbour a slow, ordered place where machines wake first and people take over afterwards. Marking: 4 marks per image, 2 for identifying it and 2 for its effect. |
| 4 | Two sonnets are printed, each 14 lines long and built as 4 + 4 + 4 + 2. (a) How many lines do the two poems contain together, and how are the lines grouped? (4 marks) (b) A comparison is limited to 400 words and must make 3 comparison points. On average, how many words does each point get? (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 14 lines as 4 + 4 + 4 + 2, so the two poems hold 28 lines; the three quatrains hold 12 lines and the closing couplet holds 2. (b) 400 divided by 3 is about 133 words per comparison point. Each point should open with a judgement, quote one piece of evidence and end by explaining the difference in effect. |
Section B: Prose Fiction Analysis (36 marks)
Quotations must be accurate and their effects explained.
| # | Question | Answer and marking notes |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | A prose extract of 320 words contains 3 narrative techniques. (a) Name the 3 techniques and support each with one short quotation showing its effect. (5 marks) (b) The question is worth 7 minutes in total and must cover reading, writing and checking. Give the minutes for each of the three stages. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) Limited point of view, as in the line about the light under the door, keeps reader and character equally blind. Free indirect speech turns the character hesitation into narration, as in the sentence about waiting until tomorrow. Sensory detail replaces adjectives with smell and temperature, as in the smell of cooling bread. (b) Reading 2 minutes, writing 4 minutes and checking 1 minute add up to 7 minutes. Write three short headings first, fill in the quotations, then check only the quotations. |
| 6 | (a) Identify the narrative voice and the main tense of the extract, quoting one short piece of evidence for each. (5 marks) (b) If the extract were rewritten in the first person, give 2 main effects, 2 marks each. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) The extract uses a third-person limited narrative voice in the past tense; evidence includes the sentence placing the character at the end of the platform and the sentence saying the train had already gone. (b) A first-person narrative would raise intimacy, since the reader meets the character judgement directly, and would narrow information, since other motives could only be guessed. 2 marks each. |
| 7 | Trace how the character changes across three chapters: quote one line from each chapter and explain how that chapter moves the change forward. 3 marks per chapter (9 marks). | Answer: Chapter 1 shows avoidance, as in the line about pretending not to hear, which establishes the habit. Chapter 2 brings a failure that forces the character to accept blame, as in the line saying it was my fault, and the change begins. Chapter 3 shows the character acting to repair the damage, as in the promise to stay, completing the movement from avoidance to responsibility. Marking: 1 mark for the quotation and 2 for the comment on character change. |
| 8 | (a) Compare the two endings in no more than 350 words, written in 4 paragraphs. On average, how many words is each paragraph? (5 marks) (b) Explain how this paper weights understanding at 25 per cent, analysis at 50 per cent and expression at 25 per cent in a 9-mark question. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 350 divided by 4 is 87.5, so each paragraph runs to about 88 words. The four paragraphs can cover the first ending, the second ending, the difference between them and the effect of that difference on theme. (b) In a 9-mark question, understanding takes about 2 marks for accurate plot and relationships, analysis about 5 marks for method and effect, and expression about 2 marks for structure, terms and quotation. |
Section C: Drama Analysis (32 marks)
Essay answers need a clear thesis supported by textual evidence.
| # | Question | Answer and marking notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | A drama extract has 42 lines of dialogue: character A speaks 18 lines, character B 14 lines and character C 10 lines, with 7 stage directions in between. (a) Work out the percentage of the dialogue spoken by each character. (4 marks) (b) Explain two functions of the 7 stage directions in this extract. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 18 of 42 lines is about 42.9 per cent, 14 lines is about 33.3 per cent and 10 lines is about 23.8 per cent, which totals 100.0 per cent. Character A dominates the exchange. (b) Short stage directions such as a pause control pace and let tension gather, and directions such as turning away reveal power without any dialogue. 2 marks each. |
| 10 | Find 2 examples of dramatic irony in the extract. For each, state what the audience knows but the character does not, and explain the effect of that gap. 4 marks each (8 marks). | Answer: Example one, a character promises that someone will return while the audience has already seen that person leave, turns the promise into self-comfort. Example two, a character offers a friendly toast while the audience knows a betrayal has been signed, turns politeness into threat. Marking: 2 marks for the information gap and 2 for the effect. |
| 11 | A monologue runs for 3 minutes at a delivery rate of about 3 words per second. (a) Roughly how many words is the monologue? (4 marks) (b) If the director cuts it to 2 minutes, how many words are removed? (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 3 minutes is 180 seconds, and 180 seconds at 3 words per second gives 540 words. (b) 2 minutes is 120 seconds, which gives 360 words, so 180 words are removed. Cuts should start with repeated rhetoric and keep the turns and the pauses. |
| 12 | The three sections are worth 32, 36 and 32 marks out of 100. (a) Give the percentage of the paper carried by each section. (4 marks) (b) Share the 75 minutes in proportion to marks and give the minutes for each section. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) 32 per cent, 36 per cent and 32 per cent, which totals 100 per cent. (b) At 0.75 minutes per mark, the sections take 24, 27 and 24 minutes, which totals 75 minutes. |
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