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HKDSE ERS Past Paper Drilling Guide: Two Papers at 50% Each
TUTORZONE EXAM DRILL GUIDE · HKDSE ERS
ERS has no SBA: Paper 1 Ethics and Paper 2 Religious Traditions are 50% each at 1 hour 45 minutes. The usual failure is not weak theory but describing viewpoints without taking one – marking wants argument, not a report.
How many papers does HKDSE ERS have? Is there an SBA?
Direct answer: Two papers at 50% each, 1 hour 45 minutes each: Paper 1 Ethics and Paper 2 Religious Traditions. Paper 2 requires one module – Buddhism (no open book) or Christianity (open book, one approved Bible version, underlining or highlighting only). There is no SBA; 100% is the public examination.
Assessment at a glance (2027)
| Component | Content | Weighting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 · Ethics | Normative ethics and personal and social issues; all questions compulsory | 50% | 1 h 45 min |
| Paper 2 · Religious Traditions | One of two modules: Buddhism (no open book) or Christianity (open book, one approved Bible version, underlining or highlighting only) | 50% | 1 h 45 min |
| School-based Assessment | No SBA in this subject; 100% of the grade is the public examination | — | — |
Both papers are 50% and 1 hour 45 minutes, so split evenly. If Paper 2 is the Christianity module, drill with the approved Bible version and practise locating relevant passages within five minutes.
What each paper is actually testing
| Paper | Drill focus | How marks are lost |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 · Ethics | Build a theory toolkit per issue: what utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics each contribute | Viewpoints described without a position; theories misnamed or misapplied |
| Paper 2 · Religious Traditions | Keep a doctrine-example-application table per module; if you take Christianity, practise locating passages quickly under open-book conditions | Trying to read everything and running out of time; doctrine never applied |
| School-based Assessment | Put the time you would have spent on an SBA into essay practice in both papers | Wasting time preparing an SBA that does not exist |
What makes a high-scoring ERS essay?
Direct answer: Position, argument, response: (1) state your position up front; (2) support it with two or three reasons, each with a concrete example or theory; (3) answer the counter-argument and say why your position holds. Describing viewpoints without taking one is the commonest loss.
Drill order: by topic, then by year, then the mark scheme
| Step | What you do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. By topic | Work through each topic, starting with the paper that allows least help (no calculator / closed book) | Exposes what is genuinely not understood |
| 2. By year | Whole papers to time, one or two a week | Trains pace, stamina and question selection |
| 3. Mark scheme | Go through the marking scheme question by question and log the scoring steps you missed | Most lost marks are written wrong, not thought wrong |
Buddhism or Christianity for Paper 2?
Direct answer: Whichever module you study; the difference is the format – Buddhism is closed-book, Christianity is open-book with one approved Bible version and underlining only. Open book is not easier: it demands fast location of passages.
A 12-week drilling timetable
| Week | Phase | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-3 | By topic: foundation | Topic by topic, starting with the easiest marks, building habits and recall |
| Weeks 4-6 | By topic: core | 8-10 years of the same topic back to back, errors classified by topic |
| Weeks 7-8 | By topic: advanced and electives | Elective and higher-order topics, now under time pressure |
| Weeks 9-10 | By year: timed papers | One full paper a week, timed, no reference materials |
| Week 11 | Mark scheme work | Question by question against the marking scheme; list the scoring steps you omitted |
| Week 12 | Plug holes and simulate | Only the recurring errors from your log, then one full exam simulation |
Subject-specific weighting for this timetable: Push both papers in parallel (one full essay each a week) and use week 11 to build an issue-position-evidence table.
Use it properly: this is not a checklist to finish. Every week must keep time for redoing errors, or from week 9 you will be repeating the same batch.
Pacing
| Paper | Time | Suggested split |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 · Ethics | 1 小時 45 分鐘 | About 25-30 min per question; 10 min checking |
| Paper 2 · Religious Traditions | 1 小時 45 分鐘 | About 25-30 min per question; 10 min checking |
| School-based Assessment | — | Split evenly between the two papers |
Do I need to memorise many theories?
Direct answer: Accuracy matters, but correct application matters more. Marks reward using a theory to support a position, and applying utilitarianism and deontology to the same case gives different answers – misapplying a theory costs more than forgetting its name.
The drilling mistakes that cost the most marks
| Mistake | What it looks like | What actually happens | Instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Describing without deciding | All sides laid out, no position | Marking wants argument, so the answer stays a report | State a position in the first line and support it throughout |
| Ignoring the counter-argument | Only reasons for your own view | Top-band answers engage the other side | Always keep one paragraph for the strongest objection |
| Depending on the open book | Assuming you can look everything up | Time runs out and the last question is rushed | Practise fast passage location, then argue |
The error log and the mark scheme
Keep the ERS log by issue: your position, three arguments, the strongest objection and your response. In the last fortnight that table is your revision material.
How many years should you drill?
Eight to ten years covers most assessed concepts; drill by issue with two full essays each.
How many years of past papers should you drill?
Direct answer: No official figure, but question types are stable and concepts repeat, so eight to ten years covers most assessed concepts. Drill by issue (human rights, life and death, sex and the family, bioethics, environmental, business, media ethics) with two full essays each.
Frequently asked questions
Is there really no SBA?
Correct. ERS has no school-based assessment; 100% of the grade comes from the two written papers.
What may be brought into the open-book paper?
For the Christianity module, one approved Bible version with underlining or highlighting only; no other materials.
Do I need to quote scripture?
Not extensively. Accurate understanding and application matter more than recitation, and any quotation must be exact.
Official references
| Resource | What to use it for |
|---|---|
| HKEAA 2027 HKDSE ERS Assessment Framework | Confirm the 50% / 50% split and the open-book rule for the Christianity module |
| https://www.tutorzone.com.hk/en-dse-ethics-and-religious-studies-paper-1-mock-2027/ | HKDSE ERS Paper 1 mock paper |
Related: DSE exam practice area · subject guides · HKDSE HMSC drilling guide
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