DSE Chinese | Paragraph function lesson plan (for tutors)

DSE Chinese | Paragraph function lesson plan (for tutors) | Two jobs in a four-mark answer

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Chinese

Ask for the function of a paragraph and students write “links the previous and the next” and stop. That is one of 4 marks. This lesson splits the answer into position, content and effect, so every claim points at a line in the text.

Objectives — Students can: (1) answer any 4-mark function question in three steps (position, content, effect), writing one point per 2 marks; (2) separate a true transition, which does two jobs, from a paragraph that only sums up; (3) name the three usual jobs of an opening and give an example of each; (4) mark the transitional paragraphs in a 6-paragraph text and say where the structure breaks if one is cut.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Paragraph gist	What is the first thing to state about a paragraph?	Who does what, or what it is about
Main idea	Where is the main idea usually found?	Title, first and last paragraphs, repeated words
Narrative elements	Name the elements of a narrative.	Time, place, character, event

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Opener	Cover the first paragraph and ask what is missing	They find the setting is gone
8-20 min	Three steps	Position, content, effect, kept on the board all lesson	One sentence each
20-32 min	Openings	Rewrite the same opening three ways and compare	Hook, setting, suspense
32-44 min	Transitions	Find paragraphs starting with contrast markers, draw arrows up and down	One sentence for each direction
44-54 min	Six-paragraph drill	10 minutes per paragraph, three steps each	One effect per paragraph
54-60 min	Exit check	Three oral questions	Two or more wrong: redo act two

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Position first, function second: the same sentence works differently at the top and at the end

Place “he lowered his head and said nothing” at the start, then at the end. At the start it creates suspense; at the end it closes the emotion and answers the main idea. So the first sentence of every answer names the position. That sentence alone earns a mark. Middle paragraphs usually do one of four jobs: transition, example, turn, or deepen, so students should classify before they explain.

Keep “position, content, effect” on the board all lesson

Scene 2: A transition does two jobs, so it needs two sentences

Writing only “links the previous and the next” earns one mark because nothing is specified. The full answer names what is carried forward and what is introduced: “It sums up the description of X and leads into Y.” If a paragraph only sums up, say so; calling it a transition shows the text was not read. In practice, ask students to highlight the carrying sentence and the opening sentence; if they cannot find both, the paragraph is not a transition.

Same sentence pinned at the opening and at the ending, compare

Scene 3: The effect must point at the main idea, not at “the reader enjoys it”

The third mark in a 4-mark question usually sits on the effect on the main idea. “It makes the writing vivid” earns nothing. “It shows the writer moving from blame to understanding his father, preparing the self-reproach of the last paragraph” earns. Give students one frame: this paragraph moves X (character, emotion, idea) from A to B. Name the change and the effect is concrete.

Students highlight the carrying sentence and the opening sentence

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Function	What is the function of paragraph 3?	Position, content, effect	Three sentences, three jobs
Deletion	Can this paragraph be removed?	Say no first, then where the structure breaks	Breaks a clue or a turn
Opening	What does the opening do?	Hook, setting, or suspense	Add one line on the main idea
Ending	How does the ending close the piece?	States the idea, echoes the opening, or leaves a gap	Name the echoed sentence

Sanity check (teach this): Check: a 4-mark question needs 2 developed points, one mark each; the bare phrase “links the previous and the next” usually earns one mark out of 4. Inside a 12-mark long question the function part rarely exceeds 4 marks, so fifteen minutes on one paragraph means the rest of the paper is lost. If a student says “vivid”, ask which sentence; no sentence means no content.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
The opening says “that winter was unusually cold”. What does it do?	Sets the season and hints at what follows	Add one line on the main idea
A middle paragraph describes only the weather. Can it go?	No: it carries the scene from street to silence	Say where the break falls
The ending repeats “cold” from the opening. Why?	Echoes the opening and turns outer cold into inner feeling	Quote the echoed sentence

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Four words and stop	“It links the previous and the next, obviously”	“Which sentence is carried forward and which one is opened? Both, or it is not a transition.”
Every paragraph called a transition	“They are all in the middle, so all transitions”	“A transition needs a clear connective or a change of subject; otherwise it is an example.”
Effect written as “vivid”	“It makes the writing more vivid and interesting”	“Which sentence did that? If you cannot point at one, write about the main idea instead.”
Deletion answered “yes”	“You can delete it, the story still makes sense”	“Making sense is not the same as holding together; say which clue disappears.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Chinese chapter index — All chapters
Practice paper — Questions 3-6: paragraph function and structure

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
What is the first thing to state in a function answer?	The position: opening, middle or ending	Wrong: redo act two
How many sentences does a transition need?	Two: what is carried forward, what is introduced	One wrong: redo before next lesson
What should the effect point at?	The main idea, or a change in character or feeling	Two or more wrong: back to act three

09 Tutor FAQ

Do students need three points?

Two developed points are enough for 4 marks, as long as each has position, content and effect.

Can model answers be memorised?

Memorise the frame, not the sentences; the paragraph changes every year.

How is this different from a gist question?

Gist asks what happens, function asks why it sits there, which needs the job it does.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.