DSE Chinese: Paper 2 Long Question Prep Guide (for tutors) | Prompt analysis, thesis, five-paragraph frame and detail

2026-11-02

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Chinese

What students hand in is a story without a subject: grandmother cooking, and no statement of why it matters. This lesson demands one thesis line before the first sentence, and every piece of material has to serve it.

Objectives — Students can: (1) analyse a prompt by circling the verb and marking the constraints, then write one checkable thesis line; (2) write 650 characters in five paragraphs of about 130, linked by 4 transitions; (3) place at least 3 sensory or action details and finish with a closing that moves from the personal to the general.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Prompt analysis	Which words in a prompt are constraints	Time, place, person, emotion words
Paragraphs	One central sentence per paragraph	Put it first
Description	Name the five senses	Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch

02 Lesson flow (75 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-10 min	Prompt and thesis	Circle the verb, mark limits, write the thesis line	A thesis that passes the check
10-20 min	Select material	Three pieces, one per paragraph	Each piece serves the thesis
20-70 min	Draft	Five paragraphs, 650 characters at about 8.7 a minute	All five paragraphs done
70-73 min	Check	Wrong characters, spoken forms, repetition	Fix at least three items
73-75 min	Exit check	Three questions marked on the spot	All three right

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: The thesis must be one sentence before any drafting

Three steps in prompt analysis: circle the verb (narrate, argue, explain, describe), mark the constraints (time, place, identity, length), and find the value word (growth, regret, persistence, choice).
The thesis takes one shape: through this event, I came to understand this idea. If that sentence will not come out, do not start paragraph one.
650 characters in 75 minutes is about 8.7 characters a minute, so planning has ten minutes and the thesis cannot be discovered while writing.
The thesis must be checkable: if removing a piece of material leaves the thesis intact, that material is surplus.
Where a prompt carries two key words, the thesis must handle both; answering only one is half off-task.

Ask the class: what two parts does a thesis contain (event and idea).

Scene 2: Five paragraphs: open, develop twice, turn, close, at even length

Each paragraph is about 130 characters, with 4 transition sentences between them.
Paragraph one opens in scene and enters the event in two or three sentences, never from a general remark about life.
Paragraphs two and three develop one event in two layers: what happened, then how I responded at the time.
Paragraph four turns: a change or a conflict, perhaps one line from another person or a discovery, that redirects the thinking.
Paragraph five answers the thesis line and lifts from personal experience to a general condition in two or three sentences, without retelling the whole piece.
Length is controlled by paragraphs: five times 130 is 650, so an opening over 130 characters is already a warning.

Ask the class: what job does paragraph four do (the turn).

Scene 3: Detail and lift: concrete enough to see, abstract enough to state

At least 3 details, spread across different paragraphs: one action (a thumb wiping the rim of a bowl), one sound (the thin hiss before water boils), one smell or touch.
Detail replaces adjectives: not she was exhausted, but the skin on the back of her hand was split and taped, and she kept washing.
Lifting is not preaching: from grandmother cooking to I began to cook myself, then to some care is silent, three steps are enough; do not append a lecture about life.
Check three things: spoken forms (actually, kind of), wrong characters, and any sentence written twice.
Spend the last minute on the opening and the ending only, because those are the two places a marker reads first.

Ask the class: how far should the closing lift (from the personal to the general, not to a lecture).

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Set narrative	One unforgettable event	Scene opening, two-layer narration, turn, answer the thesis	Opening under 130 characters
Half-titled	That time I learned blank	Fill the blank first; the word sets the thesis	The filled word appears twice or more
Argumentative	On persistence	Claim, evidence, concession, conclusion	One concrete example per body paragraph
Descriptive	A corner of the market	Layer the five senses, far to near	At least 3 sensory details

Sanity check (teach this): If the thesis will not come out, the thinking is not finished; do not patch it while writing.
Five paragraphs of about 130 characters each: an opening already at 200 guarantees a rushed ending.
The lift must follow causally from the event; bolted-on morals read as off-task.
Never use the same material twice, because a repeated event reads as a missing paragraph.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Write a thesis for a half-titled prompt	One sentence with event and idea	Shape: through this, I understood that
Turn she was exhausted into three details	One action, one sound, one touch	Delete every adjective
Write the three closing sentences	Three sentences, personal to general	No therefore we should construction

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Drifting into explanation	I wrote a lot of information about the topic	A narrative prompt needs time, people and dialogue; information is only background.
An overlong opening	I wanted the background clear first	Keep the opening under 130 characters: two sentences of background is enough.
Story without reflection	The event finishes and that is it	Paragraph four turns and paragraph five answers the thesis.
Spoken forms in writing	I was like so unhappy	Written register: I was unhappy then, though I could not say why.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Practice: three thesis lines with matching material — Three pieces of material per thesis
Practice: ten detail sentences, no adjectives — Half action, half sensory
All prep guides — Compare the ten sections

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
The two parts of a thesis	Event and idea	All three right: move to Paper 3 listening
Average characters per paragraph	130	One wrong: redo the length budget
How far the closing should lift	From the personal to the general	Two or more wrong: return to act three

09 Tutor FAQ

Should students memorise quotations?

One or two is enough; piling them up reads as padding, and detail scores better.

Can they write an argument instead?

Yes, but follow the verb: if the prompt asks for narrative, narrate.

How to fill a short piece?

Add detail, not morals; detail is the only padding that does not lower the mark.

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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.