Examiners’ Report

June 2018

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

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June 2018
Publications Code 8CN0_02_1806_ER

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© Pearson Education Ltd 2018

2 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

Introduction
Summer 2018 was the first sitting for the new specification Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Chinese
Paper 2. The paper consists of three sections: A, B and C. Candidates answer Section A and one
question from either Section B or Section C. The duration of the examination is one hour and forty
minutes and there was no evidence to suggest that candidates had trouble completing the paper in
the time allowed. In general, the candidates performed well.

In Section A Question 1, candidates are required to translate a short piece of text from English into
Chinese. Candidates are assessed for the ability to produce an accurate and appropriate
translation.Section B is focused on written response to literary works and consists of Question 2
and Question 3. Section C is focused on written response to cinematic (film) works and consists of
Question 4 and Question 5. Each question requires the candidates to write an essay of between
225 — 300 Chinese characters in response to an essay topic which is referenced to one of the
literary or cinematic works as prescribed in Appendix 2 of the Specification. Guidance is provided in
the form of 3 bullet points which lay out suggestions for the content of the essay.

Candidates are required to choose to answer 1 question only from either Section B or Section C.
The resulting essay is assessed for the quality of written Chinese through the accuracy and
articulate application of a range of complex grammatical structures and vocabulary as well as the
ability of the candidate to respond critically to a literary or cinematic work through the construction
of a cogent argument which is well-justified and consistently evidenced by reference to the work.
Whole responses are marked regardless of length.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 3

 Question 1
This question consisted of a short English text to be translated into Chinese. The English text was
divided into 20 discrete language elements each worth one mark to give an overall mark out of 20.

The lexis was relatively straightforward. Although most candidates did not struggle with vocabulary,
some basic phrases seemed to present difficulties for a few candidates. These included ''愿意“,
”帮助“ and “所以”.

Character formation was usually satisfactory, although certain characters proved to be problematic,
for example “候“，”帮“，”忙“etc.

A range of features from grammar lists were tested. These rangedfrom the relatively
straightforward“和“ ， “都”， “也”， to the more sophisticated conjunctions, such as “但是“， ”因为“，
”如果……就……”. As a result, candidates scored across the whole mark range.

Overall, the performance was encouraging and most candidates showed that they could transfer
the meaning of a piece of English with acceptable accuracy. It is necessary to draw attention to
certain details as being essential if candidates are to score for every language element.

Examiners noted the following:

The division of marks enabled most candidates to score at some point. Marks were awarded
most often for translating '人们', “但是 '' ， '和孩子吃饭' and ”因为”.

Marks were most often lost for language elements 6, 9 18 and 20. Language elements 6, 18 and
20 presented a challenge to candidates because of the harder characters or vocabulary.
Language element 9 was more difficult because of the Chinese word order.

Many candidates had difficulty with the last sentence as they misunderstood the meaning of the
English text.

This translation was acceptable and was awarded 14 out of 20 available marks.

4 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

The first language element was not awarded a
mark as “现在“ is not equivalent to“现代”. Element 6
was not awarded a mark because the key
character “减”is missing. Language elements 8 ，9
and 14 were omitted from the candidate’s
translation. Element 10 is not awarded a mark
because “希望“ is distinct from “喜欢”.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 5

 This is a good example of how easy it is to lose
marks by being careless. Proof reading would have
helped.

6 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

This is an example of translation where the candidate attempted the whole transfer of meaning,
but it scored 1 out of 20 only.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 7

 The translation was not understandable to a
sympathetic native speaker. The only mark
awarded in this case was for “他们的孩子“.

This is a good example of a candidate who has

tried but has been hampered by their limited
Chinese character formation. In order to succeed,
candidates must learn to write some Chinese
characters at this level.

8 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

Question 2
Question 2 was the least popular of the literary response questions. The best essays managed to
develop and examine the change in Xia Wang, discussing why and how this happened. Many essays
were often heavy on narrative and light on analysis and argument, meaning, and range of language
ability.

This response achieved 40 out of 40.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 9

10 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02
GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 11
 This response was well-tailored to the question
and the candidate has managed to achieve the
appropriate level of analysis, avoiding simply
describing the change in Xia Wang’s character.
Furthermore, the argument is well-evidenced by
quotation from the text.

12 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

Question 3
This question was by far the most popular of the literary response section and there was a greater
range of the quality of responses. Many candidates needed to read the question more carefully as
well as focusing on the bullet points. The question asked about a specific aspect of the text, and
weaker candidates failed to identify that focus. A minority also seemed to make use of plot
elements which were not present in the literary text. Weaker essays tended merely to narrate the
whole story in chronological order, only addressing the argument in the last sentence.

This response achieved 27 out of 40. 12 marks for Critical response and 15 marks for Accuracy and
range of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 13

14 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02
GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 15
 This response has not shown the candidate’s
ability to respond critically to the text or to present
and justify their points of view. The response is too
descriptive. There is also a limited ability to form
an argument about the question.As far as
language is concerned, the use of language
throughout most of the essay is accurate. A variety
of vocabulary and grammatical structures are
used.

The lack of critical response affected the

candidate’s marks. In order to achieve higher
marks candidates should present and justify their
points of view and develop an argument and draw
conclusions based on the book.

16 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

Question 4
This question had mixed responses. Candidates who read the question properly and followed the
bullet points, generally did very well. However, some candidates who did not stick to the bullet
points did not do well. A common problem was failing to realise that the question demanded a
focus on Luo Lei and his parents, leading to essays which weighted all three class president
nominees equally. Discussion of the other two nominees were mostly irrelevant to the question at
hand.

This response achieved 15 out of 40. 6 marks for Critical response and 9 marks for Accuracy and a
range of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 17

18 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02
GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 19
 The first bullet point covered concerns Luo Lei’s
personally, which is expanded on by the second
bullet point. The third bullet point is not tackled
properly. The answer seems to be lacking in
substance although an attempt has been made to
address some aspects of the question. A little bit
more information and evaluation would have been
appreciated.

This response was an example of excessive weight

being placed onto the other 2 class president
nominees when the question did not ask for a
discussion of them, leading to some sections of the
candidate’s response being irrelevant.

Arguments are made with the occasional

inconsistency and some conclusions are drawn but
they can be unclear. Errors hinder clarity of
communication.

In order to answer the question more fully,

candidates should follow the rubric and the bullet
points closely and add a greater level of their own
analysis. This response is inadequate and
displayed a lack of depth and content.

20 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

Question 5
Many candidates showed very good knowledge and understanding of the film and the attitude of
Gui Jie. Fewer candidates attempted this question compared to question 4 and the quality of
responses was generally higher. It is possible that the film being in Cantonese meant fewer learners
were attracted to it.

This response achieved 33 out of 40. 16 marks for Critical Response and 17 marks for Accuracy and
a range of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

This response is a good example of an essay with a reasonably good structure: points follow
logically from one to another with a thread running through the work.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 21

22 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02
It was pleasing to see a response which had been
well structured in answering most aspects of the
question. The candidate has clearly studied the
film and is able to use his/her knowledge to form
an argument. The language flows nicely and both
aspects of the change in attitudes and lives are
addressed and exemplified. However, though an
attempt has been made, more in-depth analysis
would have been appreciated, as the response was
still a little narrative in places.

Greater focus on analysing the film in order to

evidence the arguments made is needed here.

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 23

 Paper Summary
Based on their performance on this paper, candidates are offered the following advice:

Question 1 comprises twenty separate scoring units, candidates should put down every element
they can. Candidates should ensure they do not lose credit because of a careless lack of attention
to detail.

In order to write the essay more fully, candidates should refer closely to the rubric and the bullet
points. Candidates should proofread their essays carefully and ensure that they have addressed
all the bullet points.

Essays need to show candidates’ ability to respond critically to the text or to present and justify
their points of view. Essays shouldn’t be descriptive. It is recommended that candidates add their
own analysis and make sure that it is adequate and displays the suitable depth at this level.

Candidates are reminded to use good essay writing techniques - points should follow logically
from one to another with a thread running through the work.

When deciding on works to be studied for Sections B and C, candidates and teachers should
carefully consider whether candidates are able to access enough materials to cover all potential
questions independently.

24 GCE Chinese 8CN0 02

Grade Boundaries
Grade boundaries for this, and all other papers, can be found on the website on this link:

http://www.edexcel.com/iwantto/Pages/grade-boundaries.aspx

GCE Chinese 8CN0 02 25

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