HSC Arabic Continuers common mistakes
HSC Arabic Continuers · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
The candidate writes the response in English or mixes English clauses and vocabulary into an Arabic answer, especially when discussing abstract topics such as technology or migration, and inserts transliterated English words (e.g. "الإنترنت" replaced by "internet" in Latin script) instead of the accepted Arabic term.
Under time pressure the candidate reaches for the English word because it is the first one that comes to mind, and many candidates have never built a personal glossary of Arabic terms for modern domains such as media, education and social issues, so the English term fills the gap.
What to do instead
Before the exam, build a one-page glossary of 40-60 high-frequency abstract nouns and verbs (e.g. تأثير، مسؤولية، فرصة، تحدٍّ، تطوّر، وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي) and drill them until recall is automatic. In the exam, if an English word appears, stop and paraphrase in simpler Arabic rather than switching language; write a full sentence in Arabic using a simpler synonym.
The candidate treats a reading-comprehension text as a translation exercise, lifting whole sentences verbatim into the answer, or copying a chunk of the text without answering the specific question asked (e.g. asked for the reasons, the candidate copies the whole paragraph containing the reasons).
Candidates equate 'finding the answer' with 'finding the words', and they fear that rewording will lose marks, so copying feels safer. Many have practised only literal translation and never practised paraphrasing or summarising in Arabic.
What to do instead
Practise a three-step routine on every practice text: locate the sentence, underline only the key words, then write the answer in your own words using a different sentence structure (change the verb form, reorder clauses, replace nouns with pronouns). Train with questions that ask 'اذكر سببين' and 'لخّص في جملتين' so the answer length is deliberately shorter than the source.
The candidate answers an extended-response question with a single short paragraph of two or three sentences that states an opinion but gives no supporting reasons or examples, and does not use any of the connectives expected at Continuers level.
Candidates underestimate the length and structure expected for a 100-150 word task, run out of ideas because they have not brainstormed before writing, and lack a bank of discourse markers (أولاً، بالإضافة إلى ذلك، من ناحية أخرى، لذلك، في الختام) to link ideas.
What to do instead
Use a fixed scaffold for every extended response: an opening sentence that restates the topic and states a position, two body points each with a reason plus a concrete example or personal experience, and a concluding sentence. Memorise and rehearse eight to ten connectives so each body point is introduced and linked automatically.
The candidate confuses registers and text types: writing an informal message to a friend in fully formal MSA with no greeting formula, or writing a formal letter to a school principal or newspaper editor using colloquial expressions such as "شو" or "كيفك" and omitting the formal opening and closing conventions.
Candidates learn vocabulary and grammar in isolation and are rarely asked to compare the conventions of a letter, an article, a speech, a diary entry and an email side by side, so they apply whatever register they practised most recently.
What to do instead
Build a one-page reference for each required text type listing its opening, closing, typical layout and register. Practise converting the same content into two different text types (e.g. an email to a friend and a letter to the editor about the same neighbourhood issue) so the register shift becomes deliberate rather than accidental.
The candidate uses the wrong case endings and moods in written production, particularly the subjunctive after أن/لن/كي and the accusative after إنّ, and writes verbs in the wrong person or gender when the subject is plural or non-human.
Case and mood are largely silent in modern spoken Arabic, so candidates rely on ear rather than rule, and they have not internalised the small set of particles that trigger each pattern. Non-human plural agreement is also rarely drilled.
What to do instead
Memorise the trigger lists (إنّ وأخواتها for accusative; أن، لن، كي، حتى، لام التعليل for subjunctive) and do short targeted transformation drills: take ten correct sentences, remove the particle, then reinsert and justify the ending aloud. For agreement, drill subject-verb pairs with non-human plurals to fix the feminine singular verb pattern.
The candidate confuses the root-and-pattern system, producing invented forms such as using the wrong verb form (e.g. using Form II where Form IV or Form X is required, or mis-forming the passive), and misreads a word in a text because it does not recognise its root.
Candidates memorise whole words rather than roots and patterns, so an unfamiliar derivative cannot be decoded, and they have not practised the meaning shifts between forms (e.g. علِم / أعلَم / استعلم / تعلّم).
What to do instead
Keep a root log: for each new word record the root and the family of derived forms with a short meaning for each. Practise guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words in a passage from context plus root before checking a dictionary, and drill the passive and Form X patterns explicitly.
The candidate describes the Arabic-speaking communities as a single homogeneous bloc, using one country's customs, dialect words or social norms as if they applied across the Arab world, and ignores the diversity of religion, dialect, geography and diaspora experience.
Textbook materials and personal background often foreground one national context, and candidates generalise from their own family or community without being prompted to compare across countries or between urban and rural, homeland and diaspora settings.
What to do instead
Prepare comparison notes on at least three countries plus the diaspora experience, covering family structure, festivals, food, education and migration, with two specific facts each. In answers, use qualifying language such as في بعض الدول، بينما في دول أخرى، وتختلف العادات بحسب المنطقة so generalisation is visibly avoided.
The candidate discusses family life or generational issues only in clichés ("الجيل القديم" against "الجيل الجديد") with no concrete detail, no reference to the candidate's own observation, and no acknowledgement of the benefits on both sides of the change.
Candidates rely on memorised essay templates that fit any prompt, so the response sounds fluent but is empty, and they have not been taught to balance arguments or to ground abstract points in specific examples.
What to do instead
For each family-life theme (respect for elders, changing roles, technology and communication, living with grandparents) prepare two concrete examples and one counterpoint. Practise a two-sided paragraph structure: one sentence for the traditional view, one for the modern view, one sentence of personal evaluation, so the response is specific and balanced.
The candidate answers a question about neighbourhood or a local event by listing vocabulary items ("مدرسة، مسجد، سوق، حديقة") without describing relationships, change over time, or the candidate's own involvement, and gives no spatial or temporal detail.
Candidates treat these topics as vocabulary recall rather than as description and reflection, and they have not practised the prepositions, comparatives and past-tense narrative structures needed to describe a place and how it has changed.
What to do instead
Practise a description template: location relative to landmarks (بجوار، مقابل، على بعد)، what the place was like ten years ago versus now، what the candidate does there and with whom، and one suggestion for improvement. Rehearse the comparative and the past-tense narrative forms until they appear without hesitation.
The candidate discusses an issue in today's world (unemployment, migration, environment, social media) with strong opinions but no evidence, no reference to causes and consequences, and no suggested solutions, or alternatively presents only one side and ignores the opposing view.
Candidates have opinions but lack the topic-specific vocabulary and the cause-consequence-solution framework, so the answer collapses into emotional assertion, and they have not practised the language of hypothesis and recommendation.
What to do instead
Prepare a four-part framework for each issue: الأسباب، النتائج، الحلول، رأيي. Learn the associated connectors and structures (بسبب، يؤدي إلى، من أهم الحلول، ينبغي أن، لو + past tense for hypothesis) and practise a 120-word response on three issues, each with one cause, one consequence and one solution.
The candidate misreads a question's key instruction word, for example answering 'بمَ تشعر الشخصية؟' with a summary of events, or 'قارن' with a one-sided description, and so loses marks despite good Arabic.
Candidates skim the question under time pressure and respond to the topic rather than the task, and they have not been trained to identify instruction verbs and their required response shape.
What to do instead
Before writing, underline the instruction verb and write a one-line plan in the margin naming the response shape (e.g. 'compare: two points of similarity and difference'). Build a reference list of instruction verbs (اذكر، اشرح، قارن، علّل، لخّص، حلّل، اقترح) with the answer structure each demands, and check the finished answer against that plan.