HSC Chinese and Literature case studies
HSC Chinese and Literature · Put your knowledge to work in context.
HSC Chinese and Literature is a Stage 6 course in the New South Wales senior secondary certificate, designed for students who already have substantial background in Chinese language and literature - typically heritage speakers, students who have lived or studied in a Chinese-speaking environment, or strong second-language learners who read literary Chinese with confidence. It is not a beginners' course; the syllabus assumes control of grammar, a wide vocabulary and familiarity with extended written texts. The HSC Chinese and Literature case studies are 5 cases and about 2,141 words.
1The Two-Witness Account of the School Concert
You are preparing a listening task for a Year 12 class. The recording is a 90-second voicemail from a student named Lin, who describes a school concert.
458 words, about 2 min2The Scholarship Letter With Two Readings
A reading passage contains a letter from a university to a student, Chen. The letter says Chen's scholarship has been "conditionally renewed" pending "satisfactory completion of the current semester." A later paragraph says the scholarship "will not be disbursed until the review is complete." Chen reads this as good news and tells friends the scholarship is confirmed.
403 words, about 2 min3Writing an Argument Under a Word Limit
A writing task asks students to argue for or against banning mobile phones in school corridors. The response must be 250-300 words in Chinese, must include at least one counterargument, and must end with a recommendation to the principal.
415 words, about 2 min4The Poem and the Prescribed Reading
Students are studying a prescribed modern Chinese poem about a speaker returning to a childhood village. The poem describes a well, a broken gate, and a road that "remembers no one." A student writes an essay arguing the poem is purely nostalgic and quotes the well and gate as evidence of warm memory.
424 words, about 2 min5When a Student's Own Experience Shapes a Response
A personal-response task asks students to discuss a text about a family migrating from a rural village to a city. Students must connect the text to their own understanding of family and place.
441 words, about 2 min