SACE Stage 2 Japanese (continuers) common mistakes
SACE Stage 2 Japanese (continuers) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing the interaction task in plain form throughout because the prompt says 'write to a friend', ignoring that the situation calls for polite です/ます or appropriate casual speech consistently rather than a random mixture.
Candidates memorise that friends take plain form but do not track register across a whole response, so they drift between casual and polite mid-text, especially after inserting set phrases learned as polite chunks.
What to do instead
Before writing, decide the register from the relationship and setting, write it at the top of the plan, and do a final pass checking every verb ending, copula, and greeting for consistency with that single register.
Responding to the four or five prompt points in a jumbled order or omitting one entirely, so the reply answers only part of the task.
Under time pressure candidates write whatever comes to mind first and never return to the prompt to tick off each required element.
What to do instead
Spend the first minute turning each prompt bullet into a short numbered plan in Japanese, write one paragraph per bullet, then tick each bullet off against the finished text before moving on.
Producing keigo that is grammatically malformed, such as combining sonkeigo and humble forms in one verb or using お/ご with verbs that do not take it.
Candidates learn respectful and humble verbs as vocabulary lists without mastering which subject each form describes, so they over-apply patterns like おっしゃられます or ご覧になられます.
What to do instead
Learn each special verb as a pair tied to subject (いらっしゃる for the other person, 伺う/参る for self) and practise converting a fixed set of ten common verbs in both directions until the subject rule is automatic.
Answering comprehension questions by copying a long sentence from the text rather than locating the specific information requested.
Candidates equate 'find the answer' with 'find the matching keyword' and lift the surrounding sentence without checking whether it actually answers the question asked.
What to do instead
Underline the question's key words first, predict what kind of answer is needed (a reason, a number, a person), then scan for the relevant line and write only the requested element in your own words.
Missing the function of discourse markers and connectives, so a concession or contrast (しかし, とはいえ, ただし) is read as agreement or addition.
Candidates know the dictionary meanings of connectives but read quickly and treat them as filler, losing the logical turn of the passage.
What to do instead
Build a reference table grouping connectives by function (contrast, addition, cause, example, conclusion) and practise marking the function of every connective in past papers before answering the questions.
Misreading katakana loanwords and onomatopoeia in notices and advertisements, or guessing from the English original instead of the Japanese meaning.
Loanwords are often shortened or shifted in meaning (e.g. サービス, クレーム), and candidates rely on the English cognate rather than the Japanese usage.
What to do instead
Keep a running list of loanwords whose Japanese meaning differs from the English source and of common onomatopoeia, and review it weekly with example sentences from authentic notices.
Writing the longer text as a list of disconnected sentences with no introduction, development, or conclusion.
Candidates focus on producing correct sentences one at a time and never plan an overall structure, so the piece reads as a string of statements.
What to do instead
Outline in three blocks (opening statement of position, two or three supporting points with examples, closing restatement), and check that each paragraph links to the next with an appropriate connective.
Relying on a narrow set of overused vocabulary and sentence patterns, repeating the same structures throughout the text.
Candidates rehearse a small stock of safe phrases and fall back on them under exam pressure rather than drawing on a wider repertoire.
What to do instead
Maintain a personal bank of alternatives for common functions (opinion, comparison, cause, suggestion) and deliberately use at least two new patterns per practice piece, checking them with a teacher.
Confusing kanji that share readings or components, producing words that are recognisable but wrong in context.
Candidates learn kanji by sound and rough shape rather than by meaning and collocation, so similar-looking characters get swapped.
What to do instead
Study kanji in vocabulary pairs and short collocations rather than in isolation, and keep an error log of personal confusions with a memory hook for each pair.
Treating cultural references in texts and tasks as decoration, ignoring conventions such as indirect refusal, gift-giving etiquette, or seasonal greetings that carry meaning.
Candidates read for literal propositional content only and are not trained to notice implied meaning or socially coded phrasing.
What to do instead
When reading or planning a response, explicitly note any culturally loaded phrase, ask what social relationship it encodes, and practise interpreting indirect expressions like ちょっと難しいですね as refusals in context.