I85PREP
⌘ K
HKDSE English study materials
HKDSE English study resources

HKDSE English: Reading (Paper 1): Choosing B1 or B2 and Reading for Marks

HKDSE English · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Reading (Paper 1): Choosing B1 or B2 and Reading for Marks

Paper 1 (Reading) carries 20% of the HKDSE English Language mark and runs for 1 hour 30 minutes. It tests how well you locate, interpret and organise information from several written texts, not how many words you have memorised. Part A is compulsory; Part B offers a choice between B1 (easier texts and questions) and B2 (more demanding).

The B1/B2 decision

  • Every candidate answers Part A, then either B1 or B2, never both.
  • Choosing B1 caps your Paper 1 result at Level 4; B2 gives access to Level 5**.
  • Take B1 only if Part A practice consistently shows heavy losses and you rarely finish within the time.

Question types and what each rewards

  • Short answers: stay inside the stated word limit; a 2-mark item normally needs two distinct points.
  • True/False/Not Given: 'Not Given' means the text neither confirms nor denies the statement. General knowledge is irrelevant.
  • Vocabulary in context: copy the exact word or phrase from the text. Your own paraphrase scores nothing.
  • Summary cloze: the gap must be grammatically correct, so check tense, singular/plural and part of speech.
  • Attitude and inference items: base your answer on the writer's word choices, not on what you know about the topic.

Worked example

Text: 'The scheme was hailed as a triumph by officials, though few residents I spoke to could name a single thing it had changed.' Question: What does the writer suggest about the scheme? (2 marks) Reasoning: mark 1 comes from the contrast between official praise ('hailed as a triumph') and residents' inability to name any change. Mark 2 comes from the interpretation: the scheme's real impact is doubtful, or the praise is not borne out by residents' experience. Quoting 'triumph' alone earns nothing; the marks sit in the contrast and what it implies.

Traps that cost marks

  • Copying whole sentences when the question asks for a reason in your own framing.
  • Answering True/False from plausibility rather than locating the supporting line.
  • Spending ten minutes on one 1-mark item, then rushing a 4-mark summary task.
  • Dropping a correct idea into a cloze gap in the wrong grammatical form.
  • Ignoring mark allocation: 3 marks means three separate, checkable points.