Wakayama Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - Japanese common mistakes
Wakayama Prefectural Public High School Entrance Examination - Japanese · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When asked what a pronoun or指示語 such as「それ」「このこと」points to, the candidate copies the nearest noun phrase or the whole preceding sentence instead of the specific content the author intends, and writes it without adjusting particles or wording to fit the sentence.
指示語 questions feel easy, so candidates stop at surface proximity. They do not check that the substituted phrase reads grammatically and semantically in place of the指示語, and they do not look for the content that is developed and concluded after the指示語 rather than before it.
What to do instead
Train a fixed procedure: circle the指示語, read the sentence after it first, then search backward for the antecedent, substitute the candidate into the original sentence and read it aloud to test grammar and meaning. Require the answer to be a concrete content phrase (often ending in こと/点/理由), not a bare noun. Practise on past-style expository passages where the referent spans two sentences.
For 「〜とはどういうことか」 explanation questions, the candidate answers with the passage's example or concrete episode (a personal anecdote, a statistic, a case) rather than the abstract claim that the example is meant to support.
Examples occupy more space and are more vivid than the thesis, so they feel like the content of the passage. Candidates also confuse 'what the passage says' with 'what the question asks', and fail to notice the 具体→抽象 direction typical of Japanese expository writing.
What to do instead
Teach the 例示→一般化 pattern: mark たとえば・例えば・のように as example markers and つまり・要するに・なのである as conclusion markers, then answer at the level of the conclusion. Practise rewriting each example paragraph as one abstract sentence. In answers, avoid words that only appear in the example.
On 理由説明 questions the candidate writes a plausible real-world reason from general knowledge instead of the reason actually stated or implied in the text, and omits the causal connector (から・ので・ため) that the question's wording demands.
Expository passages on familiar topics (environment, education, technology) invite candidates to import their own opinions. Under time pressure, a self-generated reason feels faster and more confident than locating the textual one.
What to do instead
Enforce a rule: every reason answer must be traceable to a specific line, and the candidate should be able to point to it. Practise locating 原因→結果 structures by underlining なぜなら・その結果・したがって. When writing, begin with the content clause and end with から/ため so the answer form matches the question form.
In literary passages, the candidate reports only the outward action or dialogue ('he said he was fine') and ignores the 心情 (inner feeling) that the action reveals, or attributes the narrator's feeling to the wrong character.
Literary questions ask about feelings, but feelings are rarely stated directly; they must be inferred from 行動・表情・情景描写・会話. Candidates also lose track of who is speaking and whose perspective the narration follows, especially with third-person narration or long passages with several characters.
What to do instead
Annotate the passage: label each speaker, mark the viewpoint character, and beside every action or line of dialogue write the implied emotion in the margin. Learn the standard signals - 情景描写 matching mood, 比喩 for emotional states, silence and hesitation as markers of conflict. Answer with an emotion word plus the reason drawn from the action.
The candidate reads a single scene in isolation and ignores how the character's feeling changes across the passage, so a question about 'the meaning of this scene' is answered with the emotion at that moment rather than with the change or contrast the scene marks.
Literary passages in this exam are usually built around a turning point (転換点), and questions target the contrast before and after it. Reading sequentially without holding earlier scenes in mind makes the final scene look like a standalone event.
What to do instead
Before answering, draw a simple timeline of scenes and write one emotion word per scene. Explicitly identify the turning point and the before/after contrast. For 'why this ending/scene' questions, answer in terms of what has changed since the beginning, citing the earlier scene as evidence.
When reading 古文, the candidate translates word by word into modern Japanese and produces nonsense at honorifics, auxiliary verbs, and 係り結び, for example reading 給ふ as a plain 'give' or missing that 〜なむ marks emphasis.
Classical grammar is taught as memorisation lists, and candidates do not connect the auxiliary to its subject and to the speaker's relationship with the referent. Honorifics change who does what, so a missed 尊敬語 reverses the action of the sentence.
What to do instead
Drill the honorific triads (給ふ・おはす・のたまふ etc.) with the rule 'honorific subject is the person of higher status'. Drill 係り結び (ぞ・なむ・や・か → 連体形; こそ → 已然形) as a single reflex. Practise reading each sentence aloud in 古文のリズム and identifying subject and object before translating.
The candidate treats 漢文 as a translation exercise and ignores 返り点 and 送り仮名, reading the characters in Chinese word order and therefore misreading who does what to whom.
Kanbun is visually unfamiliar and candidates panic, defaulting to guessing from the kanji meanings alone. They also skip the 訓読 rhythm practice that makes レ点 and 一二点 automatic.
What to do instead
Practise 訓読 aloud with a fixed method: locate レ点 first (read the lower character first), then 一二点 (jump back), then apply 送り仮名. Memorise the high-frequency 漢文句法 (使役 使・令, 受身 見・被, 否定 不・無, 反語 豈〜乎, 疑問 何〜也) as patterns with fixed translations. Read the passage in 訓読 order before answering content questions.
In 漢字・語句 sections, the candidate writes a kanji with the correct reading but the wrong component (e.g. confusing 籍/籍-type pairs, 博/搏, 検/験), or chooses a 四字熟語 or 慣用句 by vague familiarity rather than by meaning.
Kanji are memorised by shape recognition, which is sufficient for reading but not for writing. Vocabulary items are often learned as sounds without a stored meaning, so a familiar-sounding option wins over the correct one.
What to do instead
Switch to output practice: write kanji from the reading, not just read them, and check component-by-component (especially 偏 and 旁 pairs that differ by one stroke). For 四字熟語・慣用句, learn each with a short meaning and one example sentence, and reject options whose meaning does not fit the sentence context.
In the 作文, the candidate writes a general opinion on the topic without referring to the material or data given in the prompt, and does not state a clear position, so the essay is judged as off-task or underdeveloped.
Composition prompts in this exam usually supply a short text or data and ask the candidate to connect it to their own experience and view. Candidates treat it as a free topic and write familiar school-life generalities, or they run out of time and produce a conclusion with no support.
What to do instead
Use a fixed structure: (1) state the prompt's point in one sentence, (2) state your position, (3) give one concrete personal experience with specifics (numbers, names of situations), (4) give a reason or counter-consideration, (5) restate the position. Practise under a time limit with the prompt's material explicitly quoted or paraphrased in the opening.
The candidate misallocates time: spending too long on the literary passage and 古文, leaving only minutes for 漢字・語句 and 作文, and answering multiple-choice items without checking that the chosen option matches the question's exact requirement (e.g. 'most appropriate' vs 'not appropriate', or a required word count).
The exam rewards accuracy across very different domains, but candidates optimise for the passages they find engaging. Question stems in Japanese often place the decisive condition at the end of a long sentence, so it is easily missed.
What to do instead
Set a fixed per-section time budget and practise full-length timed runs with a clock visible. Before marking an answer, underline the question's 問われ方 (〜を説明せよ／〜として最も適切なもの／字数) and verify the option against it. Reserve the last minutes for 漢字 writing and a proofread of the 作文 for 送り仮名 and 主述 consistency.