Comments and suggested answers for the Literature exam

* The exam has completely escaped the old motif.

Similar to the reference test, the official Literature test of the Departmentof Education and Training has a close connection between the Reading and Writing sections. The questions are arranged according to the levels of recognition - understanding - application.

Official exam questions for Literature, 10th grade high school entrance exam for the 2025-2026 school year. Photo: Hai Yen

Commenting on the Literature exam, some people said that the exam was too long (2 A4 pages) and somewhat restrictive. However, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, a Literature teacher at Mr. Hung's Literature Class (Tan Phong Ward, Bien Hoa City), highly appreciated the Reading Comprehension material because the story selection was very natural and authentic, with a very subtle integration of life lessons and an open ending to differentiate students' abilities in question 6 (which accounted for the highest score in the Reading Comprehension section). Overall, this way of making the exam has escaped the old motif.

This is also the good thing about the test, it is this that creates differentiation. If candidates are only familiar with memorizing "ready-made answer templates", it will be quite difficult when facing such practical application questions.

Because the test is long, if students only focus on reading the story in the text without paying attention to reading the questions to get a quick overview first and then reading the text to answer later, it will be easy to waste a lot of time. To have a good answer, candidates need to apply their own experiences, put themselves in the character's situation to understand.

Regarding the test requirements, according to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, candidates need to read carefully and answer directly to the core of the question, avoiding rambling and redundant answers. For example, in questions 1 and 2, candidates only need to look at the identifying signs and search for information in the text to answer. Question 3 is a question related to Vietnamese grammar. The level of differentiation starts from question 4 to question 6.

The Reading Comprehension section helps candidates prepare for the Writing section (4 points). In the Writing section, candidates need to clarify the content, theme and artistic features of the work, establish clear arguments from the beginning and use arguments and evidence from the story to analyze. The essay must highlight the theme and artistic features of the story, avoiding retelling the story.

Another important note is that besides the content, candidates must also pay attention to the presentation form because spelling and grammar mistakes will be deducted points according to regulations.

* Suggested answer

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung gave some suggested answers for the Literature test. However, Mr. Hung also noted that, in the spirit of the 2018 General Education Program for Literature, with questions at the application level, the new program encourages candidates to boldly express their own thoughts, be creative, and not "copy" the thinking of others.

The important thing is that candidates must still ensure logic, express themselves clearly, be convincing, and highlight the requirements of the question. If candidates can do both of these things, their answers will certainly be highly appreciated. Therefore, suggested answers for application and creativity questions are for reference only.