At midday on 30/5, over 124,000 students in Hanoi completed their literature exam for admission to public 10th grade high schools. The exam consisted of two parts: Reading Comprehension (6 points) and Writing (4 points).

According to many literature teachers in Hanoi, this year's exam was not overly difficult. It was appropriate for the students' age, discouraging rote learning and selective studying, while still offering depth and good differentiation.

For the Reading Comprehension section, the exam featured the poem "Moon in the Forest and the Children" by Thanh Thao. Students were asked to identify the poetic form, list two nature-related words from the first stanza, and answer whether "being content with current life or venturing out to explore and experience" is more valuable.

The Writing section required students to analyze the image of the children in the poem and write a social essay on the issue of some young people losing connection with life, proposing solutions to foster meaningful connections.

Nguyen Thi Nhu Van, a literature teacher at Chuong Duong Junior High School, noted that the exam structure remained consistent with last year, with a similar balance of easy and difficult questions. Questions 1-3 in the Reading Comprehension section were at a recognition or simple application level, posing no significant challenge for students.

However, question 4, which asked about the meaning of "the children's call to the moon," was considered the most challenging. According to Van, while students had studied and practiced this type of question, each line of poetry carries different layers of meaning. This required candidates to possess strong literary appreciation and social understanding to grasp the profound and broad implications of the verses.

The remaining question in the Reading Comprehension section was an open-ended one, allowing students to freely choose their answer, provided it was reasonable and supported by persuasive reasoning.

Duong Thuy Linh, Deputy Head of the Literature Department at M.V. Lomonosov Junior and Senior High School, was particularly impressed by question 5, which prompted students to express their views on choosing between contentment with their current life and venturing out to explore new horizons. "This question addresses a dilemma most 9th grade students face, and many harbor concerns about it," Linh explained. "This helped candidates easily find empathy with the text and the question, enabling them to relate it to their own lives and produce genuine, emotional responses."

Regarding the Writing section, Linh highly praised the social essay for its topic: human connection with the surrounding world. She believes the exam was highly educational, relatable to daily life, and aligned with the psychology of 15-year-old students.

Huong Giang, a literature teacher at Archimedes Junior High School and Tuyensinh247, agreed, stating that the question was topical in the modern context. It provided an open ground for students to develop critical thinking, argumentation skills, and persuasive expression of opinions. "Through this, the exam fostered independent thinking: studying literature is not about memorization, but about understanding and creating positive connecting values for life," Giang said.

Linh's overall assessment suggested that students who did not connect the poem to its context of creation might struggle to fully understand its content and meaning. The poem depicts children who "have never seen the sea," "have not grown up in the plains," and "have not lived amidst brightly lit city streets." These are children from the forest, whose experiences differ significantly from those of children in the capital living in modern society.

Consequently, Linh believes that candidates with profound thinking, strong arguments, and good expression skills would demonstrate a clear advantage over those submitting superficial, lacking depth essays. This will assist high schools, especially top-tier institutions, in selecting students with true capabilities.

Based on this, Linh predicts that candidates could achieve 7 points if they mastered the necessary skills. Nhu Van offered a similar assessment, estimating the average score to be around 6.5-7. Excellent students, according to Huong Giang, could score 7.5 or higher.

Students at Kim Lien High School exam site after the literature exam, morning of 30/5. Photo: Hoang Giang

This afternoon, students will take the foreign language exam for 60 minutes. Tomorrow morning, they will sit for the mathematics exam, which lasts 120 minutes. Candidates applying for specialized 10th grade classes will take additional specialized subject exams on 1/6.

Duong Tam - Thanh Hang