Comments on Shanghai High School Entrance Examination Compositions | Yao Yao, Chinese Language Preparation Group Leader of Yan'an Junior High School: Embrace Growth and Face Life with a Positive Attitude
Today, the 2024 Shanghai Junior High School Academic Proficiency Test begins. There are 16 test areas, 205 test sites, and 4,602 test rooms in the city. About 248,000 candidates will take the test, including about 118,000 third-year junior high school candidates and about 130,000 second-year junior high school candidates.
The first test of Chinese language was held from 9:00 to 10:40 in the morning. So far, the Chinese language test has been successfully completed, and all test areas and test sites are orderly and stable. The 2024 Shanghai High School Entrance Examination Chinese composition topic is as follows:
After the first Chinese language test, Yao Yao, the head of the third grade Chinese language preparation group at Shanghai Yan'an Junior High School, commented on this year's composition topic:
Writing is one of the important ways for us to know ourselves and the world. This year's essay topic still continues the style of being close to students and advocating true expression. The essay prompt is like an elder who guides students step by step to conceive and write. "The world is an invisible pool of water" reminds people of the ancient Greek philosopher Thales's "water is the origin of all things". Then the prompt symbolizes the "water collection process" as the "growth process" that students are very familiar with, and then inspires students to drink from their own growth river from different angles and levels.
First, in terms of material selection, the question setter encourages students to make personalized choices by using "your own way". As long as it is under the theme of growth and can show one's new understanding and new discovery of life and the world, whether it is self-exploration, exploration with the help of others, or even inspired by a certain object or skill, it is worth writing about.
Second, in terms of the direction of the idea, the question setter provides three examples, namely "broaden your horizons", "increase your talents", and "discover the rules", reminding students not to be aimless or talk about their gains in a general way. In the process of understanding ourselves and the world, we should have a deeper experience and a clearer understanding of our own gains. It can be the development of a certain ability or technology, or it can be a change in the perspective of understanding people, things, and objects, or it can be the discovery of the regularity of the evolution of things. These three examples show a certain gradient, which is suitable for students with different writing abilities. Of course, in addition to these three examples, the question setter also encourages students to have other self-refinement and expression.
Third, in terms of structure and layout, the phrase "once and for all" and the adverb "more" in the prompt, together with the adverb "also" in the title, remind students to pay attention to the process of narrating events, and to know that gains are not achieved overnight. Students should also take into account the deepening of their cognition in the process. This deepening includes not only thinking and judging one's own exploration methods, but also thinking about one's own positioning - "I" and "my" life are closely related to the world, and "I" grow up in it. Such thinking can come from "I"'s persistent pursuit, or from others' inspiration to "I", making "I" realize that "I" am also in it.
The composition topics for this year's high school entrance examination are stable yet innovative, and they firmly focus on guiding students' spiritual growth. At the same time, they continue to take a small step forward in critical thinking. They not only test students' true writing ability, but also inspire students to embrace growth, face life, and face the world with a rational and positive attitude.
