This morning, May 30, nearly 125,000 candidates in Hanoi entered the first exam session in the entrance exam to 10th grade public high schools for the 2026 - 2027 school year.
At the end of the first exam subject, Literature, teachers assessed that the exam questions for this subject remained stable in structure but clearly enhanced the requirements for thinking and practical connection.
According to Ms. Huong Giang - Literature teacher at Archimedes Secondary School and Tuyensinh247 education system - this year's exam still maintains a familiar structure with two parts: reading comprehension (4 points) and writing (6 points) with a total of 7 questions.
Notably, all materials are outside the textbook, in which the reading comprehension part uses Thanh Thao's poem "Moon in the Forest and Children".
Exam questions and reference answers for Literature subject for 10th grade entrance exam in Hanoi
Ms. Giang said that the use of materials outside of books is not only aimed at "fighting rote learning" but also helps accurately assess students' ability to receive text and aesthetic thinking in the face of a work rich in art.
Reading comprehension questions are designed according to a roadmap from recognition, understanding to application. At the basic level, students need to identify free poetry forms, identify words, and rhetorical measures; while at the application level, the exam requires candidates to make choices and explain personal views on issues of life experience.
The final reading comprehension question - requiring a choice between "convinced with the present" or "engaged in exploration" - is considered a highlight, empowering students to express their personal perspective.
The writing part continues to be the "fall point" of differentiation of the exam. The literary essay question requires analyzing images in the poem with a length of about 200 words, while the 400-word social essay question raises the issue of "young people losing connection with life around them".
According to Ms. Giang, this is an extremely close but topical issue in the modern context, especially when many young people depend on technology. The topic is not aimed at criticism but suggests solutions, thereby arousing responsibility and action of students.
The noteworthy point is that the exam not only tests knowledge but also "touches" the psychology of the age group, creating space for students to practice critical thinking, reasoning ability and expressing opinions" - Ms. Giang said.
As for question 1 in the writing part, the poetry material was assessed by Ms. Giang as being close to students but still retaining artistic depth, showing the innocent beauty of childhood and the connection between people and nature. Through this, the exam requires students not only to understand the text but also to know how to relate it to modern life issues.
In terms of difficulty, Ms. Giang said that the exam was manageable, not too difficult, and suitable for students to get an average score if they firmly grasped the basic knowledge. However, the differentiation mainly lies in the writing part because it requires reasoning, expressing and depth of thought.
Ms. Huong Giang predicts that the score distribution will be concentrated in the range of 5 - 7 points; good and excellent students may achieve 7.5 - 8 points, while excellent papers may reach the threshold of 8.5 - 9.5 points.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung, a Literature teacher at Hocmai Education System, said that this year's exam questions have a familiar structure, contributing to creating a comfortable psychology for candidates before entering the next exam subjects.
According to Mr. Hung, the content of the questions closely follows the 2018 Literature program, the structure and format are similar to last year, the commands are clear, helping candidates easily access and deploy their work.
In the reading comprehension section, the material is a free poem with familiar question types such as identifying poetry form, finding details, analyzing rhetorical measures. These are all basic requirements.
The writing part is also not too surprising when it still includes a literary essay and a social essay.
These are all familiar types of questions, clear commands. If they do the correct structure they have learned, candidates can complete the exam well" - Mr. Hung assessed.
According to Mr. Hung, the level of differentiation of the exam is not in the difficulty of the question but mainly reflected in the carefulness and meticulousness in presentation, essay writing skills and students' subtle appreciation ability.
