If you’re studying IBDP Chinese at an international school in Hong Kong, you’ve probably experienced at least one of these:
“I understood the article, but I just couldn’t write the Paper 1 analysis.”
*”I can speak Chinese, but a 10-minute Individual Oral? I can’t last that long.”*
“I have no idea what’s wrong with my HL Essay.”
Students taking Chinese A and Chinese B both run into these problems – but for completely different reasons, and with completely different solutions.
A good IB Chinese tutor who really knows what they’re doing won’t start by asking “Do you want tutoring?”
They’ll ask:
- “Are you taking A or B?”
- Because everything that comes next depends on that answer.
- Paper 1: same exam paper, two different kinds of “stuck”
If you’re taking Chinese B:
Your Paper 1 tests 实用文本写作 (practical writing) – letters, blog posts, speeches, debate scripts.
What you struggle with most:
- Wrong format (a complaint letter with no closing? points deducted immediately)
- Wrong tone (using the same tone for the principal and for a friend)
- Missing task requirements (the task says “suggest three solutions” – you only give two)
A good tutor will:
- Give you a template for each text type (how to start, how to develop, how to end)
- Help you build up high-frequency sentence patterns (“我写这封信是为了……”, “根据图表……”)
- Use past paper questions and mark strictly against the criteria – so you learn that format and tone matter more than fancy vocabulary
If you’re taking Chinese A:
Your Paper 1 tests unseen text analysis – a散文, an advertisement, an editorial, or a speech. You have 90 minutes to write an analytical essay.
What you struggle with most:
- Writing a summary instead of an analysis (you’re telling the examiner what the text says, not how the author says it)
- Listing too many literary devices – one sentence each, no depth
- Loose structure – your arguments jump around
A good tutor will:
- Teach you a quick “text dissection” routine (text type, audience, tone, key devices)
- Force you to pick only 2-3 analytical points – go deep on each, instead of listing ten points with one line each
- Give you an analysis framework (claim → textual evidence → device analysis → effect)
- Same Paper 1: A students are learning how to analyse metaphors in depth. B students are learning how to end a complaint letter.
- Individual Oral (IO): a 10-minute mental battle
If you’re taking Chinese B:
Your IO tests: look at a picture, describe it + connect it to your own culture + answer the examiner’s questions.
What scares you most:
- Seeing the picture and having no idea what to say (“There’s a tree in the picture… and a person… that’s it”)
- Freezing when the examiner asks follow-up questions
- Not being able to fill 10 minutes
A good tutor will:
- Give you fixed sentence patterns (“图片左边是……”, “这让我想起……”)
- Prepare 10 keywords per theme (for “technology”: social media, online safety, screen time…)
- Run mock IOs – timed, recorded, played back so you hear where you got stuck
- Teach you emergency phrases: “不好意思，可以再说慢一点吗？”, “我想说的是……”
If you’re taking Chinese A:
Your IO tests: choose a global issue (全球性问题), connect it to two works you’ve studied, speak for 10 minutes + answer follow-up questions.
What scares you most:
- Picking a “fake” global issue (“social pressure” – too broad, too vague)
- No real connection between your two works
- Getting completely stuck during the Q\&A
A good tutor will:
- Help you find a real, specific global issue within your works (e.g. “How does consumerism reshape urban memory?” – much better than “social pressure”)
- Train you not just to talk about each work – but to talk about how the works speak to each other
- Run mock Q\&A sessions that target the weakest part of your argument – drill until you can hold your ground
- Same IO: A students are discussing feminism in Red Sorghum. B students are describing “there’s a person drinking tea on the left of the picture.”
- Paper 2 & HL Essay: A’s exclusive battleground
If you’re taking Chinese A, you’ll also face two things that B students never touch:
Paper 2 (comparative essay):
- Compare two works in response to a literary question
- Difficulty: staying on topic + comparing (not “work A then work B”, but back and forth)
A good tutor will:
- Help you close-read two works and find reusable points of comparison
- Teach you not to write “summary of work A + summary of work B”
- Run timed writing practice – force you to finish in 45 minutes
HL Essay (1500-1800 words):
- Choose one work, write your own question, produce an academic literary analysis
- Difficulty: your question can’t be too broad or too narrow; your argument needs layers; it can’t read like a book report
A good tutor will:
- Help you refine your question (from “On tragedy in To Live” to “The changing symbolism of ‘tears’ in To Live”)
- Mark in stages: outline → first draft → revision → final draft
- Tell you the truth: “The HL Essay isn’t a writing competition. IB wants to see your analytical ability.”
- Language problems: A fights “translationese”, B fights “can’t get the message across”
Chinese A students (especially native speakers raised in international schools):
Your problem isn’t that you don’t know Chinese – it’s that your sentences sound like English translated word-for-word:
Too many “的” (“He is a person who really likes to help others” → “He’s very helpful”)
Overly long subjects
Misused passive voice
A good tutor will rewrite your sentences, one by one, until your Chinese sounds like real Chinese.
Chinese B students:
Your problems are more basic:
- Wrong measure words (“一个人” vs “一条人”)
- Tense markers mixed up (了/过/着)
- Limited vocabulary
- A good tutor will give you sentence frameworks, synonym lists, and a clear error checklist.
Learning the All Round Way
Transform your IB journey with expert Chinese tutors in Hong Kong who accelerate language mastery, dismantle complex texts, crush internal assessments, and launch students toward stellar scores and university-ready fluency. If you find yourself needing more guidance, we invite you to connect with us at All Round Education Academy. Our dedicated team is here to support you in achieving your academic goals. For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or +852 6348 8744.