G3 Higher Chinese · 口试 Oral examination · K355 / 1116
How is the 讨论 in the O-Level Higher Chinese oral marked?
The second half of the Higher Chinese oral starts from your own report. Here is what the descriptors reward, and how to prepare for questions you cannot see in advance.
Updated 10 October 2026 · Exam facts checked against SEAB on 13 September 2026 · 7 min read
In short
The 讨论 is the second half of the O-Level / SEC G3 Higher Chinese oral: the examiners discuss the content of your 口头报告 with you, and it is worth 20 marks. Most of those marks are for taking part, explaining your views clearly and giving reasons for them; the rest are for 语文表达 (language use) on the same scale as the report. The top band asks for full engagement, while needing prompts is described in the lower bands.
On this page
What happens in the Higher Chinese 讨论?
After your report, the examiners hold a discussion with you about what you said. It is the second of the two parts of the O-Level / SEC G3 Higher Chinese oral (1116 / K355), and it is worth 20 marks (10% of the subject), exactly the same as the 口头报告 (oral report) before it.
From the syllabus
“主考员将根据口头报告的内容，跟考生进行讨论。”
The examiners will hold a discussion with the candidate based on the content of the oral report.
That one sentence is the whole of what the syllabus says about the discussion's content. It does not say how many questions there are, how long this part lasts on its own, or what kind of questions are asked. What it does say is important: the starting point is your report, not a fresh prompt. The points you chose to make in the first half are the material for the second.
This is different from the Chinese oral's 会话, which is a conversation about the clip; Higher Chinese has no 会话 at all. The Higher Chinese oral overview compares the two papers.
How are the 讨论 marks split?
Like the report, the discussion is published as two scores: one for the discussion itself and one for 语文表达. Both run in four bands, with 等级 1 as the top band.
| Criterion | Marks | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 讨论 (the discussion: taking part, explaining, giving reasons) | 14 | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10 |
| 语文表达 (language use: fluency and clarity) | 6 | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10 |
| The whole 讨论 | 20 marks | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language) |
The 语文表达 scale here is word for word the one used for the report, so the same language is assessed twice across the paper. The discussion score, though, is judged on a different strand: 参与讨论 (taking part in the discussion).
What do the 讨论 bands reward?
Each band has three lines: how you take part, how you explain your views, and what reasons you give. Read across the bands and the differences are concrete.
| Band | Descriptor | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 等级 1 (11–14) | 非常热烈地参与讨论；能详尽、明确地解释观点；有充分的理由证明观点 | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10 |
| 等级 2 (7–10) | 能参与讨论；能相当清楚、明确地解释观点；有相当充分的理由证明观点 | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10 |
| 等级 3 (4–6) | 能参与部分讨论，有时需要提示；能清楚地解释观点；有些理由证明观点 | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10 |
| 等级 4 (1–3) | 无法参与讨论；需要不断地引导；含糊地、无法解释观点；很少理由／没有理由证明观点 | SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10 |
- Taking part. The top band is 非常热烈地参与讨论 (takes part very actively). Needing prompts appears from 等级 3 down: 有时需要提示 (sometimes needs prompting), then 需要不断地引导 (needs constant guidance). A candidate who answers in one line and waits for the next question is making the examiners do the work the descriptors describe as a lower band.
- Explaining. 等级 1 explains views 详尽、明确 (in detail and clearly); 等级 3 says only 能清楚地解释观点 (explains views clearly), without the top band's 详尽. In our reading, clarity alone is not the top band.
- Reasons. The scale runs from 充分的理由 (ample reasons) down to 很少理由／没有理由 (few or no reasons). An answer that states a view and stops has given a view, not a reason.
What questions will the examiners ask?
Nobody outside the exam can tell you, and SEAB publishes no list. The syllabus says only that the discussion is based on your report. The kinds of question below are OralPrep's working list of what a discussion built on a report can reasonably go to: it is a way to practise, not a description of the exam.
- Why? Explain a point from your report in more depth, or give the reason behind it.
- For example? Back a point with another example, from the clip, from Singapore, or from your own life.
- What about the other side? Respond to a view that disagrees with yours.
- What should be done? Suggest what a person, a school or the community could do.
- And you? Relate the topic to your own experience or choices.
How do you answer a follow-up question well?
Our guidance, built on the three lines of the 等级 1 descriptor: answer the question in your first sentence (明确), give the reason (理由), make it concrete with an example (详尽), and where it fits, take the discussion one step further yourself, with a condition, a suggestion or a link back to your report (热烈地参与).
The question
你刚才说社区服务能培养责任感。可是有些学生只是为了完成学校的要求才去参加。这样的服务还有意义吗？
A sample examiner question we wrote, following the sample report on the oral-report page: you said community service builds responsibility, but some students only do it to meet the school's requirement. Is that kind of service still meaningful?
A weaker answer
有意义。因为帮助别人是好的。
Yes, it is. Because helping others is good.
A stronger answer
我认为还是有意义的，只是意义可能没那么大。就算一开始只是为了完成要求，学生也会亲眼看到别人的困难。我有个同学原本只是为了完成学校规定的社区服务，后来却主动报名参加了下一次活动。不过，如果学校能让学生自己选择服务的项目，我相信大家会更投入。
I think it is still meaningful, though perhaps less so. Even if students start only to meet the requirement, they still see other people's difficulties for themselves. A classmate of mine first went only to complete the school's required community service, but later signed up for the next activity on his own. That said, if schools let students choose their own projects, I believe everyone would put more into it.
What changed
- The first sentence answers the question and qualifies it (还是有意义的，只是…): a view explained 明确, not just asserted.
- A reason follows the view, and a specific case backs the reason: 有充分的理由证明观点.
- The last sentence takes the discussion forward with a suggestion of the candidate's own, which is what 热烈地参与讨论 looks like in practice, instead of waiting to be prompted.
The descriptor: “非常热烈地参与讨论；能详尽、明确地解释观点；有充分的理由证明观点” — SEAB syllabus K355 (G3 Higher Chinese Language), 附录C, p.10
Notice that the stronger answer does not abandon the report's view to agree with the examiner, and does not dig in either. It concedes what is fair, keeps its position, and gives a reason. Changing your mind is allowed; what the descriptors reward is explaining the view you hold, whichever it is.
Does the 语文表达 score work differently in the discussion?
No. The scale is printed identically in both parts, from 等级 1 (说话十分清楚、流利) to 等级 4 (说话含糊、断断续续，影响表现). The difference is the situation: the report is prepared, the discussion is answered on the spot. We give no advice on how anything should sound.
How can you practise the 讨论 at home?
- Give a practice report on a topic from the themes candidates have recalled (see the recalled Higher Chinese oral topics).
- Have someone ask one question of each kind from the list above, built on what was actually said in the report.
- Record the answers. For each one, check the three descriptor lines: did the first sentence answer the question, was there a reason, was there an example?
- Note every place the answer needed a prompt before it went further: in our reading, those are the moments the lower bands describe. (Whether asking for a question to be repeated counts as a prompt, the syllabus does not say.)
Common questions
How many marks is the Higher Chinese 讨论 worth?
20 marks, or 10% of Higher Chinese, the same as the 口头报告. 附录C divides it into a larger score for the discussion itself and a smaller 语文表达 score.
Is the 讨论 about the video clip or about my report?
About your report. The syllabus says the examiners discuss 口头报告的内容 (the content of the oral report) with the candidate.
Can I disagree with the examiner in the discussion?
The descriptors do not reward agreeing or disagreeing; they reward taking part, explaining your view clearly and in detail, and giving reasons. A view you can defend with reasons is what the top band describes, whichever side it is on.
What if I need the examiner to prompt me?
The descriptors place 有时需要提示 (sometimes needs prompting) in 等级 3 and 需要不断地引导 (needs constant guidance) in 等级 4. The syllabus does not say whether asking for a question to be repeated counts as a prompt, so we do not claim either way.
Sources
Last checked against the SEAB syllabus documents on 13 September 2026. This page was updated on 10 October 2026. OralPrep is not affiliated with SEAB or MOE.