📊 DSE English – Paper 1 Exam Analysis

Year	Part	Theme (Text type)
Sample Paper	Part A	Hong Kong in 2047 (opinion piece published in SCMP)
Sample Paper	Part B1	Hong Kong: past and present (comments in an online forum)
Sample Paper	Part B2	1. Childhood friend (poem by a Scottish poet) 2. Boys in education (newspaper article published in Otago Daily Times, NZ)
Practice Paper	Part A	Keeping large animals in aquariums and zoos (newspaper article published in SCMP)
Practice Paper	Part B1	1. Dog attack (newspaper article published in Toronto Sun, CDN) 2. Waste reduction and recycling (preface of a guide published in the US) 3. Waste reduction tips (list from the same source)
Practice Paper	Part B2	1. Unlicensed rubbish collectors in China (newspaper article published in Financial Times, UK) 2. A dog and a wolf (novel excerpt from an American novelist)
2012	Part A	Board games (feature article published in The Nation, TH)
2012	Part B1	Campaign about climate change (feature article published in VOA, US)
2012	Part B2	1. Tiger mother (book review published in Booklist, US) 2. Tiger mother (online newspaper article published in The Daily Beast, US)
2013	Part A	Terra-cotta warriors (magazine article published in National Geographic, US)
2013	Part B1	1. Guzheng (newspaper article published in SCMP) 2. Social networking websites (newspaper article published in SCMP)
2013	Part B2	Dystopian literature (magazine article published in The New Yorker, US)
2014	Part A	Robot (short story by an American writer)
2014	Part B1	1. Love letters (opinion piece published in The Guardian, UK) 2. Love letters (same opinion piece)
2014	Part B2	Celebrity (autobiography excerpt by Stephen Fry)
2015	Part A	1. Korean culture (newspaper article published in SCMP) 2. Korean culture (newspaper article published in The Wall Street Journal, US)
2015	Part B1	1. Car accident (Sample witness statement available online) 2. Driverless cars (newspaper article published in The Washington Post, US)
2015	Part B2	Liberal education in the US (opinion piece published in The New York Times, US)
2016	Part A	1. Superstitions (unknown list) 2. Superstitions(book excerpt by a British professor)
2016	Part B1	Food truck (unknown introduction; newspaper article published in The Standard; three letters to the editor published in SCMP)
2016	Part B2	Food truck (newspaper article published in Forbes, US; newspaper article published in The Economist, US)
2017	Part A	Recycling (newspaper article published in The New York Times, US)
2017	Part B1	1. Millennials (webpage published by Goldman Sachs, US) 2. Millennials (magazine article published by Marie Clarie, UK)
2017	Part B2	Millennials (journal article published by an American professor)
2018	Part A	1. Tutors for learning musical instruments (unknown job advertisements, possibly from this site) 2. Music and concentration (newspaper article published in The Guardian, UK)
2018	Part B1	1. Bee stings (article published by a pest control company) 2. Hong Kong’s Beekeeper (feature article published by TreeHugger, US; feature article published by Assemble Papers, AU)
2018	Part B2	1. Hand pollination (newspaper article published by NPR, US) 2. Honey collecting (book excerpt from a British food writer)
2019	Part A	Messiness (magazine article published by Talent Economy, US)
2019	Part B1	1. Library activities (webpage published by Hong Kong Public Libraries) 2. Reading culture in Hong Kong (newspaper article published in SCMP) 3. Reading culture in Hong Kong (letter to the editor published in SCMP)
2019	Part B2	1. Rebellious youth (autobiography excerpt by Clive James)
2020	Part A	Tai Kwun (feature article published in Zolima City Mag)
2020	Part B1	1. Kite flying (brochure purbished by American Kitefliers Association) 2. Kite-flying culture in Hong Kong (feature article published in Varsity CUHK)
2020	Part B2	Agony uncle (feature article published by The Telegraph, UK; advice column published by The Telegraph, UK)
2021	Part A	1. Healthy fast food (restaurant review published by Viva, NZ) 2. The struggling major food companies (feature article published by Fortune, US) 3. A sustainable resort (unknown newsletter)
2021	Part B1	1. Housing estate (unknown online forum discussion) 2. Plants (unknown flyer)
2021	Part B2	1. Apollo 11 (unknown short text) 2. Terraforming Mars (feature article published by HowStuffWorks, US) 3. Ethics related to space exploration (journal article published in Human Ecology Review, US)
2022	Part A	The dying traditional comic industry in Hong Kong (feature article published by Coconuts, Hong Kong)
2022	Part B1	1. Job advertisements (unknown advertisements) 2. 'Slasher' (feature article published by The Guardian, UK)
2022	Part B2	Ethical concerns of using AI in decision-making (feature article published by The Harvard Gazette, US)