Performance Plus for the HKDSE — All-in-one Exam Practice (Vol.

2) (2nd Edition) Set 6 Paper 2

Part B Question 7
Learning English through Drama
Last month, you took part in a training course on drama production. One objective of the course was to help
the participants develop confidence and problem-solving skills. You found this experience rewarding and you
want to share what you have learnt with your fellow students. Write an article for your school magazine
describing what you learnt and how you felt.

Topic Analysis
Your Role A student
• You took part in a training course on drama production
• The course aimed to help the participants develop confidence
Situation / Task Requirements
and problem-solving skills
• You want to share what you learnt with your fellow students
• Describe what you did on the training course
Sub-topics
• Describe what you learnt and how you felt
Text Type Magazine article
Target Audience Teachers and students
• Formal/Semi-formal
Language and Tone
• Use the simple past tense to talk about past events
• To describe a training course
Purpose of Writing
• To entertain the audience

Topic-related Vocabulary
backdrop backstage behind the scenes director
peer production prop reluctant
script spotlight stage stage fright
to coordinate to create to drape to get the ball rolling
to improvise to operate to perform to resolve

Writing Plan
Say something about the drama production training course (e.g., it was
Introductory paragraph organised by the English Department / it aims to help students build
confidence)
How did I feel in the beginning?
• Very shy; not willing to stand in front of others and perform
Body paragraphs
Describe what the teachers and the participants of the training course did
Describe what you learnt and how you felt
• We felt more confident about the whole exercise.
Closing paragraph
• We understand a lot more about drama production.

© Pilot Publishing Company Ltd. 2018 All rights reserved. 18

Performance Plus for the HKDSE — All-in-one Exam Practice (Vol. 2) (2nd Edition) Set 6 Paper 2

Sample Essay
Drama queens

Last month, 10 students became drama queens for the day. As part of our English lessons, a drama
production training course was organised by the English Department. It turned out to be so much fun that
students are even volunteering to coordinate another course during the school holidays. Now, when students
willingly volunteer to give up their holidays, we all need to sit up and take notice.

Being one of the reluctant participants, I feel I have some degree of authority to report on the
proceedings. Many students, including me, are not happy to stand in front of their peers and, well, perform.
Maybe it is just not in our cultural make-up to stand up and do things in front of others.

This is where I have to give it to our teachers who got the ball rolling by performing in front of us. As
their performance unfolded, they slowly brought students onto the stage to help out with non-speaking parts
and to act as extras in their show.

It was all very funny watching the other students. Well, funny until we all ended up on stage doing
something and then there was no audience left to laugh at us. The teachers mentioned that life is a stage and
that we were all participants in the show of life and that as we were now all on stage, we were part of the
drama of life.

By now, the stage was so crowded that there was no room to move. This is when the teachers suggested
that in drama productions, there were many tasks to be performed and that acting on stage only involves a
few members of the whole team. We realised that there were many behind-the-scenes activities and that if we
were shy and did not want to act, we could make a valuable contribution by being in the background
operating lights, coordinating the music or developing the script.

This made many of us feel so much better and slowly we started to feel more confident about the whole
exercise. We were then requested to list our skills and then take on tasks for developing our own drama. This
meant a team developing a script, others creating backdrops and the music to be played.

It turned out to be a whole lot of fun and as we proceeded, each team had to resolve the problems
associated with the tasks they took on.

© Pilot Publishing Company Ltd. 2018 All rights reserved. 19