Vietnamese teen cites Elon Musk to score perfect 10 in literature in high school entrance exam

Citing billionaire Elon Musk in her literature essay, a student secured a perfect score in the subject, completing a remarkable hattrick of perfect 10s in the public high school entrance examination of Dong Thap Province.

When checking her exam results with her parents on June 6, Nguyen Phan Quynh Giang was overwhelmed with joy.

The ninth-grader from Ward 1 Secondary School in the Mekong Delta province emerged as the top scorer in the region, earning perfect 10s in all three subjects - mathematics, literature, and English.

Before the results were announced, Giang had expected to score around 29 out of 30 points, confident in her performance in math and English.

"I never thought I would get a perfect score in literature, so it was a huge surprise," she said. The stellar results secured her admission to Truong Dinh High School, her first-choice institution.

Nguyen Phan Quynh Giang receives recognition for her outstanding academic achievements in 9th grade at Ward 1 Secondary School in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of her parents

Throughout her exam preparation, Giang carried a small notebook everywhere she went. She used it to record math formulas, English vocabulary, and social examples for essays. She also carefully tracked her mistakes to ensure she never repeated them.

In this year's literature exam, the social essay question focused on procrastination. Giang used Musk, who recently became the world's first documented trillionaire with an estimated net worth of $1.1 trillion, driven by his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla, as an example to highlight the importance of initiative in study and everyday life.

Instead of drafting an outline on scrap paper, she organized her ideas mentally and wrote directly onto the answer sheets to save time. She completed the essay with about five minutes left for proofreading.

Literature was the subject she worried about the most. "I find literature quite lengthy and sometimes a bit dry," she admitted.

To improve, she concentrated on mastering different essay formats, including poetry analysis, literary criticism, and social commentary. She also broadened her knowledge through reading, taking a particular interest in the novel "Canh Dong Bat Tan" (Floating Lives) by Vietnamese author Nguyen Ngoc Tu.

For mathematics, rather than simply memorizing formulas, Giang focused on understanding the underlying concepts and proofs before tackling practice problems. She typically solved questions in multiple ways to deepen her comprehension. On exam day, she completed the math test in about half of the allotted 90 minutes and spent the remaining time reviewing her work.

"I redid the questions five or six times. Only when every method produced the same answer did I feel confident," she explained. She noted that real-world geometry problems were the most challenging because students had to visualize and draw the figures themselves before solving them.

English was less of a hurdle for Giang. She had developed a strong foundation from an early age thanks to her mother, who teaches the subject. Giang regularly listened to English songs, read short stories, and logged new vocabulary in her notebook.

Nguyen Hoang Hiep, her homeroom teacher, said Giang's greatest strength is her diligence. "She always takes the initiative to thoroughly complete every assignment given in class," Hiep noted, adding that she consistently earned perfect marks on school tests. Her academic prowess extends beyond core subjects; she also won third prize in the provincial informatics competition during eighth grade.

During the summer break, Giang plans to study mathematics, chemistry, and biology to prepare for high school. With a strong interest in the sciences, she hopes to compete in future academic competitions and become a doctor.

Fascinated by how the human body functions and changes, she hopes to one day treat illnesses and save lives. "I want to live a meaningful life and contribute positive values to society," she said.