An attempt to make the HSC English exam more unpredictable has left some students stumped on the first day of the state-wide exams, but teachers have praised the "obscure" questions.
Over 66,000 students were tested on the new English syllabus for the first time on Thursday, which was focused on "texts and human experiences".
Students were expecting to be asked how their text related to the broad theme of human experiences, as was the case in sample papers provided by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)