In 2001, the HKEAA decided on an across-the-board revamp upon the format of questions in the exam. The changes included the replacement of questions on prescribed texts with open-ended questions in the questions on culture paper. It was HKEAA's attempt to prevent candidates from memorising the suggested reading materials. That, however, was dismissed by a number of candidates as a move towards the subject turning out into a "saliva subject" (吹水科, Jyutping: Ceoi1 Seoi2 Fo1) in which candidates concentrate on writing large amounts of verbose text and neglect the actual quality of the contents.