HSC Exam Advice --- English Exam Paper 1 --- Area of Study: Belonging Examination technique is very important in this Paper, particularly time allocation. An extra three minutes spent on the Reading Task mightn’t seem much, but if you also spend an extra four on the Creative, with a minute here and there between sections, you will find yourself with only thirty minutes for the essay instead of forty. This translates to one or two pages less in the essay, the difference between an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ range response (if such a difference can be quantified). Elegance of writing and sophistication of language use and sound syntax are rewarded over the length of scripts. Section I (Reading Task) This section requires you to respond to unseen texts, which are selected from a broad range of text types. The more difficult questions will require you to extrapolate concepts from the texts, justifying your interpretation with technical analysis. It is useful to have a store of common Belonging concepts, and to be practised in extrapolating Belonging concepts from Belonging texts. Include in your preparation careful revision of literary techniques and visual concepts to use in your analysis of representations of Belonging. The progression of questions in this section is carefully structured, with a view to making the assessment of your abilities as productive as possible. Typically the first question will be very easy, and require a single line response! Allocate the time you spend on each of the questions according to the marks it is worth. One guide could be to allocate 2.5 minutes per mark for the paper. So a two-mark question is allocated five minutes etc. The degree of difficulty can also be assessed in terms of the mark allocations. You should consider the mark allocation VERY seriously in shaping your response. A general guide is 1 mark, I sentence, 2 marks 3 sentences and so on. The final five or six mark question requires significant detail, whereas the 1 mark question requires a succinct response. The final question requires you to respond with a mini essay. It will require you use two texts that you have read in this section and synthesise them in your response. You should also include an evaluation of how the techniques have achieved their purpose, and you should avoid using exactly the same examples that you have used for previous questions. For every question, it is vitally important that you explicitly link technique to meaning within the specific text, not just some general statement about belonging.

PTO

“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn... and change.” Carl Rogers

exam /study tip # 13

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Structure for final question: 1. Introductory sentence (introduce both texts, deal with the words of the question.)

2. Paragraph of analysis on your first text, responding to the question with techniques and examples.

3. (Begin with linking sentence, ‘while text one does X, text two does Y.’ or ‘Similarly, text two does…’) Paragraph of analysis

on second text.

4. Conclusion sentence where you summarise what both texts say, and then you make a judgment and pick which text is more successful.

Eg. “while both texts are united in their exploration of something in belonging, Text Two provides a more complex portrayal of belonging through the inclusion of multiple characters, whose contrasting experiences indicate the degree to which an attitude to belonging varies.” The expected responses are all evident in the texts provided so careful consideration in your reading time will help your absorption of the texts. Past papers and are readily available on the Board of Studies website. There are also marking guidelines and possible answers. It is good to access these papers on line but some texts are not available due to copyright so you may be able to get them from your school library. The marking guidelines and answers are invaluable for guidance as to what the markers are looking for. Remember to respond in the form of the direction word e.g. explain. Visual Texts and Techniques One of the text types appearing in this section is invariably visual. It is useful to be familiar with a few visual techniques; and apply a range of techniques to each answer. You should always start with the idea then the overall composition then break the visual text down from there. Some visual techniques are even predictable, due to the nature of the HSC English paper and visual texts in general. Visual techniques include colour, linear and/or atmospheric perspective, font size and bold for lettering, dominant diagonals (creating tension) or dominant horizontals (suggesting harmony), and vectors. Make sure you respond to the question with a visual technique even if the image has words. You may want to link visual and language aspects of the text. It is necessary having identified the technique to provide a valid connection to the question and to the specific concept of belonging highlighted in your answer. It is never enough, remember, to discuss techniques alone. They must be linked back to the concept under discussion and the meaning of the specific text. Consider concepts as functions of techniques, and analyse them as such. Section II (Composing Task) This section requires you to compose in an imaginative way, in response to an unseen stimulus or stimuli. Your composition will need to demonstrate concepts consistent with your study of Belonging. Advice varies concerning whether or not you should enter the examination with a pre-prepared story but recently the Notes from The Marking Centre have stated this is an issue. This emerges when the response is clearly not responding to the set question. Regular practice completing a range of imaginative responses will stand you in good stead for your response in this section. PTO

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A positive preparation technique is to expose yourself to a wide variety of others’ creative writing. Read widely: prose, poetry, articles and from journals --- and especially SHORT stories --- to stimulate your thoughts. Avoid writing on topics of which you have little or no knowledge. While avoiding stereotypic teenage angst, base your writing on aspects of life that are familiar to you and you can write with confidence and alter to inject imaginary aspects. Many students have discovered that applying significant research into the concept, setting and characterisation of your composition is useful. Ensure you can clearly visualise every aspect of the story and that your character has enough depth to emotively move the marker. Follow the guidelines carefully and ensure if you are required to use the stimulus within your text or use it as an idea. The stimulus will be related conceptually, if not specifically, to the reading task and the essay task. The task may be prescriptive and require inclusion in a certain part of your response. This has been the case in past HSC exams. If the question says to use the stimulus as an opening then position it at the very beginning. If the stimulus directs you to first person or third person then follow this prompt. The last few HSC papers have provided students with TWO instructions in the question. A clear comment from the marking centre has been that many students only referred to ONE element of the question in their composition. Make sure the stimulus, and all aspects of the question, form a significant component of your composition. Don’t expect that this section will be a narrative. Be prepared for other text types. Section III (Analytical Task) It is important that you remember the purpose of your response in this section (usually an essay); this is to persuade, not inform, as is commonly believed. Your intention should be to persuade your audience (the marker) that your response to the question is valid. Your response will be persuasive if you mount a series of well-structured, rational arguments that are supported by quotations and close technical analysis (the evidence for your arguments). In the process, you will demonstrate what you know. It is important to focus your use of textual evidence to validate your assertions and not comprise what you know. Only use detail, which is relevant to the question. Better responses will directly address the concerns of the question and include evaluation of how the text achieves its purpose, within the confines of the question. The question must form the basis for the thesis of your response and be sustained throughout the entire response. Markers become wary of essays, which obviously, ‘‘top and tail’’. This means that you must not rewrite a prepared response with no, or very little, consideration of the question. Students who believe an essay or speech should inform tend to produce a commentary on the texts or, worse, a series of observations or a recount on plot and technique. You do not need to explain the related text to the marker. Students should consider wisely their choice of related text material in this section. Ensure that your related text contains enough ‘depth’ for you to write in a sophisticated manner on the concept required within the question. Whilst students may prepare two or more related texts to use in their response, it is essential that you only use the number of related texts specified by the examiner. If the question states, ‘‘using your set text and ONE related text’’, you will only be marked on one related text. In this section make sure you produce the register of the required text type. If an essay is required, be sure to persuade, using evidence (quotations and technical analysis) to support your arguments. If a speech, be sure to engage your audience early with a direct reference to the circumstances that define them (your audience will always be clearly identified in the question). Be sure to make explicit the relevance of your topic (Belonging) to these circumstances, and continue to make occasional references to these circumstances throughout your speech. You should extend and maintain this register with rhetorical devices consistent with a speech. Many questions can be found for students to practice on the Board of Studies site or within their school libraries. Paper 2: Modules There is less to say regarding the modules, since different electives are chosen by individual schools. However, some general points can be made. Many of these are consistent with Paper 1. Always read the rubric at the top of the paper. This will direct your response as you can see what you will be assessed on. It also focuses on the module and elective. PTO

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Go into the exam with a clear understanding of your module and which elective you have studied as well as your text(s). This will inform you how the response should be structured, through what lens. For each module your response should always start with the particular concerns of that module eg: for Advanced Module A responses should begin with the idea of the comparative study; Module B will focus on the text; Module C should be about representation. For Standard: Module A is focused on language (voice or visual); Module B is a close study; Module C is about texts and society. Then move into your particular elective. You should specifically address the terms of the question and respond with an evaluative argument. Interpret the question; don’t merely repeat it. You should access the Notes from the Marking Centre from previous years with the exam question next to you. That way, you can see exactly how precisely the markers take into consideration the question. A prepared essay will lock you out of the top bands if you do not answer the question. Module B for both Advanced and Standard, requires a close or critical study of a text. This section poses the most variation for the types of questions students may receive. You must closely know every aspect of the text that you have studied, every poem, every speech, every section of the play or novel. The focus for a students’ answer must be their personal understanding of the text and how they have come to this understanding. Exam technique is important here too, for instance, particularly time allocation. An extra three minutes spent on Module A mightn’t seem much, but if you also spend an extra four on the Module B, with a minute here and there between sections, you will find yourself with only thirty minutes for your third module instead of forty. This translates to one or two pages less, the difference between an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ range response (if such a difference can be quantified). One of the sections in this paper may require you to respond in an alternative text type, often a speech. As with the Area of Study, you should establish the register of the text type required. If a speech, engage your audience with a direct reference to the circumstances that define them (your audience will always be clearly identified in the question). Be sure to make explicit the relevance of your topic to these circumstances, and continue to make occasional references to these throughout your speech. You should extend and maintain this register with rhetorical devices consistent with a speech. Sometimes the question will include an extract. Make sure you refer to the features of the extract and always connect this with the rest of the text. Don’t see the extract as different or isolated from anything else you have to say. In Advanced you need a related text for Module C; In Standard you need related texts for Modules A and C. Modules that require related texts will indicate clearly in the question what the requirements are. The HSC is prescriptive so you don’t need to go beyond what is asked. That being said, as you cannot predict the questions have as an absolute minimum two related texts in readiness for your response.

More subject specific advice will be issued to students at our ‘‘Trial Exam Revision Lectures’’.

Good luck with your exam preparations! TSFX