Units 3 & 4 Literature Study Advice One of the perks of teaching VCE Literature is that I can indulge my love of a good book. Of course, some of you may be looking at the pile of Literature texts on your bedside and feeling more anxious than excited. Keep in mind that the enjoyment and appreciation of your Literature texts will arise from discussion, debate and the challenge of exploring the meanings of the texts. The hard work of analysis and shaping readings will bring many rewards. VCE Literature requires you to read six texts. The texts have been chosen by your Literature teacher from the VCAA Literature text list. Some of the texts are chosen from List A. List A texts may be used for School Assessed Coursework. The other texts are chosen from List B. List B texts are also used for School Assessed Coursework and are featured on the end-of-year examination. By now you should have read the texts for enjoyment. If you haven’t read the texts, it would be wise to ask your Literature teacher for support. Your Literature teacher should provide you with an outline of the course that indicates your program for each term, the lessons set aside to complete SACs and the dates of practice examinations and revision sessions.

Summarising Unit 3 and 4 During Unit 3 you will learn about: Area of Study 1: Adaptations and Transformations This area of study focuses on how the form of text is significant in making meaning. Students reflect upon the way meaning changes when the form of the text is changed. Area of Study 2: Views, Values and Contexts This area of study focuses on consideration of the views and values in texts and the ways in which these are expressed to create particular perspectives of the world. Area of Study 3: Considering Alternative Viewpoints This area of study focuses on how various interpretations and judgements about a text can contribute to the students’ interpretations. PTO

“Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action.” Benjamin Disraeli

exam /study tip # 18

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During Unit 4 you will learn about: Area of Study 1: Creative Responses to Texts This area of study focuses on the imaginative techniques used for creating and re-creating a literary work. Area of Study 2: Close Analysis This area of study focuses on detailed scrutiny of the style, concerns and construction of a text.

In Class It is important to make the most of every Literature lesson. While it might sound like I’m stating the obvious, you need to bring your copy of the text to class. It is also important to maintain an organised folder of notes about the text. Some Literature classes will run as lectures but most will be discussion based. It is important that you contribute to these discussions and listen to the views of your peers. Your written interpretations of the texts will be enhanced by these conversations. If you are uncertain or confused about a passage in the text, seek assistance during class.

Homework Don’t procrastinate! If your Literature teacher sets homework, complete the task as soon as you can. Homework is also your responsibility. Make a habit of reviewing the work that you have undertaken in class: add to the notes that you made, annotate supplementary reading material, reread the passages that were the focus of the lesson, undertake some online research. You should also spend homework time preparing for the next Literature lesson. It is wise to make time to reread the text, particularly those sections that are likely to be discussed. Sometimes homework time is about thinking. Read a chapter or a scene or a short story or a poem, and then take a walk. Use the time to concentrate on what you have just read. Some homework is best shared: discuss passages from the texts with others who have read the text and share the often onerous task of annotating the text. Aim to build your own course notes. These should be put together from class notes, direct and indirect evidence from the texts, analysis of this evidence, and information from other resources. It is useful to identify key passages and make notes about each key passage by drawing on the advice about passage interpretation. Constant reading of your texts is invaluable. You may notice details that you overlooked before. Parts of the text that were inaccessible on a first or even second reading may suddenly make sense. You will realise the key nature of certain passages.

SACs In Semester 1 you will complete: An analysis of how the form of a text influences meaning. It may be presented in written, oral or multimedia form. An analysis of the views and values of a text. It may be presented in written or multimedia form. An evaluation of one or more points of view about a text, and may be presented in written, oral or multimedia form. PTO

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In Semester 2 you will complete: An imaginative composition based on a text. The composition may be presented in written or multimedia form. A brief reflective commentary discussing the purpose and context of the imaginative composition and a textual analysis

presented in written form. Your teacher will establish the conditions of each SAC and assess each SAC. Read the TSFX Summer School Literature materials prior to beginning work on each outcome. The advice about each outcome will help you to analyse the text and prepare for the SAC.

Exam Preparation The end-of-year examination assesses your ability to write sustained interpretations of two different kinds of texts. Begin your preparations for the Literature examination in Term One. Many students wait until the Term 3 holidays – don’t! Your Part B texts are your exam texts. Identify key passages and then use the examination criteria and assessment descriptors to guide your analysis of key passages. Use the following three questions to prompt an analysis: What is the passage about? Why is the passage important? How is language used to create meaning?

When you are feeling confident, start working with passages in combination. There is no one size fits all plan for a passage based interpretation of a text. As you complete exam type tasks, you will create your own formula for each text.

Resources Visit the VCAA website to learn about VCE Literature:

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/literature/literatureindex.html#H2N10034 The Literature study design provides detailed information about the areas of study, outcomes and assessment. Your Literature teacher uses the information found in the study guide to design the curriculum. The Literature Assessment Handbook contains assessment advice for both School-assessed Coursework and the examination. The Literature Examination Reports are essential reading. Knowing what went right and what went wrong for Literature students in previous years is invaluable. Annotate the sample responses using the examination assessment criteria and the grade descriptors. Draw on the style of the sample responses. The examinations from previous years offer the opportunity to become familiar with the format of the Literature examination and tasks that you can use to practise constructing passage interpretations.

Reread the TSFX Summer School Literature materials and review the notes that you made at the lectures.

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There are very few texts on the market that have been written specifically for Year 12 Literature. Insight publish a text book titled Literature for Senior Students and Cambridge publish a text book titled Checkpoints VCE Literature 2006 – 2012. You will find study guides for some of the VCE Literature texts. Be mindful of the fact that these study guides may not have been written for VCE Literature. While study guides on texts are helpful resources, you should use this type of resource in a careful way. Do not see a study guide as a short cut to forming an interpretation. Your responses to texts need to show that you have developed independent and individual interpretations.

Buy or borrow a dictionary of literary terms. You can also make your own glossary of literary terms by using reference texts

and the Internet. Using the language of Literature will cause your writing to sound more authoritative and expressive. Learning about the writer’s life and times is important. While you are not expected to write in a biographical way about the

writer of a text, knowing about significant events in the writer’s life, the writer’s attitude to the society in which he or she lived etc. may help you to understand the purpose of a text, and the views and values that the writer chooses to endorse, challenge and leave unquestioned.

Visit university libraries on the weekend and during the school holidays to source commentaries. It is important to consider

alternative viewpoints. Use a strategy like PMI to annotate the commentaries. You should also locate reviews of the texts. The Internet is a starting point for this type of research. It is possible to source

reviews of texts published in other centuries. Reading reviews that were written at the time of the text’s publication, will offer an insight into how the text was regarded by readers of the time. Reviews offer an interpretation of the text. These interpretations may endorse or challenge your view of the text.

Background reading is essential. The text will dictate the nature of your research. Collect newspaper and magazine articles,

bookmark and investigate websites of relevance, and borrow non-fiction texts that provide information about the particular contexts featured in your texts.

Good luck with your study pursuits! The Team at TSFX.