ENGLISH (ADVANCED)

HSC PREPARATION

THE OVERVIEW

Mapping the HSC (Texts and Electives)

Paper 1- Belonging (Section 1 and 2)

Morning Tea

Paper 1- Belonging (Section 3: Advanced Writing Skills Intro)

Lunch

Modules- Unique requirements of each module and how they differ.

Advanced Writing Skills #2- Practice Response Writing

Peer Marking/ Group Marking

HOW IS PAPER 1 SECTION 1 IS MARKED?

Each question is marked using a kind of scavenger hunt method. The marker has key words, ideas, phrases and details that they scan the answers for. Once you have given the details for a maximum mark for that question, they basically stop reading.

HOW means techniques. HOW means you must include EVIDENCE.

Read the question. No amount of including the word ‘belonging’ will help you if you don’t answer the question given. Be simple. Use the words of the question.

WHAT TO AVOID

Don’t wait to include evidence and techniques like you would in a paragraph.

Don’t overwrite.

Don’t include MORE than the question asks of you.

Don’t hedge bets.

Don’t overthink the simple questions.

Don’t try to sound fancy. There are no marks here for expression!

HOW IS PAPER 1 SECTION 2 MARKED?

The markers every year complain that responses are formulaic and cliché. This section is marked based mainly on four things:

Narrative Voice

Figurative Language

Compact and proficient short story vignette structure

Humour draws a reader closer to your story, drama tends to distance them.

NARRATIVE VOICE

Who is telling the story?What is their name?What’s their show size?How do they feel about their mother?Do they like winter?What is their political agenda?Etc etc etc

Create a unique VOICE to tell any cliché story and that story is immediately sitting amongst literary geniuses!

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

This does not mean ANY metaphor or simile. You need to think about creating a narrative flavour (which is in essence TONE)

Like is your dish Mexican, Indian, Italian- these all have coherent flavour combinations. Your story should too!

e.g.

SHORT STORY AS A VIGNETTEA vignette is a small painting or image that captures a slice of real life. It’s a bit like a photograph,

but I prefer vignette because the creation is purposeful and you control every aspect.

Rules for Short Story:1. Do not attempt flashback unless you are an amazing writer2. You should never populate your story with more than 3 characters and even then, the main

story is about two of them.3. Every story must be driven by both internal and external conflict. Without conflict you have

no story (conflict does not mean fighting)4. You should only span about 1-2 hours in a vignette. Not a day, not a week, not even half a

day.5. You should tell your story through the focalisation of or close to the character you want to

feel connected to.6. Think of your short story (which let’s face it is at best 1200 words) as a scene. Not a whole

movie. You have to convey this scene AND attach it to a larger ‘movie’ that exists somewhere else.

USE HUMOUROne of the best ways, and it’s a proven psychological thing, that creating humour

helps to establish rapport between your reader and the story. The reason so many HSC stories are cliché and forgettable is that they don’t

attempt to create rapport through humour.

HOW??

- Make quaint or unexpected observations- Have characters that are unique and engaging/quirky- Use sardonic commentary- Create unusual dialogue or repatree

SECTION 3An ‘A’ Response typically:

Sustains a thesis that answers the question

Integrates evidence and techniques. Does not address them sequentially.

Uses EVERY word to draw a judgment. (Verbs + Adverbs and Nouns + Adjectives)

Treats the texts as a collection with a binding thematic similarity. Not as texts.

Writes like a Module C response from the Advanced paper or an Ext response. Doesn’t try to write just a ‘belonging’ response. (i.e. aims for sophistication in idea and language)

A ‘B’ Response typically:

Is a total brain dump- because they can’t resist the temptation to write every quote they learned.

Are really long and often very boring. (see above)

Has amazing evidence and textual detail, but has nothing new to say about the texts.

Struggles to treat the extended response as a ‘wholistic’ response to the question.

ADVANCED LANGUAGE-

file://localhost/Volumes/Data/Users/lauren.drego/Desktop/EFAP- LTNS- David Eddy/EFAP/Presentation EFAP Year 12.pptx

Power Combinations

1. Verb/Adverbs (Modality)

Shows Skillfully shows Skillfully Enhances

Conveys Deftly Conveys Deftly Reimagines

Depicts Thoroughly Depicts Thoroughly Reinforces

ADVANCED LANGUAGE-

Power Combinations

1. Nouns/ Adjectives (Nominalisation)

Skrzynecki’s use of metaphor enables the reader to empathise with the migrants and their experiences.

Skrzynecki’s use of metaphor results in the creation of an empathetic bond between the audience and the persona.

Add Passive Voice

An empathetic bond between the audience and the persona is significantly enhanced by Skrzynecki’s recurrent use of animal metaphors.

MODULES- PAPER 2

• Comparative Study• Foreground Context • Based on connections and values

Module A

• Critical Study• Foreground unique forms, features, themes • Based on judgement

Module B

• Text and Representation• Foreground Interpretations• Based on ‘narrative theory’

Module C

WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

Evaluate

HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY EVALUATE?

1. You need a criteria by which to measure (looks, value, length, complexity, use etc etc.)

2. You need the labels or key to use to assign values (successful/fail or good/bad or always/never)

3. You need to then organise your evaluation by the order most suitable- which is NEVER chronological unless you were asked ‘which one is older?’

Module A: To what extent is Bruno Mars’s music career a replication of Michael Jackson’s.

Module B: Evaluate the effect Michael Jackson had on popular music.

Module C: Evaluate the perspectives appropriated by popular media prior to and after Michael Jackson’s death. How do you account for these changes?

Module A: To what extent is Walter White from Breaking Bad a reimagining of Tony Montana in Scarface?

Module B: Breaking Bad has been hailed as the most groundbreaking of modern television shows mainly due to the Shakespearean representation of the antiheroic Walter White. Do you agree?

Module C: How does the representation of divergent viewpoints on Walter White by Jesse and Skylar lead us to a greater awareness of the complexity of human attitudes and behaviour.