English Advanced 2022 HSC exam pack

Question 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• explain effectively the different ways Azzam celebrates togetherness of different people and cultures, for example, through detailing the origins of the diversity of the spices such as ‘West Indies’ and ‘Indonesia’
• use well-chosen textual evidence to support their explanation of how togetherness was celebrated
• provide an explanation that was closely linked to the metaphorical interpretation of the poem.

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing the question with a close emphasis on the ways Azzam celebrates considering togetherness of people and cultures rather than food or spices
• providing well-chosen evidence that supports their ideas.

Question 2

In better responses, students were able to:

• analyse effectively how Fforde captures the narrator’s experience of awe and wonder, for example, through the rich description of the setting as ‘elegant’ and ‘endless’ library, and the quality of the books, for example, ‘these books (are) alive!’
• use well-chosen evidence to support a strong understanding of how the narrator’s experience of awe and wonder is captured
• provide a coherent and succinct analysis.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding relying on simplistic description of the narrator’s experience
• addressing all parts of the question in particular ‘the narrator’s experience of awe and wonder’, not just wonder
• using evidence that is well-chosen and that supports their ideas.

Question 3 

In better responses, students were able to:

• skilfully analyse and engage closely with the question especially with the notion of paradox
• understand the paradoxes of human behaviour in the text, for example, humans are plunderers, predators and yet that have left Antarctica untouched except for scientific inquiry
• use well-chosen textual evidence to illustrate the paradoxes of human behaviour.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding what paradoxes are and being able to correctly identify and explain their use in the text
• providing a detailed response that analyses rather than simply describes or briefly explains
• using well-chosen evidence to support ideas.

Question 4 

In better responses, students were able to:

• analyse effectively how the value of memory is conveyed either conceptually or through language techniques
• address all aspects of the question especially ‘the value of memory’ such as through the connection between memory to place and the ‘reconstructive powers’ of human memory
• use well-chosen evidence from the text to support ideas.

Areas for students to improve include:

• answering all parts of the question, especially the ‘value of memory’
• providing an analysis with an emphasis on what Saramango intended to convey instead of just describing the text
• using textual evidence that addresses the question and supports ideas.

Question 5 

In better responses, students were able to:

• compare insightfully how both texts represent the interactions between humans and the natural world through establishing a clear thesis
• sustain the comparison between the texts
• use detailed and well-selected evidence from both texts that supported their comparison and ideas.

Areas for students to improve include:

• writing a succinct and clear response that addresses all parts of the question
• using the language of comparison throughout the response
• making references to both texts using detailed, relevant and well-chosen textual evidence.

Students should:

• demonstrate an understanding of how texts represent human experiences
• develop a line of argument that addresses the question
• demonstrate a deep understanding of their prescribed text through a range of textual evidence
• compose an organised response with a logical sequence of arguments
• consider using a plan.

In better responses, students were able to:

• engage with all components of the question by identifying specific emotions and exploring how they arose through human experiences
• analyse the distinctive features of the text’s form and considered how they represent specifically identified emotions
• incorporate purposefully selected and wide-ranging textual evidence
• maintain control of language to express their ideas
• construct a personal and informedline of argument that is sustained throughout the response.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging with all parts of the question
• analysing how a range of language and structural features are employed to construct meaning
• incorporating detailed evidence that is specific to the text’s medium and form
• avoiding vague or generic comments that do not develop their line of argument.

General feedback

Students should:

• engage with all aspects of the question
• use appropriate language to engage with a question
• develop a strong and sustained line of argument that applies their knowledge of the module
• demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the texts through detailed and well-chosen textual references and effective and accurate contextual examples
• engage with the texts on a personal level
• balance and integrate contextual and textual knowledge
• use clear and effective topic sentences and paragraphs
• write clearly and legibly
• integrate the extract or image provided
• present a balanced treatment of text pairings.

Shakespearean drama and film – William Shakespeare, King Richard III and Al Pacino, Looking for Richard

In better responses, students were able to:

• use the ideas found in the extract in a conceptual manner, while making detailed reference to the extract and the prescribed texts
• integrate discussion by establishing the conversations that took place between texts. These discussions were often centred around, though not limited to, power, authority, controlling public perception, the power of art, the function of drama, ignorance.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging with all aspects of the question
• referring explicitly to the extracts.

Prose fiction and film – Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway and Stephen Daldry, The Hours

In better responses, students were able to:

• skilfully discuss form, including how Daldry's postmodern film text collides with Woolf’s modern text by exploring the differing values of their contexts
• discuss both texts in an evaluative and analytical way, rather than a descriptive way.

Areas for students to improve include:

• answering the question rather than relying on discussion of themes
• demonstrating a holistic understanding of the module and the textual conversation.

Prose fiction and prose fiction – Albert Camus, The Stranger and Kamel Daoud, The Meursault Investigation

In better responses, students were able to:

• articulate how the textual conversation 'collided' and was informed by the different contexts and/or perspectives
• demonstrate authentic engagement with the composers' perspectives and intentions.

Areas for students to improve include:

• presenting a sustained analysis and evaluation of the composers' intentions, language and literary features and avoiding description
• presenting a balanced treatment of both texts and ensuring textual evidence supplied is accurate.

Poetry and drama – John Donne, John Donne: A Selection of His Poetry and Margaret Edson, W;t

In better responses, students were able to:

• explore key ideas, including the conflict between an intellectual understanding of life and death, and the individual’s personal experience of their own mortality
• use the extract skilfully to explore the impact of form on meaning in both texts
• address the question with a clear personal voice.

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing all elements of the question and explicitly referring to the extracts, including key concepts and textual form
• discussing the texts in an evaluative and analytical way, rather than a descriptive way.

Poetry and film – John Keats, The Complete Poems and Jane Campion, Bright Star

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide insightful analysis of the perspectives in of both texts
• offer a balanced response that reflected deep textual knowledge
• strike a balance between academic register and an engaging personal voice that reflected genuine engagement with the texts and the module.

Areas for students to improve include:

• moving beyond the narrow focus of Campion redressing the historical maligning of Fanny Brawne
• providing detailed and judiciously selected textual evidence that is integrated into a cohesive and concise discussion that has a clear sense of purpose.

Poetry and poetry – Sylvia Plath, Ariel and Ted Hughes, Birthday Letters

In better responses, students were able to:

• present a synthesised evaluation of the textual conversation within the pairing and an appreciation for the insights that it offers
• frame their argument and analysis through a balanced approach to the layered contextual relationship between the poets
• demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the poems of both poets, informed by technical understanding of their language forms and features and appreciation of their aesthetic qualities.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating an informed exploration of the purposes of both poets, to reduce limited, literal, or simplistic readings of the poems
• quoting accurately and judiciously from the poems.

Shakespearean drama and prose fiction – William Shakespeare, The Tempest and Margaret Atwood, Hag-Seed

In better responses, students were able to:

• recognise meta-fictive elements in the extract in relation to form and the performative features in both texts
• discuss ideas related to the power of the arts in relation to redemption, wielding of political and individual power, postcolonialism.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating an informed understanding of the perspectives of each text and how these generate the textual conversation
• engaging with the ways composers use characterisation to explore contextual issues.

General feedback

Students should:

• specifically address all parts of the question using a strong personal voice
• clearly engage with each element of the question
• demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the text in relation to the question
• explicitly evaluate the extent to which the statement is true of their prescribed text throughout their response
• develop a strong, sustained personal response to the question
• apply knowledge of the module to inform their interpretation and shape their response
• demonstrate an understanding of how context, form and language contribute to the critical value of their prescribed text
• support their argument and evaluation with detailed and considered textual details
• demonstrate sustained control of language and ideas appropriate to purpose, form and audience.

Prose fiction – Jane Austen, Emma

In better responses, students were able to:

• create a strong line of argument line of argument and personal voice that shaped a detailed and balanced analysis of the integrity of the text, purpose and context
• skilfully explore the values and historical context of Regency England
• clearly articulate distinctive stylistic features of a Bildungsroman text
• evaluate how the language features of the text alter or expand the audience’s perceptions of dependency
• demonstrate a critical understanding of varied forms of dependency
• demonstrate an understanding of social and historical context and how this supports their personal understanding of the author’s representation of dependency to alter and expand the reader’s understanding.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating an understanding of form as central to how ideas are communicated
• moving beyond generalised statements about dependency and into a more detailed discussion and analysis of the idea across form and context
• evaluating language and stylistic features of the text and how they help fulfil the composer’s purpose.

Prose fiction – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

In better responses, students were able to

• demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the question
• perceptively explore the ideas of duty considering Dickens’s purpose and context
• provide a discerning selection of textual examples to support an integrated line of argument
• demonstrate their altered understanding through Pip’s understanding of duty
• clearly identify the symbolic nature of the protagonist’s maturation as a mechanism to critique societal norms
• clearly and critically identify and define specific expressions of duty to build a line of argument, including moral duty, society’s duty, familial duty
• engage with the author’s social and historical context and shape a response that understands the nuanced representation of duty related to the protagonist’s Victorian values and attitudes
• discuss a range of textual features that were well selected and shaped insightfully for the question
• use well selected examples to support a strong line of argument and personal voice focused on the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a response that moves beyond generalised themes, characters and motifs
• demonstrating how the form and the author reflect the contextual concerns of Dicken’s social and cultural tropes
• structuring a sustained argument around specific expressions of duty
• sustaining a clear personal voice
• moving past the characters and narrative of the text to evaluate the composer’s purpose and message to his audience
• focusing on all aspects of the question, including the altered and expanded idea of duty.

Prose fiction – Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World

In better responses, students were able to:

• shape a conceptual argument that put forward how both Ishiguro and Ono challenge and conform to tradition(s)
• skilfully explore the contextual values of the composer (Japan post WWII), Thatcherism in 1980s England and America of the1980s
• clearly articulate Ishiguro’s personal voice and purpose by moving beyond an exploration of Ono to consider Ishiguro’s concerns
• support their ideas through a detailed and discerning selection of textual examples
• confidently discuss notions of tradition in values, art and family in terms of the shift and its impact on character
• incorporate use of significant motifs (for example, Bridge of Hesitation, Floating World, setting) to incorporate clear understanding of textual integrity and Ishiguro’s purpose to challenge ideas of tradition
• engage with the question in a genuine way that spoke to the different ways tradition was presented in the novel
• synthesise contextual information with analysis and well selected relevant textual evidence in a skilful manner
• analyse how features of the form, for instance the unreliable narrator, were in themselves a break with tradition.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding of narrative voice, structure and style of storytelling
• acknowledging the symbolic aspects of the text, including the title ’Floating World’
• developing ideas beyond a superficial discussion of contextual factors (for example, post modernism, Thatcherism, 1980s America and Japan post WWII)
• exploring a broader range of novelistic devices to consider Ishiguro’s style/aesthetics, such as the use of the unreliable narrator, explaining how Ishiguro constructs and utilises character as a way of exploring tradition
• provding a wider range of evidence beyond the characterisation of the protagonist
• understanding how generations within a family provide a microcosm for exploring changes in attitudes to tradition.

Poetry – T S Eliot, T S Eliot: Selected Poems

In better responses, students were able to:

• shape a conceptual framework that incorporates Eliot’s own ontological journey in terms of his identification of personal and social entrapment (first four poems) and his ultimate spiritual salvation as the antithesis to this entrapment
• demonstrate a perceptive understanding of Eliot’s Modernist context and how it influenced his stylistic approach
• explore how Eliot’s ideas and approach engage audiences beyond his own time
• integrate context in an authentic and purposeful manner
• make conceptual links between poems to demonstrate their understanding of textual integrity
• weave context, well-selected textual evidence, analysis of language and form and personal voice into a response based on entrapment as well as how it altered and expanded their personal views
• present a thoughtful interpretation of what entrapment can mean, or look like, for the individual in the context of modernity
• demonstrate an understanding that the poems are a cohesive suite to portray an holistic understanding of the text and Eliot’s context to make connections with how their own understanding of context has been influenced
• present their understanding in a clear and cohesive response.

Areas for students to improve include:

• selecting most relevant poems and evidence to suit the question
• demonstrating an enhanced understanding of Eliot as a Modernist poet and how this influences the construction, content and language of the text
• responding directly and conceptually to the question to distinctly evaluate entrapment and how the reader’s understanding of entrapment has been both altered and expanded
• demonstrating an understanding of Eliot’s personal transition and how this is reflected in his poems
• referencing accurate and relevant contextual details
• making meaningful connections between poems rather than treating them separately
• sustaining a line of argument which addresses the whole question
• analysing distinctive features of form and engaging with the purpose of techniques.

Poetry – David Malouf, Earth Hour

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a perceptive understanding of Malouf’s context and purpose
• critically evaluate the enduring value and significance of Malouf’s insights into the shared experience of what it is to be human exploring the ideas of connection
• provide an integrated discussion based on a discerning selection from Malouf’s poems
• use language skilfully to discuss and evaluate the poetry
• demonstrate understanding of connection through exploring the poems as a suite using ideas such as connection to the natural world, connection to spirituality, alternative ways of thinking or worldviews, connections to past and present
• fluently link the examples and language forms and features of the text to the composer’s purpose
• demonstrate an authentic personal voice explaining how the ideas presented altered and expanded their understanding
• skilfully analyse form and context.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating deep understanding of the poems to ensure that textual evidence is insightful and well chosen
• demonstrating an awareness of Malouf’s central concerns and an understanding of his poetic approach
• developing a personal voice and evaluating the way these poems have altered and expanded their understanding
• providing a sustained analysis of the significance of form on the idea of connection
• using detailed textual evidence that is linked to the question rather than technique driven
• providing a clear focus on the module and Malouf’s poems as a suite
• sustaining a clear and coherent response that genuinely addresses the question.

Drama – Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of how context, form and language contribute to the critical value of their prescribed text
• clearly articulate the effect of context on the construction of the play
• explicitly analyse and evaluate the ways Ibsen’s language and dramatic choices altered and expanded their understanding of survival
• critically analyse characterisation and the differing ideas of survival
• critically discuss textual features and form, including dramatic techniques to support their line of argument
• discuss the social milleu and its influence on the playwright
• sustain responses with skilful use of language to address all aspects of the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating an understanding of the importance of form and the writer’s context on how ideas are communicated
• providing a discussion of dramatic form, analysis of techniques and relevant quotes to support the line of argument
• demonstrating an understanding of how the text provides an enhanced understanding of the concept of survival
• developing a personal voice to express how their idea of survival is altered and expanded
• using clear expression and language to address all areas of the question.

Drama – Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the module informed by a deep knowledge and understanding of the text as literature and evaluate why this gives it enduring integrity
• appreciate the form and understanding of how irony and humour create nuanced meaning
• include detailed reference and analysis of the radio play form, specifically looking at aural features
• incorporate specific contextual detail, including the writer’s biographical context and real world events
• use an authentic voice to demonstrate how the idea of disconnection altered and expanded their view
• demonstrate how the post war context impacted on society’s sense of disconnection
• critically explore how characters demonstrate disconnection with each other and society in general
• sustain responses with skilful use of language to address all aspects of the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding of the radio play form; its key micro and macro characteristics and purpose
• referencing the tone used by Dylan for different characters and how the language promotes characterisation
• developing a personal voice to show how their view was altered and expanded
• demonstrating understanding of Thomas’ context and the purpose of humour rather than just taking the plot at face value
• providing evidence beyond characterisation (for example, symbolic setting, patterns of imagery)
• developing ideas that go beyond thematic aspects of the play (for example, love and pleasure)
• developing a response that connects to question and their line of argument.

Film – George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a conceptual engagement with the terms of the question in a well informed and thoughtful line of argument
• critically engage with the text as a film study showing a clear awareness of form
• weave analysis of film techniques supported by well-chosen textual evidence
• demonstrate a clear understanding of the dual context of the film, 1950s McCarthyism and Clooney’s contemporary context, as well as make relevant and insightful connections to their own worlds; this worked well in establishing a personal response on integrity
• use analysis purposefully, drawing out the ideas of the film and the full implication of these ideas, often juxtaposing the two time periods and contexts
• analyse both contexts of the docudrama and reflect on the intended impact on the audience
• critically demonstrate the subjective nature of truth and the way that this has been corrupted or abused via the media historically and contemporarily
• authentically use personal voice to articulate how the idea of integrity altered and expanded their view
• sustain responses with skilful use of language to address all aspects of the question.

Areas for students to improve include:

• exploring all elements of the question including altered and expanded and integrity
• demonstrating an understanding of how context, form and language contribute to the critical value of the text
• providing relevant detailed and direct comparisons of the dual social, political and cultural contexts of the film and its interpretation and dramatisation of history
• discussing form including a range of filmic techniques that are integrated in the textual analysis
• using personal voice to fully address the question
• moving their discussion beyond the 1950s setting of the text
• focusing on Clooney’s purpose as composer, rather than providing a character study of Morrow
• developing a response that connects to the question and their line of argument.

Media – Gillian Armstrong, Unfolding Florence

In better responses, students were able to:

• parallel the hybridised and multilayered form with the idea of deception
• discuss the key word deception both in reference to the nature of Florence Broadhurst’s character and the way that Armstrong uses form specific elements to represent the notion of deception
• reference contextual information that related to Broadhurst and/or Armstrong’s deception (for example, overcoming patriarchal attitudes to succeed)
• use a personal voice in a meaningful way to demonstrate how their views and ideas were altered and expanded
• presente their understanding in a clear and cohesive response.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging in a more detailed discussion of form and how it impacts the central ideas of the question
• developing a response beyond providing quotations of interviews looking to discuss the quality of these voices in relation to concept of deception. This might include, for example, analysis of re-enactment, filmic devices, and/or editing, and how they position audiences and shape meaning
• using an informed and articulate personal voice
• responding to the whole question
• developing a response that clearly connects to question.

Shakespearean drama – William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• form a comprehensive discussion about dishonour using context, characterisation, dialogue, dramatic techniques
• provide a nuanced and complex discussion of dishonour arising from how notions of honour and dishonour were being reconsidered
• recognise Shakespeare’s Elizabethan context and purpose, leading to a discussion of how dishonour within the play is reflected to his audience which may include anxiety over Queen Elizabeth’s replacement
• provide a skilful discussion of the impact of the dramatic form and how Shakespeare’s construction of the hybrid-historical text shapes meaning
• provide a conceptual argument that moved beyond a simplistic comparison of Hal as dishonourable and Hotspur as honourable in terms of dramatic construction engage with all aspects of the question, to develop a personal voice and consider the value of the play at the time it was written and now by evaluating how Shakespeare influenced audiences or themselves (personal voice) to expand their understanding of dishonour
• provide detailed textual evidence from throughout the play.

Areas for students to improve include:

• focusing on the concept of dishonour in the textual analysis and how their understanding of this has been altered and expanded
• avoiding confusing honour and dishonour and showing a contrast between the two effectively
• providing a deeper exploration of form and a range of characters whose portrayal reflects or challenges their own understanding of dishonour. Avoid a simple argument that this character/action is honourable and this character/action is dishonourable
• clearly delineating between values of Renaissance and medieval contexts
• demonstrating a deeper understanding of how context influences both character and audience perceptions
• avoiding use of learned material about a different idea that does not mean the same as dishonour, for example, leadership. This restricts an exploration of dishonour.

General feedback

Students should:

• demonstrate their understanding of Module C and use it in a way that is relevant to the question
• address the question when crafting a response, paying particular attention to the stimulus and to the specific parts of the question
• avoid creating, rewriting or appropriating a response linked to the prescribed texts if this approach does not align with the specific question
• be aware of the mark value for the question and the implications for the structure and complexity of the response
• carefully consider audience, purpose, context and form when crafting a voice, setting, character, and/or event or a position regarding a topic
• use effective time management in responding to the question
• use clear, legible handwriting.

Question 3(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• show an insightful understanding of fulfilment in the extract
• explore fulfilment through the ideas of sharing or calmness, spirituality, peacefulness, emotion or transformation
• explain skilfully how this meaning was created through language devices or stylistic features such as motif, metaphor, symbolism, repetition, positive tone and use of italics, which demonstrated deliberate crafting of language
• demonstrate effective control of language appropriate to audience, purpose and context.

Areas for students to improve include:

• adopting more precise language to demonstrate an understanding of the scene and personal fulfilment described in the extract
• responding to the specific demands of the question specifically explaining at least one language device or stylistic feature in the passage
• demonstrating effective control of language and maintaining a formal style and register.

Question 3(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• respond to all elements of the question, particularly the ‘shared experience’ and the ‘sense of fulfilment’, in a highly engaging manner
• craft writing skilfully, deliberately employing language devices and stylistic features to convey meaning
• demonstrate highly effective control of language and structure, with a credible, authentic voice and clear awareness of audience, purpose and context
• craft the writing, in their selected form, sometimes using a hybridity of imaginative and discursive writing.

Areas for students to improve include:

• engaging closely with all elements of the question, not only the ‘shared experience’ or ‘sense of fulfilment’ components
• composing an engaging piece which shows how the shared experience brings about personal fulfilment
• considering subject matter that will engage an audience, for example, if using a school setting, avoid clichés or trite situations
• crafting and controlling language using figurative, structural and stylistic devices with clarity and cohesion to engage the reader
• demonstrating an awareness of audience, purpose, form and context, for example, refraining from overly disturbing imagery and content.