English Extension 1 2014 HSC exam pack (archive)

General feedback

Questions 1, 3, 5

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• showcasing their knowledge of their texts and the genre as a whole
• formulating clear thesis statements that engaged with all aspects of the question
• selecting relevant and appropriate supplementary texts that demonstrate an understanding of generic conventions
• discussing the four required texts in a balanced way
• discussing the technical aspects of texts
• using literary critics to discuss texts and generic conventions
• integrating contextual concerns and the ways in which they are represented in texts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• selecting supplementary texts that are appropriate examples of the genre
• addressing the requirements of the question rather than rephrasing the question and reproducing a prepared answer
• using textual detail accurately and judiciously
• ensuring that their handwriting is legible.

Questions 2, 4, 6

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• engaging with the demands of the question
• judiciously selecting stylistic devices such as symbolism, allusion and motifs
• using the conventions of the genre in a sophisticated manner
• creating plausible characterisation that is consistent throughout the response
• composing original and complex pieces of writing incorporating the elements of ‘doubt’ and ‘an apology’.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the question throughout the response, not tagging ‘the apology’ to the end of the response as an afterthought
• improving the efficacy of a response in terms of character development and the exploration of endemic issues by not relying too much on dialogue
• aiming for a level of logical consistency and overall plausibility
• consideration of setting and context.

General feedback

Questions 7, 9, 11

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• engaging with all aspects of the question
• presenting a convincing engagement
• demonstrating knowledge of the texts, both prescribed and supplementary
• integrating their analyses of texts
• selecting relevant and appropriate supplementary texts
• controlling language skilfully
• demonstrating clear understanding of concepts central to the various electives.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• using textual evidence consistently to support arguments
• engaging specifically with the terms of the question rather than writing prepared responses
• selecting appropriate texts that are connected to the concerns of the period.

Questions 8, 10, 12

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating a knowledge of the historical period and the ways of thinking for the elective
• responding to the specific words of the question and incorporating hope and apology in a meaningful way
• writing imaginatively, developing and sustaining a viable thesis throughout their response
• using language devices such as evocative description effectively
• presenting a clear sense of time and place.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• integrating their understanding of the elective, its ways of thinking and its historical period into the response
• using the key words of the question in a significant and appropriate way
• engaging the reader by sustaining the development of ideas and the appropriate use of dialogue.

Elective 1: After the bomb

Question 7

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• identifying ‘significant ideas’ within the texts
• using textual evidence in order to demonstrate how responders are engaged both ‘intellectually’ and ‘emotionally’.

Candidates need to improve:

• developing a greater understanding of the post-war period
• selecting texts that deal sufficiently with the key aspects of the post-war period.

Question 8

• Candidates showed strength in these areas:
• demonstrating a thorough understanding of the ways of thinking of the historical period
• using a wide variety of settings, many of which were derived from the prescribed texts, although this is not the only way that a candidate can place a narrative.
• Candidates need to improve in these areas:
• taking care when using apocalyptic settings and war stories that do not reflect the paradigms and ways of thinking of the period.

Elective 2: Romanticism

Question 9

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating an understanding of the ways of thinking central to the Romantic period
• engaging with context and the key historical features of the paradigm.

Candidates need to improve:

• taking a wider interpretation of the values of the period
• moving beyond interpreting the ‘natural’ as good and the ‘man-made’ as bad
• referring to more than one poem from the prescribed poets.

Question 10

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating knowledge of the specified historical period
• using various pathways to develop an appropriate narrative
• incorporating historical events, people and philosophies.

Elective 3: Navigating the global 

Question 11

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• conceptualising the concerns of the global/local duality
• demonstrating an understanding of the key paradigms
• including theoretical perspectives to enhance the quality of responses
• balancing the intellectual concerns of the elective with an understanding of the emotional concerns of the key characters from the texts.

Candidates need to improve:

• developing broader interpretations of globalisation
• focusing more on the idea of ‘navigating’ the global rather than ‘retreating’ from it.

Question 12

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• demonstrating an understanding of the ways of thinking as outlined in the rubric.

General feedback

Questions 13 and 15

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• engaging with all aspects of the question and differentiating between the terms ‘intellectually’ and ‘emotionally’
• considering the position of the reader and their relationship to the author
• integrating specific textual references
• using theory
• integrating texts of their own choosing.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• integrating the terms ‘intellectually’ and ‘emotionally’ throughout the response rather than combining them into one phrase and using this as a postscript for each paragraph
• exploring significant ideas rather than just listing techniques
• considering the audience response, not just the composer.

Questions 14 and 16

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• engaging with all aspects of the question and differentiating the key terms
• demonstrating knowledge of textually dynamic texts (Question14)
• considering and evaluating the roles of language in forming identity and the ways linguistic choices have the potential to affect gendered identities (Question 16)
• drawing on contemporary debates, situations and events as vehicles to explore gendered identities (Question 16)
• developing a thesis informed by theory and integrating pertinent textual references
• analysing the prescribed and chosen texts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• using theory to underpin discussion rather than merely identifying examples in texts
• consideration of the roles of language and semiotics
• avoiding stereotypes such as simply representing masculinity as dominant, and femininity as submissive.