English Extension 1 2016 HSC exam pack (archive)

Elective 1: After the bomb

Question 7

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• focusing on layering the concepts of light and dark with structured, sustained and cohesive analysis of paradigmatic concerns – specifically the interplay of darkness present in texts and, depending on the text, the emerging or not emerging of light
• using arguments that integrated excellent knowledge and a detailed, considered understanding of all texts and key ideas and concepts relevant to the elective
• demonstrating understanding of appropriate contextual influences, such as philosophies that existed, for example, nihilism and existentialism, and how these related to specific textual examples in a manner which added depth to an argument
• analysing appropriately selected related material that was integrated into the response
• evaluating quotations and their use of textual features for the way they reflected the concerns of the era or the composer, such as loss of autonomy and political / ideological duplicity, and integrating this into an argument relating to light and darkness
• undertaking seamless transitions between the discussion of texts that demonstrated a commitment to arguing a thesis throughout the response
• providing well-selected and detailed analysis, textual reference and appropriate metalanguage which related to the question and supported the central argument
• demonstrating an understanding of the various political and literary contextual influences, for example, Theatre of the Absurd and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and judiciously using context to support a point.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• analysing rather than simply describing or summarising the text or providing a history of the era
• discussing a more detailed, complex relationship between the two binaries rather than providing a tokenistic treatment of the question
• attending to the overall flow, cohesion and development of the argument. The argument throughout the essay needs to be consistent with claims made in the introduction
• analysing the textual features and discussing their implications rather than just providing quotations as proof that the text contained the concerns of the era.

Question 8

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• applying a clear and sustained engagement with all three elements of the question
• demonstrating a deep understanding of the module and the particular elective
• developing a plausible context against which the central ideas could be explored
• exploring relevant ideas using an authentic, engaging and sustained narrative voice
• utilising a judicious selection of stylistic devices, such as metaphors, symbolism and motifs, in exploring the key issues and ideas of the electives
• displaying highly effective control of language throughout the piece.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• carefully considering the demands of the question and planning before starting to write
• aiming for more nuanced and considered expression rather than underdeveloped, disjointed and poorly structured responses that were not able to engage the reader
• creating more developed and layered exploration of the module in general and the elective in particular
• demonstrating better control of language.

Elective 2: Romanticism

Question 9

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• integrating the key notions of ‘the darkness’ and ‘the light’. This involved the conceptualising of these ideas in a way that supported a strong, sustained analysis of Romantic ideology
• providing a sustained analysis of both the terms of the question and the supporting textual evidence and discussion of form in a way that showed consistent insights into the ways of thinking of the Romantic period, such as the response to the Enlightenment, the privileging of intuition and imagination
• providing accurate and thoughtfully located ideological developments within clearly articulated social contexts, for example, analysis of the impact of the French Revolution and debate around the ethics of the Industrial Revolution
• using language that demonstrated more fluid, perceptive understanding of Romantic discourse. Some candidates accessed the subtler, less concrete aspects of the period, such as the implications for gender discourse and variant positions of particular/different Romantic thinkers
• aligning the argument with a deep understanding of Romanticism and broader historical analysis. Thinkers such as Rousseau, Coleridge, Hazlitt were used in various ways to support the argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• avoiding a concrete and definitional use of the key terms of the question which runs the risk of entering a more simplistic discussion of what is ‘dark’ and what is ‘light’ in the Romantic context
• integrating the key terms in a coherent way rather than tacking references to ‘darkness’ and ‘light’ on to the end of paragraphs
• carefully considering texts of own choosing in terms of how they reflect/engage with embedded ideological aspects of the Romantic period rather than how they reflect some of the superficial features of Romanticism such as ‘love of nature’
• using conceptual language to make the response less descriptive/explanatory.

Question 10

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating a complex understanding of the ways of thinking of the historical period
• deploying all three elements of the question authentically
• creating an historically accurate setting in which to explore the complexity of the ways of thinking that pertain to the period
• exploring relevant ideas using an authentic, engaging and sustained narrative voice
• effectively controlling the narrative structure so that it reinforced the purpose of the piece
• displaying a sophisticated and nuanced control of language throughout.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• deploying all elements of a question in an authentic, rather than a tokenistic manner
• creating an historically accurate setting in which to explore the complexity of the ways of thinking that pertain to the period
• effectively controlling the narrative structure so that it reinforces the purpose of the piece
• displaying highly effective control of language throughout the piece.

Elective 3: Navigating the global

Question 11

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• pursuing layered analyses that argued for an understanding of the blurring of light and dark operating as a parallel with the understanding of global and local in the communities explored in the texts
• demonstrating a cohesive, sustained and subtle understanding of the texts and their engagement with the paradigms, especially displayed through exploration of specific examples of the interaction of light, dark and the cultures depicted in prescribed and related texts
• exploring the concept of ‘wisdom’, as expressed in the quotation in a subtle and sophisticated fashion
• producing detailed analysis of appropriately selected related material that was integrated into the response and used effectively as proof of the ability to engage with the question
• evaluating quotations and their textual features for the way they reflected the concerns of the era and of the composer and integrating these into arguments relating to light and dark
• providing seamless transitions between the discussion of texts that demonstrated a commitment to arguing a thesis through the response
• using well-selected and detailed analysis, textual reference and appropriate metalanguage which related to the question and supported a central argument
• demonstrating an understanding of the contextual influences and judiciously using context to support a point.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• analysing the texts and their engagement with ideas rather than providing a summary of the content and contextual placement of texts
• engaging with the paradigms in a complex fashion and considering the blurred lines between global and local, rather than engaging in a discussion of light and dark as an unchanging dichotomous ‘global equals dark, local equals light’ relationship
• developing the overall flow, cohesion and development of an argument rather than simply opening with a thesis at the start
• analysing judiciously chosen quotations that would best serve the argument instead of using many quotations in body paragraphs as a way of identifying the relationship between the texts and the paradigms of the era.

Question 12

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• selecting and developing a context for a significant character from a prescribed text
• developing the plot to integrate seamlessly an unexpected meeting
• utilising the provided line in a sophisticated and meaningful way to reflect the central concerns of the elective
• demonstrating a deep and nuanced understanding of the complexity of globalisation
• carefully considering the structural and stylistic elements of the response to craft an engaging and often thought-provoking response.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• considering the authenticity and plausibility of the context, character interactions and plot development
• interweaving each element of the question to create cohesiveness
• avoiding an over-simplified understanding of the elective which often manifested itself in brief references to global brands
• sustaining control of language and careful selection of appropriate literary devices.

Elective 1: Textual dynamics

Question 13

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• writing about texts overthrowing the ‘darkness’ as being bound to conventions of language, the canon, history, gender and the ‘light’ being the subversion of these. There were, however, permutations on this idea which were also successful; addressing the active role of the reader in construction of texts and meaning, the reader’s individual way of finding truth in texts of unstable meaning and of the reader’s determination of meaning as being ‘light’
• addressing many aspects of the texts including inter-textuality, allusions to canonical texts, the hybrid nature of texts, wit, playfulness and the strong relationship that exists between reader/writer
• alluding to contemporary cultural ideas and the way these ideas have liberated texts, writers and readers from ‘darkness’ with their ways of thinking. These were seamlessly and effectively integrated in the discussion.
• using metalanguage which was either implied or skilfully integrated into the analysis.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• keeping the terms of the given question in sight throughout the response and not merely placing them at the conclusion of each paragraph
• developing a response to the question rather than using pre-prepared responses from past papers and trying to force the new question to fit
• ensuring balanced discussion between all texts and not dealing with related texts in a cursory way.

Question 14

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• cleverly weaving the character from their prescribed text and giving them a strong, authentic voice, even when placed in a completely different context
• employing the use of cultural figures who were in discourse with the iconic character and establishing engaging and clever narratives
• having a strong concept underpinning the narrative, such as literature, history, imperialism, gender and sometimes subverting the role of reader/writer in playful and occasionally humorous ways
• sustaining control of a broad range of language skills and a demonstrating a highly developed understanding of the spirit of textual dynamics.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• ensuring the voice of the significant character from the prescribed text has authenticity
• demonstrating understanding of the elective by establishing engagement with the audience, not necessarily only through the use of the second person
• ensuring use of dialogue is integral to the narrative and the voice is appropriate and authentic
• endeavouring to explore the possibilities of playing with language and developing a broader vocabulary to exploit.

Elective 2: Language and gender

Question 15

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• addressing the idea of ‘darkness’ as gender restrictions and ‘light’ as liberation from these impositions. Sophisticated responses were more nuanced in this and were able to articulate this in terms of the way language constructs our notions of gender
• demonstrating an understanding of the role of language in establishing values
• controlling language, including the use of metalanguage
• developing a sophisticated discussion of prescribed texts and selecting texts which underpinned and were integrated into the discussion.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• addressing the terms of the questions throughout the response rather than just as a conclusion
• ensuring that related texts offer a sophisticated platform for discussion: simple nursery rhymes and picture books do not always afford enough scope for a deeper analysis.

Question 16

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• focusing on language as a construct of gender and values
• demonstrating a thorough knowledge of contemporary ideas about gender and language and clever employment of language and text types
• demonstrating the ideas in Language and Gender by developing a concept as a platform for the narrative.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• exploring more than traditional gender roles as defined by clothing, occupation or expectation.
• avoiding inconsequential dialogue to communicate ideas
• developing skills in employment of language and structure to communicate significant ideas in an imaginative way
• reading the terms of the question carefully and ensuring all aspects are addressed.