English Extension 1 2025 HSC exam pack
2025 English Extension 1 HSC exam paper
Marking guidelines
Marking guidelines are developed with the exam paper and are used by markers to guide their marking of a student's response. The table shows the criteria with each mark or mark range.
Sample answers may also be developed and included in the guidelines to make sure questions assess a student's knowledge and skills, and guide the Supervisor of Marking on the expected nature and scope of a student's response. They are not intended to be exemplary or even complete answers or responses.
Marking feedback
Select from the sections below to view feedback from HSC markers about how students performed in this year’s exam.
Use the feedback to guide preparation for future exams. Feedback includes an overview of the qualities of better responses. Feedback may not be provided for every question.
Feedback on written exam
Question 1
Students should:
- demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the module Literary Worlds through close engagement with the question
- consider all aspects of the question, reflecting an understanding of the values and ideas of a literary world
- demonstrate purposeful control of the discursive form
- use language to communicate complex ideas with clarity
- communicate clearly and take care with syntax, grammar, paragraphing and punctuation.
In better responses, students were able to:
- extend the ideas in Text 1 in a sophisticated way through elaborating on the ideas, offering textual or critical examples of the ideas, or crafting their own imaginative or anecdotal representation of the ideas, for example, exploring ideas such as the power of metaphor, the notion of writing as an act of translation, the ordering structure of narrative and the concept of narrative fallacy, the relationship between the reader and the writer, or the ‘miraculous’ nature of written communication.
- demonstrate an informed understanding of the construction and reception of literary worlds, offering insights into how the ‘crafting’ of literary worlds shapes meaning
- engage with and extend the ideas in the extract, draw connections and synthesise with original insights
- use a sophisticated critical vocabulary in their discussion of the extract and of the way texts shape meaning
- integrate literary terminology in an appropriate and relevant way
- present a strong personal argument which develops in a cohesive and sustained way
- demonstrate control of the discursive form.
Areas for students to improve include:
- engaging consistently with the question and stimulus
- demonstrating an informed understanding of literary worlds
- drawing connections between ideas in the extract and ideas encountered in their study of literary worlds
- supporting discussion of literary worlds with reference to a range of literary texts
- demonstrating sustained control of language and discursive form.
General feedback
Students should:
- develop a strong understanding of all aspects of the elective description and syllabus content, its central ideas and its directives, in preparation for writing a response
- read the question carefully and ensure all components are addressed in the construction of their central arguments
- judiciously select one related text that allows students to further explore the ideas in the elective
- express their knowledge and understanding of texts and the elective clearly and concisely
- analyse and evaluate language features and forms in texts
- respond in a cohesive and integrated manner, synthesising their understanding of both prescribed and related texts
- examine the role of contextual values and the impact of these on form and purpose
- respond to the question with an authentic voice that meaningfully integrates metalanguage
- synthesise and sustain an argument with judiciously selected examples that support the central ideas of the response.
In better responses, students were able to:
- develop a sustained and cohesive argument that demonstrates an insightful understanding of how their prescribed and related text ‘creatively break’ the dominant assumptions in their elective
- use analysis that is purposeful in its selection of textual evidence to support their argument
- incorporate discussion of both context and form to support their argument about the ways the texts ‘creatively break’ the dominant assumptions in the elective
- establish a conceptual argument that demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the elective
- sustain an argument with fluent and intentional control of language.
Areas for students to improve include:
- developing a clear argument that is sustained through a exploration of the prescribed texts and a related text
- integrating all aspects of the question in their response
- demonstrating an effective understanding of the elective in relation to both the question and their texts
- communicating an argument that uses language that is appropriate to audience, purpose and context, evident through choices in vocabulary and syntax.
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English Extension syllabus
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