English Extension 2 2021 HSC exam pack

Short fiction

In better short fiction, students were able to:

• orient their readers within their voice/context/setting
• clearly delineate narrative voices and characterise and distinguish their narrators when writing from different perspectives
• if writing an historical piece or a narrative from a particular cultural context, present pieces that are well researched and embedded with convincing, rich cultural authenticity
• transition between dialogue and prose, between narrative perspectives, and between voices to shape meaning
• demonstrate purposeful control of language and form.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing authentic and deep characters within the frameworks of the word limit
• ensuring that all textual elements contribute meaningfully to the work
• creating characters and voices that reflect the context of the work, particularly in works set in a specific historical period
• creating distinctions between character and narratorial voices
• representing emotional states in plausible, purposeful ways
• structuring the narrative to create tension and reader engagement.

Critical responses

In better critical responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the form of Critical Responses
• integrate independent investigation with their own textual analysis
• offer a substantial thesis which articulated the direction of the argument
• demonstrate a keen awareness of the audience and how to engage them
• use stylistic elements such as intertextuality with purpose
• establish appropriate and clear thesis statements that are substantiated through the argument and evidence and sustained throughout.

Areas for students to improve include:

• investigating the form of Critical Response and understanding the diverse approaches found in this form
• adopting a sophisticated academic voice
• developing arguments that support holistic analysis, rather than relying heavily on explaining or rephrasing quotes
• increasing the rigour of critical analysis and ensuring any texts chosen are justified in terms of the purpose of the critical response and align with the critical argument.

Poetry

In better poetry, students were able to:

• manipulate poetic devices in a sustained and purposeful manner
• construct a clear, conceptual thread which unifies the poetry while simultaneously sustaining the conceptual concerns
• ground their readers within the voice/setting/context to establish and sustain engagement
• employ a clear and purposeful use of poetic form
• seamlessly integrate research into specific cultural, literary, philosophical and political contexts
• offer mature insights
• evoke sensitive imagery
• establish authentic voices.

Areas for students to improve include:

• maintaining a cohesive voice
• elevating their topic choices beyond teen angst
• sustaining effective poetic forms including appropriate prosody
• experimenting purposefully
• avoiding using the same idea across a suite of poems without developing it or adding any insight.

Script: Short film, television, drama

In better scripts, students were able to:

• demonstrate deep understanding of the scripts as performative texts
• control complex structural devices
• write credible and engaging dialogue
• write meaningful stage/film directions that contributed to the impact of the script
• demonstrate understanding of the nuanced ways in which theatre can provoke and stimulate audiences
• explore dramatic situations to convey thoughtful insights
• create a dramatic vision through precise and fitting stage directions.

Areas for students to improve include:

• researching the technical aspects of chosen form
• ensuring a balance of stage/film directions, dialogue and action
• understanding the components and parameters of the form to effectively craft their work, including number of scenes and characters, effectiveness of transitions and purposeful and engaging dialogue
• sustaining delineated voices through convincing characterisation and purposeful dialogue.

Creative nonfiction

In better creative nonfiction, students were able to:

• demonstrate deep knowledge of chosen concepts/fields through authentic representations of character, setting and theme
• communicate a deep awareness of voice and register and its impact of voice on audience response
• balance the compositional critical/creative elements to maintain engagement
• fluently transition between fiction and non-fiction elements
• demonstrate that the Creative Nonfiction form was a deliberate and well-informed choice
• demonstrate extensive research into form
• in memoir or life writing works, harness genuine emotion and tenderness with an authentic voice.

Areas for students to improve included:

• avoiding dealing with topics in an over-wrought, emotional way, as insights into these topics and concepts tend to be superficial and underdeveloped
• focusing descriptive elements on narrative/character progression rather than labour with unnecessary details
• carefully planning structures that enable appropriate shifts in voice and/or tense
• avoiding reliance on family anecdotes and/or online discussions
• blending critical and creative approaches to the same concept to deepen the concept or insights
• strengthening the sense of context. Less successful historical recreation works had a more limited, contemporary perspective, rather than a complex portrait of paradigms of the past.

Podcasts: Drama, storytelling, speeches, performance poetry

In better podcasts, students were able to:

• thoughtfully integrate features of this form including voice control, audible features and language choice to sustain engagement
• investigate their concept to form interesting and sophisticated insights that authentically engaged listeners
• use sound and SFX to enhance meaning and impact
• engage the listener by contextualising the work in a clear yet original manner
• use authentic and convincing voices
• experiment with and use purposefully the hybridity of the podcast form
• use effective and judicious audio editing.

Areas for students to improve include:

• considering why they are using the podcast form – is it the best for purpose and concept?
• choosing sound effects and or music carefully to enhance meaning rather than relying on clichéd diegetic sounds
• avoiding voices that are monotonous, too fast, too slow or sound like they are simply reading aloud
• making effective choices for the chosen form, for example, in performance poetry half rhyme and rhyme can be effective, but forced rhyme is not; an essay being read aloud is not a speech
• demonstrating depth of research rather than relying on simplistic concepts.

In better multimedia works, students were able to:

• demonstrate thoughtful and successful manipulation of techniques particular to the chosen form
• create a sustained, conceptual motif that connects elements of the multimedia piece
• use the multimodal aspects of the form to demonstrate awareness of the narrative power of the form and represent deep insights into a concept.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring any variations in visual quality are deliberate and contribute to the work’s textual integrity
• creating a strong literary foundation that is evident in the Major Work, not just referenced in the Reflection Statement
• ensuring website instructions are very clear
• using music/sound thoughtfully to shape meaning
• careful editing for seamless transitions.

In better reflection statements, students were able to:

• explore audience in a meaningful way
• demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the chosen concept and the chosen form, and the impact that the extensive investigation had on developing this essential connection
• convey clear awareness and understanding of the relationship between the Major Work and the intended audience and the way this relationship is shaped through the process of composition and the construction of meaning
• make explicit the correlation between the process and product
• present clear and realistic links to the English Advanced and Extension 1 courses.

Areas for students to improve include:

• balancing the discussion of process and product
• articulating the work’s purpose in a succinct manner
• limiting descriptions of early iterations of the project
• establishing extensive research into form
• ensuring the research is relevant and directed to specific aspects of the work
• avoiding addressing what the Major Work was going to be, rather than analytically reflecting on the aesthetic choices evident in the work
• focusing on the development of content and how the influence of research into the context/form shaped compositional choices
• ensuring all requirements of the criteria are addressed in an authentic manner, avoiding superficial, contrived or trite observations/references to investigated texts.