English Standard 2015 HSC exam pack (archive)

Different approaches to the question:

Many students approached each question by dealing with the concept of Discovery in relation to each specific question. This conceptual approach allowed them to analyse and explore how Discovery was represented in each text.

Some candidates used textual analysis as an approach to this question. Students used the textual forms and features of each text to support the notion of Discovery with reference to each question.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating knowledge and understanding of each text
• demonstrating a variety of ways in answering each response
• ensuring their responses were well supported by textual evidence
• demonstrating knowledge of how Discovery was represented in each text in relation to each specific question
• demonstrating an understanding of how language creates meaning in relation to Discovery.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• spending an appropriate amount of time on this section and allocating the specific timeframe required for each question
• responding to the requirements of each question
• ensuring the questions are used to guide the requirements of each response, in relation to the concept of Discovery.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• imaginatively using the stimulus in both a literal and/or metaphorical manner
• demonstrating a sense of cohesiveness and skilful control of language through a well-crafted response
• creating a character with an authentic and credible voice
• exploring the sudden impact of the Discovery in a variety of ways.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• avoiding clichéd and predictable plots
• writing in a controlled and sustained manner
• moving beyond the literal interpretation of the stimulus
• dealing with the concept throughout the response, rather than referring to it at the end.

Different approaches to the question:

Many responses included the impact of Discovery on the individual or the broader community and its lasting legacy.

One approach was to deal with both parts of the question in each text, but it was equally valid to argue that one aspect was evident in one text whilst the other part of the question was evident in the second text.

Some candidates chose a chronological exploration of the texts to respond to the ‘process of Discovery’.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• synthesising a response to the question with elements from the rubric
• knowledge of the prescribed text and a judicious selection of related text
• developing and sustaining a thesis that was well-supported through purposeful structure and textual analysis
• exploring a change or transformation that occurred as a result of Discovery
• demonstrating that the process of Discovery is dynamic.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• ensuring that they respond to the full scope of the question
• integrating discussion more successfully by making more insightful links between texts
• controlling expression throughout the response
• analysing rather than just describing texts
• selecting and referencing textual features

Different approaches to the question:

Candidates approached ‘perspectives’ in various ways such as discussing the perspectives of audiences as well as those of the characters within/between texts. Distinctive Voice was interpreted variously as the literal voice of characters, the authorial voice, or the ‘voice’ of the context within which the text was created. 

Some candidates accepted the terms of the question and posited this as their thesis, while others offered more detailed analysis and formulated their own informed personal viewpoint.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating individual engagement with the question
• demonstrating judicious selection of textual references
• developing a personal voice through the interpretation of the text/s
• linking the prescribed and related texts through the analysis of ideas/perspectives/techniques/themes
• balancing composers’ ideas with discussion of techniques within and between texts

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• selecting relevant quotations and examples to support arguments
• selecting related material that allows development of informed arguments and connections between the texts
• considering the purposes of the composers and the contexts of production and/or contexts of reception.

Prose fiction – The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring varying aspects of corruption in the text, including the motivations and consequences, corruption linked to technology and endemic corruption in Sydney
• discussing Day’s corruption of the detective genre to create an interesting new perspective on crime fiction
• purposefully discussing Day’s intentions and how her techniques positioned the responder
• incorporating multiple, specific references to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• exploring the key terms of the question in greater depth
• selecting textual references carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples from the novel as a whole.

Prose fiction – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• convincingly exploring interesting ideas about difference such as the varying perceptions of difference and the multiple ways we deal with difference
• demonstrating a clear awareness of how the narrative features are themselves an element of difference
• consistently discussing Haddon’s purpose and how his techniques position the audience
• developing a shaped discussion through conceptual topic sentences that reflected a purposeful approach to the question
• displaying a confident control of language enabling them to express ideas fluently.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• ensuring they develop ideas that discuss conceptual points rather than simply presenting a list of differences
• moving beyond a reliance on simple narrative and recount in their responses
• including specific, relevant textual references to support an elaborated discussion
• meaningfully integrating a discussion of narrative features.

Drama – Namatjira

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly establishing relationships through discussion of cultural, historical and geographical contexts. They established a clear relationship between the Namatjira’s sense of self and his Aboriginal identity, as well as links to the community and through discussion of characterisation
• demonstrating Rankin’s portrayal of interesting ideas about relationships through a clear awareness of dramatic techniques, including stage directions, relationships between actors and their audience, colloquial dialogue, breaking the fourth wall and humour
• incorporating references to the text through narrative, thematic concerns and characterisation in detailed and meaningful ways
• shaping a controlled and effective response with a discerning choice of language.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• addressing the focus of the question throughout their responses
• incorporating relevant discussion of textual references and examples to support a developed discussion of the question
• being familiar with Rankin’s purpose and showing how he uses dramatic techniques to shape his characterisation, rather than relying on story-telling
• engaging with the question, not just the text.

Drama – The Merchant of Venice

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• having a clear, detailed understanding of the play’s narrative, characterisation and key ideas
• being conceptually driven and providing a fluent, detailed discussion of interesting ideas presented by Shakespeare about acceptance in regards to relationships, love, justice and cultural/religious acceptance
• acknowledging Shakespeare’s purpose with an elaborate discussion that focused on acceptance through character contrast, dialogue, setting and language choices, in key moments in the play where acceptance is tested
• identifying, describing and explaining the range of ideas about acceptance explored by Shakespeare in the text
• confidently and convincingly developing a purposeful thesis that addressed the focus of the question

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• addressing the focus of the question throughout their responses not just in the introduction and/or conclusion
• incorporating relevant discussion of textual references and examples to support a developed discussion of the question
• being familiar with Shakespeare’s purpose and showing how he uses dramatic techniques to shape his characterisation, rather than relying on story-telling
• engaging with the question, not just the text
• not limiting their discussion of the text to one or two scenes only.

Poetry – Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• having a sense of how experience of another culture helped Noonuccal to define her own Aboriginal culture
• exploring a range of interesting ideas about culture as expressed in the poems, including consequences of loss of culture, the significance of tradition, the impact of culture on the artist and the importance of the spiritual and mythological dimensions of culture
• selecting textual detail to support the response and elaborate on how meaning was created and the impact it had on the reader.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• addressing all areas of the question, including the poet’s intention and how her use of language shapes meaning
• demonstrating a deliberate exploration of culture
• answering the question with a flexible approach
• not relying on a descriptive recount of the poem without textual examples that relate to ‘interesting ideas’ on culture
• preparing in a way that allows demonstration of a detailed knowledge of a range of poems that will suit a variety of questions.

Poetry – Wilfred Owen

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• exploring different aspects of loss; loss of hope and idealism, loss of innocence, loss of trust in authority and loss of the human self in Owen’s poems
• exploring an awareness of the poet’s purpose supported by a strong understanding of style and use of language.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• addressing all areas of the question, including the poet’s intention and how his use of language shapes meaning
• demonstrating an exploration of loss, rather than a simplistic focus on death, not attempting to insert irrelevant pre-learned quotes or paragraphs.

Nonfiction – Stasiland

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating a clear understanding of Stasiland and a personal engagement with the question
• conceptually approaching ideas about power through references such as: power of government and establishment, loss of power and idealism supported with discerning textual choices
• understanding how Funder created meaning through textual features such as: symbolism, multiple stories, and perspectives as well as the structure of a non-fiction text
• acknowledging the composer’s impact and intent on the reader.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• focusing on the question rather than recounting parts or all of the text
• demonstrating understanding of the question through well-chosen examples and textual features
• having a clear thesis
• explaining how textual features show interesting ideas about power.

Film – A Beautiful Mind

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• presenting a developed, conceptual focus on all elements of the question, encompassing strong engagement with and multiple ideas about individuality in the film
• exploring individuality through the complex character of John Nash, with conceptual insights such as the loss of individuality, the difficulty of retaining individuality and how individuality can lead to positive outcomes and progress
• showing a thorough understanding of the film and confidently using technical language appropriate to film; better responses were purposefully constructed with a confident and convincing personal voice.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• moving beyond obviously pre-prepared responses which often limited the candidate’s ability to shape an effective response that answered the question
• not relying upon recount of the narrative; not making generalised unrelated commentary on such things as Nash’s biography, non-conformity and mental health issues.

Multimedia – Australian War Memorial website

There were insufficient responses on this question for comment.

General feedback

Candidates showed strengths in these areas:

• demonstrating engagement with the module and the elective
• demonstrating engagement with the question
• providing analysis rather than a generalised description
• effective use of a related text
• providing variety in the choice of related texts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• drawing specific conclusions from the examples chosen rather than using textual detail without purpose
• articulating the link between the characters’ challenges or transitions and the lessons for the wider society
• moving beyond recount
• focusing on key scenes within the text to underline the argument presented.

Elective 1: Exploring interactions

M T Anderson, Feed

Candidates based their responses around the impact of technology on human interactions and the degeneration of our ability to communicate and engage with each other. Some candidates looked specifically at the devolution of language and the impact of the corporate world in controlling and shaping our attitudes and beliefs and our interactions as a consequence.

Nick Enright, A Man with Five Children

Candidates identified the interactions between Gerry and the children using thoughtfully selected dramatic techniques. The concept of the world of media and the problems these create between an individual’s public and private worlds was addressed comprehensively. Candidates often explored the interaction through the movement of time in the play.

Arthur Miller, All My Sons

Some candidates were successful in conceptualising the interactions between the characters and their world. Effective responses drew on the contextual concerns as a means to inform how characters had shaped their beliefs and attitudes and how events in their experience had caused them to challenge these beliefs and attitudes.

Ken Watson (ed.), The Round Earth’s Imagined Corners

Candidates based responses on the struggle to interact, although the ‘beliefs and attitudes’ part of the question was to an extent limited by the selection of poems. Society’s beliefs about interactions people have with animals was seen as challenged. Some responses addressed the idea of the struggles experienced by personas to interact with aspects of society as represented in the context of the poems.

Raimond Gaita, Romulus, My Father

Responses explored the various and changing interactions of the characters to show how these experiences could both challenge and affirm attitudes and beliefs. Positive and negative interactions were explored by some candidates while others took a thematic approach using ideas such as morality, truth, resilience, acceptance, family and friendship as the basis of their analysis of the text. The migrant experience and the societal interactions that highlighted particularly identity and connections with others was a key feature of some responses.

Elissa Down, The Black Balloon

Candidates showed a clear connection to the characters in the text. The relationship between the brothers and their family and society was used effectively to demonstrate to what extent interactions challenge attitudes and beliefs. Greater engagement with film techniques would improve responses.

Elective 2: Exploring transitions

J C Burke, The Story of Tom Brennan

The Story of Tom Brennan attracted a range of approaches to the question. Most candidates focused on Tom’s transition through a detailed exploration of characterisation and his changing relationship with significant individuals in his life. Some candidates offered a different approach by focusing on the challenging transitions experienced by other characters such as Joe and Tess. There were a variety of interpretations of the attitudes and beliefs that were challenged, including family values, the impact of drink driving, conflict and crisis and the societal response, and fear and acceptance of consequences. These perspectives on attitudes and beliefs were often linked to the didactic experience of the responder.

Willy Russell, Educating Rita

Candidates primarily focused on the characterisation of Frank and Rita and how they changed as a means to address the process of transition and how that can shape challenges to attitudes and beliefs. The character of Rita was drawn on to explore specific contextual issues such as class and gender as a means to frame a response. Most candidates explored Rita’s ‘education’ as the central catalyst for her transition. Further, candidates usually followed the chronology of the play to discuss the challenges faced by Frank and Rita and their consequent change in values and attitudes.

Alana Valentine, Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah

Candidates examined the ways the attitudes and beliefs of characters were challenged as they considered their cultural identity and how to maintain a sense of self within an Australian multicultural experience. Notions of acceptance and rejection were drawn on as a premise to explore the different approaches to transitions of individuals within society.

Steven Herrick, The Simple Gift

Candidates explored the transitions of various characters from isolation to acceptance via their mutual support. They discussed key moments that reflected the shift from one way of thinking or behaving to another.

Alice Pung, Unpolished Gem

Candidates largely based their response on an exploration of the transitions of Alice and her family and their migrant experience. Candidates explored the challenging of beliefs and attitudes through an examination of change and how the perspectives of characters alter over time. Notions of identity, isolation and acceptance were explored as a means to demonstrate the impact of transitions on individuals and their society.

Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot

Candidates based their exploration on how the beliefs and attitudes of the mining community challenged Billy’s ability to overcome class and gender expectations. Many focused specifically on Billy’s relationship with his father and how his father’s acceptance of his ballet dancing led to positive changes in their relationship, often through Jackie Elliot challenging his values and becoming both accepting and supportive. Billy’s courage and determination were noted by candidates as the catalyst for his transition and the driving motivation for the challenging of attitudes and beliefs of the responder regarding stereotypes and societal opportunities.