English Standard 2016 HSC exam pack (archive)

Candidates showed strengths in these areas:

• giving clear explanations with appropriate textual references
• demonstrating a clear understanding of the requirements of a question that required a ‘contrast’
• developing an analysis based on a key aspect of the rubric; ‘the wonder of discovery’
• demonstrating an effective analysis of two texts by skilfully demonstrating multiple understandings of discovery.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• ensuring that the key terms in each question are addressed clearly in responses
• supporting points made with appropriate and well-chosen textual references
• establishing key arguments that address the requirements of the question.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• specifically and imaginatively addressing all aspects of the question in both a literal and/or metaphorical way
• skilful control of language
• establishing an evocative setting
• exploring the relationship between place and individual discovery.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• avoiding clichéd and predictable plots
• writing in a controlled and sustained manner
• dealing with the discovery concept and stimulus throughout the response.

Different approaches to the question:

A significant number of responses included a conceptual exploration of the experiences of Discovery. Students used a variety of terms from the rubric in their evaluations of the discovery process. Candidates interpreted the notions of emotional and intellectual responses through a range of synonymous terms. There was a wide range of related texts.

Approaches to the question varied. One approach to the question was to deal with both ‘the emotional and intellectual responses’ aspect of the question in each text, but it was equally valid to argue that one aspect was more prominent in one text whilst the other was more prominent in the second text. Many candidates considered how the emotional response provoked by the experience of discovery resulted in an intellectual response.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• synthesising a response to the question with elements from the rubric
• developing and sustaining a thesis which engaged with the question
• linking knowledge of the prescribed text with a judicious selection of related text
• developing a purposeful structure with considered integration
• demonstrating that the process of discovery is dynamic and diverse
• exploring the audience’s experience of discovery through the text.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• ensuring that they respond to the full scope of the question
• controlling expression throughout the response
• analysing rather than just describing texts
• selecting and analysing textual features which contribute to the argument.

Question 1

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• using the supplied extract to support a thesis in response to the question
• engaging with all elements of the question
• using related texts thoughtfully and substantially to discuss the question
• analysing evidence from texts to demonstrate understanding of the module in relation to the question.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• moving beyond the narrative and basic context of the texts to respond to the question
• selecting related texts carefully to provide relevant support to the response
• responding to the question in the examination rather than providing a pre-planned response to ideas of the module
• responding to all elements of the question.

Question 2

Different approaches to the question:

Candidates approached ‘experiences’ and ‘attitudes’ in various ways, such as how experiences shape attitudes and challenge individuals to re-evaluate previously held ideas/ perspectives.

Some candidates kept their focus on the experiences and attitudes of the characters in the texts, while others centred on how the responder’s attitudes were affected by the experiences of characters/ individuals/ societies/ contexts.

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating engagement with all aspects of the question including the extract
• demonstrating judicious selection of textual references
• demonstrating a recognition of the composers’ purposes
• linking the prescribed and related texts through the analysis of ideas/ themes/techniques/contexts
• demonstrating a cohesive structure and controlled use of language.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• clearly engaging with all components of the question, particularly the provided extracts
• providing a balanced treatment of prescribed and related texts
• demonstrating clear understanding of the demands of the module and the elective and fitting this to the demands of the question
• demonstrating clear understanding of how composers craft the ‘Distinctively Visual’ to make meaning and position responders.

Prose fiction – Marele Day, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the world of a female detective and the world of crime under the façade of respectability, and how these broaden our understanding of human experience
• discussing how Day invites the reader into the world of corruption through the subversion of the detective genre to create an interesting new perspective on societal values
• purposefully discussing Day’s intentions and how her techniques positioned the responder
• incorporating multiple, specific references and literary techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• displaying a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth, rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• selecting textual references and techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly and without defaulting to the retelling of events and situations
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples and literary techniques from the novel as a whole.

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

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the unique perspectives on the world through the eyes of a protagonist with a disability, and how these broaden our understanding of human experience
• consistently discussing Haddon’s purpose and how his literary techniques invite the audience to empathise with the characters’ experiences of the world
• incorporating multiple, specific references and literary techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• displaying a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• selecting textual references and literary techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly and without defaulting to the retelling of events and situations
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples and literary techniques from the novel as a whole.

Drama – Scott Rankin, Namatjira

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the unique perspectives of culture, identity and history, and how these broaden our understanding of human experience
• consistently discussing Rankin’s purpose, context and how his use of a variety of dramatic techniques invite the audience to empathise with the characters’ experiences between worlds
• incorporating multiple, specific references and dramatic techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• having a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• engaging with ‘Namatjira’ as a dramatic text rather than as a narrative
• selecting textual references and dramatic techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly and without defaulting to the retelling of events and situations
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples and dramatic techniques from the play as a whole.

Drama – William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the unique perspectives of race, religion, gender and culture, and how these broaden our understanding of human experience
• consistently discussing Shakespeare’s purpose, context and how his use of a variety of dramatic techniques invite the audience to empathise with the characters’ experiences between worlds
• incorporating multiple, specific references and dramatic techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• having a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• engaging with ‘Merchant of Venice’ as a dramatic text rather than as a narrative
• selecting textual references and dramatic techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly and without defaulting to the retelling of events and situations
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples and dramatic techniques from the play as a whole.

Poetry – Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Selected Poems

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the unique perspectives of culture, identity and history, and how these broaden our understanding of human experience
• consistently discussing Noonuccal’s purpose, context and how her use of a variety of poetic techniques invite the audience to empathise with both the personal and cultural experiences in and between worlds
• incorporating multiple, specific references and poetic techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• having a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• broadening their response to the poems to explore a greater variety of human experiences that Noonuccal addresses in her poetry
• selecting textual references and poetic techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples and poetic techniques from the suite of poems.

Poetry – Wilfred Owen, Wilfred Owen: War Poems and Others

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the perspectives and experiences of soldiers, their families and Owen himself, in order to broaden our understanding of human experience
• consistently discussing Owen’s purpose, context and how his use of a variety of poetic techniques invite the audience to understand his anti-war message through a focus on loss, pity, suffering and the horror of war
• incorporating multiple, specific references and poetic techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• having a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• selecting textual references and poetic techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on poems in detail, including a range of examples and poetic techniques, rather than a more superficial discussion of multiple poems.

Nonfiction – Anna Funder, Stasiland

There were insufficient responses on this question to comment.

Film – Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• clearly exploring different worlds, including the unique perspective on the world through the eyes of a protagonist suffering from a mental illness, and how these broaden our understanding of human experience
• consistently discussing Howard’s purpose and how cinematic techniques invite the audience to empathise with the characters’ experience of the world
• incorporating multiple, specific references and cinematic techniques to demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the text
• having a confident control of language and a sustained development of argument.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• engaging with the key terms of the question in greater depth rather than presenting a prepared thematic response which is not necessarily relevant to the question
• selecting textual references and cinematic techniques carefully to ensure relevance in order to support ideas convincingly and without defaulting to the retelling of events and situations
• demonstrating a greater knowledge of the text by drawing on a range of examples and cinematic techniques from the film as a whole.

Multimedia – Australian War Memorial website

There were insufficient responses on this question to comment.

General feedback

Candidates showed strengths in these areas:

• demonstrating detailed textual knowledge with well-chosen excerpts and quotations
• directly addressing the terms of the question with a particular focus on social context
• using a well-structured cohesive essay structure with a clear thesis and a well-developed argument
• effective use of a well-considered related text
• providing variety in the choice of related texts.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• responding to the question rather than using pre- prepared responses
• selecting more appropriate related material
• improving analysis to make responses less repetitive and simplistic in nature
• further exploration of the effectiveness of style, form and language.

Elective 1: Exploring interactions

M T Anderson, Feed

Candidates based their responses on the impact of technology on human interactions and the degeneration of the ability to communicate and engage. Some candidates looked specifically at the devolution of language and the impact of the social context on the corporate or connected world.

Nick Enright, A Man with Five Children

Candidates used thoughtfully selected dramatic techniques to identify how the context of the media negatively affected the interactions between Gerry and the children. The concept of distorted communication and manipulation in the world of media was used to explore issues around authentic interactions.

Arthur Miller, All My Sons

Candidates commented purposefully on how the context of WWII and the pursuit of the American Dream distorted and shaped the relationships and social interactions between characters. Better responses were successful in providing effective examples of interactions between the characters and their world through reference to dramatic techniques.

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

Candidates’ success in responding to this question was determined by the effective selection of poems as some were better suited to the question than others. Some candidates demonstrated thoughtful insights into the nature of each text’s distinctive qualities in terms of the representation of social context influencing interactions.

Raimond Gaita, Romulus, My Father

Responses focused on how social context can hinder the way individuals interact and communicate. Relevant textual details and appropriate techniques supported candidates’ explanations of the negative effect of social context on interactions and communication.

Elissa Down, The Black Balloon

Candidates showed a clear connection between the context of the family and the effect that disabilities can have on how individuals interact. There was often a heavy reliance on dialogue rather other film techniques.

Elective 2: Exploring transitions

J C Burke, The Story of Tom Brennan

Candidates focused on the challenges for the various characters in transitioning into the new phase of life, including moving to a new environment and the resulting changes to relationships, beliefs and attitudes. Many responses naturally focused on Tom’s transition and eventual acceptance of his new context but some minor characters’ transitions were also explored.

Willy Russell, Educating Rita

Candidates primarily focused on the characterisation of Frank and Rita and how their relationship provided opportunities to transition into a new phase of life for each of them. Many responses accessed the social context aspect of the question through discussion of changing social class and gender roles. Candidates referenced dramatic techniques to demonstrate how the characters had changed.

Alana Valentine, Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah

Candidates examined the ways the characters transitioned into new phases of life against the backdrop of existing attitudes and beliefs derived from a multicultural context. Responses focused on contrasting characters to explore the challenges each individual faced in moving into a new social context.

Steven Herrick, The Simple Gift

Candidates explored the transitions of various characters from isolation into new phases of life and into a new social context through an examination of the characters’ mutual support and their relationships with others.

Alice Pung, Unpolished Gem

Candidates largely based their response on an exploration of the transitions of Alice and her family as migrants. Many responses explored the challenges of fitting in to a new social environment through well-chosen textual detail.

Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot

Candidates integrated the question into the clear social context of Billy Elliot and his family. Many focused on the transition of Billy and his father by using the chronology of the film. Effective textual detail was used to contrast old phases of the life of miners and new phases of life, represented by ballet and culture. Candidates also explored new phases of life through social context and the influence of gender roles.