This resource material is for VCE Year 12 Mainstream English Students studying in Victoria

ALL MY BEST WISHES TO THE STUDENTS I HAVE TUTORED FOR YEAR 12 ENGLISH THIS YEAR

What is expected of students for the Written English Exam on Wednesday 27th October 2021

The Mainstream English Exam is set down for Wednesday 27th October 2021

• Reading Time                        9.00 am to 9.15 am (15 minutes)
• Writing Time                         9.15 am to 12.15 pm (3 hours)
• Contribution score to English = 50%

Exam Time Allocation

• Section A 60 minutes = 3 minutes to plan & 57 minutes writing time
• Section B 60 minutes = 3 minutes to plan & 57 minutes writing time
• Section C 60 minutes = (10 minutes from reading time) plus 60 minutes writing time

I suggest you wear a watch so you can look at your wrist and not get distracted looking up to the clock on the wall to keep to your allocated time for each section of the exam.

Suggestion as to Exam Order

During the 15 minutes reading time:

Go to Section A and look at the 2 prompts.  Pick one that you are either familiar with the topic or you feel comfortable you can answer the prompt and in a brief 2 minutes plan what you will write for the essay in your head.

Go next to Section B and look at the 2 prompts.  Pick one that you are either familiar with the topic or you feel comfortable you can answer the prompt and in a brief 2 minutes plan what you will write for the essay in your head.

Now go to Section C and read the ‘Background Box’ on the first page and then read the articles for a first reading.  Next reading look at where the Main Contention is and the arguments and language around the arguments.  Pay attention to the author and the title, tone and if it changes, look at the type of language and persuasive techniques and how they are used by the author to position readers.  If there are visuals look at where they are placed in the article and what argument are they next to.  Establish the main contention of the visual and how it aligns with the author’s article.

When the 15 minutes reading time is up and you can ‘pick up your pens’:

Go to Section A and pick that prompt you decided on – take 3 minutes to write a brief plan (which you had thought of in your head in the reading time and now you can write the plan properly) that includes your 3 ideas from the prompt – at least at this stage the plan will still be in your head and will definitely help when you get to Section A to write the full essay – don’t write anything else or waste too much time at this stage on Section A

Go to Section B and pick that prompt you decided on – take 3 minutes to write a brief plan (which you had thought of in your head in the reading time and now you can write the plan properly) that includes your 3 ideas from the prompt – at least at this stage the plan will still be in your head and will definitely help when you get to Section B to write the full essay – don’t write anything else or waste too much time at this stage on Section B

NOW GO BACK TO SECTION C and read the article again, this time with your pen, annotating the arguments (MC= Main Contention / A1 = Argument 1 etc), language, techniques and how the author positions the readers to Think (Logos) / Feel (Pathos) / Do (Ethos) something.

Keep to the time for each essay and try to not go ‘overboard’ with Section C first and cut yourself short for the other 2 essays.  Check your watch, have you stayed within the first hour so you can then go on to Section A and write that essay, check your watch again, then go on to Section B and write that essay. 

If you finish ahead of the 3 hours, go back to each essay to proof-read your writing and make sure you have written a proper Conclusion for each essay.  If you are short of time when writing the essays in Section A and B, then dot point your Conclusion.  At least the Assessors will know what you wanted to say for your Conclusion.  If you have an empty space, the Assessors can’t mind read what you wanted to conclude.

SECTION A          Analytical Interpretation of a Text

Students will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Knowledge and understanding of the text, and the ideas and values it explores
• Development of a coherent analysis in response to the topic
• Use of textual evidence to support the interpretation
• Control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task

SECTION B           Comparative Analysis of Texts

Students will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Knowledge and understanding of both texts, and the ideas and issues they present
• Discussion of meaningful connections, similarities or differences between the texts, in response to the topic
• Use of textual evidence to support the comparative analysis
• Control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task

SECTION C           Argument and Persuasive Language

Students will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Understanding of the argument(s) presented and point(s) of view expressed
• Analysis of ways in which language and visual features are used to present an argument and to persuade
• Control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task

MY TIPS FOR SECTION A & B ANALYTICAL ESSAYS

Introductions

1. Use a run-in line regarding the ‘big picture’ of the topic that shows you are using your analytical skills to consider ideas and issues in the texts
2. Make your Main Contention very clear that you are answering the prompt not being ambiguous
3. If you are writing in Section B comparative texts be clear how you are comparing the 2 texts (similarities or differences)
4. Do not forget to mention the author’s name and titles of the texts in the Introduction
5. Have 3 clear ideas that support your main contention that will form your body paragraphs
6. Include the author or director’s message how they feel about the issue and how they want their audience to react

Body Paragraphs

1. Use 3^rd person voice not 1^st person
2. Use present tense to discuss the world of the text
3. Try to vary verbs that describe author(s) values
4. Every Body Paragraph MUST INCLUDE MESSAGE OF AUTHOR(s) on the key issues and ideas
5. Have a clear Topic Sentence that explores the first of your ideas from your Introduction
6. Use quotes that support your contention as evidence but do not slab massive quotes into the paragraphs, rather embed them in sentences and then explain what the evidence is exploring about the idea/topic
7. How many quotes is dependent on your analysis but at least 3 per text (minimum)
8. If the prompt has a quote or quotes do not forget to include it in one of your body paragraphs and analyse the quote(s) in relation to the prompt
9. In Section B comparative texts include a Transition Sentence from Text A to Text B that shows you are analysing the difference or similarity between the texts
10. In both Section A and Section B texts finish body paragraphs with a Link Sentence that links back to the prompt and follows on to the next body paragraph

Conclusions

1. Sum up your main contention
2. Finish with message of author(s)
3. If you run out of time in the exam just dot point your conclusion at least the assessors will know what you intended to write which is better than no conclusions as the assessors can’t mind read an empty page

MY TIPS FOR SECTION C ANALYSING ARGUMENT

During Reading Time

1. During 15 minutes ‘reading time’ do not forget to read the ‘Background Box’ as it gives you the context of the issue, who the articles are written by and the target audience
2. On first reading of the article(s) try to find out what the main contention is and then search for the main arguments that support the main contention and the language around the arguments
3. Look out for images/visuals / their position in the article / form features like sub-headings and size of fonts / how do they link to the main contention / how does the author use images/visuals to make the audience Think/Feel or Do Something
4. Consider what the author wants the audience to embrace, condemn or find a solution to a problem
5. Consider if the author’s tone is logical or emotional (it can change during the article)

Analysing the Article & Annotating

1. Analyse WHAT IS THE ARGUMENT THE AUTHOR IS MAKING & LANGUAGE USED TO PERSUADE THE AUDIENCE
2. Analyse HOW IS THE LANGUAGE AND RELATED TECHNIQUES USED BY THE AUTHOR
3. Analyse WHY DOES THE LANGUAGE & TECHNIQUE AFFECT THE AUDIENCE
4. Analyse WHAT IS THE INTENTION OF THE AUTHOR WITH THEIR LANGUAGE TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE – Think something (LOGOS = logical response) / Feel something (PATHOS = emotional response) or Do something (ETHOS = ethical response)
5. Annotate clearly where the arguments are in the article(s) so that when you write your essay you can see where argument 1/2/3/4 sits in each article / underline techniques / appeals / tone / intention of author(s)

Writing the Essay

1. Your Introduction MUST INCLUDE Context / Author / Tone / Title / Audience / Contention / Intention / Source
2. Body Paragraphs could be 3-4 depending on size of article(s)
3. Body Paragraphs can be divided into 3 sections = Opening Strategy / Body Paragraphs / Closing Strategy
4. Each Body Paragraph must include your analysis of What / How / Why / Intention of Author to make the readers Think / Feel or Do Something
5. Each Body Paragraph must include examples of language and techniques (can be quotes from texts) / Tone / Intention of Author
6. Don’t forget the Visuals/Images how do they link to the main contention / where are they positioned in the article structure / how does the author use images/visuals to make the audience Think/Feel or Do Something
7. If Visuals/Images are separate from the article(s) they may have their own opinion on the topic so be careful to look at their main contention if they agree or disagree with the article(s)
8. Conclusions must sum up the overall cumulative effects of the writer’s main contention and language and arguments including the visual’s contention and the intention of the author(s) to persuade the audience to Think /Feel or Do Something

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