HSC English Extension 1

Former chief examiner of English Extension 1, Felicity Plunkett, answers questions from students studying for their HSC in the lead up to the 2021 exams.

How do you prepare for/practise for a common module essay [Literary Worlds]? / What is the best way to prepare for section 1?

The common module, Literary Worlds, provides the overarching framework for English Extension 1, within which you have studied the particular ‘worlds’ of your elective. Studying Literary Worlds, you are looking at the ways texts ‘represent and illuminate’ the complexity of lives – individual and collective.

Texts imagine worlds, and you’ve been analysing how they do this, thinking about aspects of form, mode and style such as identity, voice and points of view. You’ve been practising writing critical and creative compositions that draw on this analysis and discussion, and exploring and expressing some of the ways texts can be seen to create distinctive worlds. You’ll have been working in various forms, modes and media. All of this has prepared you to respond to a variety of questions.

Each exam question is designed to assess what you’ve learned about Literary Worlds, and it could approach the module from a range of angles, including critical and creative. To prepare for the exam, keep practising flexibility. Look at lots of past questions – from the previous HSC exams and trial papers from a range of schools, from questions you’ve been set and questions you imagine. Make up your own and share them with other Extension 1 students. Then, think about how you’d respond to each of them. How can you demonstrate what you’ve learned about Literary Worlds in response to this particular question? You needn’t write a full response to each question, but consider writing a plan for responding to a wide range of styles of question.

While creative flexibility is crucial to exam success – you need to respond to the particular stimulus material, prompt and instructions, and use it as a lens through which you explore the module – you can practise using aspects you’ve written about, and adapting them as you respond to the question. For example, have you created a character who could fit a story in response to the question? How have texts you’ve explored illuminated aspects of the worlds of individual characters and groups? Have you crafted a world that would fit well with aspects of the given question, and could it be adapted to suit the particular stimulus material? How has your reading and study of texts shaped your own composing, and how have you crafted the inner and outer worlds of characters? How have your experiments with texts’ forms and features (point of view, voice and so on) helped you to create vivid worlds, and which of these might work well in the context of the exam question?

Practising this kind of responsiveness, selection and mobility will help you develop the confidence to respond well to any question. This is important, as pre-prepared responses (easily identified by markers) suggest a relative lack of confidence with the module.

How do you suggest I improve my creative writing to have the length and also get a top band? (If section 1 is creative)

As your question implies, the common module question may be a creative one (but, as in the 2020 exam, it may not be). Practise creative flexibility, as described above, so that you’ve written in different voices, from different points of view, a range of characters and settings and so on.

Practise writing in response to different prompts and types of creative stimuli. Develop confidence in finding inspiration in the exam prompts and stimulus material by taking inspiration from around you. Look at portraits (photos, paintings, etc) and write a voice and world for the people you see, look at photos of settings and build an imaginative world from them. Draw on ideas in the rubric, such as the construction of characters’ identities, and plan ways to show what you’ve learned about the forms and modes that help composers evoke these. Take a few sentences from a text by another composer and use them as the starting point for a piece, or take a character from one of the texts you’ve read and transport them to a different world. Try to remember the creative energy and joy of all this, despite the obvious stress of exam conditions. Perhaps try visualising yourself at your most relaxed, enjoying the challenge of whatever creative prompts the exam committee gives you. It may sound counterintuitive in the exam setting, but a sense of joy is an asset.

In terms of length, aim to demonstrate the range of technical possibilities you’ve discovered. This might include, depending on the demands of the question, different points of view, contrasting characters, voices and settings. Remember that one purpose of a creative piece is to demonstrate as much as you can of your knowledge and understanding of the module.

The best responses will work with the given question, prompt and stimulus material, while demonstrating a good depth of knowledge of Literary Worlds, and the ability to write well. In terms of writing well, there is no substitute for reading a lot, and thinking about what makes a particular piece of writing compelling, striking (etc), then practising your own writing. You may find certain phrasings and approaches work well for you, and it’s good to feel you have possibilities (characters, settings, stylistic possibilities) that may work well as part of your response. Breaking away from the comfort zone of a pre-prepared response will elevate your mark, as it will demonstrate genuine thinking about the given question.

How would you recommend we select our related texts in our essays; should they across different forms, or different contexts? / How is the discussion and essay analysis of film different than of a book? / Can you do an artwork as a second related text?

Whatever the genre of the texts you are writing about, remember to balance your discussion of themes with analysis of some of the ways the composer uses language to express these. When selecting related texts, consider how they work as a suite with the set texts you’ve studied.

If you’ve studied prose texts, consider adding poetry, or another genre. Try to include texts with different angles on the module/elective. This enables you to demonstrate that you understand the different technical elements of texts (line movement, sonic patterning (etc) in poetry, camera angles and editing in film and so on), and the range of ideas the course illuminates. You can choose from a variety of forms and modes, but make sure you have plenty to say about them. It’s common to see students discuss set texts better than self-selected texts, so aim for balance across the texts you discuss. Regardless of form, aim to offer discussion of the ways texts work – the ‘techniques’ the composer has used – as well as ideas, themes and subject matter. Some students do use visual artworks in Extension 1, but you’d need to choose one you can say as much about as it as you would a set novel, and to use the language of the form it works in. This may (or may not) offer enough to discuss in a literary and extension exam context.

Aim to anchor each observation you make to detailed textual evidence (allusion to or quotation from the text in question). Then, connect all this, considering the effect of the techniques you’ve observed, and the ways they contribute to the expression of ideas. If you’re discussing a film, the techniques won’t be the same as those of a novel. Make sure you explore the language of film, looking at lighting, camera angles, mise-en-scène, sound etc. If necessary, read up about this. You’ll use the same general approach that you would to writing about prose, with different technical elements.

What is the best way to manage time in the exam?

This is a good question about an important part of exam technique. Allocate your time in the exam according to the marks awarded per question. For example, spend twice as long on a question worth 10 marks as you would on one worth five.

If two questions are worth the same mark, devote an equal amount of time. Practically, you may find it helpful to write a note to remind yourself of the time you’ll need to move on to the next question. Don’t be tempted to ignore your own advice, even if you are on a roll with a particular response. You could build in a few minutes so that you have a moment to round off the response you’re working on.

Practising timed responses as part of your revision will help you get familiar with what you can do within the timeframe. Some people find it works to start with a question they feel confident about, to boost confidence and momentum. It makes a lot of sense to spend a bit of time planning your response. Yes, nerves can make us want to jump straight in and start writing, but planning will take the pressure off by collecting the main ideas you’ll write about, and it will help you start strongly, giving your marker a good first impression of your response.

Invest time in reading the questions carefully, making sure you’ve seen all the instructions. In Extension 1, there are likely to be several components to the questions. Respond to each of these.

How can I better evolve my use of expression when representing ideas? / My feedback often suggests that my essays lack expression. How can I make my expression more effective in conveying my ideas? / How do you have clarity with your written expression in the essays for the electives?

Clarity is crucial. The exam context means relatively quick writing and responding, so lean, clear syntax is an asset. Have a look at the length of your sentences.

While long sentences may work in an essay you draft and redraft, they can sometimes detract from clarity, especially when there’s the pressure of time. You are aiming to convey each observation clearly and succinctly, so excess wordage may not be an ally. Don’t be afraid of simplicity. A very long sentence may be three shorter, clearer sentences. Have a look at writing you’ve found compelling and clear, and see what techniques its writer uses – rhythm, pace, number of points per sentence etc. Another aspect of expression may relate to voice, and the sense of your own views is important. Feel confident in owning your observations. If you draw on other critics’ views, say what you think about them. You won’t always agree. Think of your reader, marking lots of responses. If your writing is tangled or wordy, it can mean your reader has to dig around to understand what point you are making. In the exam context, aim to convey your ideas in ways that don’t give the marker a lot of extra work. Practise all this. If you can, work as a group or in pairs to mark swiftly written opening paragraphs. Assess how much has been conveyed, and how much ease and momentum there was in the response.

How do you juggle critical theories, the module, the text and your own authentic voice in a response?

There is, as you suggest, a lot to juggle. In your response, depending on the nature and specifics of the question, you’ll also be drawing on particular stimulus material and instructions. It’s important to remember that whatever you write, you’ll have a sense of how much more you might have written, in another context.

Everyone has this, because you’ve spent a year reading, writing and thinking deeply. However, none of this care and attention is wasted – it shows up in your work. In this context, practically, consider a list on your planning page, so you include everything.

Try to plan so that you devote equal time to each text, and budget your time according to the marks. Practise economical means of expression, including catalogues and analogues. Writing economically is a whole subject in itself, worthy of the thinking your question implies. You’re packing a suitcase and can only take hand luggage. Careful planning and technique is an asset and creative challenge.

Why do Literary Mindscapes and Intersecting Worlds tend to get more favourable questions than Worlds of Upheaval or Literary Homelands?

Exam committees are made up of lovely, intelligent educators who know the course well. If you can, imagine them as the teachers from whom you’ve learnt the most. They are deeply committed to fairness and equity in many ways, including across the paper. It can be tempting to consider that other students have had easier questions, but it’s wise to cultivate a positive sense of the examiners and the exam, and even to look forward to the creative challenge of the particular question. There are also lots of checks and balances in place to ensure equity in the marking process, so proceed with confidence.

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