HSC English Extension 2

How can I effectively focus my research on concept or form? / How do you know if your concept will be engaging to everyone (if it is a specific passion)?

In the early stages of the course, you will be deciding on which form to work in and refining your concept. As you research both form and concept, keep in mind which formal elements inspire you and would work well to convey the ideas you are interested in.

This will include not just exploring the particular form (short fiction, poetry, etc.) but the many formal elements each composer uses within that (structure, voice, pacing etc.).

Although your research will be into both the form and concept you are exploring, you may be working with a hybrid form, which would require exploration of different formal elements, and, ideally, other hybrid texts. You may find you can combine the two parts of the research, at some stages, considering what other composers working in a similar form have done with subject matter similar to your own.

It’s unrealistic to define originality as something that’s never been written about before. Composers return time and again to human concerns, such as love and loss. What makes your treatment original will be the specific lens through which you explore concept, and the unique ways you work with formal elements to express aspects of concept. It will be your own energy and enthusiasm, along with careful and meticulous work, that draw your reader in.

If a work is formally fresh and inventive, and has textual integrity, and if you have research and thought deeply about a subject, moving past easy answers or clichés, your work will be compelling. Readers can be drawn into subjects they are new to, or new angles on familiar subject matter. It is exactly your specific passion that will shape and guide this process.

What are common problems that people fall into and how do I steer myself away from these same challenges?

Procrastination and perfectionism are twin challenges, often seen together. By beginning the work and maintaining momentum, they will fade away. Other challenges include aiming for too large a set of ideas, something exploration, drafting and the process will reveal.

In that case, you may need to refine your focus, and some ideas may fall away. Not exploring the specific form you’re working in can be another limiting factor.

A novel isn’t the same as a short story, for example, and if you’re writing short fiction, reading a wide range of examples of the form will inspire you and offer a masterclass in how to work with the various available elements. Writing poetry, similarly, requires extensive reading of a wide range of examples, especially suites, since you are most likely writing a suite. Not being skilled in receiving feedback can also be a challenge (see a separate response to that question).

Can the journals include anything, even excerpts from books or phrases that may even be irrelevant to my idea?

Your journal is a place for experiments, note-taking and play. You will almost certainly have quotations from other writers and artists in your journal, and you will find you have ideas that feel exciting but may not immediately feel relevant to what you’re exploring. Collect them, and you may be surprised.

Although there are some things you do need to include (as the assessment specifications outline), journals vary because each of us explores ideas in different ways. Your journal mostly needs to demonstrate a process of exploring and thinking, and it can be an important creative repository and place for experiments.

With drafting are you allowed to have feedback from teachers, peers and family members who aren’t included in Ext 2? / How do you avoid getting emotionally attached when receiving feedback?

It can be very helpful to receive feedback from people beyond your teacher. Remember, though, that your teacher and others involved in assessing your work are experts, who will have in mind the course requirements. Trust their professional expertise, then allow other readers’ views to supplement this. A writer who does not know the course will have ideas to offer, but remember that the requirements of the course are quite specific and that observing them will be crucial to your success.

Receiving feedback requires awareness that those giving your feedback are interested in supporting you to create the best work possible. Think of feedback as being about the work, rather than about you. This can be challenging if your work is about personal experience or subject matter, but is crucial. Think of feedback as a gift. As with other gifts, not all gifts will be perfect for you, so just consider what has been suggested and reflect on the questions your interlocutor is asking you to consider.

The arts of giving and receiving feedback are both developed over time, so you will find that you feel more confident about assessing feedback as you continue your Major Work.

Do the same approaches apply to writing a critical response? / Are critical not recommended as they are less creative? / Do you have any tips for writing a critical response?

You need to approach the critical response with the same research into concept and form as any other form. As well as exploring aspects of concept, and considering other writers’, artists’ and thinkers’ work on the subject, you’ll be refining what it is you want to say on the subject, and how your work will be distinctive.

You’ll be thinking about form, like all Extension 2 students. This might include aspects such as sectioning, structure, voice or voices and motifs. Each form has its own elements, so you may also be considering where, whether and when to use epigraphs or to shift from voice to voice.

Exploring past students’ Major Works is one avenue for research, and you’ll be exploring a wide range of long-form essays, since the critical response you write will be longer than other essays you’ve written. Because of this, aspects such as pacing become important.

As with other forms, look for examples that resonate with you, and consider the ways form and concept are aligned. Perhaps an essay is composed of fragments, revisiting a subject from different angles. Perhaps it is polyvocal, along the lines of the discursive form you explore in Advanced. Perhaps it draws motifs from a text it considers, or stages divergent voices and perspectives.

Critical analysis, whether in a critical response or in another form, such as a creative non-fiction or podcast, needs to be approached with the same creativity and enthusiasm as any other form.

What are the guidelines around adding any relevant images to our work? When can visual elements enhance a written major?

NESA’s English Extension 2 Major Work Advice is a starting point for considering this question, and other questions.

Here, the advice is that the inclusion of visual images in the Major Work should be ‘minimal and strategic and needs to contribute to the integrity and purpose of the work’. Once again, the relationship between form and concept will be important, and it may be wise to discuss your choice in your Reflection Statement.

Have a look at past Major Works for inspiration, but generally, keep them minimal, and don’t let them be a distraction to your process. An image or two can be relevant and compelling, but ask yourself about how they contribute to the integrity and purpose of your Major Work.

Although many texts include both words and images (poetry, creative non-fiction, graphic short fiction etc) for the purposes of this course, images (except in film) won’t be a substantial part of your Major Work. Remember to cite the source of any image you do use.

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