The Home Stretch- Final Preparation tips for the HSC English Exams.

This time next week, the English exams will be over and you will never have to write another essay about belonging ever again!

Important last minute preparation tips

• Do not try and pre-learn your essays. You will do a lot better if you write your essay from scratch, adapting your knowledge of the module and the text/s to the question.
• Remember that for Paper One, they can ask you to write any text type for questions 2 and 3 (Creative Writing AND Extended Response). A brief overview of different text types and their purposes can be found here.
• Don’t spend too much time on one question at the expense of others. English teachers will tell you this time and time again, and it is true, it is much harder to get those last 3 or 4 extra marks than it is to get the first 3 or four marks on another question.
• Know as many techniques and quotes as you can. This will give you a broad base from which you can create and support arguments to respond to questions
• Do not forget your essay structure. Although it is easy and tempting to just write everything you know about a topic, markers appreciate an essay with a proper introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs with one topic of argument, and a conclusion.
• Try and do as many practice questions as possible before the exam. Even if you just look at the questions and write a brief plan so you know that if you got that question in an exam, you would be able to answer it with your knowledge of the module and text/s.
• Remember that no matter how obscure the question they give you may seem, it will be drawn from the syllabus. So read over what the syllabus says about your module/elective/area of study and make sure you understand each of the key concepts it has covered, and how your texts have helped you to understand or explore those concepts.

All of that being said, remember that the HSC is not the end of the world and you should not get too stressed out over remembering every little quote and piece of information. If you have done the work throughout the year, there is no reason to be scared, as you will find that when you are in the exam room, it will all come back to you and you will be able to answer the question well.

Remember to email us at enquiries@oxta.com.au at any time for help, or if you need any questions answered.

Good Luck!

Sample Essay-Advanced English Module C, History and Memory-The Queen.

Take note and learn from the way this essay has been structured. This essay received a mark of 20 out of 20 and captures the essence of the module with reference to a really good related text!

Question: Compare how the texts you have studied emphasize the complexities evident in the interplay of history and memory

History, a struggle over the past in the present to shape the future, is an exploration of the causal relationships between individuals and events. However, history has always been contested terrain, due to the fact that history is established through individual and collective memories, which by nature are subjective and coloured by circumstance.In the post modern era, the conventional ways of thinking which dismiss memory due to its bias and triumph historical fact have been challenged, and the credibility of history has been diminished by literature which explores how both history and memory can be essential to any construction of the past. Through their representation of history and memory, Frears’ The Queen and Becker’s Goodbye Lenin explore the nature of each individual concept and their interconnectedness in establishing the past. A plethora of film techniques are employed by both directors in order to represent the importance of memory in establishing the personal dimension of history, the relevance of trivial historical accuracies in constructing a representation of history and the process by which memory can reshape and colour historical events.

Memory gives history a third dimension of individual emotion and personal experience to documented history that is necessary in understanding the historical value and meaning of both the past and the present. It is not historical truth alone that allows one to gain a universal understanding of an event or person, but rather the interrelationship of the factual history and the personal and collective memories.  In his representation of the contrast between the individual and collective memories prior to the death of Princess Diana, Frears concurs with this notion and allows the responder to establish their own emotional connection with the historical event.  Through the representation of the Queen’s struggle to respond appropriately to the Diana, Frears explores the aforementioned personal and emotional third dimension of history. The Queen is represented as in a confused struggle between protocol and precedent and the desires and needs of her people. This comes across subtly, through the character’s facial expressions at the sight or sound of her people’s disappointment with her behavior, and more explicitly through her dialogue, where she comments “I chose to keep my feelings to myself. Foolishly, I believed that was what the people wanted from her Queen” to Tony Blair. In many ways, this fulfills the purpose of Frears film, to represent the unexplored memories of this significant historical event; the untold stories which allow an individual to gain a more global understanding on all dimensions of the implications and significance of certain moments in history. Becker also explores the importance of memory in accounting for the personal experience of history in Good Bye Lenin!  . When the Berlin wall falls, Becker uses montage and dialogue to suggest the limitations of the former German Democratic Republic and also represent new found freedom and the ability to experience new things on a personal level. The protagonist’s sister, Arianne, is featured in this montage trying out different cultural activities such as belly dancing and experiencing a relationship with a West German man. This construction of the responses to the fall of the German Democratic republic enables Becker to illustrate that when an historical event such as the fall of the Berlin wall occurs, it is personal experience and the emotions associated with the tangible events which enable a more global understanding of the actual historical event itself. To Arianne, and most likely to many others, the fall of the Berlin War was the fall of more than just physical barriers, and through Goodbye Lenin, Becker establishes this truth and validates the personal dimension of memory as that which contributes to a universal understanding of an historical event.

In the construction of a representation of history, it is individual and collective memory which conjures an understanding of the historical figure or event, yet it is historically accurate details and trivialities which authenticate such representations. Physical evidence and relevant historical details are essential in constructing both history and context as they create direct links to memory. Frears interweaves the imagined and the real into a believable representation of history, in order to tap into and make a connection with the collective memory and individual’s personal memories of the historic event. He achieves this through incorporating researched historical accuracies into the narrative. This is exemplified in the character of Cherie Blair, who is constructed to be critical of the Monarchy through dialogue and her actions, most notably when she offers a shallow curtsy to the Queen and calls the royals “a bunch of freeloading, emotionally retarded nutters.”  It is a widely accepted historical fact that Cherie Blair was an anti-monarchist who offered disrespectful curtsies only to the Queen. The inclusion of such a historical truth by Frears makes the representation of both history and memory more believable by creating a direct link to the historical understanding of Cherie Blair and the way that people remember her. Becker also inquires into the importance of historical accuracies in representing history through his construction of Alex’s reaction to his mother waking up from her coma, after the German Democratic Republic she loved so greatly had collapsed. Alex changes their apartment to the way it was before the wall fell in order to reconstruct her old world by means of physical signifiers. He collects evidence from before the wall fell, such as foods and furniture that his mother was used to, and pieces it together to form a reconstruction of the past. This reconstruction is symbolized by the pretend “News Reports” Alexander and his friend Dennis film and present to Christiane as real to cover up the increasing presence of symbols of the West such as giant Coke billboards. Alex’s concealment of the impact of Westernization with signifiers from his mother’s memory is Becker’s way of demonstrating how essential physical evidence is in constructing history and context by creating a direct link to memory.

History can only be recorded retrospectively; hence, to a degree it relies on memory. The interplay of history and memory therefore can result in new understandings of events and people, ones which are now reshaped and coloured by individual and collective memories. In the post modern era, history has lost its monopoly over the production and conservation of the past, and memory has developed independently. Frears explores this notion in The Queen through his representation of collective memory.  Archival footage which is weaved into the film communicates a particular collective memory, which is in many ways just as relevant to the actual death of Princess Diana as the car crash itself. The archival footage is an authentic means of representing memories synonymous with the death of Diana-grown men exploding in tears at the news of her death, mountains of flowers outside Buckingham palace and irate Britons expressing their anger at the monarchy’s failure to respond to their needs.  Frears, through the inclusion of such footage, is attempting to represent how a particular collective memory can reshape and impact on the way an historical event, in this case the death of Princess Diana, is remembered and referred to in the future.  Becker also represents the dynamic relationship between memory and history in the final scenes of Goodbye Lenin. In his final charade, Alex changes the way his mother will remember the fall of the German Democratic Republic through a pretend news report in which he gives “the GDR the send-off it deserved.”  Becker references the fact that memory can reshape and colour the way historical events are represented and referred to, and goes beyond this to inquire into the nature of humans to romanticize their own individual memories of historical events when Alex comments that “The GDR I created for her increasingly became the one I might have wished for.”

Through literature, the concepts of history and memory are explored and appreciated as separate entities and also as interconnected elements that unlock our understanding of the past. History and memory provide both complementary and conflicting understandings of human and personal experience, yet together constitute a source of understanding on all levels of the events and people before the present. In both The Queen and Goodbye Lenin, Frears and Becker use filmic techniques to represent the relevance of memory in enabling a more universal understanding of history, the importance of historical accuracies to re-enact history and link it to memory, and the way in which memory can colour an understanding of certain historic events.

Studying for Exams and More Sample HSC English Papers

The best, and perhaps only way to study for HSC English exams is to practice answering as many questions on your relevant module as possible. More exam papers are attached for you to attempt, or at least look at so you can get an idea of the kinds of questions you may be asked.

A good way to approach your study is to look through the past papers and attempt questions without actually writing up a full essay. Most people find it overwhelming and difficult to write essays when they are not under the pressure of the exam. An alternative is to set out a structure for your essay without actually writing it. For example, you could follow this structure guide:

Introduction:

Write the full introduction, as per the guide to writing band six introductions. This will require you to really think about the question and the points you will be making. If you can write the introduction and your main points, you should be able to write the rest of the essay.

Body Paragraphs:

For each body paragraph, just write the thesis statement and the main pieces of evidence you would use to support this statement. For example, you may have

A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places and the larger world. 

Evidence:

(give an example from your prescribed text and identify how it links to the thesis)

(give an example from your related text and identify how it links to the thesis)

This is one way of ensuring you would be able to answer the question, and really tests your knowledge and encourages you to apply it.

Conclusion:

Write one-two sentences on what you would include in your conclusion.

Writing out an essay structure like the one above is less time consuming than writing out a whole essay, but still ensures that you think about the ways you can apply and manipulate your knowledge to suit specific questions.

Practice Exam Papers

Paper One Sample Paper

Paper One Section One Sample Exam

 

HSC English Trials Past Papers AND Marking Guidelines

Want to practice your english skills before the upcoming trial exams?

This is the best resource you will find online! The new syllabus has only been in effect for 2 years, so it is very difficult to find papers that are relevant to what you have been studying in class. We have collected a number of past papers from different sources and will continue to add more as we find them!

Download the HSC English practice papers (Both Standard and Advanced) attached to this post and let us know how you go!

Advanced English Paper Two-Independent Trial 2009

Standard English Paper Two-2009 Independent Trial

 

 

Paper One-2009 Independent Trial

Paper One-Area of Study

Writing Band Six Essays-Intelligent Introductions

The first thing the marker reads (obviously) is your introduction, and thus a solid introduction can engage the marker and make them actually want to read your essay. The other advantage of a decent introduction is that if for some reason you don’t get to finish your essay, the marker will at least know what you intended to talk about, and can give you some credit for being on the right track. It will definitely improve your mark overall if you can indicate that you know what you are talking about and what you would say if you had time in your introduction. This is not to say you should waste your time writing a perfect page long introduction, but rather that the introduction is important so don’t spoil your chances of getting a good mark by not introducing your essay properly!

A good introduction will always:

a) Start with a thesis that DIRECTLY RESPONDS TO THE QUESTION. You have 40 minutes to write an essay so there is no time to start with philosophical musings about the topic or write random things you happen to remember about the module you are writing about

What is a thesis?

A thesis is just a fancy word for an argument or overall point of view. Your opening thesis statement basically needs to state an argument that you will develop and provide evidence for throughout your essay. There is no need for this to be complex, but better essays generally will have a thesis that responds to the question without using the exact wording of the question. For example:

“ Relationships are essential to finding a true sense of belonging” Discuss

An A-grade thesis would be something that indicates your personal response to the question. Remember that you do not have to agree with the statement, you can disagree or you can be really tricky and agree and disagree with the question. Better essays are always those that can argue and counter argue. Refer to later posts for advice on how to do this.

Sample thesis:

The complex nature of the concept of belonging means that a true sense of belonging can be found in different circumstances for different people, however, many individuals find their strongest sense of belonging within relationships.

This is a good thesis because it

• Shows you know something about the concept of belonging
• Refers to the question without using all the exact words
• Is broad enough to allow you to develop good arguments, and then counterarguments
• Uses definitive words such as “means” and “find” instead of using words such as may. This makes it sound argumentative, which is a good thing as the purpose of an essay is to argue.

However, writing a thesis such as the one above will not come naturally to a lot of students. For these students who find it difficult to develop thesis statements, the best route is to take words out of the question. This will show the marker that you have understood the question and know what you need to write about in order to answer this question.

In order to truly belong, people need relationships with other people and places.

This is also a good thesis because:

• It is a direct response to the question
• It is broad enough to allow you to develop an argument
• It demonstrates that you have understood the question-the word “essential” basically means something that you need or must have.

When writing a thesis, remember that it has to be an argument, but also that you must be able to support this argument with evidence in your body paragraphs. There is no formula for writing a perfect thesis as every question is different, but if you keep in mind that the above points and practice, writing theses will hopefully become a lot easier!

b)        A good introduction will have at least one sentence that expands on the thesis.

This will help you to show you know what you will be talking about in the essay and hopefully make the point you are trying to prove by writing this essay a little clearer to the marker.

c)         Name the texts and composers that will be referred to throughout the essay

Names of texts should be Underlined. How exactly you name the texts and authors really depends on the module, so see the specific blog post for each of these!

d)        Outline the points you will be making in the essay

To fulfil its purpose, the introduction must give a proper overview of the arguments you will be making. There is no need for excessive detail here, just state the general arguments you will be making in one long or two short sentences if necessary. See the sample introduction and each module’s essay writing blog post for further guidance on how to outline arguments in the introduction.

Writing Band Six Essays-DO NOT PREPARE AND LEARN ONE ANSWER

In case the capital letters didn’t scare you enough I will repeat it just so you can gauge the severity of this warning—do not pre prepare your essays. Unless you genuinely want to fail HSC English there is no excuse for going into your English exams with one memorised essay for each unit you have studied. Everyone wants a simple solution that will be easier to learn than an entire year’s worth of work, but like everything in life, nothing good will ever come of taking the easiest route.

Students in years prior to the 2009 HSC may have got lucky, and their memorised essays may have been enough for them to pass, but unfortunately for students in the era of the new syllabus, the same tricks do not work. Every year, the board of studies publishes markers comments and other documents in which they give feedback about the quality of students’ responses from the previous year, and the most common comment is that markers know when they are reading a pre prepared response and punish students for attempting this. It is very easy to tell an essay that actually answers the question from one that is a generic essay about the topic that may just refer to the question in the introduction or conclusion.

 The post 2009 HSC English course is designed to stump students who try to pre prepare responses. The board of studies is determined to fight back at criticisms that the HSC is simply a memory test and students that rote learn and churn out content can get better marks than students that actually learn and understand the content. They want you to realise that the course is so broad that there’s no chance your one memorised essay will answer the question sufficiently so there’s no point trying. You only have to look at the uproar caused by the 2009 paper one essay question for evidence of this. For the first time, this question asked students to refer to ONE instead of TWO related texts, and so students that had memorised essays were forced to adapt or were penalised for not writing in enough detail about their one text. The lesson from this is simple; the board of studies is out to get students who memorise essays, so just don’t do it. Ever.

Luckily for you lazy students out there, you will have this guide that should help you to write good essays from scratch that will get you decent marks in your HSC!

The HSC English Exams

Yes you read that correctly, not only is English compulsory but it also is allowed to put you through the agony of two exams. Each exam tests different things so make sure you are prepared for the right exam on the right day! The Board of Studies is a very creative bunch, so the two exams are called paper one and paper two.

Paper One

This is designed to test your knowledge about the Area of Study. It is made up of three sections, all worth 15 marks

Section One:

You will be given a selection of texts/excerpts from texts related to the concept of belonging and will be required to answer a number of short answer questions about these texts and how they enrich your understanding of belonging. This section is essentially a comprehension; you will be given texts and will be required to comprehend and interpret them and how they reveal information about belonging.

Section Two:

This is the creative writing section. You will be given a stimulus or brief and will have to compose your own imaginative text that draws on the stimulus and demonstrates what you have learnt about belonging, its importance and what it means in various contexts.

Section Three:

The dreaded essay. You will be given a statement about belonging and be asked to discuss it, or be given a direct question which asks you about some aspect of belonging. You will need to respond to this in an essay form, drawing on your prescribed text and possibly one or two related texts to support your arguments about belonging.

Paper Two

This paper will test your knowledge about each of the modules. It is IMPERATIVE that you answer the correct question that corresponds with the texts/electives you have studied.

There will be one question for each elective, and each question is worth 20 marks. As a general rule, you will be required to write an essay response to each question, however, be warned that there is nothing in the syllabus that says you cannot be asked to write some other text type such as a speech, so be prepared!

You should also note that each exam goes for 2 hours, meaning you will have only 40 minutes to plan, write and edit each question you answer. Time management in exams is not a natural skill, so it is best to practice and seek advice on how to best compose clear and concise exam responses in the limited time available.

More details about each section of the exams, what will be expected and how to answer questions will be featured in later posts.