Area of Study 1 – Reading and Creating
Students study: Two selected texts from Text List.
Purpose: To write an Text Response essay on the 1st text, and then a Creative response on the 2nd text for Area of Study 1.
SAC 1: Write an Text Response essay for Text 1 (~800-1000 words).
SAC 2: Write a Creative response + a written explanation (~800-1000 words or, if in the form of an Oral Presentation ~4-6 minutes).
What you should aim to do: You will study both books in detail; looking at themes, characters, literary devices, author’s intention and more. Know that the study of these two texts do not overlap at any point – you study them separately for two separate SACs.
‘Reading and Creating’. This is the only part of the new course where you have the opportunity to experiment with your Creative writing skills. Keep in mind that there will not be a creative component in your VCE English exam.
Area of study 2 – (Part I) Analysing argument
Purpose: The ultimate goal is to demonstrate your understanding of how the author constructs their argument in an attempts to persuade the reader to agree with his or her contention. Here you analyse a variety of different forms of publication, from opinion articles, editorials, speeches to cartoons and diagrams.
SAC 3: An analysis and comparison, in written form, of argument and the use of persuasive language in two to three texts (written or visual) that present a point of view on an issue (~800-1000 words).
What you should aim to do: The highest marks in this SAC will be rewarded to those who can clearly explain the connection between author’s use of language, and how that enables the development of their ideas. Avoid listing language techniques and offering your personal judgement on whether or not the article is effective in persuading you. You goal is to objectively investigate how the author constructs their article via argument and certain language choices.
UNIT 4
Area of study 1 – Reading and Comparing
Purpose: To explore meaningful connections between two texts. You will be using compare and contrast skills.
SAC 4: A 900-1200 word essay offering a detailed comparison between ideas, issues, and themes of both texts.
What you should aim to do: Avoid superficial connections. Simply referring what is similar and different between the two plot events will not score you many marks. The key here is to look at the bigger picture – what are the major values and messages that the texts deliver? Are they aligned? Are they the opposite?
