English Extension 2 2023 HSC exam pack

General feedback

Students should:

• ensure their work is original
• investigate the form to ensure the purpose and concept is well-suited to the form chosen
• demonstrate an understanding of the chosen form
• edit and proof carefully
• ensure they adhere to the parameters of the form.

Short Fiction

In better short fiction, students were able to:

• clearly orient their readers within their voice/context/setting
• experiment with form purposefully, with audience engagement in mind   
• make writing choices to characterise and distinguish their narrators when writing from different perspectives   
• present well-researched historical pieces, or narratives within particular cultural contexts, embedded with convincing, rich, cultural authenticity
• transition between dialogue and prose, narrative perspectives, and voices with clear intentions to positively shape meaning
• demonstrate purposeful control of language and form.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring plotlines are realistic for authentic and deep character development within the parameters of the word limit 
• ensuring that all textual elements contribute meaningfully to the work
• creating characters and voices that reflect the context of the work, particularly in works set in a specific historical period
• creating distinctions between character and narratorial voices
• representing emotional states in plausible, sensitive and purposeful ways
• structuring the narrative to create tension and reader engagement
• creating dialogue that drives the narrative and is punctuated accurately.

Critical Responses

In better critical responses, students were able to:

• integrate independent investigation with their own textual analysis
• offer a substantial thesis that showing the direction of the argument
• demonstrate a keen awareness of audience and how to engage them
• use stylistic elements such as intertextuality with purpose
• establish appropriate and clear thesis statements that are substantiated through the argument and evidence and sustained throughout.

Areas for students to improve include:

• investigating the form of critical response and understanding the diverse approaches found in this form
• adopting a sophisticated academic voice that avoids excessive nominalisation and complex, but inaccurate, diction
• developing arguments that support holistic analysis, rather than relying on explaining or rephrasing quotes
• increasing the rigour of critical analysis and ensuring any texts chosen are justified in terms of the purpose of the critical response and that they are also aligned with the critical argument.

Poetry

In better poetry, students were able to:

• manipulate poetic devices in a sustained and purposeful manner
• construct a clear, conceptual thread which unifies the poetry while simultaneously sustaining the conceptual concerns
• connect their readers within the voice/setting/context to establish and sustain engagement
• offer a sincerity, authenticity and maturity which engages the reader
• employ a clear and purposeful use of poetic form
• purposefully integrate eclectic forms of poetry
• seamlessly integrate research into specific cultural, literary, philosophical and political contexts
• evoke sensitive imagery
• build momentum across a cohesive work.

Areas for students to improve include:

• maintaining a cohesive voice 
• sustaining effective poetic forms
• experimenting purposefully
• avoiding the use of the same idea across a suite of poems without developing it or adding any insight.

Script — short film, television, drama

Students should:

• investigate the form by reading a variety of scripts and reflect on the meaning of each one  
• consider how the elements of scripts, such as dialogue, action and setting, combine to create a unified experience for the audience
• explore how representation and symbolism operate in dramatic scripts
• purposefully apply selected dramatic styles
• create a plot that engages the audience through a strong narrative arc
• ensure they conform to the structural expectations of their chosen script form, be it drama, television or film.

In better scripts, students were able to:

• demonstrate deep understanding of the scripts as performative texts
• control complex structural devices and specific form conventions, such as stage directions for drama and scene markers such as ‘Int’ and ‘Ext with numbers’ for film
• write credible and engaging dialogue
• write meaningful stage/film directions that contributed to the impact of the script
• demonstrate understanding of the nuanced ways in which theatre can provoke and stimulate audiences
• explore dramatic situations to convey thoughtful insights
• create a dramatic vision through precise and fitting stage directions
• understand and effectively craft the aesthetics of their chosen form.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding scripts are designed for performance
• researching technical aspects of the chosen form
• ensuring there is a balance of stage/film directions, dialogue and action
• ensuring there is awareness of the components and parameters of the form to effectively craft their work. This includes the number of scenes and characters, effectiveness of transitions and purposeful and engaging dialogue
• sustaining delineated voices through convincing characterisation and purposeful dialogue.

Creative Nonfiction

Students should:

• ensure their work is best placed in this category. Some Major Works were better suited to other categories. Hybridity in works is possible, but if students are undertaking analysis of literary works, they should consider critical response as their form
• consider the NESA suggestions for the form, such as historical recreation, life writing, or investigative journalism. If students are undertaking a historical recreation, they should ensure they understand the distinction between historical fiction – with imagined characters in a real historical setting – and historical recreation, that imagines historical episodes from the perspective of a historical identity who actually existed. If students are considering investigative journalism, they should consider an ‘investigation’ that may involve interviews with real subjects.

In better creative nonfiction, students were able to:

• demonstrate deep knowledge of chosen concepts/fields through authentic representations of character, setting and theme
• communicate a deep awareness of voice and register and maintain consistent awareness of the impact of voice on audience response
• blend elements of compositional critical/creative elements so that there was a balance that allowed readers to be guided through the Major Work while maintaining engagement
• transition easily between fiction and nonfiction elements of response 
• compose highly nuanced descriptions
• demonstrate that the Creative Nonfiction form was a deliberate and well-informed choice
• use a strong voice with clear purpose and intention to create an engaging work that was credible and informative
• demonstrate extensive research into form
• show genuine emotion and tenderness with an authentic voice in memoir or life writing works.

Areas for students to improve include:

• avoiding dealing with topics in an emotional way, as insights into these topics and concepts tend to be superficial and underdeveloped
• focusing on the narrative/character progression rather than on unnecessary details
• carefully planning structures that enable appropriate shifts in voice and/or tense
• avoiding reliance only on family anecdotes and online discussions. These should be fleshed out through sustained exploration of background
• ensuring that the blending of critical and creative approaches to the same concept in a hybridised manner deepens the concept or insights
• strengthening the sense of context. Less successful historical recreation works have a more limited, contemporary perspective, rather than a complex portrait of values and paradigms of the past.

Podcasts — drama, storytelling, speeches, performance poetry

Students should:

• ensure their work is original
• investigate the form to ensure the purpose and concept is well-suited to the form chosen
• demonstrate an understanding of the chosen form through extensive investigation
• record, edit and proof carefully
• have a strong sense of the audience
• make judicious choices in relation to the soundscape, including choice of voice(s) and sound effects
• practise vocal delivery before the final recording, considering variation of pace, intonation, and modulation
• consider various ways to create cohesion in the work which may include effective transitions, motifs (linguistic or sound) or a framing voice
• ensure they adhere to the parameters of the form such as length; up to 15 minutes in length; music and SFX not included in the running time; student as principal performer for all forms excluding drama.

In better podcasts, students were able to:

• thoughtfully and intentionally integrate features of this form, including voice control, sonic qualities, and language choice to sustain engagement over the podcast 
• investigate their concept thoroughly to help form interesting and sophisticated insights that authentically engaged listeners
• use sound and SFX to enhance the meaning and impact
• compose an insightful script
• engage the listener by contextualising the work in a clear yet original manner
• demonstrate a strong sense of audience
• use authentic and convincing voices
• experiment with and use purposefully the hybridity of the podcast form
• use effective and judicious audio editing.

Areas for students to improve include:

• considering why they are using the podcast form and whether it is the best for purpose and concept
• rehearsing and recording well in advance of submission
• choosing sound effects and or music carefully to enhance meaning rather than relying on clichéd diegetic sounds
• avoiding voices that are monotonous, too fast, too slow or sound like they are simply reading aloud
• investigating the variety of approaches within the sound medium, for example, performance poetry, speech, radio drama, storytelling
• making effective choices for the chosen form
• demonstrating depth of research rather than relying on simplistic concepts.

Students should:

• ensure their work is original
• investigate the form to ensure the purpose and concept is well-suited to the form chosen
• demonstrate an understanding of the chosen form
• edit and proof carefully
• ensure they adhere to the parameters of the form such as length. Multimedia Major Works need to be 7-8 minutes in length, not including credits
• use both visual elements and sound (other than narration) to construct meaning, for example, a range of film techniques, sound effects and motifs
• ensure that rehearsals are conducted where actors are used, and initial filming takes place early enough in the composition process to allow for refilming and judicious editing
• consider all elements of their form, structure and style. Multimedia submissions can take the form of short films, animations, short documentaries, multimodal performance poetry pieces, multimodal storytelling pieces, graphic novels and websites.

In better multimedia works, students were able to:

• demonstrate thoughtful and successful manipulation of techniques particular to the chosen form
• create a sustained, conceptual motif that connected elements of the multimedia piece
• use the multimodal aspects of the form to demonstrate awareness of the narrative power of the form as well as to represent deep insights into a concept
• create a seamless integration of narrative and form so that the works tell the whole story and avoid fragmentation.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring any variations in visual quality are deliberate and contribute to the work’s textual integrity. For example, using file/stock footage, home movies, and recently filmed work in the one piece can lead to a Major Work that is not unified stylistically, or raise questions about authenticity/integrity
• creating a strong literary foundation that is evident in the Major Work, not just referenced in the Reflection Statement
• ensuring website instructions are very clear
• using music/sound thoughtfully to shape meaning
• carefully editing for seamless transitions
• controlling the possibilities of the form itself in terms of shaping all the narrative elements and engaging the viewer.

Students should:

• ensure that they reflect on the processes they went through to complete the Major Work
• use their journal to document the process undertaken and then use this information to support the composition of their Reflection Statement.

In better Reflection Statements, students were able to:

• fulfill all aspects of the Reflection Statement as required by the parameters
• explore audience in a meaningful way
• demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the chosen concept and the chosen form, and the impact that the extensive investigation had on developing this essential connection
• convey clear awareness and understanding of the relationship between the Major Work and the intended audience and the way this relationship is shaped through the process of composition and the construction of meaning
• make explicit the correlation between the process and product
• present clear and realistic links to the English Advanced and Extension 1 courses.

Areas for students to improve include:

• balancing the discussion of process and product
• expressing the work’s purpose in a succinct manner
• limiting descriptions of early iterations of the project
• establishing extensive research into the form. This is an area that is lacking in many responses and often translates to the quality of the Major Work
• ensuring the research is relevant and directed to specific aspects of the work
• avoiding addressing what the Major Work was going to be, rather than analytically reflecting on the aesthetic choices evident in the work
• focusing on the development of content and how the influence of research into the context/form shaped compositional choices and experience
• ensuring all requirements of the criteria are addressed in an authentic manner, avoiding superficial, contrived or trite observations/references to investigated texts.