VCE English Exam: Text Response Revision

AREA OF STUDY 1:
READING AND
RESPONDING
Exam Revision

What’s required?
 You need to demonstrate your understanding
of:
 the ideas, characters and themes constructed
by the author and presented in the text;
 the way the author uses structures, features
and conventions to construct meaning;
 how to prepare, construct and support a
response to a text in an essay form.

What’s required?
 You need to be able to use:
 appropriate textual evidence to support your
response;
 appropriate metalanguage to discuss the
textual features in your response;
 expressive, fluent and coherent writing
including the conventions of spelling,
punctuation and syntax of Standard Australian
English.

Revising the Text
Make notes on the following:
 Setting
 Structure
 Narration and Point of View
 Language and Writing Style
 Film Techniques
 Character
 Themes

Choice: Brooklyn or Mabo
Look at:
 Main characters (how they
were portrayed and their
development in the text
 Minor characters (their
purpose/function in the
text)
 The role of the setting/s
(both time and place)
 Themes
 Writing techniques and
why they were used.
Look at:
 Main characters (how they
were portrayed and their
development in the text)
 Minor characters (their
purpose/function in the
text)
 The role of the setting/s
(both time and place)
 Themes
 Filmic techniques and why
they were used.
Brooklyn Mabo

Revising the Text
All the areas listed
inter-relate.
E.g.
The setting may have
influenced a
character’s
development or they
may not fit in to the
place they find
themselves.
OR
A narrative structure
that includes lots of
flashbacks may be
highlighting particular
themes or issues via
the flashbacks.
Think about why the
text was constructed
the way it was.

1 Hour to Write the Essay – No
More
 It is important to practise writing to the 1 hour
time limit.
 Don’t go over the time – you are robbing
yourself of marks in the other sections.
 It doesn’t matter how good your text response
essay is – it can only get 20 marks.
 It will affect your overall mark more if you don’t
leave adequate time to complete all tasks fully.

Approaching Essay Topics
 Understanding an essay topic is crucial to
developing a relevant response.
 There are five aspects to consider when
looking at a topic:
 Common Topic format
 Common Instruction Terminology
 Key Words and Phrases
 Rewriting the topic
 The Scope of the Topic

By Dr Jennifer Minter, Brooklyn: a home – a
place divided, (VCE Studies Notes: English
Works) www.englishworks.com.au
“To get high-scoring marks in text response,
you must be as analytical and insightful as
possible, and in particular, refer to the
author’s literary devices and intentions.
Toibin’s literary devices are subtle and often
deceptive. He writes with a great deal of
ambiguity and irony.”

Revising Essay Topics
COMMON TOPIC FORMATS
There are three common topic formats:
 A statement on the text followed by a task instruction.
For example:
 ‘Brooklyn depicts the immigrant experience as essentially
defined by loss and regret.’ Discuss.
 A direct quote followed by a task instruction or
question. For example:
 "His saying that he loved her … frightened her, made her
feel that … that this was the only life she was going to
have, a life spent away from home.” How does Toibin
express the migrant experience in Brooklyn ?
 A direct question on an aspect of the text:
 How does Toibin show the difficulties Eilis faces in her
decision making?

Instruction Terminology – Understand Instructions.
 Discuss – what does this require?
 Debate, question or explain a topic, giving evidence, reasons
and explanations for and/or against the topic.
 Do you agree?
 Present your own interpretation of the topic, giving evidence,
reasons and explanations etc.
 How?
 Explain, outline or describe the ways in which the text illustrated
the topic by drawing on textual evidence, structures and
features and metalanguage.
 Why?:
 Explain reasons to support the idea represented in the topic.

Key words and phrases –definitions and
synonyms
 Identify key words, phrases, terminology and
concepts in the topic.
 Use a dictionary to clarify your understanding of
these terms.
 Come up with a list of synonyms for the key
words and phrases (this will help you avoid
constantly repeating the same words)
 Quotes – identify the context of a quote if it is in
the topic and consider what the significance is.

 Rewriting the Topic - Paraphrasing
 Write a simple paraphrase of the topic by
directly substituting key words and phrases with
your own vocabulary or list of synonyms.
 Write a paraphrase of the topic by reversing the
statement and using your own words.

 Scope of the Topic – identifying the focus
 Ask yourself: “In order to answer this topic what
do I have to think and write about?”
 Your answer should consider the following:
 Character/s – development and/or relationships
 Themes or issues
 The author’s views and values
 The use of structures, features and/or conventions

Revising Contentions
A contention is your point of view, stance, position or
argument in response to a topic. Generally there are
four positions you can take:
 Yes: complete agreement
 Yes, however...: partial agreement, presentation of
other considerations in relation to the topic.
 No: complete disagreement, presentation of
alternative view on the topic.
 No, however...: part disagreement with the topic;
presentation of other considerations in relation to the
topic.

Forming your Contention
 “Fence sitting” is discouraged as it gives the
impression of uncertainty, lack of knowledge
and lack of focus.
 Once you have considered what the question
is asking, form your overall opinion of the topic.
 Your contention should be clearly
expressed in one sentence.
 If you use different vocabulary to the words
in the essay topic, make sure that it means
the same thing.

Practise Time!
 For the following topics identify:
 Topic format
 Instruction Terminology
 Key Words and Phrases
 Rewrite the topic
 Consider the Scope of the topic.
 ‘Perkins’ Eddie Mabo is ultimately incapable of shaping his
own identity.’ Do you agree?
 ‘The characters’ weaknesses are never truly resolved in
Mabo.’ Discuss.

Practise Time!
 Now establish your position on one of the topics
below and write your contention in one sentence.
 ‘Perkins’ Eddie Mabo is ultimately incapable of shaping his
own identity.’ Do you agree?
Mabo.’ Discuss.

Planning Your Essay
 After you have understood the topic and
formed your contention, you have to plan your
knowledge into a well structured and detailed
text response essay.
 The essay plan is your first draft or “roadmap”
to writing an effective, focused text response
essay under pressure.

Planning Your Essay
 What an essay plan should include:
 Statement of contention
 Outline main points or reasons for contention
 Ideas should be organised in sequential, logical
order, indicating paragraphs.
 Brief description of key evidence for each main
point.
 You should aim to have 3 to 5 main points, one
per body paragraph.

Planning Your Essay
 Use standard essay format and TEEL

Practise Time!
 Let’s plan the essays we’ve begun.
 ‘Perkins’ Eddie Mabo is ultimately incapable of shaping
his own identity.’ Do you agree?
Mabo.’ Discuss.

Writing Introductions
 The introduction must be relevant, focused
and convincing.
 The basic introduction should immediately
establish the contention and may include the
main points that will be presented (in order)
 There are a number of features that you can
include in your introduction, though not all will
be appropriate for every essay.

 Features of an introduction:
 A sentence introducing the author and text in
relation to the topic.
 In the novel, Brooklyn, Colm Toibin explores... [outline
key theme/idea]
 A clear sentence stating your contention in
relation to the topic.
 At the centre of the text is the idea that [contention].
 An outline of the main points (useful, but not
essential)
 This is revealed through [first point]. Additionally
[second point]. Finally [third point] also supports
[contention]

 Information contextualising the text in relation to
the topic.
 Toibin’s novel acts to alert his readers to the dangers
of ...etc
 Contextualising a quote that is part of the topic.
 Through the character, Tony, Toibin expresses his
own view that [quote from topic]
 In the introduction you could make use of: key
words, phrases, synonyms, metalanguage
sophisticated explanation of key terms and
concepts (NOT dictionary definitions)

 How easily can you write an introduction for the
question you’ve begun?

Writing the Body
 The body is the meat in your sandwich. It is where you
show the extent of your knowledge of the text in relation
to the topic.
 The body should develop the central contention from
beginning to end.
 Overall, you should aim for 600 words for this section – 3
body paragraphs (possibly 4).
 USE TEEL: especially the T
 Topic Sentence: state an idea that relates to the essay topic,
do not describe a character or scene from the text.
 Evidence: quotes, paraphrases, brief descriptions
 Explanation: elaborate on how the evidence relates to the
topic and the main point of the paragraph.
 Link: Concluding sentence to the paragraph, making sure
that everything you’ve written relates to the TS and the overall
contention.
 Also relate each new paragraph to the previous idea.

Writing the Conclusion
 The conclusion is essentially a restatement of
your contention and summary of the main
points.
 Make sure you use different wording to your
introduction.
 Make sure you link to the topic and contention.
 No new ideas.
 Don’t ask rhetorical questions.
 You could a make a statement about the relevance
of the text to the wider world.

Style Pointers
 Using Quotes
 Quotes must be relevant to the point, and clearly punctuated
with quotation marks.
 Style
 Title of the Text: Use capitals for each word and underline:
Mabo, Brooklyn
 Use the author/director’s full name in your first reference to
them, then their surname.
 Use a formal style and tone.

Style Pointers
 Write in the present tense when referring to the
text.
 Do not self-reference (‘I’ or ‘me’). Use ‘one’.
 Do not refer to the reader as ‘you’ (e.g. This
makes you feel like...) use ‘the reader’.
 Write fluent sentences by using linking words,
commas, semicolons or colons accurately.
 Avoid overusing key terms, descriptive or linking
words.

Practice
 The more essays you plan and write, the more
ideas you have explored and the more quickly
you’ll be able to respond to exam and essay
topics.

VCE English Exam: Text Response Revision

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VCE English Exam: Text Response Revision