VCE English Units 3 & 4

1. VCE English Units 3 & 4 Requirements and expectations 2014

2. Welcome to Year 12 English Your personal goal for the year should be to achieve the highest possible study score (out of 50): • Good English students should be aiming above 40 • The minimum requirement for most university courses is 25

3. Materials needed • All texts and Insight textbook • Study guides (recommended) • A4 ring folder with 5 dividers • Plastic pockets/hole-punch for handouts • Dictionary and Thesaurus (recommended) • Black and blue pens (no pink, aqua, purple, green, bright red, yellow, orange and no grey lead pencils for essays!)

4. Area of Study 1:Reading and responding Students examine the structures, features and conventions used by authors of a range of selected texts to construct meaning. They identify, discuss and analyse these in order to explain how meaning is constructed through textual elements such as language and images. They also examine the ways in which the same text is open to different interpretations by different readers; for example, the ways in which a text can be read differently in a different time, place or culture. They describe and analyse the way in which social, historical and/or cultural values are embodied in texts, and develop oral and written responses to a selected text, using appropriate metalanguage.

5. Area of Study 1:Reading and responding • ‘In the Country of Men’ by HishamMatar (novel) • ‘Twelve Angry Men’ by Reginald Rose (play)

8. Area of Study 2:Creating and Presenting Students will read or view selected texts in order to identify, discuss and analyse ideas and/or arguments associated with the chosen Context. They will reflect on the ideas and/or arguments suggested by these texts, explore the relationship between purpose, form, audience and language, and examine the choices made by authors in order to construct meaning. Students will then draw on the ideas and/or arguments they have gained from the texts studied to construct their own texts. They write for a specified audience and purpose and draw on their experience of exploring texts to explain their own decisions about form, purpose, language, audience and context.

9. Area of Study 2:Creating and Presenting Context: Exploring issues of identity and belonging • ‘Skin’ directed by Anthony Fabian (film) • ‘The Mind of a Thief’ by Patti Miller (novel)

12. Area of Study 3:Using Language to Persuade The focus of this area of study is on the analysis and comparison of the use of language in texts that debate a topical issue which has appeared in the Australian media since 1 September of the previous year. Students read, view and listen to texts such as feature articles and opinion columns, cartoons, editorials, letters to the editor, interviews on current affairs programs, websites and CD-ROMs, speeches, excerpts from online focus and discussion groups, and advertisements in magazines and newspapers, and on websites and television. They analyse and compare the ways in which verbal and non-verbal (including visual) language of these texts is used to persuade readers and viewers to share the point/s of view being presented. Drawing on their study of the use of language to persuade, students construct a piece of sustained and reasoned writing in which they put forward their own point of view on the selected issue in written or oral form.

13. Area of Study 3:Using Language to Persuade A study of various current issues in the Australian media. • Part A: Language analysis (written essay) • Part B: Point of view (oral presentation)

14. Assessment • 50% of your final study score is derived from school assessed coursework (SACs) completed throughout the year. • The other 50% of your final study score is derived from the end of year examination (duration 3 hours)

15. School assessed coursework Unit 3: • Language Analysis 20% • Oral presentation 20% • Reading &Responding ‘In the Country of Men’ 30% • Creating & Presenting ‘Skin’ 30% Unit 4 • Creating &Presenting ‘The Mind of a Thief’ 50% • Reading & Responding ‘Twelve Angry Men’ 50%

16. Examination • One examination in the November exam period • Three hours in duration (plus 15 mins reading time) • Three pieces of writing required, one on each of the three areas of study • No prescribed word limit for writing pieces however high achieving pieces are normally 800 words or longer

17. Verification tests • All Year 12 VCE subjects require verification tests in Week 1. The purpose of these tests is to ensure that all students are keeping up with required homework. (The year goes very quickly in Year 12 and anyone who falls behind will struggle.) • For the English verification test you will need to demonstrate that you have read ‘In the Country of Men’. You will need to show a close understanding of the novel (you can’t just Google it!) • If you do not pass the verification test your enrolment in VCE will be reviewed. You may be asked to attend a meeting between coordinators and your parents or guardians.

18. What to do over summer… • Complete research task for ‘In the Country of Men’ as set during orientation period (best to complete this before reading the novel) • Read novel in preparation for verification test • Creating & Presenting homework as set during orientation period, this will involve collecting resources regarding issues of identity & belonging • Pay close attention to the news and follow issues that are prominent in the media, including local and global affairs • If possible, join your class wiki and communicate with teachers and classmates over summer. There is no need to work in isolation.

19. Online resources • www.vcaa.vic.edu.au(use this to access the English study design, past exams and assessment reports) • There are also a number of books and commercial resources available online targeting VCE students (which you would be required to pay for). Some of these may be good, however others may not be able to offer much more than is already available. Best to check with your teacher first if you are wondering about any of these.

20. Good luck!