VCE English Exam Revision

1. How To Revise for your
Unit 3&4 English Exam

2. 22

3. Three sections
• Text Response
• Context Response
• Language Analysis

4. Language Analysis

6. Skills vs.
Knowledge

7. Language Analysis
• 10-15 minutes of practice every 1-3 days
will make more impact than ‘cramming’ in
SWOTVac.

8. Language Analysis
• Reading, thinking, planning
• Analysing the visual
• Identifying the issue and contention
• Identifying the best examples of persuasive
language
• Grouping examples
• Using specific verbs to describe an author’s
technique
• Varying the way a follow up sentence is started

9. What’s the link?
2010: “students who attempted to work laboriously
through every sentence found the task difficult.
Students needed to choose which parts of the material
they would use to explore the way in which language was
being used.”
2010: “Some responses were just simple summaries or
lists of the techniques used, with little development.
These pieces did not score well as they did not fulfil the
task.”
2011: In stronger responses, strategic selection, together
with well-developed précis skills, allowed students to
demonstrate their language analysis skills.

10. Reading Time
15
m
i
n
u
t
e
s
1-2 minutes - choose text response question,
consider context prompt
2-3 minutes - read through persuasive
language analysis material
8-10 minutes - mentally identify persuasive
techniques and plan analysis

11. Bring a dictionary
• We must, at the very least, be apprehensive
about this proposal.

12. Bring a dictionary
• The use of the word “apprehensive” brings
an association of doubt and mistrust in the
reader’s mind towards the idea.

13. Task & Background

14. Task & Background

15. Identify
• Which quote best identifies the contention
• What is one persuasive phrase/sentence
used

16. Birmingham Library Speech - Malala
Yousafzai

17. Which of these best
identifies the contention?
• We must not forget the 57 million children
are out of school
• Pens and books are the weapons that
defeat terrorism
• I truly believe that the only way to have
global peace...is to have reading, knowledge
and education

18. Which of these quotes
is the best example?
• A city without books... is like a graveyard
• We must not forget the 57 million children are out
of school
• We must speak up for peace and development in
Nigeria, Syria and Somalia
• We must speak up for the children of Pakistan,
India and Afghanistan who are suffering from
terrorism, poverty and child labour

19. How would you group
these examples?
A city without books... is
like a graveyard
We must not forget the 57
million children are out of
school
We must speak up for
peace and development in
Nigeria, Syria and Somalia
We must speak up for the children of Pakistan, India and
Afghanistan who are suffering from terrorism, poverty and
child labour
Pens and books are the weapons
that defeat terrorism.
Let us not forget that even
one book, one pen, one
child and one teacher can
change the world. Books are very precious.

20. Analysing language
• Joe Bloggs uses a rhetorical question when
they say “Are we all stupid”. Rhetorical
questions really only have one answer.

22. Students overuse these
phrases
• The author writes
• The writer says
• The author uses
• The author argues
• The author thinks

23. Analysing language
• Joe Bloggs challenges the audience with the
question:“Are we all stupid?” This challenge
confronts us with a black and white choice
- we can either accept that we are stupid,
or think that we are smart by agreeing with
Bloggs’ argument.

24. Praises, Celebrates,
Gushes, Champions,
Supports, Effuses,
Commends, Approves,
Accepts, Applauds,
Understands,
Advocates, Identifies
with, Esteems,
Credits ,Endorses
Labels, Dismisses,
Attacks, Insults, Slurs,
Denigrates,
Undermines, Criticize,
Critiques, Lambasts,
Denies, Demeans,
Blames, Accuses,
Judges, Rejects
Connects...with,
likens...to,
compares...to,
associates...with/to,
connotes...as being
like, relates...to,
attaches...to
Queries, Reflects,
Raises, Wonders,
Reasons, Philosophises,
Ponders, Supposes,
Speculates
Urges, Posits,
Contends, Argues,
Disputes, Challenges,
Opposes, Debates,
Contests, Demands
Forcefully, logically, caustically,
sarcastically, emphatically, darkly,
quickly, humourously, emotionally,
angrily, passionately, laughingly,
reassuringly, authoratively,
jokingly, seriously, matter-of-factly,
accusingly, effusively,
speculatively, challengingly,
insultingly, disgustedly,
righteously, absolutely, clearly,
rhetorically, carefully

25. • A city without books... is like a graveyard
• We must not forget the 57 million children
are out of school
• We must speak up for peace and
development in Nigeria, Syria and Somalia
• We must speak up for the children of
Pakistan, India and Afghanistan who are
suffering from terrorism, poverty and child
labour
urges;
champions;
connects...
with...;
likens...to;
supports;
reminds us;
advocates
Malala likens a “city without books” to a “graveyard”
creating the association for us that...

26. Improving analysis

27. Improving analysis

28. Visual
• Our focus is captured by the visual when / at...
• The portrayal of...as...focuses our attention
because...
• ...is represented as...
• Re-inforces the point that...
• Supports the contention / argument that...
• The image visually captures the author’s argument
that...

29. Analysing visuals
We live in an age where privacy does not
exist
Our attention is captured
by...
Google is represented as...
The image supports the
author’s contention that......

30. The Context
• Expository
• Persuasive
• Creative

31. Expository Essay
Text Response:
*What is one text
about?
*Examples from
that one text.
Expository Essay:
*What is an idea
about?
*Examples from
that one context
text.
*Example from
other places

32. Expository
• ‘Our fantasies can be more powerful than our
reality.’

33. Define ideas in intro
• A fantasy is something we know isn’t true -
and perhaps isn’t even possible. It’s a fantasy
because it’s different to the facts of our
everyday reality. For many of us, we can
enjoy escaping into fantasy through...

34. Whose:
The powerful vs.The
powerless
The individual vs.The
individual
The group vs.The
individual
Males vs. Females
The old vs.The young
The knowing vs.The
naive
Parents vs. children
The story teller vs. the
audience
Types of reality
Factual, honest, created,
desired, emotional, escapist,
warped, imagined,
constructed, healthy,
unhealthy, deluded,
restricted, invented,
misconceived, confused,
fragmented

35. Death of a Salesman
• In Death of A Salesman
many of the male
characters have a
_______ version of
reality.This puts them
at odds with...
Types of reality
Factual, honest, created,
desired, emotional, escapist,
warped, imagined,
constructed, healthy,
unhealthy, deluded,
restricted, invented,
misconceived, confused,
fragmented

36. Spies
• In Spies, Stephen’s
version of reality as
a child is
initially__________
.This is different to...
Types of reality
Factual, honest, created,
desired, emotional, escapist,
warped, imagined,
constructed, healthy,
unhealthy, deluded,
restricted, invented,
misconceived, confused,
fragmented

37. Each paragraph about
one idea
• Some fantasies provide healthy outlets for
us. It’s normal to dream about what we
might be one day - even though we realise
it could be beyond us.What is unhealthy is
when...

38. Whose:
The powerful vs.The
powerless
The group vs.The
individual
Males vs. Females
The old vs.The young
The knowing vs.The
naive
Parents vs. children
The story teller vs. the
audience
Bring in other examples
Types of reality
Factual, honest, created,
desired, emotional, escapist,
warped, imagined,
constructed, healthy,
unhealthy, deluded,
restricted, invented,
misconceived, confused,
fragmented

39. Persuasive
• ‘We can evade “reality” but we cannot avoid
the consequences of doing so.’
• If we are to be truly happy, we must deal with
the consequences of reality.

40. Propositions
*We must/must
not...always/never/
sometimes
*We should/should
not...always/never/
sometimes
‘Sometimes people find
themselves living in a
world created by other
people.’
‘We do not see things as
they are.We see them as
we are.’
‘Reality is always shaped by
those with the most
power.’

41. Creative writing
Bad reasons for
choosing the creative
option:
*I think it’s easy
*I don’t want to study
*I’ve got a great idea
for one story
Good reasons for choosing
the creative option
*I’m confident about
creative writing
*I’m prepared to practice
creative writing
*I’ve got a good idea for a
character and setting that’s
relevant to the context

43. Characters and
situations
Character types:
*A younger person who feels their notion of
reality has been twisted by older people (Death of
A Salesman)
*A younger person who does not fully
understand what the older people around him
are doing (Spies)

44. Character + Scenarios
• ‘We can evade “reality” but we cannot avoid
the consequences of doing so.’
• A boy of average sporting ability has been
brought up to believe he is a sporting star. He
must confront the reality that he is only average.
(Get’s a letter saying he has not got a sporting
scholarship)
• A boy’s parents are divorcing. He refuses to
believe it. (He locks himself in his bedroom and
thinks when he opens the door everything will be
normal)

45. Cosi and OnThe
Waterfront
• Be able to use a range of examples
• Be able to write about these texts as a play
and as a film

46. Cosi and OnThe
Waterfront
Cosi and OnThe
Waterfront
Lewis
Lucy
Nick
Justin
Doug
Roy
Ruth
Cherry
Zac
Henry
Julie
Terry
Edie
Fr. Barry
Johnny
Friendly
Charley
Kayo Dugan
Tommy
Glover
Pop Doyle
Big Mac
Mutt

47. Cosi and OnThe
Waterfront
Cosi and OnThe
Waterfront
• Stage directions
(particularly to describe
Lewis)
• Structure of the play
•Visual setting: darkness,
burnt out theatre
• Use of music
• Visual motifs: jacket, fog,
closed and open spaces,
fences
• Use of close ups (cab
scene)