Module B: Texts and Ways of Thinking

Module B: Texts and Ways of Thinking Critical response: Question 7 General comments Better responses explored the interplay between the two terms in an explicit, purposeful and fluent way, and in a manner appropriate to the concerns of the elective and the possibilities inherent in prescribed texts and texts of their own choosing. Stronger responses yoked the two terms together in a lucid, sustained and purposeful expositional framework which integrated theoretical and contextual references relevant to the ways of thinking. Such arguments used fluent academic discourse to support the development of convincing theses, fleshed out through a sophisticated synthesis of appropriate textual knowledge, technique identification and pertinent analysis.

In the better responses, candidates selected related texts with a strong link to the periods specified in the elective rubrics and showed the ability to analyse and discuss these texts with the same thoroughness as the set texts. They also showed excellent understanding of the ways composers shape meaning through visual, aural, literary and cinematic techniques. While an increasing number of candidates are selecting aural and visual texts – for example, paintings, popular music and classical symphonies – candidates need to analyse such texts with the same degree of knowledge and technical expertise as is appropriate for more traditional types of texts.

Weaker responses displayed difficulty engaging with the question. In these responses, candidates often resorted to recount with little or irrelevant textual detail and appeared to lack basic essay writing skills, such as using topic sentences. Such responses often featured a tokenistic use of the key terms that was not underpinned by a strong, purposeful argument and employed textual references without apparent connection to the argument. On occasions, potentially strong texts were marred by a serious imbalance of content, a lack of detailed analysis of related texts, or inappropriate text selection. There were also a significant number of responses which wrote about only one text of their own choosing, despite the requirement to refer to ‘texts of your own choosing’.

Specific electives Elective 1: After the Bomb Stronger responses successfully explored the relationship between the political and the personal, displaying a capacity to adapt their argument appropriately for different texts while framing their argument with an effective over-arching thesis. They recognised the political complexity and scope of the period, acknowledging a diversity of personal responses. Candidates synthesised references to appropriate theorists and personalities of the period.

Unfortunately, some candidates, who had composed responses featuring a solid expository framework and strong contextual analysis, did not provide detailed, supporting textual analysis and technique identification.

Weaker responses resorted to contextual descriptions and generalised recount that was not linked to the question or effectively substantiated with textual analysis. These responses also tended to only address one key term or addressed one term in a perfunctory manner.

Imaginative response: Question 8 General comments Candidates approached the task of imaginatively responding to their electives – within the parameters of the question – in a variety of ways. The most successful responses were firmly grounded within their given context, had a sophisticated control of language and structure, and demonstrated deep knowledge of the elective. The ability to deeply embed both the given term and the provided text within the response was a key discriminating factor.

Stronger responses tended to engage with the ways of thinking of the elective particularly well. They also demonstrated a strong awareness of context and were able to embed it thoughtfully in the response in original and creative ways.

Some of the features of particularly strong responses were:

 sophisticated use of language and structure

 successful use of the language of the particular context, often with a very highly developed sense of

the historical details of the period  fluent integration of the given term – ‘anxiety’, ‘natural world’, ‘changing realities’ – into the

response

 an intelligent, thought-provoking and/or original use of the provided text

 thorough preparation for the demands of the examination. Weaker responses often struggled to establish a sense of context in their narrative.

Candidates are reminded that the electives in Module B deal with specific periods of literary history and ways of thinking. The importance of defining, locating and recreating a particular context of the elective in an imaginative response is paramount.

Some of the features of weaker responses were:

 not successfully integrating the stimulus

 limited understanding of the paradigms central to the electives, as reflected in simplistic/overly

concrete scenarios

 failure to establish a clear and immediate sense of the elective that has been studied

 ineffective use of a particular form of imaginative writing

 not successfully anchored in the context/period of the elective. Specific electives Elective 1: After the Bomb Stronger responses in this elective established a clear social/political context and used this to reflect the values of the period. A strong sense of this specific historical context was clearly identifiable through authentic experiences of characters.

Some candidates composed rather amorphous and generalised train settings and/or spy stories which failed to register a strong sense of the social or political context of the After the Bomb elective. There were a number of responses that attempted to address the concerns and values of absurdism as an abstract concept, rather than demonstrating their understanding of the contextually specific reasons why this movement arose.

Guidelines to writing an imaginative composition IMAGINATIVE COMPOSITIONS: EXTENSION 1 ENGLISH

H.S.C. Examination Paper Assessment Statement:

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you sustain an extended composition appropriate to the question, demonstrating control in the use of language.

Marks – 25 (half of total course mark)

Question Format:

 Respond to a stimulus image or stimulus images  Respond to a stimulus statement / quote / extract / question (a form of written text)  Respond to a combination of stimulus image / written text

Composition Form:

 The form required may be stated explicitly within the question directions. For example; ‘Write an original letter in which you demonstrate….’

‘Write an original short story in which you demonstrate…’

 The form of your composition may be chosen by you, as stated in the question directions. For example; ‘Write an original composition in which you demonstrate…’

Your ability to sustain an imaginative composition in the form required or chosen by you is factored into the final mark.

Possible composition forms include:

- short story - letter - speech - interview - transcript - dialogue/conversation - monologue - confessional - journal entries - article - vignettes

N.B. Poetry form will not be requested, nor is it recommended as a self-selected choice.

Stylistic Features:

 It is imperative that the stimulus image and/or written text provided in the question be incorporated into your imaginative composition in a meaningful way. Do not simply make an incidental reference to the stimulus material to begin or finish your composition, or at some isolated point throughout your response. Use the stimulus material to create atmosphere, build a motif, establish a core concern, contribute to character development, etc.

 Consider what genre options are available to you. Does your idea for an imaginative composition lend itself towards: - drama - social satire - romance - coming of age - comedy - autobiography - crime fiction - allegory

 The narrative perspective is an important consideration. Generally speaking; - 1st person narration will imbue the piece with a subjectivity and engage the responder more fully with the main character/speaker - 3rd person narration will provide a broader scope for composer commentary - 2nd person narration will assume control over the responder’s emotional/intellectual journey (difficult to sustain)  The dominant tone of the narrative voice is important. It could be reflective, critical, didactic, sympathetic, disillusioned etc  Other literary devices which help to give any imaginative composition a degree of sophistication include: - symbolism - irony - figurative language - juxtapositioning - sensory imagery - relatable characters that develop throughout the piece - correct spelling, paragraphing and expression  Consider what structure is best suited for the composition - is it a retrospective - linear or non-linear pathway - episodic form

Composition Content

You are required in your creative composition to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of After the Bomb. How you do this, of course, is left to your own creativity. To help provide some dimensions to your options, consider:

 using the words/phrases developed in the lesson activity during Week 1 to suggest a scenario (a divided world, uncertainty, etc.)  selecting a commonly known situation or event from the Cold War period and explore it from a subjective perspective: an elderly man; a young couple starting out; a leading politician, etc  framing a composition around your understanding of one of the four paradigms relating to this historical period; attempting an imaginative expression of that particular way of thinking  interviewing grandparents / other relatives / members of the community who lived through the Cold War era and build a composition around their anecdotes.

Length:

While quality will always be more important than quantity, to access the upper marking bands it is expected that your imaginative composition will be upwards of 1500 words.

Preparation:

Markers are skilled in identifying prepared responses. Inadequate use of the stimulus material is a clear indicator.

Markers are skilled in identifying unprepared responses. Inadequate length; familiar story lines; an unimaginative re- hashing of the elective paradigms are all clear indicators.

To prepare for this examination response:

 think about your narrative concepts early. (You need to give yourself at least 3 options)  keep a writer’s journal that will enable you to record and develop your composition ideas throughout the year  read widely, taking note of the conceptual, structural or literary devices used  incorporate time in your study program every fortnight to develop your ideas; try different approaches, styles and forms  put into practice any advice or feedback given on class, assessment or examination responses  practise writing your imaginative composition under exam conditions (1hour)  practice adapting a narrative into different compositional forms

After The Bomb Creative Writing

By Leonie Sii Black.

White.

The letters jump feverishly at Isadora. Her eyes become distant- blurred and unfocused. Her hands trembled, clutching the torn paper that had touched the skin of her Peter.

Isadora,

Know that I love you. Know that you must let go of me. I was not meant to survive. It is for the good of our country.

Yours with affection,

Peter Hume

Her eyes warmed- misted with involuntary tears. Her heart sank, her body shook. She stood, uneasy on her feet, looking at her ghastly white reflection in the mirror across her room; looking at herself through blurred eyes as she wept.

She waddled over to her desk and flung upon her drawers filled with Peter’s letters- filled with his things. She took his handkerchief and breathed in the sweet scent of his strong aftershave, but her nose trapped her sense of smell, blocked out the memories she longed to relive.

She pulled back her golden curls, pushed them behind her ears as she started affectionately, but with grievance at the framed photograph of Peter.

“Oh!” She burst out into a new flow of tears, “What is the point?!”

She walked, fury taking over her whole body, towards her figurine of Jesus, standing with his arms stretched out, ready to embrace. She knocked it over. She watched it fall. She watched it crash and fly across in fragmented pieces.

“There is no point!” She cried through burbled tears.

Her mind was frazzled- she needed to escape. Rushing to her desk, she grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on. A bottle of nail polish remover. She turned the lid and breathed in the fumes. A wave of relief washed over. The acid was setting a flame upon the soles of her feet, straight to her heart.

She was engulfed in warmth.

She lifted the bottle slowly, letting her rosy lips touch the opening of it. The liquid set her senses alight. It felt like Peter. How he had held her in his arms, straddling his hands at the small of her back as their gazes locked. His head coming towards hers and that instantaneous moment that their lips touched, sending ripples down Isadora’s spine, causing all sorts of involuntary action- curling her toes in ecstasy, sending her thighs alight as her hands somehow managed to hold their own, ruffling through Peter’s tousled black hair.

She was in paradise here.

His voice was clear in her mind. She could hear him talk. She could hear the smooth complexities of his deep voice, telling her what to do. Her tongue aided in no way to provide sensical syllables. Instead, it intertwined with his- her tongue intertwined with the bottle. She felt a tingling sensation trickle down her throat.

Tingles turned to fire.

Her eyes flew open. Her hands disconnected with the bottle and flung to her throat, scratching at it tenaciously. She watched herself turn red in her reflection. She watched herself tear at her throat, watching the skin redden and peel.

Her head swayed heavily. Her blonde curls contrasted devilishly against her now-purple skin. Eyes bulging, losing all sense of colour, turning a blinding, bold, black.

She gasped, desperate for air, but her throat constricted her.

Coughing. Choking.

Her room warped into translucent swirls. One second her room was distant, the next it was engulfing her.

Her coughs were now more quieter, ke-ke-ke… drifting off into the distance amongst the cheerful chirps of morning birds and the hums of bumblebees. Her struggle was like a tweet- barely noticeable. Her body limp.

Crash.

She was on the floor. Her black eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Fire. Fire. Red. Engulfing. Flame. Everything was in flames. Burning, scorching at her exposed skin. She could do nothing. Her eyes rolled back, watching the flames engulf her. She was walking. Balancing. She was in the middle of oblivion.

Through the flames, she could see the letters burning. Her heart cried out. Her stomach sat uneasy inside her. Acute pain, trembling throughout her body.

Silent whispers calling out her name. Isadora… Isadora…

Her room disappeared. Her eyes closed. Flames wrapped around her body, igniting reactions from the acetone. They burst out of her body, laughing, mocking.

There was nothing but flames. Nothing but the anguish as they tormented her scorched body. Nothing but death.

Through the flames, she saw his face. His crooked nose. His witty grin. His tousled hair.

She looked at her feet. A thin rope led her to him. She stepped cautiously, feeling her feet turn into ash.

“Isadora…” His lips moved in a trance.

She balanced herself, ignoring the torment afflicted on her body.

He was so close now.

She dared not look beneath her. The flames of hell were sure to trap her if she did so.

“Isadora…”

His face was more distinct. A fire-filled smile broke upon Isadora’s face.

One more step… Her feet touched icy ground, cooling her scorched feet. But that was not her main relief.

Embraced.

His arms were around her once again.

“My Peter,” she said, breathlessly. Smoke trailed out of her lips.

He leaned in, cupped his hands tenderly under her chin and kissed her lightly. Ripples of electricity trembled deep within her.

A door opens.

Behind her. Black.

In front of her. White.