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VCAA VCE English Exam: 2018

The document is the 2018 Victorian Certificate of English examination. It consists of 3 sections worth a total of 60 marks. Section A is worth 20 marks and requires students to write an analytical interpretation of one selected text in response to one of two discussion topics. The document provides a list of 20 texts students can choose from for Section A, as well as sample discussion topics for each text.
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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
3K views16 pages

VCAA VCE English Exam: 2018

The document is the 2018 Victorian Certificate of English examination. It consists of 3 sections worth a total of 60 marks. Section A is worth 20 marks and requires students to write an analytical interpretation of one selected text in response to one of two discussion topics. The document provides a list of 20 texts students can choose from for Section A, as well as sample discussion topics for each text.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Victorian Certificate of Education

2018

ENGLISH
Written examination
Wednesday 31 October 2018
Reading time: 9.00 am to 9.15 am (15 minutes)
Writing time: 9.15 am to 12.15 pm (3 hours)

TASK BOOK

Section Number of Number of questions Marks


questions to be answered
A – Analytical interpretation of a text 20 1 20
B – Comparative analysis of texts  8 1 20
C – Argument and persuasive language  1 1 20
Total 60

• Students are to write in blue or black pen.


• Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers,
sharpeners, rulers and an English and/or bilingual printed dictionary.
• Students are NOT permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or
correction fluid/tape.
• No calculator is allowed in this examination.
Materials supplied
• Task book of 14 pages, including assessment criteria on page 14
• One answer book
Instructions
• Write your student number on the front cover of the answer book.
• Complete each section in the correct part of the answer book.
• If you choose to write on a multimodal text in Section A, you must not write on a text pair that
includes a multimodal text in Section B.
• You may ask the supervisor for extra answer books.
• All written responses must be in English.
At the end of the examination
• Place all other used answer books inside the front cover of the first answer book.
• You may keep this task book.

Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic
devices into the examination room.
© VICTORIAN CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY 2018
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 2

SECTION A – Analytical interpretation of a text

Instructions for Section A


Section A requires students to write an analytical interpretation of a selected text in response to one topic
(either i. or ii.) on one text.
Your response should be supported by close reference to the selected text.
If your selected text is a collection of poetry or short stories, you may write on several poems or stories,
or on at least two in close detail.
If you choose to write on a multimodal text in Section A, you must not write on a text pair that includes
a multimodal text in Section B.
In the answer book, indicate which text you have chosen to write on and whether you have chosen to
answer i. or ii.
Your response will be assessed according to the assessment criteria set out on page 14 of this book.
Section A is worth one-third of the total marks for the examination.

Text list
1. After Darkness.......................................................................................................................Christine Piper
2. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity................... Katherine Boo
3. Burial Rites...............................................................................................................................Hannah Kent
4. Extinction.............................................................................................................................. Hannie Rayson
5. Frankenstein............................................................................................................................ Mary Shelley
6. I for Isobel................................................................................................................................Amy Witting
7. In Cold Blood........................................................................................................................Truman Capote
8. Island: Collected Stories.................................................................................................. Alistair MacLeod
9. Like a House on Fire.............................................................................................................. Cate Kennedy
10. Measure for Measure...................................................................................................William Shakespeare
11. Medea............................................................................................................................................ Euripides
12. Old/New World: New & Selected Poems............................................................................Peter Skrzynecki
13. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.................................................................................. Marjane Satrapi
14. Rear Window................................................................................................... directed by Alfred Hitchcock
15. Selected Poems...........................................................................................................................John Donne
16. Stories We Tell.........................................................................................................directed by Sarah Polley
17. The Golden Age........................................................................................................................ Joan London
18. The Left Hand of Darkness...................................................................................................Ursula Le Guin
19. The Lieutenant....................................................................................................................... Kate Grenville
20. The White Tiger..................................................................................................................... Aravind Adiga

SECTION A – continued
3 2018 ENGLISH EXAM

1. After Darkness by Christine Piper


i. ‘Dr Ibaraki is weak-willed, motivated only by fear and insecurity.’
Do you agree?

OR
ii. “Time heals all wounds, you’ll see.”
Is this view endorsed by Piper’s After Darkness?

2. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
i. ‘Life in Annawadi is more about avoiding loss than about gaining profit.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. ‘The women of Annawadi are at once the backbone and the victims of their society.’
Do you agree?

3. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent


i. ‘Agnes is as disturbing as she is courageous.’
Do you agree?

OR
ii. ‘In Burial Rites, although Tóti’s task is to guide Agnes, she has more impact on him.’
Discuss.

4. Extinction by Hannie Rayson


i. ‘All the characters in Extinction are motivated by self-interest.’
To what extent do you agree?

OR
ii. “There is always a last one, isn’t there?”
How does Extinction explore the idea that life is fragile?

5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


i. ‘The pursuit of knowledge brings only unhappiness to Victor and his monster.’
Do you agree?

OR
ii. ‘The world of Shelley’s novel is characterised by “injustice and ingratitude”.’
To what extent do you agree?

6. I for Isobel by Amy Witting


i. How does Witting use other literary texts to tell Isobel’s story in I for Isobel?

OR
ii. ‘The choices Isobel makes in her life are based on self-preservation.’
Do you agree?

SECTION A – continued
TURN OVER
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 4

7. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote


i. ‘Capote leaves the reader feeling that justice has been done.’
Do you agree?

OR
ii. Is Capote’s depiction of dangerous crime overly sentimental?

8. Island: Collected Stories by Alistair MacLeod


i. ‘MacLeod portrays the island way of life as one of comforting familiarity and uncomfortable
isolation.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. “It is not that easy to change what is a part of you.”
To what extent is this idea reflected in MacLeod’s stories?

9. Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy


i. ‘The characters in Like a House on Fire struggle to deal with change.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. ‘Although many of Kennedy’s stories paint a sad picture of the world, there are moments of hope.’
Discuss.

10. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare


i. ‘Human folly and foolishness are at the heart of Measure for Measure.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. “Courage, there will be pity taken on you. You that have worn your eyes almost out in the service,
you will be considered.”
Discuss the role of pity in Measure for Measure.

11. Medea by Euripides


i. ‘Disloyalty is the greatest crime in this play.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. “Do you imagine I would ever have stooped to flattery of this man without having some profit,
some scheme in mind?”
Do you agree that the characters in Medea are never honest?

SECTION A – continued
5 2018 ENGLISH EXAM

12. Old/New World: New & Selected Poems by Peter Skrzynecki


i. ‘Skrzynecki’s poetry explores the connection between landscape and personal identity.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. “and Time’s revenge hardly seems bitter at all.”
How does Skrzynecki’s poetry confront the inevitability of ageing and death?

13. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi


i. “Always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.”
To what extent does Marji follow her grandmother’s advice?

OR
ii. How does Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood explore what it means to live in fear of
persecution and oppression?

14. Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock


i. ‘Jeff’s fascination with looking at others stops him from truly looking at himself.’
Do you agree?

OR
ii. How does Hitchcock create an atmosphere of suspicion in Rear Window?

15. Selected Poems by John Donne


i. ‘In his poetry, Donne seeks to balance the physical and spiritual aspects of humanity.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. How does Donne explore his relationships in his poems?

16. Stories We Tell directed by Sarah Polley


i. ‘The truth about the past is often hard to pin down.’
How does Stories We Tell reveal the family’s story?

OR
ii. “To save all hurt, why not leave things as they are?”
Why does Sarah not “leave things as they are”?

17. The Golden Age by Joan London


i. ‘In London’s novel, to have a sense of belonging means everything.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. ‘At the Royal Perth Hospital and the Golden Age, Frank struggles with more than just polio.’
Discuss.

SECTION A – continued
TURN OVER
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 6

18. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin


i. ‘The characters in The Left Hand of Darkness have more in common with each other than they
realise.’
Discuss.

OR
ii. “I thought that your presence, your mission, might prevent our going wrong, give us a new option
entirely.”
To what degree was Genly Ai’s mission a success?

19. The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville


i. ‘Rooke is an observer rather than a participant.’
Do you agree?

OR
ii. ‘In The Lieutenant, the struggles in the colony arise from fear.’
Discuss.

20. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga


i. Why is Balram called “the white tiger”?

OR
ii. ‘Both “Men with Big Bellies, and Men with Small Bellies” are resistant to change.’
Discuss.

END OF SECTION A
7 2018 ENGLISH EXAM

SECTION B – Comparative analysis of texts

Instructions for Section B


Section B requires students to write a comparative analysis of a selected pair of texts in response to
one topic (either i. or ii.) on one pair of texts.
Your response should analyse how the two texts present ideas and/or issues, and should be supported by
close reference to both texts in the pair.
If you choose to write on a multimodal text in Section A, you must not write on a text pair that includes
a multimodal text in Section B.
In the answer book, indicate which text pair you have chosen to write on and whether you have chosen to
answer i. or ii.
Your response will be assessed according to the assessment criteria set out on page 14 of this book.
Section B is worth one-third of the total marks for the examination.

SECTION B – continued
TURN OVER
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 8

Pair 1 Tracks by Robyn Davidson and Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn
i. Compare how Tracks and Into the Wild explore the limits of human endurance.

OR
ii. “… being alone got awfully boring … I needed people, wanted them.” (Tracks)
“Happiness only real when shared” (Into the Wild)
How do the two texts demonstrate the importance of companionship?

Pair 2 Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and Ransom by David Malouf


i. Compare how the two texts explore the idea that it is essential to know your enemy.

OR
ii. Compare how the social and cultural differences explored in these two texts are overcome.

Pair 3 Stasiland by Anna Funder and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell


i. Compare the ways in which fear dominates the characters in Stasiland and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

OR
ii. “Even with one informer for every fifty people, the Stasi had the whole population covered.”
(Stasiland)
“Under the spreading chestnut tree / I sold you and you sold me –” (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
Compare how the two texts portray the idea of betrayal.

Pair 4 Joyful Strains: Making Australia Home by Kent MacCarter and Ali Lemer (eds), and
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
i. “For the first time in my life, I was alone and had to make my own way in the world.”
(Joyful Strains: Making Australia Home)
“He was teaching me how to live alone.” (The Namesake)
Compare how the two texts explore loneliness.

OR
ii. “… it was the cost of migration that one had to pay.” (Joyful Strains: Making Australia Home)
“Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity
from strangers, the same combination of pity and respect.” (The Namesake)
Compare what the two texts say about how the experience of migration challenges families.

SECTION B – continued
9 2018 ENGLISH EXAM

Pair 5 The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks
i. ‘In The Crucible and Year of Wonders, the leaders of the communities are misguided.’
Compare how this idea is explored in the two texts.

OR
ii. “The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you.” (The Crucible)
Compare the role of judgment in the two texts.

Pair 6 Bombshells by Joanna Murray-Smith and The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus
by Margaret Atwood
i. “It’s hope, and hope only, that keeps us afloat.” (The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and
Odysseus)
Compare how the two texts explore this idea.

OR
ii. “Never look ‘quite right’, never look ‘put together’, never look ‘well groomed’. Always dreamt
I’d scoff at women who just threw themselves together. Now I am one.” (Bombshells)
“Divine beauty is such a burden.” (The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus)
Compare how the two texts regard physical beauty.

Pair 7 Black Diggers by Tom Wright and The Longest Memory by Fred D’Aguiar
i. “You should enjoy every moment of your childhood. Plenty of time for the truth later.”
(Black Diggers)
“I literally saw the boy surrender to that whip …” (The Longest Memory)
Compare how the two texts portray innocence.

OR
ii. “They painted my colour back on the day I got off that boat.” (Black Diggers)
“Chapel, I wish you were white or I black.” (The Longest Memory)
How does skin colour shape the experiences of the characters in the two texts?

Pair 8 I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by
Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb, and Made in Dagenham directed by Nigel Cole
i. ‘It is when individuals are tested that their best qualities are seen.’
Compare how the two texts present this idea.

OR
ii. “Our men think earning money and ordering around others is where power lies. They don’t think
power is in the hands of the woman who takes care of everyone all day long, and gives birth to
their children.” (I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
“What if your husbands saw you? What would they say?” (Made in Dagenham)
Compare how Rita and Malala act in defiance of men’s expectations.

END OF SECTION B
TURN OVER
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 10

This page is blank


11 2018 ENGLISH EXAM

SECTION C – Argument and persuasive language

Instructions for Section C


Section C requires students to write an analysis of the ways in which argument and language are used
to persuade others to share a point(s) of view.
Read the background information on this page and the material on pages 12 and 13, and write an
analytical response to the task below.
For the purposes of this task, the term ‘language’ refers to written, spoken and visual language.
Your response will be assessed according to the assessment criteria set out on page 14 of this book.
Section C is worth one-third of the total marks for the examination.

Task
Write an analysis of the ways in which argument and written and visual language are used in the material on
pages 12 and 13 to try to persuade others to share the points of view presented.

Background information
A new cafe called Calmer Coffee, part of a chain, has opened in a small shopping strip on
High Street in the suburb of Benmore Village.
A review of the new cafe appeared in the local newspaper’s column, ‘Man about Town’,
written and illustrated by Jonty Jenkins.

SECTION C – continued
TURN OVER
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 12

It was a week after Benmore Village’s Night A tablet-wielding employee with a man bun
Noodle Market on High Street that I found myself barely looks up at me from his screen when it
in front of the latest cafe to spring up in our quiet is my turn to order. He recites from memory the
neighbourhood. High Street, which runs through exhaustive list of frappés, soy and almond milks
our leafy corridor, is typical of the many older and chocolate sprinkles, but already I can see he is
main streets that grace our suburbs, with two tired of the drudgery of it all.
thriving cafes, Bonnie’s fashion boutique, and
From the logo and branding to the noise level, the
who could forget Ken’s butcher shop, which has
cafe’s atmosphere is an attack on all of your senses.
been there for over 65 years? Our small strip of
Coffee beans assault you from the moment you
shops has always been the heart of our community.
walk in the door. The decor does nothing to create
Ask yourself, how many times do you visit ‘The
an atmosphere that is in harmony with that of our
Village’ or meet friends down on High Street?
street. A sprawling graffiti monstrosity riddled with
Cafes have come and gone in the 20 years I’ve
coffee beans grubbies the wall behind the kitchen.
lived here and I’ve reviewed many of them in my
There are plastic-packaged coffee-bean-shaped
column. I have been warm in my praise for the
biscuits on the counter. They look stale, dry and
successful cafes – The Beanies Full Moon Cafe
uninviting. Most overwhelming is the display of at
springs to mind here – and honest and cool in my
least 20 different blends, roasts and styles to buy
dismissal of those that offer a service that is not
over the counter. This cafe is part of a chain as
befitting this fine neighbourhood.
off-putting as the skin that will form on your
There are ‘coulda-beens’ and ‘has-beens’, and poorly made frappé latte.
newly opened cafe Calmer Coffee boasts that it
The bland quality of the coffee does not seem to
‘has beans’. To say that this foretells the cafe’s
bother those sitting around the blank, blond-wood
imminent future would be an understatement.
booths and benches. It has become a place to sit,
There is a sense of foreboding as you enter
with free wi-fi and milky concoctions. Teenagers
through the main door. Both the decor and the
and twenty-somethings are plugged into sleek
‘Steps to Good Customer Service’ sign appear to
headphones blasting inane beats, staring at their
be taken straight from Head Office and, although
tablets. The bored employees don’t smile, don’t
this place has only been open for three weeks,
rush and don’t stop to chat with me as they clear
already Jessica’s photo is framed and on the wall
tables. I cannot see Jessica anywhere; maybe it’s
as ‘Employee of the Month’. Next door, at
her day off.
Flo’s Patisserie, I am always served at my table
by the ever-effusive Marcel, offering lattes, short There is no table service. After my first coffee,
blacks or cappuccinos. Here at Calmer Coffee, I I have to get up from my booth and line up
am almost ignored when I approach the counter. again to order. Is this the service we have come
SECTION C – continued
13 2018 ENGLISH EXAM

to expect from our strip of shops? This time, They are all the same, wherever you are. Benmore
I order a ‘mooost excellent soy mochaccino Village’s High Street, with its vibrant streetscape
grande latte poured with extra foam’. As a and cosier cafes, won’t tolerate this intrusion for
dedicated foodie for over 20 years, I have become long. Those of us who live within walking distance
accustomed to menus with names of dishes that of High Street would all agree that we are not
are difficult to pronounce, but Calmer Coffee had Calmer Coffee’s target demographic.
me stuttering. I can just see the look of horror on
the face of Ken the butcher if he tried to order his Decor – 2/10
regular coffee and was confronted with a fancy
Service – 2/10
frothy frappuccino.
Food and drink – 1/10
Calmer Coffee is another example of an
Hits – It sure smells like coffee.
ever-creeping shift towards soulless franchises
Misses – That coffee smells burnt.
that can be found at airports around the world.

END OF SECTION C
TURN OVER
2018 ENGLISH EXAM 14

Assessment criteria
Section A will be assessed against the following criteria:
• knowledge and understanding of the text, and the ideas and issues it explores
• development of a coherent analysis in response to the topic
• use of textual evidence to support the interpretation
• control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task
Section B will be assessed against the following criteria:
• knowledge and understanding of both texts, and the ideas and issues they present
• discussion of meaningful connections, similarities or differences between the texts, in response to
the topic
• use of textual evidence to support the comparative analysis
• control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task
Section C will be assessed against the following criteria:
• understanding of the argument(s) presented and point(s) of view expressed
• analysis of ways in which language and visual features are used to present an argument and to
persuade
• control and effectiveness of language use, as appropriate to the task

Source: Illustrations courtesy of Gary Shaw (pp. 12 and 13)

END OF TASK BOOK

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