English Studies syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the NSW English Studies syllabus, in syllabus order, with a focused answer for each. Open any dot point for the answer, exam-style questions and links to related points.
Achieving through English: English and the worlds of education, work and community
Module overview →How do you read and complete the everyday forms and documents that work, study and community life demand, and why does accuracy matter so much?
How does effective communication change across education, work and community settings, and how do you adapt your language to each audience?
How do you read and write procedural texts accurately, and why does following and giving clear instructions matter at work and in training?
What makes a resume and job application effective, and how do you present your skills in language an employer responds to?
How do you plan and deliver a clear spoken presentation, and how does speaking differ from writing for the same purpose?
Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences
Module overview →How do you respond to an unseen text and compose your own in the optional HSC examination, and what does the marker actually want to see?
How do language forms and features shape meaning in a text, and how do you name them accurately in a short-answer response?
How do composers represent individual and collective human experiences, and how do you write about that representation rather than retelling the story?
What is the difference between a personal response and a critical response to a text, and how do you write one that earns marks instead of just sharing an opinion?
Digital Worlds: English and the web
Module overview →How do online texts communicate differently from print, and how do you read and compose web texts critically and effectively?
Discovery and Investigations: English and the sciences
Module overview →How does science use language to explain ideas clearly to different audiences, and how do you read and write about scientific and technical information?
Focus area: Elective focus areas (2024 syllabus)
Module overview →What are the Elective focus areas in English Studies, who chooses them, and how should you prepare for them?
How do you organise your study of an elective and write responses that show clear understanding of texts and ideas?
Focus area: Narrative and human experiences (2024 syllabus)
Module overview →What does the Narrative and human experiences focus area ask of an English Studies student, and how does it connect to the HSC?
How do you plan and write a clear, well-supported response on Narrative and human experiences?
Focus area: Writing for purpose (2024 syllabus)
Module overview →How do you plan, draft and polish a piece of writing for a set purpose and audience, and reflect on your choices?
What does the Writing for purpose focus area ask of an English Studies student, and how does it connect to the HSC?
In the Marketplace: English and the world of business
Module overview →How do business texts use language to sell, persuade and present a brand, and how do you read and compose texts for the world of work and commerce?
Living and working in the community: English and community participation
Module overview →How do public information texts such as notices, signs and brochures communicate with a whole community, and how do you read and compose them well?
How do everyday community texts inform and persuade, and how do you read them critically to take part as an active citizen?
Local Heroes: English and community life
Module overview →How do texts turn ordinary local people into heroes, and how do you analyse the way a community celebrates and tells its own stories?
MiTunes and text: English and the language of song
Module overview →How do songs use language and sound to carry meaning and emotion, and how do you analyse lyrics as a kind of text?
On the road: English and the experience of travel
Module overview →How do travel texts represent places and journeys, and how do you analyse the way a writer turns a journey into meaning rather than a list of stops?
Part of a Family: English and family life
Module overview →How do texts represent family life and relationships, and how do you analyse the way memoirs, stories and films construct what family means?
Playing the game: English and sport
Module overview →How do texts about sport represent values like teamwork, identity and belonging, and how do you analyse them beyond the scoreline?
How does the media tell stories about sport, and how do you read the language of commentary, reporting and the sporting headline critically?
Telling us all about it: English and the media
Module overview →How does the news media decide what is a story and how to tell it, and how do you read a news report critically rather than passively?
How does advertising persuade an audience to want something, and how do you analyse the language and images that do the selling?
The Big Screen: English in filmmaking
Module overview →How do films use genre and story structure to shape an audience's expectations and feelings, and how do you analyse those choices?
How do film techniques create meaning, and how do you write about a film shot in the same way you would analyse a written text?
We are Australians: English and citizenship, community and cultural identity
Module overview →How do Australian texts represent identity and belonging, and how do you write about cultural identity without slipping into stereotype?
How do texts give voice to different Australians, and how do you analyse whose perspective is heard and whose is left out?
Who do I think I am: English and personal identity
Module overview →How do texts explore and construct a sense of personal identity, and how do you analyse the way composers construct identity through deliberate choices