What the Elective focus areas are in the 2024 HSC English Studies syllabus

New syllabus (first HSC 2027). This page follows the English Studies 11-12 (2024) syllabus. If you are sitting the 2026 HSC, use the older English Studies module pages on this subject instead. See what's changed.

Where this focus area sits

Elective focus areas is the third Year 12 focus area in English Studies under the 2024 syllabus, alongside Narrative and human experiences and Writing for purpose. Unlike the other two, which have set content for every student, the electives are options. NESA lists eleven elective focus areas, and in Year 12 you complete two of them (about 50 of the 120 hours).

The HSC exam for English Studies is optional. If your school enters you and you sit it, it is one written paper worth 60 marks, with 2 hours of working time plus 10 minutes of reading time. The paper has three sections: Section I, Narrative and human experiences (15 marks, 4 or 5 short-answer questions); Section II, Narrative and human experiences (15 marks, one extended response on your prescribed text); and Section III, Writing for purpose (30 marks, 2 or 3 items, one worth at least 15 marks, asking for informative, analytical, imaginative or persuasive writing). In the 2017 course the paper was 70 marks and 2 hours 30 minutes, so it is shorter and smaller now. An English Studies mark counts towards an ATAR only if the exam is sat, so talk to your teacher about what your goals are.

Why electives exist

Electives let a class study ideas and texts that suit them. One class might focus on stories from their own community. Another might focus on the world of work, or on media and technology. The purpose is the same: to build your skills in reading, viewing, listening, writing and speaking, using texts that matter to the students in the room.

NESA lists these eleven elective focus areas: A, Voices of Australia; B, Media and influence; C, On the road; D, Playing the game; E, Lyrical voices; F, Everyday heroes; G, Part of a family; H, Uncovering the truth; I, The big screen; J, Representing the past; and K, Achieving through English (English in education, work and community). NESA does not prescribe texts for the electives, so the texts you study come from your class, within the syllabus text requirements. Check your teacher's course outline and the official NSW Curriculum page (linked below) for the detail.

What you are expected to do

Whatever your elective, the skills are similar to the rest of the course.

• Read, view and listen closely. Understand what a text is about and how it is made.
• Think about ideas. Link the text to the elective's theme and to your own world.
• Compose. Write, speak or create your own texts that respond to the theme, for a clear purpose and audience.
• Reflect. Explain what you learned and how your choices worked.

How to study an elective well

Know your theme

Write the elective's name and a one-sentence plain description of its main idea. Keep adding to it as you learn more.

Know your texts

For each text, make a one-page summary: what it is, who made it, what it is about, two or three choices that stand out and what those choices do. Keep this short and accurate.

Connect texts

Put two texts side by side and ask how they treat the same idea differently. This is a good way to build ideas for an extended response.

Practise composing

Write short pieces in response to the theme, such as a paragraph, an opinion piece, a speech or a story. Get feedback from your teacher.

Keep a glossary

Record new words and ideas from class and what they mean.

How it connects to the exam

The optional exam has no section on the elective focus areas: it examines Narrative and human experiences (two sections) and Writing for purpose. Your elective is assessed in school, and its reading and writing skills carry into the exam. Read the sample material, linked below, with your teacher. The skills the exam rewards are the ones you practise in the elective: understanding texts, explaining how they work and writing clearly for a purpose.

Questions to ask about any text in your elective

• What is this text about, in one plain sentence?
• Who made it, and for whom?
• What choices does it make (voice, order, image, sound, camera)?
• What does the text want me to notice, think or feel?
• How does it connect to the other texts in the elective?
• How does it connect to my own life or community?

Write short answers to these questions for each text. By the time you finish, you will have a base for almost any exam question.

Talking about texts

Speaking is part of learning. Practise explaining a text aloud to a classmate in one minute. Say what it is about, one choice and what it does. If you can explain it simply, you understand it. If you get stuck, you know where to look again.

Building your own examples

Do not rely only on the examples your teacher gives. Find your own details in each text: a moment, an image or a phrase that stood out to you. Examples that you noticed yourself are easier to remember, and they show real engagement.

An example of a text page

Title and composer: a short documentary about a local market. Type: documentary film. About: how a community gathers around a weekly market and what it means to the stallholders. Choices: interviews filmed at eye level, which make the speakers feel like neighbours; a repeated shot of the market opening in the early morning, which shows routine and belonging; music that gets louder as the crowd fills the space. Effects: warmth, trust and a sense of shared life. This is an invented example to show the level of detail. Your own pages should describe your set texts.

Using the words of the elective

Use the key words of your elective in your answers, but explain them in your own words. A response that names the theme and then shows it through a specific example is stronger than one that only repeats the theme.

Common traps

• Waiting until the exam to organise your notes.
• Knowing the plot of a text but not the choices the composer made.
• Treating the elective as separate from the rest of the course. It uses the same skills.
• Writing about the theme in general terms, without a specific text.