§-English syllabus
NSW · NESA← English
English syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the NSW English syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Common Module: Texts and Human ExperiencesStandard + Advanced
Module overview →Why does the module ask you to read for anomalies and paradoxes in human behaviour and motivation?
Students examine how texts may invite the responder to see the world differently by representing anomalies and paradoxes in human behaviour and motivations
How do composers represent human experiences through form, structure, and language, and how do you write about that representation?
Students analyse how composers represent human experiences through their selection of form, structure and language
How do texts represent individual and collective human experiences, and why does the distinction matter?
Students deepen their understanding of how texts represent individual and collective human experiences
How do texts represent the human qualities and emotions associated with experience, and how do we read them?
Students explore the human qualities and emotions associated with, or arising from, individual and collective human experiences
How does reading across forms (poetry, prose, drama, film, nonfiction) deepen your understanding of human experience?
Students consider the ways in which different forms of texts (poetry, prose fiction, drama, film, nonfiction) represent human experiences, and how reading across forms develops insight
How do specific language techniques (imagery, structure, voice, point of view) shape meaning about human experience?
Students analyse the language forms and features used by composers and the ways these shape meaning and influence responses
Why does the module treat storytelling itself as the vehicle for human experience, and how do you write about audience and purpose?
Students consider the role of storytelling throughout time to express and reflect particular lives and cultures, and how composers shape texts for specific audiences and purposes
How do you apply Common Module thinking to your own creative or imaginative response?
Students apply their understanding of the module to their own creative or imaginative responses to texts and human experiences
Module A (Standard): Language, Identity and CultureEnglish Standard
Module overview →What are compositional choices in Module A (Standard), and how do you argue them as the means by which identity and culture are expressed?
Students investigate compositional choices in the prescribed text and how they express identity and culture through language
What does it mean to study language in an integrated way in Module A (Standard), and how do you bring word, structure, and tone analysis into a coherent argument about identity and culture?
Students engage in integrated language study, considering word choice, structure, tone and other features and how they develop the module's central ideas
How does language construct individual and cultural identity, and how do you analyse that construction in a Paper 2 Module A essay?
Students explore how language is used to express and shape identity, both individual and cultural, in the prescribed text
How do representations of culture in the prescribed text shape the responder's perspective, and how do you argue that shaping without conflating culture with content?
Students examine how representations of culture in the prescribed text shape the responder's perspective and understanding
What is voice in the Module A (Standard) sense, and how do you analyse its role in shaping the responder's engagement with identity and culture?
Students analyse how the construction of voice in the prescribed text shapes the responder's engagement with its representations of identity and culture
Module A: Textual ConversationsEnglish Advanced
Module overview →How does the comparative study reshape your perspective on each text, and how do you make that personal engagement part of an analytical argument?
Students reflect on how engaging with both prescribed texts shapes the composer's and the responder's perspectives
How do the different contexts of the prescribed pair shape what each text could say, and how do you write about context without slipping into biographical fallacy?
Students analyse and evaluate how the contexts in which texts are composed and received influence the values, ideas, language forms and features in them
How do you compose a critical or creative response that demonstrates your understanding of the textual conversation under exam conditions?
Students compose critical and creative responses, with reference to detailed analysis of the prescribed texts, to communicate ideas through complex personal, social and cultural points of view
How do you compare the language forms and features of two prescribed texts without writing two separate technique inventories?
Students analyse and evaluate how the considered selection of language forms, features and structures shapes the meaning and effect of texts
How do composers reimagine, reframe, reflect on, or critique an earlier text, and how do you write about these intertextual moves with precision?
Students analyse how composers reimagine or reframe aspects of texts, including through allusion, appropriation, transformation, parody, response and critique
How do you identify and write about points of resonance and dissonance between two prescribed texts without slipping into a list of similarities and differences?
Students consider how a deeper understanding of texts may be gained by examining the similarities and differences between texts
What does it mean for two texts to be in conversation, and how do you write about that conversation rather than treating the texts in parallel?
Students explore the ways in which the comparative study of texts can reveal resonances and dissonances between common or shared ideas and concerns
Module B: Critical Study of LiteratureEnglish Advanced
Module overview →How do the contexts of composition and reception shape how the prescribed text means, and how do you write about both without slipping into biography?
Students consider how the prescribed text has been shaped by, and has shaped, its contexts of composition and reception
What does it mean to develop a considered personal perspective on the prescribed text, and how do you put that perspective on the page in an exam?
Students develop a considered personal informed perspective on the prescribed text, supported by detailed textual analysis
What makes the prescribed text's voice and qualities distinctive, and how do you write about distinctiveness without sliding into appreciation?
Students consider the prescribed text's distinctive qualities and its construction of voice, including the relationship between the text and the responder
How do you analyse the prescribed text's language forms and features in a way that supports a sustained argument rather than a feature inventory?
Students analyse and evaluate language forms, features and structures of the prescribed text and consider how these shape meaning
How do different critical readings shape what the prescribed text can mean, and how do you engage with them without losing your own voice?
Students engage with the perspectives of others through critical reading and consideration of how interpretations shape and are shaped by social, cultural, intellectual and personal contexts
How does the prescribed text represent enduring human concerns, and how do you write about concerns without slipping into theme listing?
Students analyse the ways the prescribed text represents human concerns and reflects social, cultural and historical contexts
How do you write a sustained Module B essay in forty minutes that holds a personal perspective and grounds every paragraph in detailed textual analysis?
Students compose sustained analytical responses that demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the prescribed text
What does NESA mean by textual integrity, and how do you argue it in a Paper 2 Section 2 essay?
Students engage with the prescribed text to develop a detailed understanding of its construction, content, language, ideas, and how these contribute to its textual integrity
Module B (Standard): Close Study of LiteratureEnglish Standard
Module overview →What makes the language of a prescribed text distinctive, and how do you argue distinctive language features as the source of its critical impact?
Students examine the distinctive language features of the prescribed text and the ways they create its impact on the responder
What is the relationship between a prescribed text's form and its meaning, and how do you argue that relationship in a Module B (Standard) Paper 2 essay?
Students analyse the relationship between the prescribed text's form and its meaning
What is a personal informed evaluation in Module B (Standard), and how do you argue your view of the prescribed text's significance without slipping into opinion?
Students develop a personal informed evaluation of the prescribed text's significance and meaning
What does sustained close engagement with a single prescribed text look like in Module B (Standard), and how do you build that engagement into a top-band Paper 2 essay?
Students engage sustainedly with a single prescribed text and analyse its construction, content, and language across form, structure, and detail
What is textual integrity in the Module B (Standard) sense, and how do you argue the prescribed text's coherence through its recurring motifs and structural patterns?
Students consider the textual integrity of the prescribed text, including recurring motifs, structural coherence, and the relationship between parts and whole
Module C: The Craft of WritingStandard + Advanced
Module overview →How do you shape your writing for a specific audience, purpose, and context, and how do you handle stimulus tasks that ask you to do this under pressure?
Students apply knowledge of how to shape texts for specific audiences, purposes and contexts, drawing on a range of forms, features and structures
What is a discursive piece actually meant to look like, and how do you keep one from collapsing into either an essay or a memoir?
Students compose discursive texts that explore ideas in flexible, exploratory ways, drawing on a range of language forms, features and structures
What does imaginative writing actually expect in HSC English Module C, and how do you produce a piece that scores under exam conditions?
Students compose imaginative texts for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts, drawing on a range of language forms, features and structures
How do you learn from prescribed mentor texts in a way that improves your own writing rather than producing pastiche?
Students examine and appreciate the stylistic features of effective writing through close study of mentor or prescribed texts
What does persuasive writing reward in HSC Module C, and how do you avoid producing an essay or an opinion piece in the wrong key?
Students compose persuasive texts for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts, drawing on a range of language forms, features and structures
What does a Module C reflection statement actually do, and how do you write one that scores rather than restates the piece?
Students reflect on their writing process and the choices they have made, evaluating the effectiveness of their work
How do you construct voice, tone, and mood deliberately in your own writing, rather than letting them happen by accident?
Students experiment with the language forms and features used to convey particular voice, mood and tone in their writing