HSC English 2023 Paper 1

What this paper assessed

Paper 1 examines the Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences. Section 1 is unseen short answer (20 marks). Section 2 is one essay on the prescribed text (20 marks).

Section 1 strategy

The 2023 unseen suite combined prose extracts, a poem and a visual text. Markers rewarded responses that named the form of each text precisely and that selected techniques that genuinely produced an effect, rather than naming the most obvious technique on the page. Allocate 40 minutes for Section 1, with around 15 minutes on the longest question.

Section 2 strategy

The 2023 essay prompt directed candidates toward how the prescribed text invites the responder to consider the relationship between individual experience and shared human experience. High-band answers traced that movement (from individual to collective and back) through two or three structural moments. Markers in the notes from marking centre rewarded sustained engagement with the prompt's exact wording.

Common errors to avoid

Prepared essays bolted onto the prompt. Section 1 answers that summarised the unseen text rather than analysing it. Section 2 essays that confused theme statements with analysis.

What to do with this paper

Sit Section 1 in 40 minutes under exam conditions. Mark yourself against the published NESA notes. Then write Section 2 in 40 minutes on your own prescribed text using the 2023 prompt.