Changes to the exam for Lit

[peterpiper]

Apparently this is what I've gathered from the goss I've heard from Lit examiners:

There will NO longer be two passage analyses for the exam. Instead, you have two sections, which are as follows:

TASK A – Literary perspectives: Assessment will be based on a written response to a statement related to one selected text.
TASK B – Close Analysis: Assessment will be based on a written response to passages from one selected text.

The exam will still be two hours with 15 minutes reading time. In the course, you will do for U3 two sacs Adaptations and Transformations and a creative, whereas in U4 there will be three sacs: one on literary perspectives worth 50 marks, and the other two on close passage analysis (two texts), weighing at 25 marks each.

I'm actually thankful that they've done this, because I've always enjoyed the literary perspectives part of the curriculum -- but I would've liked it a little more if it was an article of a critic's point of view (but then again, that would be torture for some). The only minus I can think of with this arrangement is that it might limit students' choice of texts for the EOY, as the texts you do for U4 pretty much determine what you'll be doing for the exam. What's your opinion on this?

[clarke54321]

Apparently this is what I've gathered from the goss I've heard from Lit examiners:

There will NO longer be two passage analyses for the exam. Instead, you have two sections, which are as follows:

TASK A – Literary perspectives: Assessment will be based on a written response to a statement related to one selected text.
TASK B – Close Analysis: Assessment will be based on a written response to passages from one selected text.

The exam will still be two hours with 15 minutes reading time. In the course, you will do for U3 two sacs Adaptations and Transformations and a creative, whereas in U4 there will be three sacs: one on literary perspectives worth 50 marks, and the other two on close passage analysis (two texts), weighing at 25 marks each.

I'm actually thankful that they've done this, because I've always enjoyed the literary perspectives part of the curriculum -- but I would've liked it a little more if it was an article of a critic's point of view (but then again, that would be torture for some). The only minus I can think of with this arrangement is that it might limit students' choice of texts for the EOY, as the texts you do for U4 pretty much determine what you'll be doing for the exam. What's your opinion on this?

Hi Peterpiper,

I'm also studying Literature 3/4 next year! 

Like yourself, I'm quite pleased with the changes to the study design. Although challenging at times, the literary perspective assessment was my favourite of the year, therefore I am happy it will be on the exam. Our school will be studying 'North and South' by Elizabeth Gaskell for this essay and will read it through both a feminist and marxist perspective.

There is one point of ambiguity with this essay in my opinion. That is, how are assessors going to know whether a student has correctly recited a quote from a critic? Or, does every student studying the same text, receive the same literary criticism articles?

I will also be studying 'A Doll's House,' 'Twelfth Night' and 'Wallace-Crabbe Selected Poetry.' What is your school studying?

[clarke54321]

Hi there! Awesome to hear this side of the forum isn't dead! I'm going to be studying Heart of Darkness for my literary perspectives (I think), and my school's doing Coriolanus and Heaney for Passage analysis as well as My Brilliant Career and The Sound of Things Falling for the other SACs. So sadly, I'm not doing any of the texts you're doing 

With the literary perspectives -- I don't think you have to quote a critic at all for that section of the exam, because it's going to be like a v/v prompt. It'll be like a statement that assumes something about the text, and the task would be for you to unravel those v/v and provide your own interpretation alongside. It might be helpful to know a thing or two from differing critics/essayists on the text. However, I think what is more important is that your essay for the section must demonstrate how well you can consider and challenge a view/value assumed by the statement, rather than your knowledge of critics and their standpoints. I don't know...I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Ahh…I see. That would make more sense than what we were doing this year! Perhaps my teacher misinterpreted the study design. To be honest, VCAA hasn't been very explicit in what it wants of Lit students in the next S.D.

That's such a shame that we aren't studying any of the same texts. Literature is a fantastic subject to share opinions and views of a text. Are you looking forward to studying Literature next year?
 

[lilyrosee]

Yeah, they're going to release a sample exam so we can see what they mean by putting literary perspectives in the exam

This year's text were in my opinion much better than what I'm going to be studying next year. I'm not sure if I'd like studying Heart of Darkness, Coriolanus and the rest, as much as the texts I studied this year. But we will see. Lit's a fabulous subject, I agree. 

Do you know when they are going to release the sample exam?
I am studying Lit 3/4 next year too and I am quite intrigued about the changes to the study design. My texts are "A Doll's House", "The Cat's Table", Seamus Heaney poetry, "Dark Roots" and "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". 

[peterpiper]

Do you know when they are going to release the sample exam?
I am studying Lit 3/4 next year too and I am quite intrigued about the changes to the study design. My texts are "A Doll's House", "The Cat's Table", Seamus Heaney poetry, "Dark Roots" and "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". 

Not too sure, but they release it usually at the start of the year.