Paper one, section one: the unseen texts.

The first section of the exam paper is designed for you to read and analyse the texts presented and then respond to them through the lens of a series of questions. This section is worth 15 marks, as is Section Two and Section Three respectively.

 How to do the unseen texts

I truly believe it is best practice to read the question corresponding to the text you are reading, as well as the last question of Section One which usually asks you to choose which texts you will use to answer with, unlike the precedingf questions which will specifically quiz you on a particular text. The reason for looking to this last question is because you should be able to have it sitting in the back of your mind as you look for which text is the best candidate. The reason for reading the question corresponding to the text before beginning your initial reading is simply so that you can actively seek the answers in the text as you read it.

In your first reading…

You need to understand the essence of the plot in order to analyse the way the events of discovery have unfolded. You’ll also need to be actively looking for sections of the text to use as analysis in your responses.

What techniques do I look for?

Obviously there are techniques unique to a medium and I’m sure you know some of them. For example, vector lines in visual images and rhyming schemes in poems. When approaching the text for the first time, be aware of the techniques that are commonly used in that particular text type. There will also be a whole bunch of techniques that move across mediums – similes, metaphors, imagery, personification…

I want to point out some things you mightn’t consider talking about at first, but might prove very handy for you. Don’t forget to talk about the aspects of the text that aren’t the typical “techniques” we learn from junior school, but also talk about the general construction of the writing. If the title of the text is, “The letter” then it might be useful to talk about “the” being a definite article as opposed to an indefinite article (a/an). And don’t forget to look over simple things like the narrator: is it first person? Second person? Third person? Sometimes words are very powerful in a text even if they don’t rhyme, aren’t alliterative, and don’t really have that many spectacular features: but it’s important anyway. Usually this is because of connotations – such a simple thing to talk about! Don’t over complicate your analysis, sometimes sentence length, the connotations of adjectives, and the modality, are all you need to answer a question!

So here are some things you might talk about in literary texts. Use this list as a memory-jogger. It’s not all-inclusive, but it raises a few great leap pads.

  • Metaphor

  • Simile

  • Rhyming pattern or lack of

  • Punctuation – is it used?

  • Definite or indefinite articles

  • Active voice or passive voice

  • Narration point of view

  • Allusions

  • Imagery (it doesn’t hurt to remember this can be divided: olfactory, aural…)

  • Alliteration

  • Personification

  • Assonance

  • Listing

  • Sentence length/variation

  • Modality

  • Tone

  • Appropriation

  • Caesura

  • Hyperbole

But the visual texts?

In 2016, the HSC paper didn’t have a visual text in there. This broke the trend of a very long lineage of Sections Ones with visuals! Standard English students study a visual text as part of their prescribed texts, but it’s not always the case for Advanced English students to study a still-visual. The only reason it’s worth noting is that if you are an Advanced English student who hasn’t studied a still-visual since Year 10, then it’s time to refamiliarise yourself with some visual techniques! You might talk about:

  • Colour

  • Vector lines

  • Appropriation

  • Facial expressions

  • Size

  • Captions/text

  • Salience

  • Background/foreground/midground

  • Bold/thin lines

  • Artistic style

Remember to keep an eye on the clock…

If you’re using the reading time for the unseen texts, you’ll potentially need to use a few minutes of the “writing time” to finish reading, depending on the texts you’re presented with. Then, if you’re going in to Section One with steam coming from your pen, it’s easy to get carried away. You might have practiced essays and creatives over and over again, so you would have a pretty good idea of the length of each and how long it will take you. The unseen texts don’t have that kind of predictability about them, so you need to be acutely aware of the clock.

And an eye on the mark allocation…

Don’t overwrite! If a question is worth three marks, plan exactly how you will achieve those marks sentence by sentence instead of “I’ll just vomit ink onto the page and hope for the best” because that, dear students, is where things get carried away and then you suddenly realise you’ve only got an hour to go and you’ve not touched Section Two or Three yet. Being disciplined with your approach to how you answer the unseen texts is crucial to allocating your time well.

We created a practice Paper One for you to study with! Check it out here!