A guide to reaching your potential in Year Twelve English

Organisation, organisation, organisation! Keep your folder organised Have a separate section for each Area of Study (Reading and Responding, Using Language to Persuade and Creating and Presenting). This will make exam revision easier Familiarise yourself with the unit schedule. Know when your SACs will be and design your homework schedule accordingly Year Twelve is a balancing act- being organised will eliminate your stress.

READING YOUR TEXT You must read your text prior to studying them!!! Your first reading of the text is generally getting a handle on the plot and who the characters are. It is only in the second and third reading that you begin to appreciate the author’s craft and find deeper meaning.

Make life easier for yourself: Write notes as your read your texts. Use a pencil and underline anything your think is significant, or write notes in the margin. If you get a chance, when you finish the text, type your notes out. This will be a huge help when preparing for SACs or the exam Make a list of about ten significant quotes for each text. Write them on palm cards and learn them. Make sure you understand why they are significant and what they represent.

The Internet is your friend: When you get sick of cruising Facebook, use your time and free downloads to help you Websites like ‘Youtube enotes’ and ‘Sparknotes’ can help you to understand the texts we are studying Use google to find websites relating to the texts we are studying, and discover how different people interpret the texts Although the Internet is your friend- it is no consolation for doing your own work and thinking and you must remember not to plagerise.

Editorials, letters to the editor, blogs, forums… Make a point of reading various opinion pieces As you read, ask yourself the following questions: -What is the author saying? -How are they saying it? -How do they position the audience? Underline interesting quotes and techniques and consider how they persuade us

Conflict: Our Creating and Presenting unit will relate to conflict Think about this idea as you watch movies, read books, engage in pointless chatter on Facebook… Think about this idea and how it is represented in society and how it manifests itself Develop your own ideas about this theme.

Reflect: After completing practice SACs and formal SACs, read your teacher’s feedback carefully Speak to your teacher if you don’t understand their feedback Set yourself 2-3 goals for your next assessment piece.

You have never finished your homework: There is always additional work that can be completed: Eg- Read the texts being studied several times, write summaries about characters/ideas/narrative features, quiz yourself, find a blog to read, write a practice essay, learn some quotes. There is always something you can do!

Ask for help: Your teacher is here to help you- use them! Remember, you are not alone- use your friends for support and help. Develop a “sharing” approach with a group of like minded students and read their work while offering yours. English is a course which needs to be regularly discussed outside of class as well as during class.

Unit 3 English Assessment: Outcomes:Work Requirements: required for authentication and to achieve an ‘S’. SACs (100 marks): Required for graded assessment / Study Score. Outcome 1: Reading & Responding Outcome 2: Creating & Presenting Outcome 3: Using Language to Persuade Sighted coursework and practice essay tasks. Practice writing tasks showing experimentation with various styles and forms. Sighted research notes, planning and drafting of speech; transcript of completed speech. Practice annotations and language analysis pieces. An extended written analysis of the text “Life of Pi”. 30 marks A sustained written context piece of words, Encountering Conflict and The Crucible. 30 marks An Oral Presentation presenting a persuasive point of view on a given issue. 20 marks A written analysis of the use of language to persuade in media texts. 20 marks

Unit 3 Outcomes: The 3 Outcomes for unit 3 are: OUTCOME 1: Reading and Responding OUTCOME 2: Creating and Presenting OUTCOME 3: Using Language to Persuade. There will be work requirements such as questions to answer and practice tasks, as well as assessment tasks (SACs) for each outcome, they are explained in the following slides...

OUTCOME 1: Reading & Responding TEXT: “Life of Pi” Yaan Martel Students will examine the structures, features and conventions used by the author to construct meaning. Students will consider the ways in which texts are open to a range of different interpretations. Students will describe and analyse the ways in which social, historical or cultural values and ideas are embodied in a text.

OUTCOME 1 – ASSESSMENT: Text response ESSAY SAC The assessment task for this outcome is 1 essay completed in SAC conditions during class time. This SAC is worth 30 marks and is to be completed in 150 minutes (3 periods). You are permitted to bring in a dictionary. The expected word length is approx words.

OUTCOME 2: Creating & Presenting CONTEXT: Encountering Conflict TEXTS: “ The Crucible” Students focus on the interconnection between reading and writing. Students should be able to identify and describe ideas and arguments presented in selected texts and draw on those ideas and arguments to create written texts for a specified audience and purpose. Students should explain their own decisions about form, purpose, language, audience and context in their writing.

OUTCOME 2 – ASSESSMENT: Context Writing SAC The assessment task for this outcome is 1 sustained piece of imaginative/expository/persuasive writing, based on the idea in the context – ‘Encountering Conflict’, the prompt you are given on the day and the texts you have studied. This will include a WRITTEN EXPLANATION of your writing choices in terms of form, language, audience, purpose and your connections to the context, prompt and texts. This SAC is worth 30 marks and must be completed in 150 minutes (3 periods). You are permitted to bring in a dictionary. Expected word length will be approx words.

OUTCOME 3: Using Language to Persuade Students will analyse and compare the use of language in texts that debate a topical issue. Students view, read and listen to texts such as, feature articles, opinion pieces, cartoons, editorials, letters to the editor, interviews on current affairs programs, websites and speeches.

OUTCOME 3 - Assessment: Oral and Language Analysis SACs There are TWO assessment tasks for this outcome: an oral presentation conveying a point of view on a certain issue (5-7 minutes). an analysis of the use of persuasive language in 3 or more articles on the issue. This will done over 3 periods. The expected word length will be approx words. (These two tasks are worth 20 marks each).

English Assessment Overview Unit 3 SAC performance: 4 SACs / 100 marks English Exam: 3 writing tasks / 60 marks Unit 4 SAC performance: 2 SACs / 100 marks 25% 50% English Study Score (out of 50)

Do a little more than you’re paid to; Give a little more than you have to; Try a little harder than you want to; Aim a little higher than you think possible.

FINAL USEFUL YEAR 12 PRATICES Clear understanding of outcomes Mastery and exploration of texts (know texts better than your teacher) Importance of writing regular short pieces to focus on language expression as well as a “can do” attitude Vocabulary development and utilisation Regular issues work throughout the entire year Metalanguage for issues put examples around your room + texts