1. Witness Section B: Writing in Context Identity and Belonging

2. Exam Requirements  Read and digest the prompt VERY carefully  Answer this section last  Definitely NOT under 2 pages, aim for 3-4.

3. How to score a 9 or 10  Demonstrates an insightful grasp of the implications of the prompt, and perceptively explores its conceptual complexity using an appropriate strategy for dealing with it.  Achieves an assured, cohesively structured piece of writing in an appropriate form, successfully integrating, in a sophisticated way, ideas suggested by the selected text/s.  Makes fluent and effective use of language appropriate to the purpose and audience specified in the task.

4. The Prompt  Is the overall message of your piece, what the piece is REALLY about.  Is worth approx 1/3 of your mark  Should determine what happens in your piece – should control the action, dialogue, discussion topic, investigation, etc.  Should be examined closely for opportunities – cannot all be pre-planned content

5. What can I pre-plan?  You might have a pre-considered tone, voice, character or setting  Your form and expression is worth approx 1/3 of your mark  Develop a sophisticated vocabulary list that compliments any of the above that you have pre- planned  Practise your chosen form – pay close attention to specific conventions

6. What do I need to know?  Conventions of your chosen form  How to pull apart a prompt and address it in full  The IDEAS regarding Identity and Belonging that are evident in ‘Witness’

7. Form  Be as clear as possible. Make it as easy for the assessor to see your form as possible. Eg. essay of any description – give it a title and tell us where it’s published  Use language appropriate to your form. Always show don’t tell. Make it clear you know how to write in your chosen form

8. Complexity  Your piece needs to show complex ideas. Try to reduce your connection to I & B to one or 2 sentences. Are you saying something interesting? Can I take your message home and think about it/apply it to my life?  It can be helpful to think about your piece in terms of change. If imaginative: where do your characters start? What journey do they go on? What do they explore? If essay – what point are you making at the beginning? How is it explored/changed from the start to the end of your essay

9. The Film: How identity is shaped  People are products of the worlds in which they exist  Individualistic modern western society vs. staunchly community minded, traditional society  Children are inducted through rituals from early age  We learn from others, which helps form our identity (Book & Schaeffer, Eli & Samuel)

10. The Film: How group identity is represented  We are identified by the way we look  We are identified by the way we act  Changing our look or actions may result in exclusion from a group

11. The Film: Identifying the self as an individual and as a member of a group  Conflict can occur between the identity of the group and that of the individual  We can oscillate between the two identities  Our oscillation can manifest both verbally and non-verbally

12. The Film: Identity and gender  Respectable women are expected to put their children above romantic relationships  Real men are expected to have their own family  There is often conflict between how people are expected to behave according to their gender, and how they actually behave

13. The Film: How and why identity changes  Experience with a different community can change our identity  We can recognise elements of our own beliefs/values within those who are different to us  New groups can fill missing parts of our lives

14. Putting it all together  Planning should take 5 minutes and involve:  FORM – what it looks like  PROMPT – what will happen/ the message  IDEAS – about Identity and Belonging that are evident in the text

15. Practice Prompts  CRISIS – A single event can change who a person is  PLACE – Everyone is a product of their environment  RELATIONSHIPS – The people around you define who you are  BELIEFS – We are categorised by our actions rather than our words

16. Bibliography  VCE OXFORD ENGLISH 3 & 4