2017 Year 12 ATAR English Semester 1 Examination

COMPREHENDING SECTION – MARKERS’ REPORT

Important Points:
If you are doing any of the following, stop it now before the next examination:
• This section is short answer. It is not an essay. Do not even try to write one. You don’t have time.
• Do not waste valuable time writing a long introduction.
• Do not waste time repeating exactly what is given to you on the paper. Here is an example:
The purpose of Alan Bruce’s extract was to develop a cynical or mocking tone to represent “Selphie”
culture.
• Do not write an entire body paragraph in very long winded way to establish a simple point.
• Do not support an entire body paragraph with one piece of evidence. It is not enough.
• If you thought the most compelling feature of this piece was the punctuation, you’re missing the
point.
• Do not describe the main points of the passage in your own words. This tells the marker you are lost.
Here is an example:
The blog entry written by Anwen Crawford explains how 125 editorial positons would be made redundant
and that these would come from the coverage of the arts. This is on top of the funding cuts for the
Australia Council and the ABC where other journalists have lost their jobs.”

Things to focus on instead:

• Establish a clear argument to the question from the beginning.
• Get to the point. Be clear and succinct.
• Have a detailed argument.
• Support your argument with a wide range of evidence. Two or three main points is not enough.
• The weight of evidence you use is important. Think carefully about the variety of evidence to
support your analysis.
• Practice these things. This is how you improve. Progress not perfection.

Question 1
Explain how a critical, cynical or mocking tone is developed to represent “Selphie” culture. (20 marks)

Key Points:
Narcissa – allusion to Narcissus. (satirical)
Princesses and princes – connotations of self-absorbed, pampered, indulged. (Critical)
Emotive language: obsessed, glamour children, the perfect selphie, hundreds of times each day. (Mocking
cynical)
Risked their lives. (Mocking, cynical)
Mocking: Thousands of dollars were paid by companies, plastic surgeries for each Selphie
Symbolic complex metaphor: Trapped in her own phone (Mocking cynical)
Emotive language: Totally shocked
Mocking complex metaphor: Flat self
Imagery/Symbolism: Mirrors. The object of fascination has always been herself.
Cynical/Critical: Lost glamour children – The other side of our existence, cynical warning to being
completely self-absorbed
Repetition of flat to reinforce the complex metaphor of a meaningless one dimensional existence.
Emotive/figurative language: Final quote: “a parasite of publicity. (Critical)
Question 2 (20 marks)

Explain how an attitude towards arts journalism is expressed through the use of a specific textual feature.

Key Points:
Attitude towards arts journalism: that Australians do not value arts journalism; arts journalists are treated
poorly in Australia.
Tone- critical/disparaging—negative emotive diction associated with an attack “made forcibly”, “hostile”,
“cuts” “shut up” “ruthless” ; hyperbole-“decimation”, “savage” “crisis” repetition of “hate” “despair”;
figurative language- “prime casualty”, “cut from its mastheads”, “country’s culture is being starved”,
“begging for scraps”, “like a train with its wheels falling off”
Appeal to audience’s Australian values—reference to Anzacs, “fundamental decency” use of inclusive
language, rhetorical questions
Argument structure: Clearly outlines problems with facts, characterisation of Fairfax, decries internet as a
solution,
Syntax: short sentences, use of parenthesis, parallel sentences : “hate artists, hate anyone who thinks
about art”; “no opportunities…, no venues…no publications…no cinemas”
Personal voice and opinion—use of anecdote.
Question 3 (20 marks)

Discuss the two main visual elements that influence your expectations of the film’s plot.

Text 3: This is a black and white reproduction of a promotional poster for the 2017 feature film Get Out.

Key Points:
Expectations about the film’s plot: dramatic, intense, unexpected, confronting, presence of deceit,
manipulation, fear.
A range of visual elements to support your analysis such as:
Montage of different camera shots
Leading lines creating the symbolism of the shattered glass and partitions the camera shots for meaning
and emphasis
Characterisation: visual imagery represents a paradoxical range of human behavior and emotion.
Written codes