Prep for Progress: Equipping Year 10s for Year 11 ATAR success

Genre definition:
According to the Year 11 and 12 ATAR glossary from SCSA, genre is:
“The categories into which texts are grouped. The term has a complex history within literary theory
and is often used to distinguish texts on the basis of their subject matter (for example, detective
fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy fiction), form and structure (for example, poetry, novels,
biography, short stories).”
Genenric conventions of…

Generic conventions
Blog

Feature
article
Genre of subject matter:

Narrative/ film Documentary Poetry

Horror Mockumentary Ballad
Gothic Expository documentary Free verse
Romance Participatory documentary Sonnet
Dystopian Poetic documentary Limerick
Sci-fi Haiku
Coming of age

In action: The following is a promotional poster for the television series- The Last of Us. Based on
the 2013 video game, the series is set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal
infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society.

What would be the genre of subject matter? How do you know?

The following is a still shot from the film Palo Alto (2014). The film focuses on a group of disaffected
high school students in a wealthy suburb who often engage in self-destructive behaviour.

What would be the genre of subject matter? How do you know?

Language features
According to the Year 11 and 12 ATAR glossary from SCSA, language features are:
“The features of language that support meaning (for example, sentence structure, noun
group/phrase, vocabulary, punctuation, figurative language, framing, camera angles). Choices in
language features and text structures together define a type of text and shape its meaning. These
choices vary according to the purpose of a text, its subject matter, audience, and mode or medium
of production”.
Language features in action:
Text 1: This is a poster produced by the California Coastal Commission, advertising their annual
Coastal Cleanup Day.
Structural features:
Structural features can be thought about in two ways:
- Language features (i.e., repetition, syntax, sentence types, connectives etc).
- Text’s overall sequence, order, organisation (i.e., chronological order, use of flashbacks, non-linear
plot, use of sub-headings, paragraphing, a circular structure etc).
Text 1: Below is the opening of the opinion piece titled: “If you think ball-tampering is our
national sporting shame, you haven't met Matt Lodge.” It was written by Holly Wainwright in
2018.
The disgrace of a nation. Australia’s shame.
A dark time for sports in this country.
It’s been a rough week for our national obsession.
Structural feature: The collection of simple sentences and multiple declarative sentences work to
shock and confront the audience about a potentially controversial event.
Text 2: The below is the opening of the opinion piece titled “So What Would You Do?” written by
George Monbiot in 2023.
Those who dismiss this solution to the greatest threat to Earth systems have a duty to propose a
better one. So where is it?
Do you hate the idea of animal-free meat? Many people do. Unsurprisingly, livestock farmers are
often furiously opposed. More surprisingly, so are some vegans: “Why can’t people eat tofu and
lentils, like me?” Well, the new products – plant-based, microbial and cell-cultured meat and dairy –
are not aimed at vegans, but at the far greater number who like the taste and texture of animals.
Many others instinctively recoil from the idea of food that seems familiar, but isn’t.
So here’s a question for all the sceptics. What do you intend to do about the soaring global demand
for animal products, and its devastating impacts?
Structural feature: In the opening, the repetition of rhetorical questions works to position meat-
eaters to consider the consequences of their consumption choices.
Text 3: The below is the opening of the Markus Zusak novel I Am the Messenger.
The gunman is useless.
I know it.
He knows it.
The whole bank knows it.
Even my best mate, Marvin, knows it, and he’s more useless than the gunman.
The worst part about the whole thing is that Marv’s car is standing outside in a fifteen-minute
parking zone. We’re all facedown on the floor, and the car’s only got a few minutes left on it.
“I wish this bloke’d hurry up,” I mention.
“I know,” Marv whispers back. “This is outrageous.” His voice rises from the depths of the floor. “I’ll
be getting a fine because of this useless bastard. I can’t afford another fine, Ed.”
“The car’s not even worth it.”
Structural feature: The opening begins in Media Res (Beginning a narrative in the very middle of its
action from some vital point) as the characters are held at gunpoint during a bank robbery.
Case study: “There Will Come Soft Rains”

The following is the opening of Ray Bradbury’s short story: “There Will Come Soft Rains” It was
originally published in 1950.
In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up, time to get up,
seven o 'clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would. The morning house lay empty. The clock
ticked on, repeating and repeating its sounds into the emptiness. Seven-nine, breakfast time, seven-
nine!
In the kitchen the breakfast stove gave a hissing sigh and ejected from its warm interior eight pieces
of perfectly browned toast, eight eggs sunny side up, sixteen slices of bacon, two coffees, and two
cool glasses of milk.
"Today is August 4, 2026," said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling, "in the city of Allendale,
California." It repeated the date three times for memory's sake. "Today is Mr. Featherstone's
birthday. Today is the anniversary of Tilita's marriage. Insurance is payable, as are the water, gas,
and light bills."
Somewhere in the walls, relays clicked, memory tapes glided under electric eyes.
Eight-one, tick-tock, eight-one o'clock, off to school, off to work, run, run, eight-one!
But no doors slammed, no carpets took the soft tread of rubber heels. It was raining outside. The
weather box on the front door sang quietly: "Rain, rain, go away; umbrellas, raincoats for today. .."
And the rain tapped on the empty house, echoing.
Outside, the garage chimed and lifted its door to reveal the waiting car. After a long wait the door
swung down again.
At eight-thirty the eggs were shrivelled and the toast was like stone. An aluminium wedge scraped
them into the sink, where hot water whirled them down a metal throat which digested and flushed
them away to the distant sea.
The dirty dishes were dropped into a hot washer and emerged twinkling dry.
Nine-fifteen, sang the clock, time to clean.
Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted. The rooms were a crawl with the small cleaning
animals, all rubber and metal. They thudded against chairs, whirling their moustached runners,
kneading the rug nap, sucking gently at hidden dust. Then, like mysterious invaders, they popped
into their burrows. Their pink electric eyes faded. The house was clean.
Fill in the following table:
“There Will Come Soft Rains”
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conventions-Form

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Subject Matter

Language features

Structural features