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2019 HSC EXT 1 PRACTICE EXAM 1
2019 HSC EXT 1 PRACTICE EXAM 1
SCHOOL
CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATION
English Extension 1
PRACTICE PAPER 1
Evaluate how effectively, in the light of the extract from his Nobel Lecture, Orhan Pamuk invites the
reader into the world of the novel in the opening of Snow.
Your response should draw on your knowledge and understanding of the module Literary Worlds.
Discuss the similarities and differences between the texts and their theme(s). Include comments on the
ways the authors use elements such as structure, tone, images and other stylistic devices to
communicate their purposes.
Text 1
Every night after dinner, my mother and I would sit at the Formica* kitchen table. She would
present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read about in
Ripley’s Believe it or Not, or Good Housekeeping, Reader’s Digest, and a dozen other magazines
she kept in a pile in our bathroom. My mother got these magazines from people whose 5 houses
she cleaned. And since she cleaned many houses each week, we had a great assortment.
She would look through them all, searching for stories about remarkable children.
The first night she brought out a story about a three-year-old boy who knew the capitals of all
the states and even most of the European countries. A teacher was quoted as saying the little
boy could also pronounce the names of the foreign cities correctly.
10 “What’s the capital of Finland?” my mother asked me, looking at the magazine story. All I knew
was the capital of California, because Sacramento was the name of the street we lived on in
Chinatown. “Nairobi!” I guessed, saying the most foreign word I could think of. She checked
to see if that was possibly one way to pronounce “Helsinki” before showing me the answer.
15 The tests got harder – multiplying numbers in my head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of
cards, trying to stand on my head without using my hands, predicting the daily temperatures in
Los Angeles, New York, and London.
–2–
One night I had to look at a page from the Bible for three minutes and then report everything
I could remember. “Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance and … that’s all 20 I
remember, Ma,” I said.
And after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me
began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations. Before going to bed
that night, I looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and when I saw only my face staring
back – and that it would always be this ordinary face – I began to cry.
Amy Tan, adapted from the short story “Two Kinds” (1989)
Text 2
When Europe developed a taste for prodigies 1 in the eighteenth century, an English writer
named Hester Lynch Thrale made it her mission in life to turn her eldest daughter into a
superchild. By the age of two and a half, Queeney was already showing signs of having a
prodigious2 memory.
She could name the nations, seas, and capital cities of Europe; she knew the solar system,
5 the compass, and the signs of the zodiac; she could recite the days of the week and months of the
year, as well as numerous religious texts. By four and half, little Queeney knew Latin
grammar. With a very familiar blend of boasting and self-pity, her long-suffering mother wrote:
“I have never dined out, nor ever paid a visit where I did not carry her, unless I left her in bed;
for to the care of servants (except asleep) I have never yet left her an hour”.
10 All this micromanaging ended badly. None of Thrale’s children achieved intellectual stardom,
and she eventually fell out with them all, especially Queeney, whom she described as “sullen,
malicious, desirous of tormenting me, even by hurting herself”. She decided not to bother meting
out3 the same treatment to her youngest daughter, Sophy. “I have really listened to babies learning
till I am half stupefied – and all my pains have been answered so poorly. I have no heart 15 to battle
with Sophy … I will not make her life miserable.”
The yearning for an uber-child has always been there, buried deep within the DNA of every
parent. What has changed is that many more of us now feel the social pressure, and have the
time and money, to try to create one. Thrale’s failure is a reminder of how futile and ruinous
this quest can be – in any century. We have it in our power to change, to ease off.
20 How do we start? The first step is to accept that children have a range of skills and interests –
and that there are many paths to adulthood. Life does not end if you don’t get into Harvard or
Oxford. Not everyone is cut out to work on Wall Street 4, and not everyone wants to. By
definition, only a handful of children will ever grow up to be truly exceptional in any field.
If we are going to reinvent childhood in a way that is good for both children and adults, then we
25 must learn to tolerate diversity, doubt, rough edges here and there, even conflict. We have to
cherish children for who they are instead of for what we want them to be.
(a) The final line of the extract from ‘Eveline’ states: ‘But in her new home, in a 15
Compose a piece of imaginative writing in which you imagine that new world and what Eveline’s
life will be like in her new home.
Your response should draw on your knowledge and understanding of the module Literary Worlds.
(b) Critically analyse the way in which your creative choices in your writing for 10
part (a) invite the reader into your literary world and explain how these choices borrow or diverge
from the stylistic features of Joyce’s text.
Your response should draw on your knowledge and understanding of how texts construct private and
imaginary worlds.
from Eveline
End of Example B
Example C: Creative response (25 marks)
Reflect on Text 1 and, in a sustained piece of imaginative writing, create a literary world that attunes
and sensitises your readers to a significant aspect of the world around them.
Your response should draw on your knowledge and understanding of the module Literary Worlds.
The music of the ship was howling around him. The low whistlings; the tortured rumbles; the
wheezy sputters of breeze flowing through it. The clatter of loose wainscoting. The clank of
chains. The groaning of boards. The blare of wind. Never before had he felt rain quite like it.
It seemed to spew from the clouds, not merely to fall. He watched the wave rise up from
5 a quarter of a mile away. Rolling. Foaming. Rushing. Surging. Beginning to thicken and swell
in strength. Now it was a battlement of ink-black water, almost crumpling under its own weight; but
still rising, and now roaring. It smashed into the side of the bucking Star, like a punch thrown by an
invisible god. He was aware of being flung backwards into the edge of a bench, the dull crack of
metal against the base of his spine. The ship creaked violently and pitched into a tilt, 10 downing
slowly, almost on to beam ends. A clamour of terrified screams rose up from steerage. A hail of cups
–4–
and splintering plates. A man’s bellow: ‘Knockdown! Knockdown!’ One of the starboard lifeboats
snapped from its bow-chain and swung loose like a mace, shattering through the wall of the
wheelhouse.
The boom of the billows striking the prow a second time. A blind of salt lashed him;
15 drenched him through. Waves churning over his body. The slip of his body down the boards
towards the water. A shredding skreek of metal on metal. The grind of the engine ripped from
the ocean. The ship began to right itself. Snappings of wood filled the air like gunshots. The
wail of the klaxon being sounded for clear-all-decks. The man with the club-foot was helping a
sailor to grab a woman who was being swept on her back towards the broken rail. She was
screaming
20 in terror; grasping; clutching. Somehow they seized her and dragged her below. Hand by hand,
gripping the slimy life-rope like a mountaineer, Dixon made it back to the First-Class
deckhouse. Two stewards were in the passageway distributing canisters of soup. Passengers
were to retire to their quarters immediately. There was no need for concern. The storm would
pass. It was entirely to be expected. A matter of the season. The ship could not capsize; it
never
25 had in eighty years. The lifebelts were merely a matter of precaution. But the Captain had
ordered everyone to remain below. Laura looking pleadingly at him from the end of the
corridor, her terrified sons bawling into her skirts. The three of them being grabbed by an
angry-faced Merridith and dragged into her cabin like sacks.
‘Inside, sir. Inside! Don’t come out until you’re called.’
30 He had found dry clothes and eaten all his soup. After an hour, the storm had levelled down a
little. The Chief Steward had knocked on his door with a message from the Captain. All
passengers were strictly confined for the rest of the day. No exceptions whatsoever were
permitted. The hatches were about to be battened down.
From Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor, published by Secker & Warburg.
Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd.
© Joseph O’Connor 2002
–5–
Section II: Electives
25 marks
Attempt Question 2
Allow about 1 hour for this section
‘No one is born fully-formed: it is through self-experience in the world that we become what we
are.’
Paulo Freire
Evaluate how composers use voices and various points of view to illuminate the idea expressed by
Freire. In your response, refer to TWO prescribed texts and at least ONE related text of your own
choosing.
To what extent do the texts that you have studied explore this idea in different ways? In your
response, refer to TWO prescribed texts and at least ONE related text of your own choosing.
In our relationships with the natural world, we each value something different.
Using your understanding of texts from a range of contexts compose an argument that expresses
your point of view. You may choose the form in which you write, for example a persuasive letter, a
speech, an opinion article or a personal essay.
–6–
The prescribed texts for Section II are:
✦ Elective 1: Literary Homelands
Prose Fiction – Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger
– E M Forster, A Passage to India
Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn
Poetry – Eileen Chong, Burning Rice The prescribed poems are:
Burning Rice
Mid-autumn Mooncakes
My Hakka Grandmother
Shophouse, Victoria Street
Chinese Ginseng
Winter Meeting
Singapore
Drama – Andrew Bovell, The Secret River [by Kate Grenville – An adaptation for
the stage by Andrew Bovell]
Film – Sarah Gavron, Brick Lane
•
Poetry – Seamus Heaney, Opened Ground: Poems 1966−1996
The prescribed poems are:
* Digging
* Casualty
* Funeral Rites
* Triptych
–7–
✦
•
– Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot
Drama
•
Film – Fritz Lang, Metropolis
–8–
✦
* Prelude
* Bliss
* Psychology
•
– Tim Winton, Island Home
Nonfiction
•
Poetry – William Wordsworth, William Wordsworth: The Major Works
The prescribed poems are:
– 10 –
✦
End of Questions
HSC English Extension 1 Sample
Questions Marking Guidelines
Question 1
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates sophisticated ability to evaluate the language and ideas used
by the author in both extracts
• Demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how writers invite readers 21–25
into the world of texts
• Demonstrates sophisticated control of language
• Demonstrates well-developed ability to evaluate the language and ideas
used by the author in both extracts
• Demonstrates well-developed understanding of how writers invite readers 16–20
into the world of texts
• Demonstrates well-developed control of language
• Demonstrates sound ability to evaluate the language and ideas used by the
author in both extracts
• Demonstrates sound understanding of how writers invite readers into the 11–15
world of texts
• Demonstrates sound control of language
• Demonstrates some ability to evaluate the language and ideas used by the
author in both extracts
• Demonstrates some understanding of how writers invite readers into the 6–10
world of texts
• Demonstrates some control of language
• Demonstrates minimal ability to evaluate the language and ideas used by 1–5
the author in both extracts
–1–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
• Demonstrates minimal understanding of how writers invite readers into the
world of texts
• Demonstrates minimal control of language
–2–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
Example B: Creative and critical response
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates sophisticated ability to compose a piece of imaginative
writing that creates a new world
13–15
• Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the module
• Demonstrates sophisticated control of language
• Demonstrates well-developed ability to compose a piece of imaginative
writing that creates a new world
10–12
• Demonstrates a well-developed understanding of the module
• Demonstrates well-developed control of language
• Demonstrates sound ability to compose a piece of imaginative writing that
creates a new world
7–9
• Demonstrates sound understanding of the module
• Demonstrates sound control of language
• Demonstrates some ability to compose a piece of imaginative writing that
creates a new world
4–6
• Demonstrates some understanding of the module
• Demonstrates some control of language
• Demonstrates minimal ability to compose a piece of imaginative writing
that creates a new world
1–3
• Demonstrates minimal understanding of the module
• Demonstrates minimal control of language
Answers could include:
The creative response will vary widely. The question does not specify that students should
remain within Joyce’s world, so students may depart dramatically from this. Their worlds may
be influenced by the different electives they have studied.
(b) Critical response
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates sophisticated evaluation of creative choices to achieve
purpose
9–10
• Demonstrates insightful reflection on the module
• Demonstrates sophisticated control of language for reflection
• Demonstrates well-developed evaluation of creative choices to achieve
purpose
7–8
• Demonstrates skilful reflection on the module
• Demonstrates well-developed control of language for reflection
• Demonstrates sound evaluation of creative choices to achieve purpose
• Demonstrates sound reflection on the module 5–6
• Demonstrates sound control of language for reflection
–3–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates a sophisticated ability to compose a piece of imaginative
writing that attunes and sensitises the reader to a significant aspect of the
world around them
21–25
• Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the module
• Demonstrates sophisticated control of language
• Demonstrates a well-developed ability to compose a piece of imaginative
writing that attunes and sensitises the reader to a significant aspect of the
world around them
16–20
• Demonstrates a well-developed understanding of the module
• Demonstrates well-developed control of language
• Demonstrates sound ability to compose a piece of imaginative writing that
attunes and sensitises the reader to a significant aspect of the world around
them
11–15
• Demonstrates sound understanding of the module
• Demonstrates sound control of language
• Demonstrates some ability to compose a piece of imaginative writing that
attunes and sensitises the reader to a significant aspect of the world around
them
6–10
• Demonstrates some understanding of the module
• Demonstrates some control of language
• Demonstrates minimal ability to compose a piece of imaginative writing
that attunes and sensitises the reader to a significant aspect of the world
around them
1–5
• Demonstrates minimal understanding of the module
• Demonstrates minimal control of language
Answers could include:
The creative response will vary widely. The question is very open and allows students to
imagine any world without constraints, but they will have to deliberately position their
audience to attend to a particular aspect of that world.
Section II — Electives
–4–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates sophisticated evaluation of the use of voice/point of view to
build understanding of the complex relationship between the individual’s
experience and culture
21–25
• Demonstrates insightful use of own and prescribed texts
• Crafts a sustained composition with skilful control of language
• Demonstrates well-developed evaluation of the use of voice/point of view
to build understanding of the complex relationship between the
individual’s experience and culture
16–20
• Demonstrates skilful use of own and prescribed texts
• Crafts a sustained composition with well-developed control of language
• Demonstrates sound analysis of the use of voice/point of view to build
understanding of the relationship between the individual’s experience and
culture
11–15
• Demonstrates appropriate use of own and prescribed texts
• Writes a coherent composition with effective control of language
• Demonstrates some analysis of the use of voice/point of view to build
understanding of the relationship between the individual’s experience and
culture
6–10
• Demonstrates some use of own and prescribed texts
• Writes a composition with some control of language
• Demonstrates minimal analysis of the use of voice/point of view to build
understanding of the relationship between the individual’s experience and
culture
1–5
• Demonstrates minimal use of own and prescribed texts
• Attempts to write composition with variable control of language
–5–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
• the concept of self-experience
• the relationships between the individual and the world.
Example B – Elective 4: Literary Mindscapes
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates sophisticated evaluation of the extent to which the
nominated texts explore the provided statement
21–25
• Demonstrates insightful use of own and prescribed texts
• Crafts a sustained composition with skilful control of language
• Demonstrates well-developed evaluation of the extent to which the
nominated texts explore the provided statement
16–20
• Demonstrates skilful use of own and prescribed texts
• Crafts a sustained composition with well-developed control of language
• Demonstrates sound analysis of the extent to which the nominated texts
explore the provided statement
11–15
• Demonstrates appropriate use of own and prescribed texts
• Writes a coherent composition with effective control of language
• Provides some analysis of the relationship between the nominated texts
and the provided statement
6–10
• Demonstrates some use of own and prescribed texts
• Writes a composition with some control of language
• Provides minimal analysis of the relationship between the nominated texts
and the provided statement
1–5
• Demonstrates minimal use of own and prescribed texts
• Attempts to write composition with variable control of language
–6–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
Criteria Marks
• Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the complex relationships
between humanity and the natural world
21–25
• Demonstrates insightful use of own and prescribed texts
• Crafts a sustained composition with skilful control of language
• Demonstrates well-developed understanding of the complex relationships
between humanity and the natural world
16–20
• Demonstrates skilful use of own and prescribed texts
• Crafts a sustained composition with well-developed control of language
• Demonstrates sound understanding of the relationships between humanity
and the natural world
11–15
• Demonstrates appropriate use of own and prescribed texts
• Writes a coherent composition with effective control of language
• Demonstrates some understanding of the relationships between humanity
and the natural world
6–10
• Demonstrates some use of own and prescribed texts
• Writes a composition with some control of language
• Demonstrates minimal understanding of the relationships between
humanity and the natural world
1–5
• Demonstrates minimal use of own and prescribed texts
• Attempts to write composition with variable control of language
–7–
NESA HSC English Extension 1 Sample Questions Marking Guidelines
English Extension 1
Sample Questions Mapping Grid
Section I
Question Marks Content Syllabus outcomes Targeted
performance
bands