Guide to VCE English Units 1 & 2: Key Skills & Examples (Part 2)

Key Skill

Explanation

• Become systematic in how you approach a text. Rather than just waiting for analytical ideas to occur to you, develop a list of things you look for.
• Begin with major formal and structural choices – what kind of text is this (film, play, novel)? How has the story been organised? – and then work through the granular detail of the writing, noting both the techniques the author has chosen and the effect they have on the reader or viewer.

• Go beyond a mere understanding of the plot to consider a text’s underlying themes and the worldview it articulates. Engage with subtext.

• Tease out the implied but unstated topics of concern for characters or individuals in the story.

• Recognise that our response to a text is shaped by how it has been constructed and, in particular, the words and visual elements used by the author.
• Analyse and comment on how these authorial choices have contributed to our overall impression.

• Answer the question that is posed to you.
• Avoid commenting on irrelevant aspects of a text. Keep your focus narrow.

• Learn to build an argument by drawing evidence from a text and using it to support your interpretation of that text.

• Respond positively to feedback from your teachers and peers.
• Be prepared to make changes to your work in order to ensure it expresses your ideas in the clearest possible way.

• Genuinely engage with other people, rather than simply waiting for your turn to speak.

• Your writing should be technically accurate, precise and clear.
• You should also use an appropriate register (level of formality) – i.e. essays should avoid contractions (“can’t”, “don’t”) and colloquialisms.

Key Skill

Explanation

• Boil an argument down to its basic components: what does this person want me to believe and how are they putting their ideas across?

• the intent and logical development of contention and supporting arguments
• the evidence used by authors to support arguments
• the strategies used by authors to position an intended audience
• the language used by authors to position an intended audience
• the visuals used to position an audience
• the ways an audience is positioned
• the elements of spoken language that can contribute to persuasion including intonation, volume, pace, pausing and stress

• Be able to follow the internal logic of an argument, see how the evidence used is relevant to the topic under discussion, recognise persuasive strategies and techniques, see how the person making the argument is characterising you (whether fairly or not). 
• Recognise that the force of an argument comes not only from its logic but also from the way in which a speaker puts it across.

• Be sensitive to the ‘rules of engagement’ in a discussion.
• For example, if everyone gets to speak for a limited period of time, respect those limits and follow the agreed rules.

• When you make claims about someone else’s argument, be sure you can back those claims up with evidence.

• Develop your skills in using language to achieve specific purposes (namely, to persuade others to agree with your position).

• Use the relevant technical terminology to analyse other people’s arguments.

• Attain the necessary skills to break down and discuss how persuasive texts work.

• Be prepared to generate several drafts of analytical written assignments.
• Each new draft should improve on the previous one by taking account of your teacher’s feedback.

• Ensure that your arguments are logically coherent and that each new point you make clearly follows on from the previous point you were making.
• Back up every claim you make with appropriately chosen evidence.

• Develop an argument that you will present to your teacher and/or your classmates.
• You will need to pay close attention to the instructions, which will include a time limit.

• Your writing should be technically accurate, precise and clear.
• You should also use an appropriate register (level of formality).