[PDF] 2015 VCE English Language examination report

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2015 VCE English Language examination

report

General comments

The 2015 English Language examination consisted of three sections. Section A had four questions and was worth a total of 15 marks. Section B, an analytical commentary, had one question worth a total of 30 marks. Students could choose one of three essay topics in Section C, which was worth

30 marks. There was one text in Section A and one text in Section B. Text 1, in Section A, was a

notice from the Classifieds section of a newspaper, consisting of 46 lines of text. Text 2, in Section

B, was a transcript of a comedy routine, consisting of 99 intonation units. Section A was completed reasonably well, but a number of students did not read or interpret the questions correctly. Students confused sentence types with sentence structures (Question 1), and were unable to use correct metalanguage to describe the functions of modal auxiliary verbs (Question 2). Many students failed to n instead simply focused on lexical choice. Many students knew a lot about coherence (Question 4) but did not support their answers with analysis and examples from the text. Section B required students to write an analytical commentary, and students demonstrated

confidence in this particular writing skill. Students were clearly aware of the need to establish the

context, social purpose and register, and most managed to cover these features in an introductory

paragraph. It is critical, however, to recognise which stylistic and discourse features to prioritise in

an analytical commentary: in a spoken text such as this, prosodic features, topic management and conversation strategies are of the utmost importance. Some students focused on language features that had less importance to this particular text (for example, anaphoric reference, contractions), and failed to analyse how the language reflected the relationship between the participants. Many students addressed language features from throughout the entire transcript, and not simply from one or two sections. Section C required students to choose one of three essay topics. Question 7 was the most popular, followed by Question 8, then Question 6. Generally, most responses were well structured and adhered to essay-writing conventions (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion). Many students referred not only to the stimulus material provided, but also to contemporary examples and recent events. Many students were obviously familiar with current issues concerning the use of language and drew on examples from politics, social media and their own linguistic environment to support their discussion. Students must be wary, however, of reproducing essays on similar written during the year; it is vital to read the stipulated essay question carefully and answer appropriately, paying attention to key words and referring to at least two subsystems in their response.

Advice to students

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Specific information

Note: Student responses reproduced in this report have not been corrected for grammar, spelling or factual information. This report provides sample answers or an indication of what answers may have included. Unless otherwise stated, these are not intended to be exemplary or complete responses.

The statistics in this report may be subject to rounding resulting in a total more or less than 100 per

cent.

Section A Short-answer questions

This section consisted of Text 1 a notice from the Classifieds section of Leader Newspapers, regarding how to place an advertisement in their newspaper.

Question 1

Marks 0 1 2 3 Average

% 8 26 30 35 2 A number of students failed to read the question carefully. The question required students to refer to more than one sentence type, and many students confused sentence types (for example, declarative) with sentence structures (for example, simple)in the question implied that there was more than one purpose of the text. For clarity, and to be awarded full marks, students needed to identify the two sentence types (using line numbers or by quoting from the text) as declarative and imperative, and state how these reinforced the purposes of the text. Simply saying that the purposes were was insufficient; students needed to engage with the text and expand on these very generic responses. The following is an example of a high-scoring response. declarative sentences are used to convey large amounts of information to the reader, reinforcing the

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sentences are used to instruct the reader to undergo various actions, which re sense of authority and expertise.

Question 2

Marks 0 1 2 3 Average

% 8 21 33 38 2 Students were required to use metalanguage to explain the functions this instance. The functions of these modals differed of the publisher needed to explain these functions fully by referring to the text. The following is an example of a high-scoring response.

2, 24, 41) highlights a possibility or opportunity for the publisher to, for example,

tone and is typically found in legalistic documents.

Question 3

Marks 0 1 2 3 4 Average

% 27 14 20 19 20 1.9 This question was not answered well by students, as many failed to recognise the need to identify the various fields (domains) of the text, and instead focused on lexical choice. Once again, it is critical that students read questions carefully and ensure that they are aware of the key words of the question. There were various fields/domains represented in this text: HWF

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and these were acceptable. Many students wrote about lexical choice and quoted from the text, but were unable to group any of these examples under particular fields/domains. It is also critical that students provide more detailed responses for questions such as this (worth four marks). To attain full marks, they needed to explain how the lexical choices reflected at least two different fields, and they needed to use metalanguage in their answer. The following is an example of a high-scoring response.

referential and legalistic nature of the text. This fits the context as such a document can be held against

the company by law at any given time. Furthermore the use of nominalisati

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maintain the to

Question 4

Marks 0 1 2 3 4 5 Average

% 9 12 21 25 20 12 2.7 This question was worth five marks, and as such, required much more than simply listing features of coherence, which many students did. Students were required to analyse the features that made the text coherent, and once again, generic answers were insufficient. The higher-scoring responses quoted from the text and demonstrated how particular features contributed to making this text coherent. At least two features needed to be discussed, and they needed to be supported with appropriate and accurate metalanguage.

Such features included:

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The following is an example of a high-scoring response.

The text is largely coherent, as it is contributed to by the discourse features. For instance, the formatting

is clear, concise and conventional and allows the text to be read and understood easily. For example, the

bolded text, such as the proper noun phrase Privacy Policy (line 37) and adverbial To place a Classified

advertisement (line 3), clearly identify the subject of the following paragraphs. Additionally, the concise

layout of the contact details (lines 4-9) also easy comprehension of the information. Another discourse

feature present which aids coherence is that of logical order. With general information and contact details

first, the text then describes more in-depth topics such as the advertising terms and conditions (lines 21-

31). This logical ordering means that the more important information is revealed first, with the more

specialised information later for those who choose to continue reading.

Section B Analytical commentary

Question 5

Marks 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Average % 1 0 1 1 3 4 8 10 14 16 15 12 8 5 2 1 8.9

The text was a transcript of an aspiring stand-up comedian, John, trying out a potential routine with

involved the story of his marriage proposal to his

fiancée, Kellie, and his social purpose was to seek affirmation and feedback from his friends on the

was to provide feedback and support.

Features of the text included:

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Many students wrote extensively on the text and provided a good discussion of the social purpose, context and register. They successfully identified a number of stylistic and discourse features for analysis, although not always the most important ones (such as prosodics and conversational strategies). A good number of students addressed the full length of the transcript and the different topic changes, demonstrating an understanding of how a comedian might deliver a narrative to an audience.

However, students are reminded to:

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The following is an example of a high-scoring analytical commentary.

The informal spoken conversation is between John, an aspiring comedian, and his two friends Maria and

Peter. With the field of ma

and also to tell a humorous narrative to his friends. The social purposes are to build rapport between the

interlocutors and also to promote their friendship and in-group membership. John holds the floor for the

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majority of the conversation, where his identity as a comedian and story-teller mean he holds the most

The register of the conversation is largely informal, although some features of formal language are also

present. The informality is reflected by the use of casual and colloquial lexis. For instance, the noun

barbie metaphor cutting it a bit fine quotesdbs_dbs7.pdfusesText_5

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