“By composing and responding with imagination, feeling, logic and conviction, students develop understanding of themselves, and of human experience and culture.”                                                                                                                                                                                             Board of Studies, NSW

How well a student performs in Stage 5 of the English syllabus will determine their success in the senior years leading up to the HSC. Whether a student chooses to undertake the Advanced or Standard English courses, it is vital that every student is well prepared to tackle the demands of the Preliminary and HSC English curriculum.

 

Stage 5 sees students introduced to increasingly sophisticated texts with a particular emphasis on Australian literature. Students will be encouraged to appreciate and enjoy a range of fiction and non-fiction texts while learning to interpret, question and challenge the ideas which exist through a close study of the language style and techniques used within these texts. Apart from analysing written language, students will also develop skills in critiquing visual texts drawn from advertisements and other forms of multimedia. In preparation for the senior years, students will also be guided in developing their responses to classic and contemporary literature, with a key focus on composing sophisticated and imaginative responses in the form of essays and creative writing tasks.

 

General Overview of Content:

 

• Complex grammar and punctuation

• Syntax and complex sentences

• Recognising humour and satire

• Romantic Literature

• Analysing Shakespeare

• Analysing persuasive media texts

• Thematic study of a novel

• Visual techniques in political cartoons

• Film study

• Creative writing

• Analysing rhetoric in speeches