MODULE A is assessed in Paper 2 of your HSC examination.

Section I – Module A response

Section II – Module B response

Section III – Module C response

Paper 2 has 2 hours of writing time, with an additional 5 minutes reading time (you will not be able to mark your page in any way during reading time)

This means you should be devoting approximately 40 minutes to each section. While you don’t have to evenly divide time between the three modules, we recommend that you stick to this guideline as much as possible

All parts are out of 20 marks each

You must only write in blue or black pen

Rubric

Language has the power to both reflect and shape individual and collective identity. In this module, students consider how their responses to written, spoken, audio and visual texts can shape their self-perception. They also consider the impact texts have on shaping a sense of identity for individuals and/or communities. Through their responding and composing students deepen their understanding of how language can be used to affirm, ignore, reveal, challenge or disrupt prevailing assumptions and beliefs about themselves, individuals and cultural groups.

Students study one prescribed text in detail, as well as a range of textual material to explore, analyse and assess the ways in which meaning about individual and community identity, as well as cultural perspectives, is shaped in and through texts. They investigate how textual forms and conventions, as well as language structures and features, are used to communicate information, ideas, values and attitudes which inform and influence perceptions of ourselves and other people and various cultural perspectives.

Through reading, viewing and listening, students analyse, assess and critique the specific language features and form of texts. In their responding and composing students develop increasingly complex arguments and express their ideas clearly and cohesively using appropriate register, structure and modality. Students also experiment with language and form to compose imaginative texts that explore representations of identity and culture, including their own. Students draft, appraise and refine their own texts, applying the conventions of syntax, spelling and grammar appropriately and for particular effects.

Connection between language and identity

Language has the power to both reflect and shape individual and collective identity.

• Identity is your interests, values, attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies

• Language reflects identity – and we have both individual and collective identities.

• Collective identity creates community and culture.

• Shared language shapes collective identity and culture.

• Culture is a defining feature of a person’s identity, contributing to how they see themselves and the groups with which they identify.

Exactly which cultures and aspects of culture are being portrayed in the text?

• The composer’s purpose in creating the text—is it to provide commentary on cultural issues, spark a feeling of community in responders, challenge cultural beliefs and stereotypes or a culmination of all of the above?

• How form, structure, genre and style deeply influence the ways in which messages about cultural identity are depicted by the composer and interpreted by the responder.