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Stage 6 (Year 12) English Texts

Welcome to Longfield Learning's English text resource page.

This list of links, analyses and general deconstruction of texts has been created by Will Longfield for our senior students, the wider community, and any teachers who would like a more accessible breakdown of all available senior texts to choose.

Connectedness to a core text is essential for success in the English HSC, as the examination has switched to one requiring a deep understanding of the purpose, audience, context and values (PAC-V) of any text.

2024 Syllabus

English Studies

Prose Fiction

Parrett, Favel, Past the Shallows
van Neerven, Ellen (ed), Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now
- - Winch, Tara June, ‘Cloud Busting’;
  - Weller, Archie, ‘Shadows on the Wall’;
  - Thompson, Adam, ‘Honey’;
  - Saward, Melanie, ‘Galah’;
  - Lucashenko, Melissa, ‘Dreamers’;
  - Leane, Jeanine, ‘Forbidden Fruit’
Araluen, Evelyn, ‘Finding Ways Home’ (nonfiction)
Bradbury, Ray, ‘The Pedestrian’ (prose fiction)
Garner, Helen, ‘Dear Mrs Dunkley’ (nonfiction)
Saunders, George, ‘Failures of Kindness’ (speech)
Winton, Tim, ‘My Father’s Axe’ (prose fiction)

Poetry

Lesson, Luka, ‘May Your Pen Grace the Page’ (performance poetry)

Drama, FIlm, MEdia, or Nonfiction

English Standard and Advanced

English EAL/D

2017 Syllabus

Novel / Prose Fiction

Drama

Poetry

Speech

Shakespearean Drama

Non-fiction / Film / Media

Drama, FIlm, MEdia, or Nonfiction

English Standard and Advanced

English EAL/D

2017 Syllabus

Novel (n) & prose fiction (pf)

Drama (d)

Poetry (p) and performance poetry (pp)

Shakespearean Drama (S)

Standard Module B: Close Study of Literature

Nonfiction (nf), film (f) or media (m)

Speech (sp) *

Useful Links

2019-2023 Prescribed Texts

Novel (n) & prose fiction (pf)

English Standard

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr (n)

Vertigo, Amanda Lohrey (n)

Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell (n)

Past the Shallows, Favel Parett (n)

Standard Module A: Language, Identity and Culture

The Penguin Henry Lawson Short Stories, Henry Lawson - ‘The Drover’s Wife’, ‘The Union Buries Its Dead’, ‘Shooting the Moon’, ‘Our Pipes’, ‘The Loaded Dog’

Small Island, Andrea Levy (n)

Standard Module B: Close Study of Literature

Feed, MT Anderson (n)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (n)

Standard Module C: The Craft of Writing

The Pedestrian, Ray Bradbury (pf)

Report on the Shadow Industry, Peter Carey (pf)

Home, Catherine Cole (pf)

Crouch End, Stephen King (pf)

English Advanced

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr (n)

Vertigo, Amanda Lohrey (n)

Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell (n)

Past the Shallows, Favel Parett (n)

Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations

The Stranger, Albert Camus (pf)

AND

The Meursault Investigation, Kamel Daoud (pf)

Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature

Emma, Jane Austen

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

An Artist in a Floating World, Kazuo Ishiguro

Advanced Module C: The Craft of Writing (short story)

The Awakening, Kate Chopin (n)

The Fun of the Fair, Elizabeth Harrower (pf)

Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka (n)

Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice, Nam Le (pf)

Thirteen Ways of Looking, Colum McCann (n)

What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?, Colum McCann (pf)

The Ghost of Firozsha Baag, Rohinton Mistry (pf)

English Extension

Common Module: Literary Worlds

Each elective in this module involves the study of three texts from the prescribed list, with at least two being print texts. Students explore, analyse and critically evaluate a range of other texts that construct private, public and imaginary worlds.

Elective 1: Literary homelands

The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga

A Passage to India, EM Forster

Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín

Elective 2: Worlds of upheaval

North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

Do not say we have nothing, Granta

Elective 3: Reimagined worlds

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, Italo Calvino

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin

Gulliver's Travels, Johnathan Swift

Elective 4: Literary mindscapes

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner

Sixty Lights, Gail Jones

The Collected Stories, Katherine Mansfield - ‘Prelude’, ‘Je ne Parle pas Français’, ‘Bliss’, ‘Psychology’, ‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’

Elective 5: Intersecting worlds

Clay, Melissa Harrison

Journey to the Stone Country, Alex Miller

The Shipping News, Annie Proulx

English as an Additional Language/Dialect

EAL/D Module A: Texts and Human Experiences

Past the Shallows, Favel Parrett (n)

The China Coin, Alan Baillie (n)

EAL/D Module B: Language, Identity and Culture

Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch (n)

EAL/D Module C: Close Study of Text

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (n)

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri (n)

NOTE: EAL/D Focus on Writing has NO prescribed texts.

Drama (d)

English Standard

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

Rainbow's End, Jane Harrison

The Crucible, Arthur Miller

The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare *

*In order to satisfy the text requirements of the different English courses, The Merchant of Venice is classified as a drama text for the Standard course and as a Shakespearean drama text for the Advanced course.

Standard Module A: Language, Identity and Culture

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Ray Lawlor

Pygmalion, Bernard Shaw

Shafanah and Aunt Sarrinah, Alana Valentine

Standard Module B: Close Study of Literature

Namatjira from Namatjira & Ngapartji Ngapartji, Scott Rankin

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare *

* A Midsummer Night's Dream is considered a drama (d) rather than Shakespearean drama (S) as it is studied in Stage 6 English Standard only.

English Advanced

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

Rainbow's End, Jane Harrison

The Crucible, Arthur Miller

The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare *

Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations

W;t, Margaret Edson (with John Donne's poetry)

Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature

A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen

Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas

English Extension

Common Module: Literary Worlds

Elective 1: Literary homelands

The Secret River, Kate Grenville [adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell]

Elective 2: Worlds of upheaval

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

Elective 4 - Literary Mindscapes Note: Shakespeare's Hamlet is considered Shakespearean Drama in our list.

English as an Additional Language/Dialect

EAL/D Module A: Texts and Human Experiences

Rainbow's End, Jane Harrison

EAL/D Module B: Language, Identity and Culture

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Ray Lawlor

Shafanah and Aunt Sarrinah, Alana Valentine

EAL/D Module C: Close Study of Text

Away, Michael Gow

NOTE: EAL/D Focus on Writing has NO prescribed texts.

Poetry (p) and performance poetry (pp)

English Standard

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

Rosemary Dobson Collected, Rosemary Dobson

Selected Poems, Kenneth Slessor

Standard Module A: Language, Identity and Culture

Contemporary Asian Australian Poets, Adam Aitken, Kim Cheng Boey & Michelle Cahill (eds)

Inside my Mother, Ali Cobby Eckersman

Standard Module B: Close Study of Literature

Coast Road, Robert Gray

Assorted Poems, Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Standard Module C: The Craft of Writing

The two short prescribed texts studied for Module C: The Craft of Writing do not contribute to the required pattern of prescribed texts for the course. There are no prescribed editions of texts for Module C.

Chan, Carol, ‘Popcorn’ (p)

Frost, Robert, ‘Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening’ (p)

Murray, Les, ‘An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow’ (p)

Wright, Judith, ‘The Surfer’ (p)

Lesson, Luka, ‘May your pen grace the page’ (pp)

English Advanced

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

Rosemary Dobson Collected, Rosemary Dobson

Selected Poems, Kenneth Slessor

Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations

John Donne: A selection of his poetry, John Donne [with W;t]

The Complete Poems, John Keats [with Bright Star]

Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature

Advanced Module C: The Craft of Writing

Boey, Kim Cheng, ‘Stamp Collecting’ (p)

Harwood, Gwen, ‘Father and Child’ (p)

Stevens, Wallace, ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’ (p)

Tennyson, Alfred Lord, ‘The Lady of Shallot’ (p)

Tempest, Kae, ‘Picture a Vacuum’ (pp)

English Extension

Common Module: Literary Worlds

Elective 1: Literary homelands

Burning Rice, Eileen Chong

Elective 2: Worlds of upheaval

Open Ground: Poems 1966-1996, Seamus Heaney

Elective 3: Reimagined worlds

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Complete Poems, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Life on Mars, Tracy K Smith

Elective 4: Literary mindscapes

The Complete Poems, Emily Dickinson

Elective 5: Intersecting worlds

William Wordsworth, William Wordsworth

English as an Additional Language/Dialect

EAL/D Module A: Texts and Human Experiences

My People, Oodgeroo Noonuccal

The Round Earth's Imagined Corners, Ken Watson

EAL/D Module B: Language, Identity and Culture

Contemporary Asian Australian Poets, Adam Aitken, Kim Cheng Boey & Michelle Cahill (eds)

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, Langston Hughes

EAL/D Module C: Close Study of Text

The Striped World, Emma Jones

NOTE: EAL/D Focus on Writing has NO prescribed texts.

Shakespearean Drama (S)

English Advanced

Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature

King Henry IV, Part 1

English Extension

Elective 4: Literary mindscapes

Hamlet

Nonfiction (nf), film (f) or media (m)

English Standard

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

Winton, Tim, The Boy Behind the Curtain (nf)

Yousafzai, Malala & Lamb, Christina, I Am Malala (nf)

Daldry, Stephen, Billy Elliot (f)

O'Mahoney, Ivan, Go Back to Where You Came From - Series 1, Episodes 1, 2, and 3 and The Response, Madman, (m)

Walker, Lucy, Waste Land (m)

Standard Module A: Language, Identity and Culture

Pung, Alice, Unpolished Gem (nf)

Perkins, Rachel, One Night the Moon (f)

Sitch, Rob, The Castle (f)

Merewether, Janet, Reindeer in my Saami Heart (m)

Standard Module B: Close Study of Literature

Funder, Anna, Stasiland (nf)

Weir, Peter, The Truman Show (f)

Nasht, Simon, Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History (m)

Standard Module C: The Craft of Writing

Garner, Helen, Dear Mrs Dunkley (nf)

Orwell, George, The Sporting Spirit (nf)

Plath, Sylvia, A Comparison (nf)

Vowell, Sarah, What He Said There (nf)

English Advanced

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

Winton, Tim, The Boy Behind the Curtain (nf)

Yousafzai, Malala & Lamb, Christina, I Am Malala (nf)

Daldry, Stephen, Billy Elliot (f)

O'Mahoney, Ivan, Go Back to Where You Came From - Series 1, Episodes 1, 2, and 3 and The Response, Madman, (m)

Walker, Lucy, Waste Land (m)

Advanced Module A: Textual Conversations

Campion, Jane, Bright Star (with John Keats)

Pacino, Al, Looking for Richard (with King Richard III)

Advanced Module B: Critical Study of Literature

de Waal, Edmund, The Hare with Amber Eyes (nf)

Advanced Module C: The Craft of Writing

Garner, Helen - 'How to Marry Your Daughters' (nf)

Hustvedt, Siri - 'Eight Days in a Corset' (nf)

Orwell, George - 'Politics and the English Language' (nf)

Smith, Zadie - 'That Crafty Feeling' (nf)

English Extension

Common Module: Literary Worlds

Elective 1: Literary homelands

Gavron, Sarah, Brick Lane (f)

Elective 2: Worlds of upheaval

Lang, Fritz, Metropolis (f)

Elective 3: Reimagined worlds

Del Toro, Guillermo, Pan's Labyrinth (f)

Elective 4: Literary mindscapes

Coppola, Sofia, Lost in Translation (f)

Elective 5: Intersecting worlds

Nettheim, Daniel, The Hunter (f)

English as an Additional Language/Dialect

EAL/D Module A: Texts and Human Experiences

Guevara, Ernesto 'Che', The Motorcycle Diaries (f)

Pung, Alice, Unpolished Gem (f)

Yousafzai, Malala & Lamb, Christina, I Am Malala (nf)

Perkins, Rachel, One Night the Moon (f)

O'Mahoney, Ivan, Go Back to Where You Came From - Series 1, Episodes 1, 2, and 3 and The Response, Madman, (m)

EAL/D Module B: Language, Identity and Culture

Chan, Lily,Toyo (nf)

de Heer, Rolf, Ten Canoes (f)

Merewether, Janet, Reindeer in my Saami Heart (m)

EAL/D Module C: Close Study of Text

Gaita, Raymond, Romulus, My Father (nf)

Weir, Peter, The Truman Show (f)

Walker, Lucy, Waste Land (m)

NOTE: EAL/D Focus on Writing has NO prescribed texts.

Speech (sp) *

*usually also classified as nonfiction (nf)

English Standard

Standard Module C: The Craft of Writing

Burney, Linda, ‘First speech to the House of Representatives as Member for Barton’

Jobs, Steve, ‘How to Live Before You Die’

Keating, Paul, ‘Funeral Service of The Unknown Australian Soldier’

Rowling, JK, ‘The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination’

English Advanced

Advanced Module C: The Craft of Writing

Atwood, Margaret, 'Spotty Handed Villainesses'

Smith, Zadie, 'That Crafty Feeling' (nf)

Brooks, Geraldine, 'A Home in Fiction'

Pearson, Noel, 'Eulogy for Gough Whitlam'

Useful Links

2019-2023 Prescribed Texts

Click HERE to view the official NESA documentation for HSC texts.

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