Slide 1 – (Introduction)
This presentation shows you where to find HSC English Exam documents on the NESA website so that you are familiar with all the available advice. It highlights important information about the exams.
Slide 2 – (Key information)
This is a summary of the key information. More detail will be provided throughout the presentation.
- In English Studies, Standard and Advanced there are common questions in Paper 1
- Paper 1, Section 1 has a specific Question and Answer booklet for each course.
- The new writing modules– Focus on Writing for EAL/D , and The Craft of Writing for English Standard and Advanced are examined
- ONLY prescribed texts are examined in all 2 unit courses
- In addition to prescribed texts related texts are also examined in English Extension 1
- In English Extension 1, the common module which is core content is examined
Slide 3 – (Key documents)
Key documents, including the syllabus, course prescriptions and exam support material are available on the NESA website.
Slide 4 – (Homepage)
Use the Year 11-Year 12 tab at the top of the NESA website home page to navigate to the English learning area.
Slide 5 – (English Stage 6)
On the English Stage 6 page, scroll down to see the five English courses. Choose the relevant course and click on the syllabus button.
This is where you will find all the key documents for the course. This format is the same for all English courses.
Slide 6 – (Advanced syllabus page)
On the syllabus page you can download the PDF or Word version of the syllabus.
Slide 7 – (Assessment and Examination material)
Continue scrolling to see the links to all the exam support material, starting with the Assessment and Reporting document. Below that are the sample HSC questions and sample exam formats for Papers 1 and 2.
This is also where you can find the principles that NESA uses to set exams.
Slide 8 – (Prescriptions)
Scroll further to see the current English course prescriptions document.
Slide 9 – (Support materials)
Support materials, including Frequently Asked Questions for Module C, are also provided.
Slide 10 – (Syllabus and Prescriptions)
ONLY syllabus content and texts listed in the prescriptions document can be examined. Textbooks and teaching resources are NOT examinable.
Teachers must use the edition of the text that is specified in the prescriptions document. Where a text is quoted in an HSC exam, it will be from the prescribed edition.
The exception to this is Module C where the short, prescribed texts can be accessed from various editions.
Related texts are examined in English Extension 1 ONLY.
NO related texts are examined in EAL/D, English Studies, Standard or Advanced.
Slide 11 - (Principles for setting examinations)
All HSC exams are developed by committees of practising teachers who are selected based on their experience in teaching the course.
NESA has a set of principles for the development of HSC exams. These are the guiding principles that exam committees use throughout the exam writing process. They have been applied since NESA first used a Standards Referenced Framework in 2001.
For example, this principle states that an exam will test a representative sample of the syllabus. This approach minimises the predictability of questions.
Slide 12 – (Assessment and Reporting)
The Assessment and Reporting document includes school-based assessment requirements and the exam specifications, which are on page 9. They detail exactly what the requirements are for each exam, including:
- Structure and Timing
- Question types
- The number of questions
- and the mark allocation per section.
Examples of the types of questions that could be asked are provided in the package of sample HSC questions.
Slide 13 – (Sample HSC questions)
This set of questions shows different ways that questions may be asked. The mark values provide an indication of the level of depth required.
These questions can be used as models for practice questions in the classroom or for the development of formal assessment tasks.
The rubric identifies the assessment criteria for responses in each section. These criteria are reflected in the marking guidelines.
Sample answers provide an example of the expected level of depth for a response. They demonstrate the minimum response required to achieve the maximum marks. For example, if a question is worth 4 marks the sample answer will reflect the minimum requirement to achieve 4 marks.
In addition to these questions, a sample exam layout is provided.
Slide 14 – (Sample layout)
This screen shot of a page from Paper 1 shows the presentation of the new HSC exam papers. The big change is that all 2 unit courses now have a Question and Answer booklet for Section 1. Lines have been provided for the response to each question.
The exam committee determines the number of lines according to the demand of the question and the mark value. The lines give students an indication of the anticipated length of a response.
The number of lines is NOT standardised. For example, not all 4 mark questions will have the same number of lines. It is also important to note that students’ responses are NOT limited by the number of lines provided. Students are able to ask for more paper if they need it.
Paper 2 will continue to have writing booklets.
English Studies has only ONE exam paper. This paper will be specific to the English Studies course but will have questions in common with English Standard.
EAL/D will continue to have a separate question and answer booklet – similar to exams in previous years.
Slide 15 – (3 different booklets)
Even though there will be some common questions in Paper 1 for English Studies, Standard and Advanced, each course will have its own version of Section 1.
Having three separate versions of Section 1 makes it possible to ensure that students are assessed at a level appropriate to the course they are studying. For example, students in English Advanced will not be required to answer entry level questions that students in the other courses complete. Similarly, students in English Studies will not be required to attempt difficult questions designed for the Advanced course.
Slide 16 – (Common items)
Here is an example of how the common questions could be positioned across the three versions of Paper 1.
Questions are always in order of difficulty, so you can see in this example that English Studies students would start with three questions that are just for them. The last two questions, in green, would then be common with the Standard paper. If you look at the Standard section of the diagram, you will see that students start with questions common to English Studies and end with questions that are common to Advanced English, in purple.
Section 2 – in pink - is the essay question common for all English Studies, Standard and Advanced students.
It is important to note that this is an example ONLY. This may vary slightly from year to year, but will always align with the exam specifications.
Slide 17 – (FAQ Module C)
This Module C FAQ document is located under support material. It provides information about teaching the module and how it will be examined.
Please read this document in conjunction with the module description, syllabus content and sample questions.
Slide 18 – (Module C cont…)
Here is a reminder of where to find the Module C documents on the website.
Slide 19 – (EAL/D – Focus on writing)
EAL/D also has a new writing module. Read the sample questions and module description to get a clear idea about the requirements of this new module.
Slide 20 – (English Extension 1)
The English Extension 1 exam has been redesigned to reflect the new syllabus and exam specifications.
It is still a 2 hour exam but there is now common content examined in Section 1. As this will include unseen stimulus, the reading time is now 10 minutes.
Slide 21 – (English Extension 1 cont...)
Reading the module description in conjunction with the sample questions and marking guidelines will help you understand the requirements for the common module.
Slide 22 – (Key information)
In summary,
- All module descriptions should be understood holistically and in conjunction with the other documents
- There are common questions across the three English courses- Studies, Standard and Advanced
- Paper 1, Section 1 has different Question and Answer booklets for each course.
- Note that lines are provided as a guide only. The length of student responses is NOT limited.
- There are new writing modules for EAL/D, English Standard and Advanced.
- ONLY prescribed texts are examined in all 2 unit courses.
- In addition to prescribed texts related texts are examined in English Extension 1.
- English Extension 1 has examinable core content.
These resources to help you prepare your students for the HSC exams are available on the NESA website.