Description
Presented by: Ross Huggard, BEc, MEd Pol & Admin, Dip Ed, Grad Dip Ed Admin, MACE, MACEL, is an experienced VCE English teacher, workshop presenter to VCE English teachers, English consultant to schools and a published author.
Date: Wednesday 30 September 2026
Time: 9:00 am – 11:30 am
This lecture will explore the essential features of preparing for and writing for success in each of the three equally-weighted sections of the final 3-hour VCE English exam.
It will dissect and examine the various textual elements with which students need to be confidently acquainted for success in Section A, ‘Analytical interpretation of a text’. Common strengths and weaknesses in developing effective analytical text response essays will be examined, based on the actual exam experiences of past students. This is the area of the exam which is essentially unchanged from that of recent years, but precise strategies for enhancement will be examined. Key elements of the most popular of the 20 List 1 set texts, from which 2 unseen topics are provided in the exam will be explicitly explored and focused upon, and sample essay topics provided.
There will also be considerable focus on the new Section B, ‘Frameworks’. There will be clarification about the nature of this task and the different possible approaches to the exam topics to be presented, with a clear emphasis on the writing expectations sought by Assessors, there will be some consideration of all 4 VCAA Frameworks, with a special focus on the most popular of these. Sample essay topics will be provided and some explored in more detail. Advice about the attributes of the best essays will be given, as well as common flaws apparent in Section B student essays.
The broader argumentative focus of Section C, ‘Argument and persuasive language’ will be explicitly focused upon. Therefore, there will be clarification and a detailed exploration of the essential skills of argument and language analysis, drawing on previous student exam experience. There will be consideration of the approaches which may effectively be taken, along with how argument is supported by both written and visual language to persuade a targetted audience. All of this will reflect the advice of assessors arising out of the 2017-2021 exam experience.
Overall, students will be given detailed, practical strategies to confidently enhance their writing skills and therefore maximise their potential English exam performance, and thereby enhancing both their critically-important English Study Score and ATAR score.
This is a live, online lecture. Please note, due to Copyright we are unable to distribute recordings of lectures.
PLEASE NOTE: This lecture and the accompanying set of notes are for VCE students only. Teachers are welcome to take part when making a group booking for their students. When making a group booking, teachers may request a complimentary lecture and set of notes.
