VCE English
– Units 3 & 4
Mentone Grammar School - 2011
Unit 3






Outcomes are set by VCAA
There are three outcomes
Each outcome covers an Area of Study
AoS1 – Reading and Responding
AoS2 – Creating and Presenting
AoS3-Using Language to Persuade
AOS1 – Reading and Responding
 This contributes 30 marks out of the 10 marks for School
Assessed Coursework for Unit 3. It will be assessed by one task
which will be worth 30 marks
 Analyse, either orally or in writing how a selected text
constructs meaning, conveys ideas and values, and is open
to a range of interpretations.
 You must demonstrate the following skills:
 Understanding of ideas, characters and themes
 Understanding of the ways that the author constructs meaning
 Cont.
Demonstrating outcome 1 cont.
 Understanding of the social, historical and/or cultural
values embodied in the text
 Show the ways that the text can be open to different
interpretations
 Plan and revise written work for expressiveness, fluency
and coherence or plan and deliver an effective oral text
Outcome 1 at Mentone Grammar
 The text chosen to allow you to demonstrate
outcome 1 in 2008 is Geraldine Brooks’ text Year of
Wonders – A Journal of the Plague Year
 You will continue to read this over the holidays and
complete all holiday homework related to it
 Prepare to read your text more than once and
highlight key ideas, themes and character or plot
events
AOS 2 – Creating and Presenting
 Draw on ideas and/or arguments suggested by a chosen
Context to create written texts for a specific audience and
purpose and discuss and analyse in writing your decisions
about form and purpose, language, audience and context.
 This outcome will contribute 30 marks out of 100 marks
allocated to School Assessed Coursework for Unit 3. It will be
assessed by one or more tasks, which contribute a total of 30
marks
 Your task is to create a sustained written text for a specific
audience and context
AOS2 cont.
 You must included a written explanation of decisions
about form, purpose, language, audience and context
 You will read a text which will help you to understand
the Context and give you some ideas about the
requirements of the task
 The chosen Context at Mentone Grammar is ‘Whose
Reality?’
Outcome 2 Chosen Text
 The chosen text through which to explore the Context in
2010 is Robert Drewe’s novel The Shark Net
 This memoir is about a young man who grew up in Perth in
the 1960s and the very different values he had from his
parents
 It explores many themes related to the idea that each
person has their own version of reality and this can be
affected by generational norms
 You are required to read this over the holiday period and
complete the holiday homework related to it.
AOS3 – Using Language to Persuade
 Analyse the language in texts that present a point of view
on an issue currently debated in the Australian media and
construct, orally or in writing, a sustained and reasoned
point of view on the selected issue
 This outcome will contribute 40 marks out of the 100 marks
allocated to School Assessed Coursework for unit 3. It will be
assessed by two tasks, each of which will contribute 20
marks
 One task in unit 3 must be assessed orally
 Either outcome 1 or outcome 3 (task 2) will be assessed
orally
Meeting Outcome 3
 Two tasks are required to meet this outcome
 1. Writing which analyses the use of language in three
or more persuasive texts that debate a current issue
in the Australian media
 This will be a comparison
 2. a sustained and reasoned point of view on the
selected issue in oral or written form
Unit 4
 There are two Areas of Study and two outcomes in
unit 4
 AOS 1 is a Reading and Responding outcome
 AOS 2 is a Creating and Presenting outcome
AOS 1 – Reading and Responding
 Develop and justify and interpretation of a selected
text
 This outcome will contribute 50 marks out of the 100
marks allocated to the School Assessed Coursework for
Unit 4. It will be assessed by one task which will be
worth 50 marks
Outcome 1 in 2010
 The Text chosen at Mentone Grammar in 2010 will be
the film text On the Waterfront starring Marlon
Brando
 This task requires an extended written interpretation
of the selected text
 This outcome will contribute a total of 50 marks out of
the 100 marks allocated to School Assessed Coursework
for unit4. It will be assessed by one task which will
contribute a total of 50 marks
How to meet the outcome
 You need to demonstrate the following:
 Presentation of a sustained and detailed interpretation
of a selected text supported by textual evidence
 An understanding of the ideas, themes and characters
constructed and presented in the selected text
 Analyse the ways in which the author constructs
meaning and expresses or implies a point of view and
values
How to meet the outcome
 Use appropriate metalanguage in presenting the
interpretation
 Plan and revise written work for expressiveness,
fluency and coherence
 As this is a film text, you will also be expected to
understand the ways in which film techniques
contribute to meaning in the text
AOS 2 – Creating and Presenting
 This is the same as for unit 3
 The Text chosen in 2010 for this outcome in Unit 4 is
Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire
 This outcome will contribute 50 marks allocated to
school assessed coursework for unit 4. it will be
assessed by one or more tasks which will contribute a
total of 50 marks.
The Examination
 The examination at the end of the year is worth 50%
of your overall mark
 The earlier you prepare for this the better
 You should regularly revise all of your notes on each
text and on AOS 3
 Your texts should have been read several times and
should have highlighted the main points
 Keep all notes neatly organised- you may wish to
separate your notes into areas of study.
How the school will help
 See a teacher if you need assistance
 Your first stop should always be your classroom
teacher
 Seek help as soon as possible if you are having
difficulty understanding something
 Your teacher should be your first port of call – they
understand the requirements of the subject and are
experienced in teaching it, their help is invaluable!
Help cont.
 Extra classes will be offered at various times on
request
 At exam times extra assistance is offered to students
to help with revision
 You will be given a clear timeline with the dates of
class activities, SACs and exams
 It is your responsibility to keep this and refer to it
 If there are changes to SAC times you will be notified
at least a week in advance
What you need to do
 Make sure you are thoroughly organised for learning
 Create a separate folder for all of your texts
 Create folders for persuasive language and for the
Context
 Take class notes in every class and for every
discussion
 Make sure you do all of the required class work and
homework
What you need to do
 Make sure you have a quite place to study at home
 READ WIDELY – this is crucial to your success in English
 Get a newspaper subscription – you need to be aware of
current issues and to read persuasive texts
 Research your topics in depth – find a variety of sources
 Record all sources where you find and use information –
there are very strict rules about using work that is not
your own - plagiarism
What else?
 You need to work hard to reach your goals
 Use all of the resources available to you
 What else do you think you can do?