AOS 2 – Creating & Presenting
Text Based
Unit 3 – Spies
Unit 4 – Death of a Salesman
Exam – can refer to one or both
texts.
What is Reality?
 Reality is a fact, most see it as ‘the truth’ if speaking
objectively
 However, the context is called “Whose Reality?”,
leading us to question the concept of personal
realities and multiple realities.
 A question is posed by the context: whose truth is it?
How do we justify our truths? Why do we interpret
them in this way?
What is Reality to You?
 Activity: Define reality.
 At this moment what
does it mean to you?
What makes up your
world?
What does Freud tell us?
“Life, as we find it, is too hard for us; it brings us too
many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks. In
order to bear it we cannot dispense with palliative
measures... There are perhaps three such measures:
powerful deflections, which cause us to make light of
our misery; substitutive satisfactions, which diminish it;
and intoxicating substances, which make us insensible
to
it.”
Sigmund Freud
Freud and the Iceberg
 Freud compares our
conscious mind to an
iceberg
 Only the smallest aspect
of our minds is
perceivable on the
surface – so much more
is going on underneath
 You will see this clearly
reflected in your texts
The Prompt
 When you do this outcome, you will be asked to
respond to a prompt – a statement about reality that
you will be asked to explore (agree or disagree).
 The prompt is usually quite generic (broad/general) so
students can explore ideas from either text.
 It may or may not contain the word reality
 You are required to deal with the CONCEPTS it raises.
Previous Exam Prompts
 2012 Exam – ‘Our fantasies can be more powerful
than our reality’.
 2011 Exam - ‘Shared experience does not mean that
people see things the same way.’
 2010 Exam - ‘Sometimes people find themselves
living in a world created by other people.’
 2009 Exam - ‘We do not see things as they are. We
see them as we are.’
 2008 Exam - ‘We can evade “reality” but we cannot
avoid the consequences of doing so.’
The prompt
 Your piece should clearly address the prompt but does
not have to provide a definite ‘answer’ or stick rigidly
to the prompt.
 Shape your ideas around the prompt, using it as a
starting point for wider discussion on the context .
 DO NOT write a generic or pre-prepared piece that is
unrelated to the prompt.
Assessing key ideas in prompts
 Highlight/underline the key words
 Look up any words in the dictionary you’re uncertain
of
 Rephrase the prompt
 Consider the context ideas that are relevant to it
 How does this link to your chosen text?
 What’s your opinion on it?
 What texts, images, songs, quotes, theories spring to
mind?
Writing Requirements
Expository
Persuasive
Creative/imaginative
‘Hybrid’ or combined form
Texts
 Draw upon the ideas related to Death of a Salesman by
Arthur Miller or Spies by Michael Frayn. In Unit 3 we
will do Spies, in Unit 4 we will do Death of a Salesman.
 In the exam you can draw on both if you want!
 DO NOT focus only on your selected text/s – these
pieces tend to resemble text response essays and can
only result in a mid-range mark of 4-7 out of a possible
10.
Written Explanation
 You will have an opportunity to write a written
explanation for your SACs
 This allows you to make the link between your piece
and the prompt concrete
 You can be creative whilst you have this, experimental
even
 You will NOT have an opportunity to write one in the
exam
Good writing?
 Dependent on the quality of your writing, the quality
of your ideas and your ability to deal with the prompt.
 ‘There can be no good writing without good ideas.’
Sophisticated understanding of the context;
sophisticated and clear expression.
 Be accurate and specific not general and vague.
Assessors have found that the weakest responses are
those that are too general and only ‘superficially’
explore key ideas.
Context Notebooks
 Your context notebook will be a valuable resource for
gathering ideas for writing.
 You will complete short writing tasks in this, both in
and out of class.
 You will need to gather ideas for writing in your own
time
 You should use this notebook to plan your Outcomes
and refine ideas for writing
 This will be used as a tool to determine satisfactory
results in this outcome.
Whose
Reality?
 Yours
 What is reality?
 Someone else’s
 Michael Frayn
 Multiple realities?
 Stephen Wheatley
 Emotional realities?
 Keith – mother, father
 Subjective reality?
 Arthur Miller
 Objective reality?
 Willy Loman
 Real? Truth?
 Linda, Biff, Happy
 Unreal? Fake?
 Constructed realities
First Context Notebook Activity…
What is the message of this cartoon?
Context ideas & statements
 Reality is hard to define. Reality can be harsh. We all
(consciously/subconsciously) seek to avoid reality at
times.
 There can be multiple realities/versions – sometimes
these clash.
 We can consciously shape our reality – writing is
reflective and involves revising reality
 There are universal truths
 We all perceive reality differently – why?
 Our past experiences impact on our perceptions
 Significant people/events compel change
Sample prompts
 'The line between illusion and madness is a fine one.'
 'When we attempt to make order out of chaos then we
risk distorting reality.'
 'Believing is seeing. The reality that we perceive is the
reality that we want to perceive.'
 'An experience becomes real when others feel what it
felt like for you.'
 'People's memories shape their understanding of
themselves, their world and others.'
Sample prompts cont…
 'We can never attain a fully objective view of reality
because we remain trapped in the prison of our
subjectivity.'
 'When competing realities clash the result can be only
tragedy.'
 'Our sanity depends on a clear understanding of what
is and isn't real.'
 'A person's self-image can interfere with their ability to
perceive reality clearly.'
Sample prompts cont…
 ‘There are no facts, only interpretations.’
 ‘The truth means different things to different people.’
 ‘People re-create their memories to suit their current
reality.’