Sample Student work HL
In the 1930’s, in Australia, aboriginal children were taken away
from their Aboriginal parents. This is known as the “Stolen
Generation”. Text A ‘Family’s fifth generation in care of state”
and text B 'Rabbit proof fence' written by Caroline Overington
and Doris Pilkington respectively describe the situation during
the time of the “Stolen Generation”. Caroline Overington is a
report of a newspaper; whereas, Doris Pilkington is a novel
writer. Which explain why both texts are different in nature,
but similar in purpose.
The target audience of text A and text B are very different and
similar. Whereas text A is a newspaper article and text B is a
novel, the audience shares a common interest in the “Stolen
Generation”. We can see from text A that it is a newspaper
article because it very plainly tells us that an interview has
taken place. “The Australian spoke yesterday to an aboriginal
woman whose daughter became the family’s fifth generation to
be raised by the state, when she was taken from her home in
June 2007 and placed with white foster parents on the NSW
central coast.” We can see the same topic explored through
fiction in text B when Constable Riggs, a character, says from
his horse, “ ́I’ve come to take Molly, Gracie and Daisy, the three
half-caste girls, with me to go to school at the Moore River
Native Settlement,’ he informed the family.” Both quotes show
that the audience most likely cares about this topic, which has
haunted Australia for almost a hundred years.
The theme of both text A and text B are similar. They are both
about Aboriginal kids who have been taken away from their
parents. However, text A covers a broader timeline compared
to text B. Text A considers contemporary problem and text B is
describes a historical true event. However, the only difference
among the texts is that the siblings are taken to different
places. We can see from text A that it has a longer timeline
because it includes and mentiones different dates. “1927”,
“1940”, “1950”, “1967”, “2007”, “2009”. “STATE welfare
workers have begun removing the fifth generations of
aboriginal children from their parents.” However, we could not
identify any of these times in text B. On the other hand, we
could suggest that the themes of both texts are similar. From
text A, it shows the reaction of some of the parents: “My
daughter was seven years old when they came for her. My
husband fell down on his knees on the lawn. She was
screaming. The last memory I have is of her hand against the
glass, saying ‘please let me stay.’” We can see the same theme
was being share by text B “The rest of the family just hanged
their heads refusing to face the man who was taking their
daughter away from them.” According to the quotes above, it
shows that both the newspaper and the novel share the same
story about separation. However, they provide us with two
different perspectives in history.
Both the tone and the mood are different between text A and
text B. Due to the fact that text A is a newspaper interview it is
more serious. Whereas, text B has been written more
dramatized because it has been written especially to hook
readers’ interest by using character and plot. We can see that
text A is more serious and objective because the interviewer is
using the interviewee’s personnel experience to transport the
idea to the Australian public. “Her mother was a state ward; so
too were her grandparent, her great grandmother and her
great-great- grandmother.” Whereas, text B has been written
more dramatized. “Behind them, those remaining in the camp
found strong sharp objects and gashed themselves and
inflicted wounds to their heads and bodies as an
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expression of their sorrow.” Both quotes state clearly the
differences between text A and text B. This is based on the fact
that they are targeting different age groups but the idea behind
it remains the same.
Text A and text B have similar and different stylistic devices.
Whereas, text A is based heavily on statistical information, text
B is more story- like and chronological. On the other hand, both
texts are illustrating the problem of real personnel experience.
We can see from text A that it is more statistical because it
illustrates plainly to us by saying: “The rate of aboriginal
children in care is 41.3 per indigenous children nationwide,
while in NSW the rate is 66.3 per 1000.” We can see the
different use of stylistic devices in text B where Doris
Pilkington, the writer, describes the story of this one aboriginal
family. “Fear and anxiety swept over them when they realized
that the fateful day they had been dreading had come at last.
They always knew that it would only be a matter of time before
the government would track them down.” Both quotes state
the difference between the texts. Text A is a newspaper article.
Therefore it needs to illustrate its point to the reader
objectively. Whereas, text B is a novel, so it is written more like
a story. Also it uses third person to bring out the eventual
problem they are facing. However, all entrances are based on
personnel experience.
Text A and text B are written in two completely different
structures. As text A is a newspaper article, it has to be edited
heavily. On the other hand, text B is an extract from a novel,
which is more descriptive. We can see that text A is a news
article. It includes the date and a short introduction the topic:
“The Australian, February 20, 2009 Caroline Overington State
welfare workers have begun removing the fifth generation of
aboriginal children from their parents, meaning some
indigenous families have an 80-year history with child
protection services.” Whereas text B has been written in
dialogue from the extract: “‘Come on, you girls,’ he orders.
‘Don’t worry about taking anything we’ll pick up what you
need later.”’ The quotes illustrate how the texts are structured
differently. Text A is written by a jounalist but it is written like
a transcribed interview about the personnel experience of the
interviewee. Text B, on the other hand, may also be based on
interviews. However the interviews have been then
dramatized into a story.
As we conclude, both texts have been written for the same
purpose, but the audiences they are targeting are different.
However, the structures of the texts are completely different to
each other because the writer has written it for different
purposes. From the discussion above, we discover the uses of
language from both texts are different. Due to the fact that text
A is an article from a newspaper in Australia, the text must be
relevant to the public and it must be concrete and straight
forward. On the other hand, text B is an extract of a novel
therefore the language used must be descriptive so that it can
set up the sense in the reader’s mind. Furthermore,
newspapers are written to inform the public with the most
updated news. Text B is written for the people who are willing
and able to spend approximately ten hours to read a novel out
of interest.
Sample Teacher work HL
Texts 1a and 1b are two different kinds of texts on the same
topic, the Stolen Generation. The Stolen Generation refers to
the Aboriginal ‘half- castes’ that were taken from their families
and put into foster homes or boarding schools. Text 1b offers
us a dramatic representation of what this practice once looked
like in the days when they used to use horses
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(line xx). Text 1a on the other hand is a news article about how
this practice is still happening through the Department of Child
Safety. Whereas Text 1a is found in the Australian, a
newspaper presumably, Text 1b is an extract from a novel
called Rabbit Proof Fence. Both pieces share a common stance
on this issue, and they both condemn the practice.
Even though these texts share a common interest, the
audiences of these two texts differ. When people read
newspapers, they often scan for articles that catch their
interest. Text 1a may be one of several articles the reader
reads. Moreover, like all articles, it must also be newsworthy.
Lines xxx present such a newsworthy piece of information, as
‘more Aboriginal children are being separated from their
parents than at any time in Australian history.’ That is a big
piece of news that Australians should care about, and therefore
the text has an informative purpose. Whereas Text 1a tells us
about the problem, Text 1b shows us the problem. The
audience of Text 1b has more time to devote to learning about
this problem, as the text is an extract from a novel. Usually
novel readers expect to be enlightened on a matter by reading
a dramatization of events, characters and story lines. We see a
dramatization of events in lines xxx, ‘“I’ve come to take Molly,
Gracie and Daisy, the three half- caste girls, with me to go to
school at the Moore River Native Settlement,” he informed the
family.’ This scene serves both to entertain the reader, by
transporting the reader to another place, and to inform the
reader about this place that he or she may not know enough
about. Readers of the novel want to see what the Stolen
Generation looked like and feel the suffering of these people,
whereas readers of the newspaper article want to know the
facts, numbers and stories of reality, today.
Because the audience and purpose of the texts are so different,
they are structurally different as well. Text 1b seeks to tell a
narrative story, where the reader is told a story from beginning
to end. We see the greater Aboriginal family before the
constable arrives. We watch him arrive through their eyes, and
we watch him go through their eyes. While Text 1b focuses on
one tragic event, Text 1a retells multiple stories of aboriginals
being removed from their families for generations. We as
readers can almost see an interviewer sitting down with an
interviewee, recording the stories that go backwards in time.
The mother talks first about her daughter, then herself, her
parents, her father’s mother and her father’s grandmother. The
writer most likely goes back in time with a lot of place names,
years and ancestral ties, in order to reinforce the idea that this
problem is endemic to Australia. While Overington may have
chosen for this structure to stress her point, the reader may
become bogged down by the details and put the article away.
Pilkington on the other hand carries the reader through the
single event with enough action and dialogue that the reader
will want to find out how it ends. These structural differences
lie in the fact that they are different forms of communication.
Although the texts are different forms of communication, both
authors share a similar narrative technique to convince their
readers that removing Aboriginals from their families is a bad
practice. News articles, like Text 1a, always have a
responsibility to be objective, and thus we see facts and
statistics: ‘The Australian revealed last year there were
between six and 10 times as many Aboriginal children in state
care today than at the height of the Stolen Generations era’
(lines xxx). But the bulk of the article, lines xxx, tells the story
of one family that has been
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extremely affected by the removal policies of child protection
services. Although the story is told without embellishment, it is
a selection of a greater interview. What’s more, Overington has
her interviewee supply the emotions and drama, such as in
lines xxx, ‘“She was screaming. The last memory I have is of her
hand against the glass, (and her) saying, ‘Please let me stay.’’
Similarly Text 1b seems to be a sober retelling of events,
without the narrator’s emotional involvement. Lines like xxx
show a very objective method of story telling: ‘those remaining
in the camp found strong sharp objects and gashed themselves
and inflicted wounds to their heads and bodies as an
expression of their sorrow.’ Despite this objective,
anthropological tone, the reader is meant to have an emotional
response. There are also examples of narration that are more
direct, where the narrator does not simply show us action but
tells us about the characters’ emotional state of being, such as
in lines xx, ‘Fear and anxiety swept over them when they
realized that the fateful day they had been dreading had come
at last.’ Both authors try to keep an emotional distance from
the events, while trying to create empathy from the reader.
They may have chosen for this style because they want readers
to condemn these practices for what they are, and not because
an emotional narrative begged them to care.
In summary, we see that both texts tell the stories of Aboriginal
children being removed from their families. They offer
accounts of events, images of tears, and a portrayal of
emotions. In both texts, the reader is presented with these
images and stories and may decide what to make of them.
Although these practices are not condemned outright, the
reader is meant to be shocked.