Step-by-step guide to
successful HSC essay
writing
Copy right © Department of Education and Communities 2014.
Contents
Structure of the essay ............................................................................................................................. 1
The importance of Essays ....................................................................................................................... 2
NO TECHNIQUES = NO MARKS................................................................................................................ 4
TABLES..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Paragraph Structure (PEEL) ..................................................................................................................... 7
Example:.............................................................................................................................................. 8
Transitional Words ................................................................................................................................ 13
Steps from now: .................................................................................................................................... 14
Important Step .................................................................................................................................. 14
Paragraph Writing Scaffold ................................................................................................................... 15
Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Structure of the essay
Ok – so you are now in your final years of high school and you realise that you have no idea how to
write an essay.
The really, really bad thing is English is COMPULSORY and you have to write essays to pass.
So basically you are stuffed…
However, your exams are not tomorrow and if you work really hard over the next year (or two) you
are going to be in with a fighting chance of making it through with a good mark (yes I said good!)
Firstly you need to know the structure of an essay :
It goes like this:
1. Introduction
2. Body Paragraphs
3. Conclusion.
You know this – have seen it before - just remember that you will probably have lots of body
paragraphs.
Your introduction and conclusion are different to your body paragraphs but are similar to each
other.
Your introduction should look like this:
1. Overarching Statement
2. Thesis (answer the question)
3. Introduce the texts you will discuss.
While your conclusion should look like this:
1. Restate what each text has done
2. Restate your thesis
3. Concluding Statement
But let’s not get too concerned with introductions and conclusions yet – they are easy. What is
really important is the body paragraphs. Once you have this down you will be able to attack any
essay question with confidence (and no and I am not being just an English teacher when I say this – I
have seen students go from poor writers to excellent writers in just a few months by focussing on
their paragraphs!)
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
The importance of Body Paragraphs
When it comes to HSC Essay writing it is really important that you learn how to write body
paragraphs. This means you need to expand your points in your argument and use
techniques from the text to support your argument. A good paragraph from a Standard
Student in the HSC would look something like this:
Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. The death of her mother and
twin during childbirth causes grief in the family and community at the loss of, not
only life but, their believed future leader and, as such, Pai is not recognised as being
their leader. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean
showing how important the ocean is in the film and together with the narration of a
girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale..the boy
who would be chief” introduces the relationship between leadership and the whale.
The quick cut to the close up of the baby’s face clearly demonstrates the narrator’s
connection to the whale and therefore illustrates her leadership to the audience. This
is contrasted by the cut to the mid shot of the dead mother and the narration “there
was no gladness when I was born” demonstrating the pain and rejection at her birth,
additionally the dialogue “my twin brother died” highlights the loss of the expected
male leader at her arrival and consequent rejection of her leadership. Therefore it is
clear that the horror of death and loss of Pai’s twin brother hinders others to perceive
her as the prophesied chief.
I know that you may be thinking “Oh Great – I may as well quit now!”, or (if doing Advanced)
“I should drop to Standard”, or worse “Forget it – I’ll go to Studies”. But don’t be so hard on
yourself. Essay writing is really quite easy if you learn the techniques and the structure.
Many students entering into Year 11

Lack knowledge of literary and filmic techniques
 Write recount
 Have little integration of techniques (because they don’t know them)
Look at the following example from a student who studied “Whale Rider1” as a text in the
Area of Study – “Identity”
For those of you who do not know: Whale Rider is a 2002 drama film directed by Niki Caro, based on
the novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea
Apirana, a twelve-year-old Maori girl who wants to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather
Koro believes that this is a role reserved for males only.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_Rider
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Question: How is the identity of Pai communicated in the film “Whale Rider”?
Once you have brainstormed you have come up with a few points – the first one you
want to work on is: Because Pai was a girl her identity as a leader was ignored.
Pai is a girl that was rejected by her father at birth because she was not a male. Pai has
been raised by her grandfather Koro. The village is in need of a leader and Pai feels it
should be her but her grandfather is waiting for another child and hoping it would be a
boy, even though Pai is dedicated to the culture unlike anyone else is the village. Pai’s
identity shows she is a very strong little girl and will strive to what she wants.
Does this look familiar to you? Is it something you would write?
Your teacher would probably mark this and say something like:
 The response has NO selection of techniques
 There is little evidence
 It is a recount
 Does not answer question
And it would fail and if you were the student you would not know what the teacher meant
by these points and instead of working hard on it, you give up because there is no point and
you suck at English. Right?
Well let’s break down these comments:
 The response has NO selection of techniques
o There are no techniques used – this depends on what text you are studying

There is little evidence
o You are not using your text to say anything about your Area of Study

It is a recount
o All you are doing is restating the script/plot of the text

Does not answer question
o The question has been ignored and you are just ranting about the things that
happen in the text
What do you need to do?
Well first you need to know your techniques.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
NO TECHNIQUES = NO MARKS
You will get heaps of techniques from your teacher or just google them!
You need techniques to answer your HSC question. Why? The English HSC course is about
getting you to understand what a composer does to compose. This means you need to be
asking: What word choices have been made? Why are they using particular shots? What
colours are being used?
When a composer creates a text, you as a reader or viewer are forced to see things the way
the composer wants you. Say for instance the composer loves dogs, the composer will most
likely describe the dog as loveable, loyal, and obedient. If, however the composer hates dogs
then the dog could be described as flea bitten, mongrel and savage.
This is obviously a very simple example – but you get the idea right? This is what your HSC
marker is looking for – the fact that you understand that every composer puts their beliefs
and opinions into a text. (This idea becomes more complicated in Advanced though!)
Let’s look at what we have to do for your Area of Study in the HSC
Area of Study
Discovery. This means that every text you look at for your Area of Study you must
look at it through the lens of Discovery. This means you have to ask: What word choices are
they making that show discovery? Why are they using particular shots to show discovery?
What colours are being used to show discovery?
Remember the HSC question will be a HOW question – for example
“Discovery can lead to change within self and the wider world"
How does your study support this statement?
The ‘HOW’ means : TELL ME WHAT TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN USED BY THE COMPOSER TO
CREATE MEANING AND IN THIS QUESTION RELATE THEM TO DISCOVERY!!
You will also have to do three other modules on top of the Area of Study but they differ
depending on the course. Just trust me and remember
YOU MUST INCLUDE TECHNIQUES IF YOU WANT TO PASS
Is that all? I don’t even know what the hell you are rambling on about when you talk about
techniques and I have no idea of how to put them into a paragraph.
Okay…. I understand. Please stick with me while I show you the best thing in the world for
HSC study
TABLES!! Yes it is true that I am a nerd who enjoys creating EXCEL documents for daily
routines and enjoys having my bookshelf in alphabetical order based on the author’s last
name then year of publication. However, tables, if used correctly, will become your best
weapon in HSC English. Let me explain…
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
TABLES
You should create the following table for EVERY text you study in the HSC. Start it as you
begin to study the text and continue to build it as you work through it.
Your table should look like this:
Technique
What technique is used
Quote
Quote it
Effect
How does it support your point
So if you watch the beginning of “Whale Rider” you will pick up these in the first five
minutes:
Technique
Quote
Establishing Shot
Ocean
Effect
Shows importance of Ocean
Sound Effects
Ocean and Whale
Narration (girl)
waiting for a leader. And he came
on the back of a whale... For the
boy who would be chief
Introduces the male relationship
between leader and the whale
Oblique/Close up
shot
Woman in pain, grimacing
Shows agony and confusion
Close up
White surgical gloved hand
Establishes hospital
Mise en scene
Blue water, whale shape
Panning
Body of whale
Close up
Baby’s face
Medium shot
Woman dead
Narration
There was no gladness when I was
born.
My twin brother died and took our
mother with him.
Cut shows connection between
hospital and whale
Cut shows connection between
whale and child
Shows the pain child was born
into – audience understands the
connection between the child
and the whale, yet sees her
rejection.
Not hard, is it? All you have done is create a table but now you can see what techniques are
used really clearly.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Don’t think you are suddenly going to write a perfect paragraph. , You will probably overuse
techniques at first and write a paragraph like this:
Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. She is seen as ‘only a girl’. Pai’s
grandfather, Koro accepts her but not as the leader she is because she was not a boy. The
beginning scene opens with a blue screen of water, the sound effects is an ocean sound as
well and you hear a narration of a girl’s voice. Then it cuts to an oblique close up of a woman
in pain and zooms to a white, gloved hand and we know she is in hospital. It then goes back
to a shot of the ocean and a whale and then cuts back to a close up of the baby. The
narration, “there was not gladness when I was born” shows Pai’s birth was not celebrated.
So what is wrong with this? It has techniques but is doesn’t have any clear argument.
Basically:

The response has lots of techniques but not judicious

It is a recount of techniques rather than plot

There is little evidence

Does not answer question
The greatest problem is you do not know how paragraphs are constructed. This is really
important (whether you are doing Extension or Standard). But don’t worry – paragraph
structure is easy.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Paragraph Structure (PEEL)
The best thing about essays is that they are reliable. They always stay the same. Many
acronyms are used to describe a paragraph but here I will use PEEL. This stands for

Point

Explain

Example

Link
At sentence level this means
 Point – State your argument (short and simple)
 Explain – Expand your first sentence (say it again with more
information)
 Example – Technique – Quote – Effect x 3 (at least)
 Link – State how this answers your question
In order to break it down – follow this pattern:

What is your point………………………………….

Explain this differently ……………………………

Example
o Technique…………………………….
o Quote …………………………………
o Effect…………………………
o Technique…………………………….
o Quote …………………………………
o Effect………………………………….
o Technique…………………………….
o Quote …………………………………
o Effect………………………………….

Link to question …………………………………….
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Example:

What is your Point
Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth.

Explain this differently
She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is
 Technique
 establishing shot and sound effects
 Quote
 ocean
 Effect
 showing how important the ocean is in the film
 Technique
 narration of a girl
 Quote
 waiting for a leader… to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief”
 Effect
 introduces the relationship between male leadership and the whale
 Technique
 cut to the close up
 Quote
 baby’s face
 Effect
 shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership
 Link
 This shows her identity is linked to the whale and leadership
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Put this together:
 Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. She is seen as only a
girl and not the leader she really is. The establishing shot and sound effects of
the ocean shows how important the ocean is in the film. The narration of a
girl “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale .. the boy who
would be chief” introduces the relationship between male leadership and the
whale. The cut to the close up baby’s face shows her connection to the whale
and therefore leadership. This shows her identity is linked to the whale and
leadership.
This is starting to sound good! You hand this in and feel great – after all you spent all night
on it and then your teacher takes out a pen and pulls it apart. You are then told:

The paragraph has good selection of techniques – this is good

It is not a recount – this is good

Tries to create an argument – this is good

Does begin to try to answer question but techniques do not match up with original
point as it is too shallow – not so good

More techniques are needed to create strength – this is where you need to work
What the Hell? You did what you were asked! Still it is not good enough! You may as well
quit!
Really? Why?
You are almost there and you should notice that most of it is good!
The problem is that you have shifted your focus from the plot to the techniques but are still
not doing anything with it. It becomes a retelling of the techniques rather than the plot.
So … you have actually made a great improvement… now you need to know where to go
from here.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Firstly you need more techniques in your paragraph to make it valid:

Point: Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth.

Expand:

Example: Technique Quote Effect
She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is.
 The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean
showing how important the ocean is in the film.
 The narration of a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader… to come on
the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship
between male leadership and the whale.
 The cut to the close up of the baby’s face shows her connection to the whale
and therefore leadership.

The mid shot of the dead woman and the narration “there was no
gladness when I was born” shows the pain and rejection at her birth while “my twin
brother died” shows the male leader they were waiting on passed during her arrival.

Link : Therefore it is clear that Pai’s was seen as only a girl and not a
leader by the family she was born into.
Put together:
 Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. She is seen as only a girl and
not the leader she really is. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound
effects of the ocean showing how important the ocean is in the film. The narration of
a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale .. the
boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between male leadership and
the whale. The cut to the close up of the baby’s face shows her connection to the
whale and therefore leadership. The mid shot of the dead woman and the narration
“there was no gladness when I was born” shows the pain and rejection at her birth
while “my twin brother died” shows the male leader they were waiting on passed
during her arrival. Therefore it is clear that Pai was seen as only a girl and not a
leader by the family she was born into.
Wow – you wrote this! This is awesome! Definitely an A! Right? Well not yet. But this is the
exciting part – you are now starting to write a pretty good paragraph. One that may even
get you out of the “I fail at English” mindset This paragraph would definitely pass. But you
don’t want to just pass anymore…. You know that you can do better than this and it really
isn’t that hard overall.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
So let’s look at the paragraph:






The response has good selection of techniques (good)
It is not a recount (good)
Tries to create an argument (good)
One part of argument is not supported (seen as only a girl) (not good)
Explanation and Link must be reworded.(not good)
Paragraph is clunky and needs fluency.(not good)
When you start to get feedback from your teacher that tells you your paragraph lacks
fluency or is clunky it means that you are on the right track. It means you are beginning to
make sense and your language and way of stating things needs to be focussed on!
But the question remains: How to improve from here? (you are not an A student yet!).
The biggest problem is that a point is not supported:
You stated that
She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is
Yet nothing in the evidence is gender related – all the examples discuss her leadership but
NOTHING in the paragraph that talks about the fact that the grandfather believes only males
can become leader and because of this the point has not been supported. Either the
examples need to change (that means the whole paragraph) OR change the point and
explanation to suit the evidence.
This means getting rid of gender and it will look like this:
 Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. The death of her mother and
twin during childbirth causes grief in the family and community at the loss of not only life,
but their future leader and as such Pai is not recognised as the leader she truly is. The film
opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean showing how
important the ocean is in the film. The narration of a girl stating they were “waiting
for a leader to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief” introduces
the relationship between male leadership and the whale. The cut to the close up of
the baby’s face shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership. The mid
shot of the dead woman and the narration “there was no gladness when I was born”
shows the pain and rejection at her birth while “my twin brother died” shows the
male leader they were waiting on passed during her arrival. Therefore it is clear that
the horror of death and loss of Pai’s twin brother hinders others to perceive her as
the prophesied chief.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Notice when the explanation changes – so must the linking statement to make it all join
together.
So, you have done ALL this. You hand it in. You are expecting an A or some merit certificate
on assembly but all you get back is:

The response has good selection of techniques

It is not a recount

Tries to create an argument

Paragraph is clunky and needs fluency.
“What the hell does clunky mean?????”
It means that your paragraph does not flow – does not sound good when reading.
Well how do I fix this? Easy! Transitional Words Create Fluency
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Transitional Words
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
furthermore
moreover
also
in addition
next
further
illustrate
demonstrate
in the same
exemplifies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
in such a way
similarly
likewise
however
though
otherwise
on the contrary
in contrast
consequently
highlights
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
on the other hand
since
therefore
thus
hence
in order that
accordingly
coupled with
together
Transitional words allow sentences to flow and ideas meet.
The above paragraph is missing the connecting or transitional words… Look what happens
when you put them in:
 Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. The death of her mother and
twin during childbirth causes grief in the family and community at the loss of, not
only life but, their believed future leader and, as such, Pai is not recognised as being
their leader. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean
showing how important the ocean is in the film and together with the narration of a
girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale..the boy
who would be chief” introduces the relationship between leadership and the whale.
The quick cut to the close up of the baby’s face clearly demonstrates the narrator’s
connection to the whale and therefore illustrates her leadership to the audience. This
is contrasted by the cut to the mid shot of the dead mother and the narration “there
was no gladness when I was born” demonstrating the pain and rejection at her birth,
additionally the dialogue “my twin brother died” highlights the loss of the expected
male leader at her arrival and consequent rejection of her leadership. Therefore it is
clear that the horror of death and loss of Pai’s twin brother hinders others to perceive
her as the prophesied chief.
Your teacher will read this and you should get some VERY positive feedback.
You are now on your way to writing fantastic paragraphs that answer the question with
techniques.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Steps from now:
1. Follow this structure for EVERY English text you encounter – whether
Area of Study or Modules.
2. Always include techniques as ‘NO TECHNIQUES =- NO MARKS’.
3. Always follow the PEEL structure. (Point – Explain - Example – Link)
Important Step
Do not write a full essay until you and your teacher are happy with your
paragraph (unless it is the night before it is due and by not writing the whole
essay you will get a zero and a N-Award Letter).
It is easier for a teacher to mark a paragraph than a whole essay and you won’t
be wasting time writing a whole essay just to be told it is all wrong. Once you
have written a paragraph that has a clear argument, uses techniques as
evidence and flows then you can write an excellent essay – after all, every
paragraph follows the same pattern (except the introduction and conclusion).
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
Paragraph Writing Scaffold
What is your point?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Explain this differently
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Technique
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Quote
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Effect
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Technique
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Quote
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Effect
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Technique
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Quote
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Effect
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Link to question
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
ALLITERATION
is the repetition of consonant sounds in a series of words. If the consonants are
the same but the sounds are different they do not alliterate.
eg. "...the grease that kisses the onions with a hiss."
from WILLIAM STREET by Kenneth Slessor
ALLUSION
is the reference to well-known figures and/or other texts
eg. "And thrice I heard the Cock crow thinking I knew it's meaning well."
from COCK CROW by Rosemary Dobson The reference here is to the denial of
Jesus after his arrest by one of his disciples.
APPROPRIATED TEXT
A text which has been taken from one context and translated The process of
translation allows new insights into the original text and emphasises contextual
differences between the two.
ASSONANCE
is the repetition of vowel sounds. The vowels themselves may be different but the
sound has to be the same.
eg. "If I should die, think this only of me"
from THE SOLDIER by Rupert Brooke
CLICHÉ
is a time-worn phrase used to explain thought or feeling. They are usually images
that have lost their power to surprise because of over-use.
eg. like a bat out of hell or as old as the hills or he's a cold fish.
CONNOTATION
is an idea or feeling associated with a word. Some words have richer associations
than others eg 'house' may be the building in which you live but 'home' refers to
the same object and has associations of warmth, family, security.
CONTEXT
The range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in
which a text is responded to and composed.
CONVENTIONS
Accepted practices or features which help define forms of texts and meaning (see
genre). We recognise a genre (type of text) through its conventions eg.
Conventions of a Western include such stock characters as hero (white hat),
villain (black hat), school marm, bar girl, themes such as tension between the
settled life of the town and the freedom of the frontier which resolves as hero
rides into the sunset with his best pal, his horse.
FIGURE OF SPEECH
(or figurative language) is another term used for imagery and generally refers to
such devices as metaphor, simile and personification.
GENRE
A category or type of text that can be recognised by specific aspects of its subject
matter, form and language eg. Teenflic - usually set in a high school with stock
characters such as the cool kids, sport jocks, nerds. There is often a romantic
interest but the central problem is usually social or ethical and problems tend to
be resolved in the end with some degree of justice.
ELLIPSIS
refers to the omitting words from a sentence/paragraph. It is common in
transcripts of conversations and is sometimes indicated by ...
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
EUPHEMISM
is an acceptable or mild expression which replaces an unpleasant or hurtful one.
For example, some people find it too distressing to speak of death and so soften
the effect by such terms as: he has passed on; she has gone to a better place
etc.
IMAGE
is a term that is has a range of meanings that are used in the study of English. It
can refer to
• a real or ideal resemblance eg. He moulds himself in the image of his father
• a projection of light or arrangement of pixels on a screen
• a public impression eg. a politician's image
IMAGERY
refers to the mental representations of pictures, sounds, smells textures and
tastes that are created through powerful or interesting use of language. Imagery
can often refer to figures of speech such as metaphor, simile and personification.
INTERTEXTUALITY
is the ways texts make reference to other texts. These references may be
• explicit such as an allusion
• implied by the many different ways a composer can draw our attention to other
texts (such as parallel situations, sameness of genre, satire, parody etc.)
• inferred from your own reading. This refers to the way that you draw on your
own experience of texts. These references need not have occurred to the
composer and can in fact be drawn from texts composed at a later period. For
example, our reading of the original Emma by Jane Austen is affected by the fact
that we have seen the film Clueless.
JARGON
refers to the language or technical terms specific to a particular subject.
HYPERBOLE
a deliberate exaggeration for dramatic effect and not intended to be taken
literally
eg. "...the endless cry of death and pain."
from GALLIPOLI by Mary Gilmore
LANGUAGE MODES
Listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing.
These modes are often integrated and interdependent activities used in
responding to and composing texts. It is important to realise that:
• any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing
print, sound, visual or multimedia texts; and
• the refinement of the skills of any one of the modes develops skills in the
others.
MEDIUM
The physical form in which the text exists or through which the text is conveyed.
METAPHOR
is a comparison where one thing is said to be another eg. The crimson rose of
passion (Passion= crimson rose)
ONOMATOPOEIA
is the use of words whose sound echoes their sense
eg. "... the boom of shells"
from THE REAR- GUARD by Siegfried Sassoon
OXYMORON
is a contradiction in two words placed next to each other to heighten the contrast
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
eg. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
from ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare
PERSPECTIVE
A way of looking at situations, facts and texts and evaluating their meaning or
value.
PARADOX
is a contradiction which at first seems irreconcilable, but with deeper reflection
proves to be a truth. A paradox that is frequent in literature is birth in death
which refers to the nature of the life cycle.
PARODY
is a conscious imitation of another work usually for a satiric purpose
eg. "I love a sunburnt country a land of open drains..."
REPETITION
of words is used to add emphasis
eg. "Alone, alone, all, all alone
Alone on a wide, wide sea"
from THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
PERSONIFICATION
is the figure of speech which gives human qualities to non-human things
eg. "The Kind old Sun will know"
from FUTILITY by Wilfred Owen
SARCASM
is the use of sharp direct and intentionally cutting words. Literally means flesh
tearing
eg. "He has so many faults and defects it will be hard to replace him in the job."
SATIRE
is composition which holds up to ridicule human vice or frailty in a scornful and
amusing way
SIMILE
is the figure of speech which compares two things using 'like' or 'as'
eg. "The bomb burst like a flower."
from HIROSHIMA by Angela M. Clifton
TONE
is the writer's attitude to his or her subject matter or readers. You can often
decide the tone by imagining the tone of voice a writer might be using if speaking
the text.
Source: http://www.englishteacher.com.au/glossary.php
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
A list of techniques when analysing a visual text.
Angle
See Framing.
Body language and gaze
Facial expressions, gestures, stance or position – can convey
the attitude, feelings or personality of the individual shown.
Take note of the direction of the subject’s eyes.
Composition
What is included is deliberately placed (also applies to what
is omitted). Consider all inclusions and omissions e.g.
surroundings, objects, clothing etc.
Colour, Hue and Tone
In black & white images examine the use of contrast, light
and darkness. In a colour image, colours are used to signify
feelings and evoke a response. E.g. Red = passion, anger,
hell, vitality, etc. blue = peace, harmony or coldness.
Contrast
The arrangement of opposite elements (light and dark, large
and small, rough and smooth) to create interest, excitement
or drama.
Framing
The same camera shots and angles relevant to film. Close
ups, extreme close ups, medium shots, long shots, tilted up
or down shots etc.
Omissions
What has been deliberately left out.
Orientation, Point of view
Relates to framing and angle: is the responder positioned
above the image (looking down), below or at eye level?
Positioning
Consider which objects have been placed in the foreground,
middle ground or background.
Rule of thirds
Divide an image into thirds from the top and sides and look
at the placement of people and/or objects. An object in the
top third is usually empowered whereas anything in the
bottom third is disempowered.
Salience
The part that your eyes are first drawn to in the visual.
Colour, image and layout determine what the salient image
is.
Symbolism
The use of an image to represent one or more (often
complex) ideas.
Vectors
The line that our eyes take when looking at a visual.
Composers deliberately direct our reading path through the
vectors. E.g. If all of the subjects are tall, long and upright
our eyes follow straight vectors that lead to the top of the
frame. This could make the subject seem powerful or
inflexible.
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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing
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