ENGLISH FACULTY

Year 8

Year 8 have been working on a persuasive writing unit this term, analysing famous inspiring speeches such as We Shall Fight on the Beaches by Winston Churchill, I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King and He for She by Emma Watson. Students have completed short writing activities experimenting with their use of persuasive techniques and building a sense of personal voice in their writing. They were working on a persuasive speech for their assessment task, which was due in the last week of the term. 

Years 9 and 10

Years 9 and 10 have completed an imaginative writing unit, focusing on analysing short stories and using a greater variety of imaginative writing techniques in their own writing. They have specifically focused on descriptive writing using adjectives and adverbs and sensory imagery to build mood, ‘show don’t tell’ strategies to build character and figurative language techniques to add depth and engagement to their writing. Students have also been exploring how to use symbolism in their writing and how to deepen the representation of a message in their narratives. Their assessment task in the last week of term was to compose an imaginative response to an unseen stimulus and to write a short reflection on their use of imaginative writing techniques in their own narrative.

Year 11 English Standard

The English Standard Common Module has given the Standard students insight into imaginative, discursive, and persuasive texts. The texts they have studied, such as Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," "Racism is Killing the Australian Dream" by Stan Grant and "The relative advantages of relearning my language" by Ami Choi have given them the skills to be able to use rich language to communicate complex ideas with any audience. Their assessment task will unpack one complex idea that has personal meaning for each student and use it to explore the depth of modern life through the power of reading and writing.

Year 11 English Advanced

In the 'Common Module: Reading to Write', our Year 11 and 12 English Advanced class has been actively engaged in reading and analysing a variety of imaginative, discursive, and persuasive texts. This semester, students have delved into classics such as Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains," Will Self's thought-provoking piece "How Should We Read?" and Elie Wiesel's poignant "The Perils of Indifference."

What makes this journey especially exciting is the upcoming end-of-unit project—a portfolio of texts showcasing a command of distinct text types studied throughout the unit. This hands-on experience is a unique opportunity for these budding writers to apply their analytical skills and creative insights. As they weave their own narratives, students gain confidence in expressing nuanced understandings of complex human experiences and formulating and justifying their own opinions on these matters.

Year 11 English EAL/D

This semester, the EAL/D English class delved into diverse textual depictions of displacement. We examined TED talks, visual texts, poems, and online articles, crafting reading logs to articulate our comprehension of the materials. Alongside our reflective journals, we formulated both personal and analytical responses to the texts explored in class. We explored Robert Dowling's illustration portraying indigenous displacement and delved into visual texts, including poems by Iris Clayton, that vividly represent this theme.