Contact
Head of Department: Laura Craven
Email: lcraven@barker.nsw.edu.au
Year 11
2 units for each of Preliminary and HSC.
Exclusions: English Advanced; English Extension.
Course Description
In the Preliminary English Standard course students explore the ways events, experiences, ideas and processes are represented in and through texts. In the HSC English Standard course, students will learn to respond to and compare a wide variety of texts in a range of contexts in order to be confident and effective communicators.
English Standard is designed for students to reflect on and demonstrate the effectiveness of texts for different audiences and purposes. Students are encouraged to develop their skills in independent, collaborative and reflective learning. This course is typically chosen by students who prefer accessible and contemporary texts rather than Shakespeare and classical literary texts. Normally students who score 74% or below in Year 10 English would consider choosing Standard English.
Main Topics Covered
Preliminary Course
The course has two sections. The first section is common to the Standard and Advanced courses is undertaken through a module called ‘Reading to Write: Transition to Senior English’. Students explore texts and develop skills in synthesis organised around the skills of writing. The common content comprises 40% of the course content. The second section is content specific to the Standard course is undertaken through two electives in which students explore and examine texts and analyse aspects of meaning. The electives comprise 60% of the content.
HSC Course
The course has two sections. The first section is the HSC Common Content - 'Texts and the Human Experience' - this is common content to both the HSC Standard and the HSC Advanced courses where students analyse and explore texts and apply skills in synthesis. The second section - the Modules - is content that emphasises particular aspects of shaping meaning and demonstration of the effectiveness of texts for different audiences, purposes and contexts. Students study one elective from each of the three Modules A, B and C.
Assessment
In Year 11 and Year 12 Standard English, there is one assessment per term. Students are required to write in a range of forms including imaginative, discursive, persuasive, reflective and informative. However, the conventional essay remains a key form of writing. A variety of modes are assessed including reading, writing, viewing, representing, speaking and listening.