I have written a range of “sample” responses according to the specifications in the VCE English Language Study Design (2024-2028).
A smart structure is the key to a 45-minute polished response that ticks all boxes.
A smart structure makes the features (listed below) prominent and prioritises the meaning of the text. Such a response contextualises these features in the most insightful and productive way possible.
In your response, you must minimise repetition, and avoid listing and summarising the techniques. Above all, you must avoid glib and generalised comments.
According to the VCAA Year 12 Exam Sample you will write an analytical commentary on the language features of a specified text. “In your response, you are expected to:
- demonstrate your ability to use relevant descriptive and metalinguistic tools
- demonstrate familiarity with the topics of Unit 3, ‘Language variation and social purpose’, and the topics of Unit 4, ‘Language variation and identity’.
In your response, you should comment on:
- function(s), purpose(s) and intent(s) of the text
- situational and cultural context(s) influencing and affecting the text
- the influence of register, tenor and audience
- relevant characteristics and features of language in the text.
The functions refers primarily to the “six” functions: referential; emotive; conative; phatic; metalinguistic; poetic. (Roman Jakobson)
The purpose(s) refers to the many reasons a text is created. A text can have more than one purpose. There is no set list. Area Study 3 and 4 draw heavily on social purpose and face needs.
The intent(s) refers to the addresser’s intentions and message.
The situational context “refers to the extralinguistic circumstances that influence language use, including “field, tenor, language mode, setting and text type”.
The cultural context refers to the “extralinguistic circumstances that will influence language use, including the values, attitudes and beliefs of the speaker, writer and/or interlocutor(s) or audience.”
The intent(s) refers to the addresser’s intentions and message
The register “involves language variation that is defined by use. The register involves “features across a range of subsystems”. Area Study 3: Informal and Formal Language: (lexicology, syntax, semantics, discourse)
The tenor “refers to the relationships between participants in a language activity and relates especially to social distance”.
The tenor (tone and style) relates to and influences face needs and Area Study 3 and Area Study 4
The intent(s) refers to the addresser’s intentions and message.
Relevant characteristics and features of language in the text: stylistic features: lexical and syntactic patterning devices.
- A range of commentaries (Study Design 2024-2028)
- Return to our Welcome Page: Overview of English Works Notes and Resources