This document provides information about the text requirements for the HSC English courses, including Standard English, Advanced English, and English as a Second Language. For Standard English, students must closely study at least four different types of prescribed texts, with one text coming from each of the following categories: prose fiction, drama, poetry, and nonfiction/film/media. They must also read a wide range of additional related texts. Advanced English requires the close study of at least five different types of prescribed texts, including one Shakespearean drama, prose fiction, drama or film, poetry, and nonfiction. Like Standard, it also requires additional wide reading. English as a Second Language requires the close study of at

1. Where can you help?
Tend to think literary critique – creative a learned skill as well – all of these can provide great
additional texts as well and the more they read the better the comprehension skills as they
have been exposed to a greater depth of material
Markers and teachers appreciate risk taking and the flow/beauty of language ( a simple story
told in scintillating fashion)
Also any ‘critical’ response has in it an aspect of the creative – the thoughts of the individual
This is Stages 1-6 and beyond – we want to capture them as life long learners and readers
PAST this thing we call the HSC
 Variety – narrative structure, post modern, various genres (these are critical for
choices in their own creative, eg Fantasy or Romance) – for example, science fiction
and the use of allegory are workable
 Culture – other cultures have different artistic ‘norms’ – Japanese crime fiction,
anime, graphic novels
o No Man’s Land*
o Green Dragon
o Osama*
o Tsotsi*
 Openings – closings - how does a text capture their and thus the reader’s attention
o Looking for Alaska
 Eclectic – if we ask them to write from what they know, they need to see an eclectic
range of text types and styles – reading is paramount
 Texts that use flashback, dual narrative structures, blend prose and graphic - all
extend their potential style
o 10 PM Question
o Havoc/Malice
o The Collector
o An Abundance of Katherines
o Counting by 7’s
 Settings – narratives with powerful setting/context – this building!
o Tomorrow When the War Began
o Ghost in the Shell
o The Martian Chronicles
o Night train
 Characters – who do they/we remember? Why? Look at how we came to ‘enjoy’
them or become engaged by them
o The Hunger Games
o Mister Creature
o The Running Man
o Stargirl
o Percy Jackson
 Texts that ‘value’ other points of view – students may not realise the unique nature of
a number of the above, or
o The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
o I’m Not Scared
o Huck Finn
o D. H. Lawrence
o Tennessee Williams
o Black Chicks Talking

2. o The danger of a single story | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
 Short stories are an entry point for many
o Ray Bradbury – Sound of Thunder
o Tim Winton
o “Fingers” from “The Loaded Dice”
o Death by Scrabble
 Scripts
o The Club
o Brothers
o Bloodrock
o Spurboard
o Angles In America
o The Glass Menagerie
ADDED – after the talk I looked through some of my material for students with dyslexia and
the two ‘sites’ groups I use follow – they are American but I find them useful here as a
starting point – hope they help
1 The Yale Centre for Dyslexia & Creativity - dyslexia.yale.edu/
1.
2.
2 University of Mighigan - dyslexiahelp.umich.edu
This w as has a vast list of texts for allgrades w hich Ifind extremely useful – I have them for all readers

3. HSC English (Standard)courserequirements
Text requirements:
• the close study of at least FOUR TYPES OF PRESCRIBED TEXT, one drawn from
EACH of the following categories:
– prose fiction
– drama
– poetry
– nonfiction or film or media or multimedia texts
• a wide range of additional related texts and textual forms.
The course has two sections and the requirements listed above apply to both sections.
Section 1 Section 2
Content common to the Standard and
Advanced courses where students analyse
and explore texts and apply skills in synthesis.
The HSC common content consists of one
Area of Study common to the HSC Standard
and Advanced courses.
Modules which emphasise particular aspects
of shaping meaning and demonstration of the
effectiveness of texts for different audiences
and purposes.
Students are required to choose one elective
from each of Modules A, B and C.
Study in the HSC course requires close study of particular texts, supported by students’
own wide reading.
In order to satisfy course requirements, a different type of prescribed text must be
studied in the Area of Study and each of the three modules.

4. HSC English (Advanced) course requirements
Text requirements:
• the close study of at least FIVE TYPES OF PRESCRIBED TEXT, one drawn from
EACH of the following categories:
– Shakespearean drama
– prose fiction
– drama or film
– poetry
– nonfiction or media or multimedia texts
• a wide range of additional related texts and textual forms.
The course has two sections and the requirements listed above apply to both sections.
Section 1 Section 2
Content common to the Standard and
Advanced courses where students analyse
and explore texts and apply skills in synthesis.
The HSC common content consists of one
Area of Study common to the HSC Standard
and Advanced courses.
Modules which emphasise particular aspects
of shaping meaning and representation,
questions of textual integrity, and ways in which
texts are valued.
Students are required to choose one elective
from each of Modules A, B and C.
Study in the HSC course requires close study of particular texts, supported by students’
own wide reading.
In order to satisfy course requirements, a different type of prescribed text must be
studied in the Area of Study and each of the three modules.

5. HSC English (ESL) course requirements
Text requirements:
• the close study of at least THREE TYPES OF PRESCRIBED TEXT drawn from:
– prose fiction
– drama
– poetry
– nonfiction
– film or media or multimedia texts
• a wide range of additional related texts and textual forms.
The course has two sections and the requirements listed above apply to both sections.
Section 1 Section 2
Language Study within an Area of Study
where students reinforce and extend their
language skills and apply skills in synthesis.
Language Study within an Area of Study
comprises 50% of the content and it consists
of one prescribed Area of Study.
Modules which emphasise particular aspects
of shaping meaning and demonstration of the
effectiveness of texts for different audiences
and purposes.
Students are required to choose one elective
from each of the two modules. The modules
comprise 50% of the content.
In order to satisfy course requirements, two different types of prescribed text must be
studied in the Area of Study and a third type of text must be studied in Module A.