YOUR GUIDE TO SUCCEEDING

IN STANDARD ENGLISH
HSC COWORKS
MODULE C: THE CRAFT OF WRITING

WHAT’S SO ‘CRAFTY’ ABOUT WRITING?

Just about anyone can sing, right? I bet you’ve belted out a few tunes in the shower or
sung along to the national anthem at a major event. Maybe you’ve even done some
karaoke in your time. We all have the ability to string some notes together, but to truly
sing, in a four-chair turn on ‘The Voice’ kind of way, is a craft, a developed skill. Everyone
starts out as a beginner, even the vocalists we admire the most. The thing they share in
common is that they all committed to the craft, to a practice of developing a skill through
persistent training.

Writing is exactly the same.

We all dabble with writing and all of us can string a few words together. We do it every
day. But ‘real’ writing that moves us, grips us, inspires us, challenges us, is masterful,
beautiful, skilful. The writer has practiced, trained, experimented, drafted, redrafted,
researched, emulated. They’ve faced feedback, sometimes in the way of rejection,
criticism and failure. Yet, they continue to develop their writing.

In other words, ‘real’ writing involves craftsmanship. Module C provides you with an
opportunity to work on this craft, and for all English students to “strengthen and extend
their knowledge, skills and confidence as writers” (rubric).
WHY DO I NEED TO DEVELOP MY SKILL
AS A WRITER?
We live in a dynamic, innovative age.

The world does not need individuals who can compose, rote learn and regurgitate one
strong piece of writing. The world needs flexible, articulate and creative thinkers;
individuals who are capable of adapting to a wide range of contexts and reaching a wide
range of audiences. You need to be one of those individuals.

No matter which industry ladder you choose to climb once this HSC journey is behind
you, chances are, at some stage, you’re going to deliver a sales pitch, a report, an
impassioned and persuasive speech, perhaps even online content: blogs, website copy,
taglines. Maybe you’ll need to write creatively and figuratively to capture audiences
through clever marketing campaigns. Who knows? What I do know for sure is that you’re
going to need to write. The better your skill, the better your ability to communicate
ideas and shape the future.

This Module has one purpose and one purpose only. It exists to help you to make yourself
a better writer.

No one can achieve this for you, so get ready to stretch and challenge yourself. The best
writing happens outside of your comfort zone.
BREAKING DOWN THE RUBRIC
Let’s break down a few key snippets from the NESA rubric for Mod C.

Firstly, you will be expected to:

“write for a range of authentic audiences and purposes to convey ideas with power
and increasing precision.”

Gone are the days where students would prepare a narrative and mangle it enough to
make it suit the stimulus provided on exam day. If you’re writing for a variety of
audiences and purposes, naturally you’re going to need proficiency in your ability to
skilfully convey ideas through a variety of writing styles. Don’t worry, we’ll cover those
styles later in this document.

“examine how writers of complex texts use language creatively and imaginatively for
a range of purposes, to describe the world around them, evoke emotion, shape a
perspective or to share a vision. Through the study of texts drawn from enduring,
quality texts of the past as well as from recognised contemporary works, students
appreciate, analyse and assess the importance and power of language.”

Just like any other skill you want to master, the best starting place is to examine how
successful writers have mastered the craft so you can apply the same techniques in your
own writing. You have to do your research and the best research is done by reading and
analysing quality texts. Language is obviously the writer’s key tool and you need to be
able to examine how language is moulded and shaped depending upon the writer’s style
and intended purpose/audience.

“Through a considered appraisal of, and imaginative engagement with these texts,
students reflect on the complex and recursive process of writing to further develop
their ability to apply their knowledge of textual forms and features in their own
sustained and cohesive compositions.”

The next step is taking your acquired knowledge and putting it into practice in your own
writing. Notice the word ‘practice’. If you really want to develop the craft of writing you
need to train. Daily. The more you train and the more feedback you acquire, the better
your writing will become. This writing needs to be done in stages: Pre-writing, drafting,
revising and editing.
 “During the pre-writing stage, students generate and explore ideas through
discussion and speculations. Throughout the stages of drafting and revising, students
experiment with a range of language forms and features for example imagery,
rhetoric, voice, characterisation, point of view, dialogue and tone. Students consider
purpose and audience to carefully shape meaning.

During the editing stages students apply the conventions of syntax, spelling,
punctuation and grammar appropriately and effectively for publication. Students
have opportunities to work independently and collaboratively to reflect, refine and
strengthen their own skills in producing crafted, imaginative, discursive, persuasive
and informative texts.”

WHY ARE THERE PRESCRIBED TEXTS FOR MOD C?

“Students appreciate, examine and analyse at least two challenging short prescribed
texts as well as texts from their own wide reading, as models and stimulus for the
development of their own ideas and written expression”

In this module, your teacher will select two texts for you to study from the prescribed
list. You will study these texts in depth to get a sophisticated understanding of how each
composer powerfully and purposefully crafts language to shape their ideas. You will be
required to emulate some of these techniques in your own writing to develop your own
mastery.
WHAT WRITING STYLES DO I NEED TO PRACTICE?
The rubric identified four specific writing styles you should become very familiar with
through this module, so make sure you know the unique features of each style:

Imaginative:
This category covers your creative texts. It could encompass a range of forms including
short stories, poetry. You should be very familiar with these texts as you’ve been
studying these styles in your English lessons right through junior and senior English,
especially the Preliminary Common Module: Reading to Write. When writing
imaginatively it’s important to incorporate all of those figurative and descriptive
language techniques you’ve been studying. Your success in the imaginative realm will
depend upon your ability to develop an authentic sense of place as well as believable and
relatable characters.

Persuasive:
Put simply, this is writing that aims to convince the reader to take on a particular
perspective on an argument or idea. Most commonly, if you’re writing persuasively,
you’re probably scripting up an academic or personal essay, or speech, depending upon
the context and audience. When writing in this style, you need to work on your ability to
craft a unique voice, so that you’re developing a good balance between creative and
analytical writing.
Informative:
As the name implies, this is writing that seeks to inform a reader about a particular
topic. As such, you’ll usually be required to include a significant level of detail and the
appropriate language and jargon related to the topic you’re discussing. The style is
factual in nature and required evidence to support the information.

Discursive:
This new style of writing appeared in the revised syllabus and has caused many an
English student to ask, ‘what is discursive writing?’. Good question. Let’s start with what
it’s not. Discursive writing is not argumentative, nor is it imaginative. This text type
encompasses a variety of different forms, with the purpose of provoking thought in the
reader and engaging them in an idea, typically by presenting multiple perspectives on a
topic (which differentiates it from persuasive writing, which only focusses on one
perspective). Discursive text types tend to be reflective and more openly subjective in
nature. They include forms such as creative non-fiction, travel blogs, discussion essays,
speeches and personal essays. The key to the discursive form is the notion of various
perspectives.

The exciting element of discursive writing is the flexibility in this form. It can be
humorous in tone, or serious. Writers can integrate figurative devices if they wish as
well as a mix of formal and informal language.
HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED IN THE HSC?
You will be assessed on Module C in Paper 2 of the HSC examination. This is a new
Module, so it comes with new types of questions. Luckily, the nice people at NESA have
released some sample questions so you can get a feel for the new questions styles you
may be asked to respond to:

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
1. Type A (1-part totalling 20 marks)

Part A of this question is not too dissimilar from previous comprehensive question styles
we’ve seen in Paper One of the HSC. Your success in this response would depend upon
your skill in textual analysis (your ability to know how the composer uses various
techniques to create a specific effect. Part B of this question is a straightforward
imaginative writing task, but you would need to ensure that you read the question
carefully so that your response addressed the components of the question. It would be
impossible to attempt to write a ‘pre-prepared’ piece of creative writing, so be ready to
think imaginatively on the spot.
2. Type B (2 parts totalling 20 marks)

This question is also split into two parts. This question contains a stimulus item and,
unlike Type A above, the student is given a choice regarding the specific form of the text
they create (as long as it follows the specific instructions in the question, in this instance
requiring the student to incorporate at least ONE example of the figurative language.

This question style also requires the student to reflect upon how their style has been
shaped and influenced by their study of the prescribed texts and what they have learned
about figurative language through this study. In order to do well in this question you
would need to be clear about the specific process you undertake to shape meaning in
your own writing.
3. Type C (2 parts totalling 20 marks)

This question is also split into two parts. Part A question contains a stimulus item and
asks for a specific text type. Notice that the markers are not looking for a complete
narrative, only a segment. You would need to use the mark allocation to guide how much
time you would allow for this question.

Part B of this question assesses your ability to evaluate your own creative choices and
how well you managed to compose a particular idea through the language and stylistic
features you implemented. In a similar manner to the other questions above, it would be
impossible to write a pre-prepared response to this question. In order to do well you
would need to practice the skill of evaluating your own writing.

It’s important that you’re familiar with each of the above question styles and that you
are spending some time practicing each one. This is the best training technique for
success.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PREPARE AND PRACTICE MY
SKILLS IN MODULE C?

Here at HSC CoWorks, there’s no reason that you won’t be ready for your Module C
assessments and examination if you’ve followed the program. As you read above, the
purpose of this module is to improve your proficiency and skill as a writer. If you intend
to make this happen, you need to train. Here are five opportunities available to you
right now:

1. Planning Tools
Success will inevitably depend upon solid planning. Use the planning pads as a
resource to determine how you will go about attacking this module to the best
of your ability. Talk over your plan with a coach. They will help you to
recognise the strengths and areas for development in your writing so you
know where to focus your time and energy.

2. The Challenge Feed

There is a constant stream of challenges that filter to you via the Challenge
Feed for this Module. This is an excellent training ground. Attack these
challenges enthusiastically and use the feedback to enhance your writing
technique.

3. Video Lessons and Online Resources

Have you checked out the Creative Writing Video Lesson? Have you explored
the writing resources available through the online lessons? Be sure to take
the time to check these out and use the hints and tips when creating your own
compositions.

4. Essay Building Templates

5. Online Submissions

We have a team of experienced HSC markers ready and eager to provide you
with feedback to improve your writing and enhance your style. Consider
submitting the formal and informal tasks you complete at school through the
website to take advantage of this valuable feedback.