2016VCEEnglishexaminationreport.PDF

2016 VCE English examination report General comments The 2016 English examination assessed student achievement in the skills and outcomes indicated in the final year of the VCE English Study Design 2006–2016. It was evident that the majority of students had a clear understanding of the requirements of the examination and how to approach each section. While there were some weaknesses and faults, students generally performed well. The examination consisted of three sections. The first section (Text response) offered students the choice of two distinct topics for each of the 20 texts on the text list published by the VCAA. Students were required to respond to one topic on one text. The second section (Writing in Context) instructed students to compose a piece of writing stemming from a prompt for each of the four Contexts. Section C (Analysis of language use) required students to analyse the ways in which written and visual language were used to attempt to persuade readers about an issue in a local newspaper. Assessment was based on criteria, which were applied holistically. Scores were awarded that reflected the assessors’ judgment of the whole answer on balance, and students were ranked over the full normative range of available marks. The descriptors used for assessment are based on the criteria and are general indicators of what might reasonably be expected for the specified mark ranges in each section of the examination. Fine judgments are then made when the exact characteristics of responses for any one year are analysed. More than 40 000 students sat for the 2016 English examination, and the skills and qualities shown by the majority of students were impressive. Most were able to respond well and present three completed pieces of writing that demonstrated an understanding of the knowledge and skills required in the study. Both the quality and quantity of work produced under the timed conditions of the examination were quite sound and, at