Sometimes GladnessSection B: Writing in ContextIdentity and BelongingTuesday October 26, 2010

Exam RequirementsRead and digest the prompt VERY carefully

Answer this section last

Possibly an image

Definitely NOT under 2 pages, aim for 3-4.

How to score a 9 or 10Demonstrates an insightful grasp of the

implications of the prompt, and perceptively explores its conceptual complexity using an appropriate strategy for dealing with it.

Achieves an assured, cohesively structured piece of writing in an appropriate form, successfully integrating, in a sophisticated way, ideas suggested by the selected text/s.

Makes fluent and effective use of language appropriate to the purpose and audience specified in the task.

The Prompt Is the overall message of your piece, what the

piece is REALLY about.

Is worth approx 1/3 of your mark

Should determine what happens in your piece – should control the action, dialogue, discussion topic, investigation, etc.

Should be examined closely for opportunities – cannot all be pre-planned content

You may be given an image alongside your prompt. Use it as an example of interpretation.

What can I pre-plan?You might have a pre-considered tone, voice,

character or setting

Your form and expression is worth approx 1/3 of your mark

Develop a sophisticated vocabulary list that compliments any of the above that you have pre-planned

Practise your chosen form – pay close attention to specific conventions

What do I need to know?Conventions of your chosen form

How to pull apart a prompt and address it in full

The IDEAS regarding Identity and Belonging that are evident in ‘Sometimes Gladness’

FormBe as clear as possible. Make it as easy for the

assessor to see your form as possible. Eg. essay of any description – give it a title and tell us where it’s published

Use language appropriate to your form. Always show don’t tell. Make it clear you know how to write in your chosen form

Keep it real. Dawe writes about real life.

ComplexityYour piece needs to show complex ideas. Try to

reduce your connection to I & B to one or 2 sentences. Are you saying something interesting? Can I take your message home and think about it/apply it to my life?

It can be helpful to think about your piece in terms of change. If imaginative: where do your characters start? What journey do they go on? What do they explore? If essay – what point are you making at the beginning? How is it explored/changed from the start to the end of your essay

The Poetry: Children Identity is shaped by childhood

Children have a special world view

Children need to be exposed to beauty in the world

Children need to be protected from corruption of a materialistic society.

The Poetry: Old ageAs people grow older they are corrupted by

consumerism

Old people are defined by losses, wisdom, disenchantment and resignation

The cycle of life – the promise of birth, the rituals of adulthood, the vagaries of old age, the impact of death

The Poetry: HumankindCorruption and the abandonment of self (and

simple human dignity

The pain generated by the social and economic betrayal of the individual and of the family (Drifters)

Powerless against time, war, passion

There is value in solitude and pain in loneliness

The Poetry: Humankind cont’dThere is value in ordinary lives

There is comedy in how we attempt to give our lives meaning

The power of human imagination

We all have common bonds. We all share moments

The Poetry: City/Suburbs/Nature The anonymity and stress of urban life

Embracing the suburbs and everyday ‘Australianisms’

Belonging to sights/sounds/smells, particularly in the suburbs

Belonging to a particular place/land

The nobility in a life lived simply

The poetry: Families, teams, religionsThe value of belonging to a group and the need

to have something to believe in

The negative impact of not knowing one’s identity making it difficult to belong.

The value and the emptiness of patriotism

Putting it all togetherPlanning should take 5 minutes and involve:

FORM – what it looks like

PROMPT – what will happen/ the message

IDEAS – about Identity and Belonging that are evident in the text

Extra literary connectionsThese should not be used as your primary

references to the text but can function as extra connections

Repetition

Personification of emotions eg. ‘gladness crooks me like an arm’

Use of domestic objects to symbolise an idea. Eg. ‘the silver web of glass in the left-hand pane’ to reflect a broken man

- SHOW your ideas. Present a rich picture of life

Practice PromptsCRISIS – A single event can change who a

person is

PLACE – Everyone is a product of their environment

RELATIONSHIPS – The people around you define who you are

BELIEFS – We are categorised by our actions rather than our words

BibliographyVCE OXFORD ENGLISH 3 & 4

Bruce Dawe: Francis Russell Matthews: Phoenix Senior English Guides