Area of Study

1. Area of Study Belonging

2. Paper 1: Area of Study Paper 1 comprises 40% of your Higher School Certificate Examination mark • Section I (15 marks) • Responding to unseen texts • Section II (15 marks) • Writing – composing • Section III (15 marks) • Writing – integrated response

3. What is an Area of Study? From the Prescriptions document: • “Students explore and examine relationships between language and text, and the interrelationships among texts.” • “They examine closely the individual qualities of texts while considering the texts’ relationships to the wider context of the Area of Study.” • “They take into account whether aspects such as context, purpose and register, text structures, stylistic features, grammatical features and vocabulary are appropriate to the particular text.”

5. What are perceptions? What is the difference between perceptions and ideas? --≥Perception refers to the interplay of recognition and interpretation and is influenced by our preconceived ideas, memories, experiences and senses. It can alter and even distort how we view the notion of belonging.

6. So… • Perceptions are… -our recognition and interpretation of an idea. -influenced by our context and personal experiences. • Ideas are… -concepts/ our understanding of an abstract concept. -influenced by our perceptions and context.

7. FOUR IMPORTANT TERMS • IDENTITY • The state or fact of being the same one as described • The sense of self, providing sameness and continuity in personality over time • An instance or point of sameness or likeness • RELATIONSHIPS • A connection, association or involvement • An emotional or other connection between people • A romantic or sensual involvement • ACCEPTANCE • Favourablereception • The act of assenting or believing • Belief in something, agreement • UNDERSTANDING • A state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people • Mutual agreement • Knowledge or familiarity with a particular thing

8. Also remember… It may be possible for an individual to both ‘belong’ and ‘not belong’ to a place, group, community, and the larger world? Think about the consequences associated with having an ambivalent ‘sense of belonging’ to some person, thing, place, idea. How does this link to Peter Skrzynecki’s poetry?

9. What is meant by enriching a community or group? -Making their experience of belonging positive, or contributing to their sense of belonging rather than alienation. -For example, in regards to the immigrants experience of a new country, the individual can choose to enrich an immigrants sense of belonging through their understanding or acceptance of the community the migrant comes from. What is meant by challenging a group or community? -If an individual only sees flaws, or resists a community that can challenge their notion of belonging. -A sense of belonging can also be challenged through undermining, questioning values, opposition, division, defiance. For example, in Immigrant Chronicle young Peter often challenges the beliefs of the father by questioning his values., he is the child who rejects his cultural heritage

10. Why is ‘time’ an important notion when discussing belonging and attitudes to belonging? Birth- childhood Adolescence Young Adult Adult Senior/ death The way attitudes to belonging are modified over time: Skrzynecki by the end of anthology has come to accept the call of his cultural heritage  The prophetic last four lines of ‘Postcards’ signify that although Skryznecki denies emphatically the call of his birthplace and his cultural heritage, he will always be connected to Europe; communicating his reconciliation with his Polish/ Ukrainian identity and legacy, and his acceptance that he does belong.

11. Barriers which prevent belonging  Leaving your birthplace at the age of five: too young to have identified with the place and its culture  Being the child of migrants who talk of a place you have no memory of Prejudice and detention Denial and rejection Perceptions

12. Acceptance Affiliation Affinity Alienation Antipathy Association Attachment Disaffection Disenfranchisement Fellowship Identity Inclusion Insecurity Kinship Loyalty Relationship Understanding Developing a Belonging Vocabulary

13. Not Belonging • You cannot consider the concept of belonging without considering what it means not to belong.

14. Considering Belonging Further • What does it mean to belong to a gender, group, place or community? • What does it mean to belong within a relationship? • What is cultural belonging? • What is historical belonging? • How does our concept of belonging change throughout our lives? • Does the concept of belonging mean the same thing to everyone? • What are the links between belonging and identity? • Why do people want to belong? • Why do groups want people to belong? • Does everyone want to belong? • Is belonging always a positive thing? • How do we show that we belong? • What are the consequences of belonging or not belonging?

15. Section III • You are required to respond to a question that will require an extended response. • You will need to refer to the prescribed text and a variety of supplementary texts.

16. Requirements • This section assesses how well you can: • respond to a question and compose an extended piece of text for a particular purpose, audience and context • articulate your interpretation of how the concept of belonging is communicated and shaped in and amongst texts • communicate your knowledge and understanding of the relationships between language, texts and context • demonstrate and explain how the concept of belonging is conveyed in your prescribed text and a variety of other texts of your own choosing

17. Supplementary Texts • Also ‘Related Texts’ or ‘Texts of your own choosing’ • You should strive to prepare three supplementary texts for the Higher School Certificate Examination. • ‘Stronger responses made discerning choices in their related material by using texts which enabled them to comprehensively engage with the demands of the question. These responses discussed the features of these texts in a skilful manner by concentrating on the qualities unique to their selected medium and integrating these into their discussion of the core text and question requirements.’ (NSW BOS, 2007, p.7)

18. Template for Analysing Supplementary Texts

19. Developing a Thesis • A thesis or line of argument should reflect your perspective and understanding of what you have been studying in relation to belonging. • To develop a thesis, begin by brainstorming your ideas about belonging. • Bring together the key ideas and express them in one or two concise sentences. • Your thesis should link closely with your prescribed text and supplementary material.

20. Examples of Theses • When your cultural identity is marginalised you can feel dislocated and displaced, and believe that you do not belong to your culture or the dominant culture. • Our search for who we are is fuelled by a need to find a place in the world where we belong. • The need to belong to a group or a community shapes our behaviour, attitudes and actions. • The basic human need to be accepted and belong can cloud our judgments and direct our actions. • We search for a place to belong, not realising that it is our perceptions and attitudes and not the place that allow us to belong.

21. Using Your Thesis • The question must drive and shape your response. It should influence your thesis. • Use your thesis or line of argument to drive and shape the response rather than the texts. This will improve the level of synthesis in your response. • You should use the prescribed text and texts of your own choosing to develop, support and even challenge your thesis. • Don’t resort to using simple, brief links at the beginning or end of a paragraph. Integrate your connections throughout your response.

22. Tips for Section III • Be prepared to write in a variety of text types, such as: • a formal essay • an interview transcript • a speech • a personal reflection • a feature article • Know your texts well. You should have a good working knowledge of your prescribed text and your supplementary texts so that you can respond to a variety of questions on belonging. • Underline text titles when you use them.

23. Sample Questions • Claude Levi Strauss once said, “Being human signifies, for each one of us, belonging to a class, a society, a country, a continent and a civilisation.” Explain this statement with close reference to your prescribed text and a variety of supplementary texts of your own choosing. • Belonging is not always a good thing. What disadvantages are there for individuals and society in belonging? In your answer refer to your prescribed text and at least two texts of your own choosing. • ‘The need to belong marks us as human and it is such connections that lead to fulfilment.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? In your answer refer to your prescribed text and at least two texts of your own choosing. • ‘The groups to which we belong define who we are.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? In your answer refer to your prescribed text and at least two texts of your own choosing. • ‘Belonging doesn’t just happen; it involves many factors and experiences in order to feel that you truly belong.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? In your answer refer to your prescribed text and at least two texts of your own choosing.

24. Section I • You are required to closely explore, deconstruct and identify how the concept of belonging is communicated in each text.

25. Web Page Graphic Comic Recount Photograph Advertisement Family Tree Speech Short Story Poem Song Lyrics Drama Text Interview News Report Feature Article Picture Book Extract Diary Entry Text Types

26. Textual Analysis Framework • Purpose • Target Audience • Word Choice • Structure • Poetic Techniques/Figurative Language • Style and Tone • Visual Literacy

27. Language: Abstract or concrete? Loaded with emotion or reason? Do any words have other connotations? Modality: Is the language forceful (high modality) or tentative (low modality)? Punctuation The use of imagery to evoke meaning Sound: Have particular vowel or consonant sounds been used to create a particular effect? Figurative language Emotive Language Tone Structure Person: first person (‘I’, ‘we’), second person (‘you’) or third person (‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’)? Register Repetition Idioms Irony Analysing Prose Texts

28. Analysing Visual Texts • What objects are used and how are they presented? • Size • Setting • Colour: Does it suggest a particular meaning? • Lighting • Positioning of objects • Vectors: Are there any directional lines (vectors) in the picture? These lines help our eyes to establish a reading path. • Body language • Camera angle • Is the character’s gaze (direction of the eyes) of any significance? • Symbolism

29. Understanding Context • Context is the way a text is composed and responded to within the following frameworks: • Historical • Social • Personal • Cultural • Workplace • A text’s context may influence the ways in which it represents the concept of belonging.

30. Analysing Texts – Types of Questions • How does the text represent the concept of belonging? • What type of belonging is represented in the text? • What language features, structures and techniques has the composer used to communicate the concept of belonging? • Which two texts communicate the concept of belonging most effectively and why? (When answering questions like this you should also mention any other texts and assess why they are less effective.) • How do the language modes and features presented in the text further shape your understanding of the concept of belonging? • Identify connections between the texts. Remember that ‘how’ implies that you should refer to techniques!

31. Sample Texts Poem: First lesson The thing to be remembered about parents is, they’re people. A child has to keep this in mind. They are dragon-slayers, bent on improbable rescues. Scratch any parent, you find Someone chalk full of hope and promises, Believing change is a threat – Like your first date, like your first bicycle It took months to get. Walk in a strange woods, they warn you about snakes there, Climb, and they fear you’ll fall. Books, friends, or swimming in deep water – Parents mistrust them all. Elders and the worriers. It is difficult for them To learn what they must learn; How you have a future to belong to and very likely, For a while, will not live in their past. Phyllis McGinley Cartoon: Acceptance Mark Stivers Image: Belonging Sarah Jack

32. Tips for Section I • Be aware of time • Consider the allocated marks • Read the texts carefully • Look for key words in the questions • Address the questions in your responses (and be careful when there are multiple parts to a question) • Structure your answers clearly • Take care with your written expression and strive to use sophisticated language • You should review literary terms and techniques in preparation for this section

33. Time Allocation All responses should link back to the question and utilise fluent written expression.

34. Effective Responses • Closely address the question in a clear opening sentence • Expand and develop your response (consider the mark value and assume that you will need to provide one key point or argument for each mark) • For each point or argument, provide a short quote • Link back to the question

35. Section II • You are required to demonstrate your understanding of the concept of belonging by composing a piece of text for a particular audience, purpose and context.

36. Criteria • You will be assessed on your ability to: • communicate ideas which sustain a focus on belonging • use stylistic devices appropriate to audience, purpose and context • use a range of language features to influence meaning and response • demonstrate control of expression and conventions of form or text type • link directly to the question • produce a personal response

37. Text Types • You may be asked to compose: • a narrative, feature article, speech, letter, interview, journal entry, script, review, monologue or report • a text based on one of the concepts presented in Section I of the exam • e.g. you might be asked to use an image or graphic as a stimulus on which to base a composition

38. Band 6 Compositions • To receive a mark in the top band, you will need to: • demonstrate an insightful understanding of the concept of belonging • develop ideas in a sophisticated manner • demonstrate a highly developed ability to use language features and stylistic devices appropriate to purpose, audience and context which influence meaning and response • skilfully describe an image or graphic if used as a stimulus

39. Tips for Section II • Plan • Reject the obvious and avoid clichés • Write in the specified form and be sure of the purpose and audience • Use sophisticated language – you should strive to use a rich vocabulary • Show off – you want to show your expertise • Avoid the offensive • Avoid swearing – it is unsophisticated • Use a variety of language features and structures • Never ‘write down’ to your audience • Make sure an aspect of belonging is clearly delineated in your composition • Avoid writing about violence, abuse or teenage angst – you run the risk of trivialising them • Write what you know • Write something you would like to read

40. Preparing • Go into the examination with some scenarios in mind • Think about possible characters or concepts relating to belonging • Practise writing under exam conditions

41. Remember… • Do not try to write too much. You have 40 minutes and the key is quality, not quantity. • Keep plots simple. You do not have time to weave plots involving three or four complex characters and multiple complications. • To communicate effectively, grammar counts!

42. Sample Writing Tasks • Write a piece that reflects the concept of belonging for their local community magazine. • Use one of the following quotations as the focal point for a piece of creative writing: • ‘Why do I feel so alienated? I want to conform, but…’ • ‘Despite where I have been, it is my future that I look forward to, now that I have found this new land of prosperity.’ • ‘As she looked back at the video, she wondered how she had ever been that person, ever actually done that.’ • ‘Every moment we hope to belong but are never sure if we do.’ • You have been asked to speak to the 2010 Year 12 class about the following topic: ‘Belonging is crucial to surviving and thriving in life.’ Write the transcript of your presentation.

43. Final Advice • Use your teacher as a resource. • Familiarise yourself with the syllabus. • Complete as many practice papers and questions as possible. • Practise writing in 40 minute intervals. • Keep an eye on the clock in your final examination. • Make use of helpful websites (such as the NSW HSC Online website, which can be found at: http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/english/).

44. Any questions?