November Update

So I’ve left my job at the law firm. Don’t know what I’m going to do. Got 3-4 months until next semester.

In the meantime, I’ve got a few new students for the 2010 HSC:

• English Standard
• English Advanced
• English Extension 1: Genre – Crime Writing
• English Extension 2
• Biology

So I’ll be tutoring these texts:

• Peter Skrzynecki – tutored in 2009
• Richard III and Looking for Richard – new!
• The Great Gatsby and Browning Poems – new!
• Hamlet – tutored in 2009
• Cloudstreet – new!
• Fiftieth Gate – kind of tutored in 2009.
• The Justice Game – tutored in 2008 and 2009.
• The Rear Window – new!
• The Real Inspector Hound – new!
• Anil’s Ghost – new!

So yes, expect some posts coming up on the above texts as we go through them.

Past HSC and Practise Questions for English Extension 1: Genre – Crime Writing

Here is a collection of the past HSC questions for Crime Writing (previously Crime Fiction).

Past HSC Questions

2008:

Crime Writing explores the unravelling of mystery from different angles.

Write an essay in which you evaluate the extent to which this is true.

In your response you must refer to TWO prescribed texts AND at least TWO texts of your own choosing.

Blade Runner: Context – Quick Questions

Here is a quick breakdown of the contextual issues  and styles reflected in Blade Runner. Rather than give you straight out answers, I’ve constructed a series of leading questions (with links to where you can read up on the answer). You can use this as the basis for your notes on Blade Runner’s context.

Of particular importance (should definitely discuss it in your essay) are environmental issues, capitalism and film noir. The others are just extra contextual issues that you can add in (for bonus points, if you will).

General

1. In what time was Blade Runner composed? Answer.

My Random Insights (from Life) into HSC English Concepts

It seems like a lot of students tend to hate English because the ideas may sometimes seem stupid (too simple) or insignificant (too complicated and useless).

But it’s interesting to see these same ideas later crop up in unexpected ways. Here’s a few ways that I have “encountered” the English AOS and Modules in the past:

Wicked: The Musical

I saw this musical play 3 weeks ago. It was fantastic! I loved the sets, though the ending did seem a bit contrived and soap drama-esque. The play is actually based on a novel by Gregory Maguire.

As an (unofficial) prequel to The Wizard of Oz, it attempts to explain the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West’s “wickedness”.

Without spoiling it, I’d like to point out that this could be a useful related text for Belonging. There are definitely ideas about belonging/not belonging.

Past HSC and Practice Questions for Advanced Module C: History and Memory

Here’s a quick list of some questions for History and Memory. I haven’t had time to do an analysis on it yet.

Past HSC Questions:

2009:

Analyse the ways history and memory generate compelling and unexpected insights.

2008:

Compare how the texts you have studied emphasise the complexities evident in the interplay of history and memory.

2007:

How have the texts studied in this elective challenged your ways of thinking about ‘History and Memory’?