HSC English Standard Cheatsheets

Not entirely sure what your English Standard texts are about? That’s ok — we know and we’ve summarised the most important things you need to know into our English Standard Cheatsheets.

English Standard Cheatsheets

In these English Standard Cheatsheets, we explain the context of the text, what actually happens in the text, what themes you should be writing about and what an exemplar response looks like.

Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences

• The Merchant of Venice
• Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Rosemary Dobson
• Go Back to Where You Came From

To learn more about the Common Module for English Standard, read Part 1 of our Year 12 English Standard Study Guide.

Module A: Language, Identity and Culture

• Henry Lawson
• Contemporary Asian Australian Poets
• Inside My Mother

Find out what HSC markers actually want you to discuss for English Standard Module A in Part 2 of our Year 12 English Standard Study Guide.

Module B: Close Study of Literature

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Need help understanding Module B for English Standard? Read Part 3 of our Year 12 English Standard Study Guide.

Module C: The Craft of Writing

To learn more about Module C for English Standard, read Part 4 of our Year 12 English Standard Study Guide.

Looking through past English Standard HSC papers?

Doing past papers is the best way for you to learn how to write, even in high pressure exam conditions. Our HSC English experts have put together sample responses and guidelines, so that you can see what is expected for a top band mark.

2021 HSC English Standard Exam Sample Answers/Guidelines

• Paper 1
• Paper 2

2020 HSC English Standard Exam Sample Answers/Guidelines

• Paper 1

For more practice, check out this free English Standard Practice HSC Paper 1.