English Units 3/4 Tutoring online or
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Module 2

Reading and Responding to Texts

Who is it for: Year 12 students who are studying VCE English Units 3 and 4

Lesson 1: Form

Lesson 2: Narrative Voice, Agenda and Perspective

Lesson 3: Inferential Reading

Lesson 4: Using and Responding to Context

Lesson 5: Criticism

Lesson 6: Your Set Text 1

Lesson 7: Your Set Text 2

Lesson 8: Analytical Writing: The Essay

Lesson 9: Examinations and Assessments

Module 3

Analysis of Argument

Who is it for: Year 12 students who are studying VCE English Units 3 and 4

Lesson 1: How to Argue Well

Lesson 2: Making Friends and Influencing People

Lesson 3: The Art of Public Speaking

Lesson 4: Writing Workshop: Speeches

Lesson 5: Campaigning Literature

Lesson 6: Advertising, Branding and Promotion

Lesson 7: Disagreeing Agreeably

Lesson 8: Disagreeing Disagreeably

Lesson 9: Examinations and Assessments

Module 4

VCE Preparation Course

Who is it for: Year 12 students who are studying VCE English Units 3 and 4

Lesson 1: Preparing for Section A

Lesson 2: Section A Essays

Lesson 3: Section A Practice Questions

Lesson 4: Preparing for Section B

Lesson 5: Section B Creative Writing

Lesson 6: Section B Practice Questions

Lesson 7: Preparing for Section C

Lesson 8: Section C Analysis

Lesson 9: Section C Practice Questions

Module 2

Reading and Responding to Texts

Lesson 1 Form

• Learn about the first half of Unit 3 of VCE English (Year 12) and how the aims, activities, and assessments in the course connect to the Area of Study, “Reading and Responding to Texts”
• Revise different text types and their language and structural features
• Review terminology including form, conventions, and affordances and constraints
• Revise the language and conventions of various text types, including the novel, play, and short story

Lesson 2 Narrative Voice, Agenda and Perspective

• Learn about the role of voice in texts as a means of framing a story and communicating varied perspectives on issues and characters
• Study extracts from texts including Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust to understand the role of tone in establishing setting
• Discuss confirmation and how authors may frustrate reader expectations in their texts
• Complete a short writing task in response to a question about the construction of voice in a school-assigned text

Lesson 3 Inferential Reading

• Learn what it means to form a “critical engagement” with one’s set texts through inferential reading strategies
• Explore inferential strategies and strengthen analytical skills through an in-depth study  of Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” 
• Learn about and practise active reading and viewing strategies

Lesson 4 Using and Responding to Context

• Revise the meaning of “context” and consider how differences between a text’s context of production and reception may influence its meaning and values
• Focus on a cinematic adaptation of the prologue of William Shakespeare’s Henry V as a case study for understanding the influence of historical context on audience understanding of textual themes and deliberate allusions
• Apply one’s enhanced knowledge of context to the analysis of one’s set texts

Lesson 5 Criticism

• Learn how to use secondary criticism to enhance one’s understanding and analysis of set texts
• Analyse examples of literary criticism and learn how to adopt their practices of clarity and economy in one’s own writing
• Conduct research into different critical responses to a set text and assemble their key points for use in a short essay response

Lesson 6 Your Set Text 1

• Focus on one’s set text for Unit 3 through consideration of its language and formal features
• Engage in self-paced activities in relation to one’s set text for Unit 3
• Engage in whole-of-class revision on general principles of reading and response to texts, including form, voice, agenda, and perspective, and inferential reading

Lesson 7 Your Set Text 2

• Review the distinct literary and cinematic techniques of Browning’s “My Duchess,” Brian Singer’s The Usual Suspects, and the Prologue of Shakespeare’s Henry V to consider the intended and unintended consequences of authorial decision-making 
• Compare successful and unsuccessful student responses in their reference to literary techniques and textual themes
• Continue scaffolding an essay on one’s set text for Unit 3 of VCE English and gather additional evidence to support one’s argument

Lesson 8 Analytical Writing: The Essay

• Review the language, structure, and purpose of an analytical essay
• Consider effective and ineffective sample thesis statements 
• Revise the structure of a body paragraph and learn how to introduce, explain, and analyse textual evidence effectively
• Complete the essay scaffold devised in previous lessons and begin drafting one’s essay in full

Lesson 9 Examinations and Assessments

• Focus on understanding the assessment breakdown of VCE English
• Consider suggestions from the VCAA on how schools may approach assessments for Units 3 and 4 of VCE English
• Describe and discuss the structure of past VCE English exams and anticipate changes and challenges in the new VCE English Study Design expected in 2024

Module 3

Analysis of Argument

Lesson 1 How to Argue Well

• Learn about the Area of Study, “Analysing Argument,” in Unit 4 of VCE English and connect the aims, activities, and assessments of this course to its key aspects
• Evaluate three case studies to determine effective strategies for strengthening one’s argument
• Discuss the three pillars of persuasion (logos, pathos, and ethos) and consider how various authors appeal to each to enhance their objective or further a specific agenda

Lesson 2 Making Friends and Influencing People

• Identify ways to build rapport in persuasive writing, including the using humour and anecdotes and exuding confidence
• Review the terms, “positioning” and “framing,” and compare their application in contemporary audio and visual texts
• Identify the use of “strawman” and “steelman” strategies to frame arguments 

Lesson 3 The Art of Public Speaking

• Focus on and practise oratorical strategies to deliver compelling speeches
• Discuss Patsy Rodenburg’s “The Actor Speaks” to improve the tone, cadence, and timbre of one’s oral delivery
• Evaluate the delivery of short student speeches to consolidate knowledge of oratorical strategies
• Draft a speech with a clear argument based on an assigned question, with an added focus on oratorical techniques to engage audiences

Lesson 4 Writing Workshop: Speeches

• Review, refine, and deliver a speech with a clear argument and attention to oratorical techniques
• Compare additional techniques to engage audiences, including the use of hooks and motifs, and employ these in one’s own speech
• Discuss VCE marking criteria for Unit 4 Outcome 2 (develop and present an oral point of view text) and engage in self-evaluation of one’s own speech

Lesson 5 Campaigning Literature

• Prepare for Section C of the VCE exam by analysing argument and language in persuasive texts
• Review the 2021 VCE exam and model responses to its questions
• Analyse the 2021 VCAA examiners’ report to identify and avoid common student mistakes
• Analyse the argument and written and visual languages of diverse campaign texts

Lesson 6 Advertising, Branding and Promotion

• Analyse the purpose, intended audience, and language of advertisements
• Review tactics employed in advertisements to build pathos and connection with audiences
• Complete an in-class writing task answering a VCE-style question on the short film, Petals of Putney

Lesson 7 Disagreeing Agreeably

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of compromise and triangulation to establish respect with an opponent and/or audience
• Focus on written and oral strategies to enable collaboration with an audience in the pursuit of agreement on a controversial topic
• Discuss the effectiveness of participants’ arguments in a debate featured in The Moral Maze

Lesson 8 Disagreeing Disagreeably

• Identify and respond effectively to the tactics of “bad faith” participants in debates 
• Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of adopting a polemical style of argumentation
• Discuss the prosodic choices employed in an example of extempore polemic from Sidney Lumet’s Network
• Compose an analysis of participant viewpoints in an online argument

Lesson 9 Examinations and Assessments

• Focus on understanding the assessment breakdown of VCE English

• Consider suggestions from the VCAA on how schools may approach assessments for Unit 4 of the VCE, “Analysing Argument”
• Compare the use of persuasive techniques in written and audiovisual texts
• Complete a practice assessment task analysing the use of argument and language in an unseen persuasive text

Module 4

VCE Preparation Course

Lesson 1 Preparing for Section A

• Learn how the course will prepare students for the VCE English exam
• Learn how students can make the most out of the course and the remaining time before the VCE English exam
• Consider test-taking strategies, including effective scanning of unseen material and time management
• Revise key concepts of textual analysis, including inferential reading and framing

Lesson 2 Section A Essays

• Revise the structure, language, and content of academic essays as a cornerstone of Section A of the VCE exam
• Study example questions from the VCE English Sample Paper and effective ways to tackle them
• Analyse model introductory and body paragraphs in response to example questions from the VCE English Sample Paper and discuss ways to improve them
• Plan and scaffold an essay in response to sample questions and one’s set text

Lesson 3 Section A Practice Questions

• Complete a practice Section A essay under timed conditions
• Engage in self and teacher-led feedback on one’s Section A practice essay
• Learn about the VCE marking process to improve one’s understanding of how to craft a high-quality essay

Lesson 4 Preparing for Section B

• Revise the aims and content of Unit 3, Area of Study 2 (Creative Texts) of the VCE English Exam
• Discuss prior school assessments that have been written according to the four framework of ideas for Unit 3, Area of Study 2 (country, protest, personal journey, and play)
• Discuss “Mentor Texts” that have formed inspiration for one’s creative writing
• Discuss effective ways to approach unseen stimuli in Section B of the VCE exam

Lesson 5 Section B Creative Writing

• Engage in freewriting to instil important principles in the creative process, such as overcoming self-consciousness and perseverance under pressure
• Review tips for writing interesting and effective short fiction pieces
• Review the key elements of and differences between plot and narrative
• Discuss the challenges of writing creative nonfiction 
• Plan and scaffold responses to different Section B practice questions

Lesson 6 Section B Practice Questions

• Complete a creative response to a Section B question under exam conditions
• Reflect on one’s performance in the mock exam and discuss steps to produce a better creative writing piece in the future

Lesson 7 Preparing for Section C

• Review Section C of the VCE English exam, “Analysis of Argument and Language,” with a particular focus on Unit 4, Area of Study 2: Analysing Argument
• Review the three pillars of rhetoric (Logos, Pathos, and Ethos) and consider how authors employ different rhetorical strategies depending on their purpose and audience
• Learn how to evaluate the effectiveness of arguments, with consideration of structure, macro- and micro-techniques, and register
• Look at a sample paper for VCE English: Section C and consider ways to answer its questions successfully

Lesson 8 Section C Analysis

• Study examiners’ comments on student performance in Section C of the 2023 VCE English and reflect on ways to achieve a high mark on this paper
• Plan and scaffold an extended critical analysis in response to a Section C practice question

Lesson 9 Section C Practice Questions 

• Complete a response to a Section C practice question under timed conditions
• Engage in a peer-to-peer workshop to give and receive constructive feedback on one’s response to a Section C practice question