sylabus terms

Question 1

Aesthetic

Answer 1

A sense of beauty or an appreciation of artistic expression.

Question 2

Analyse

Answer 2

Consider in detail for the purpose of finding meaning or relationships, and identifying patterns, similarities and differences.

Question 3

Appreciation

Answer 3

The act of discerning quality and value of literary texts.

Question 4

Attitudes

Answer 4

An outlook or a specific feeling about something. Our values underlie our attitudes. Attitudes can be expressed by what we say, do and wear.

Question 5

Audience

Answer 5

The group of readers, listeners or viewers that the writer, designer, filmmaker or speaker is addressing. Audience includes students in the classroom, an individual, the wider community, review writers, critics and the implied audience.

Question 6

Author

Answer 6

The composer or originator of a work (for example, a novel, film, website, speech, essay, autobiography).

Question 7

Context

Answer 7

The environment in which a text is responded to or created. Context can include the general social, historical and cultural conditions in which a text is responded to and created (the context of culture) or the specific features of its immediate environment (context of situation). The term is also used to refer to the wording surrounding an unfamiliar word that a reader or listener uses to understand its meaning.

Question 8

Convention

Answer 8

An accepted practice that has developed over time and is generally used and understood, for example, the use of specific structural aspects of texts such as in report writing with sections for introduction, background, discussion and recommendations. Conventions can be techniques, features or elements that belong to a genre. In order to belong to a particular genre, a text should adhere to, abide by or follow the conventions of that genre.

Question 9

Digital technologies

Answer 9

The use of digital resources to effectively find, analyse, create, communicate, and use information in a digital context and incorporates the hardware of mobile phones, cameras, tablets, laptops and computers and the software to power these devices.

Question 10

Digital texts

Answer 10

Audio, visual or multimodal texts produced through digital or electronic technology, which may be interactive and include animations and hyperlinks. Examples of digital texts include DVDs, websites and e-literature.

Question 11

Evaluate

Answer 11

Evaluation of an issue or information that includes considering important factors and available evidence in making judgement that can be justified.

Question 12

Figurative language

Answer 12

Word groups/phrases used in a way that differs from the expected or everyday usage. They are used in a non-literal way for particular effect
(for example, simile – ‘white as a sheet’; metaphor – ‘all the world’s a stage’; personification – ‘the wind grabbed at my clothes’).

Question 13

Form; forms of texts

Answer 13

The shape and structure of texts. Literary texts, for example, include a broad range of forms such as novels, poetry, short stories, plays, fiction, multimodal texts, and non-fiction. (See Texts under Organisation of content.)

Question 14

Genre

Answer 14

The categories into which texts are grouped. The term has a complex history within literary theory and is often used to distinguish texts on the basis of their subject matter (for example, detective fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy fiction), form and structure (for example, poetry, novels, biography, short stories).

Question 15

Hybrid texts

Answer 15

Composite texts resulting from a mixing of elements from different sources or genres (for example, infotainment). Email is an example of a hybrid text, combining the immediacy of talk and the expectation of a reply with the permanence of print.

Question 16

Ideas

Answer 16

In this course the word has an open meaning and can be interpreted as understandings, thoughts, notions, opinions, views or beliefs.

Question 17

Idiom

Answer 17

A group of (more or less) fixed words having a meaning not deducible from the individual words. Idioms are typically informal expressions used by particular social groups and need to be explained as one unit (for example, ‘I am over the moon’, ‘on thin ice’, ‘a fish out of water’, ‘fed up to the back teeth’).

Question 18

Interpretation

Answer 18

See Reading and Readings.

Question 19

Issues

Answer 19

Matters of personal or public concern that are in dispute; things which directly or indirectly affect a person or members of a society and are considered to be problems. Many issues are raised in texts and it is for the reader/audience to identify these.

Question 20

Language features

Answer 20

The features of language that support meaning (for example, sentence structure, noun group/phrase, vocabulary, punctuation, figurative language, framing, camera angles). Choices in language features and text structures together define a type of text and shape its meaning. These choices vary according to the purpose of a text, its subject matter, audience, and mode or medium of production.

Question 21

Language patterns

Answer 21

The arrangement of identifiable repeated or corresponding elements in a text. These include patterns of repetition or similarity (for example, the repeated use of verbs at the beginning of each step in a recipe, or the repetition of a chorus after each verse in a song). The patterns may alternate (for example, the call and response pattern of some games, or the to and fro of a dialogue). Other patterns may contrast (for example, opposing viewpoints in a discussion, or contrasting patterns of imagery in a poem). The language patterns of a text contribute to the distinctive nature of its overall organisation and shape its meaning.

Question 22

Literary texts

Answer 22

Literary texts refers to past and present texts across a range of cultural contexts that are valued for their form and style and are recognised as having enduring or artistic value. While the nature of what constitutes ‘literary texts’ is dynamic and evolving, they are seen as having personal, social, cultural and aesthetic appeal and potential for enriching students’ scope of experience. Literary texts include a broad range of forms, such as novels, poetry, short stories, plays, fiction,
non-fiction and multimodal texts.

Question 23

Media texts

Answer 23

Spoken, print, graphic or electronic communications with a public audience. They often involve numerous people in their construction and are usually shaped by the technology used in their production. The media texts studied in English courses can be found in newspapers and magazines and on television, film, radio, computer software and the internet.

Question 24

Medium

Answer 24

The means or channel of communication such as the spoken word, print, graphics, electronic/digital forms (for example, the medium of television, the medium of newspapers and the medium of radio).

Question 25

Metalanguage

Answer 25

Language used to discuss language (for example, language used to discuss film or literary study, such as mise-en-scène, symbolism, characterisation, or language used to talk about grammatical terms, such as ‘sentence’, ‘clause’, ‘conjunction’).

Question 26

Rhetoric

Answer 26

The language of argument, using persuasive and forceful language.

Question 27

Rhetorical devices

Answer 27

Language techniques used in argument to persuade audiences

for example, rhetorical questions, repetition, propositions, figurative language

Question 28

Standard Australian English (SAE)

Answer 28

The variety of spoken and written English language in Australia used in more formal settings such as for official or public purposes, and recorded in dictionaries, style guides and grammars. While it is always dynamic and evolving, it is recognised as the ‘common language’ of Australians.

Question 29

Stylistic choices

Answer 29

The selection of stylistic features to achieve a particular effect.

Question 30

Stylistic features

Answer 30

The ways in which aspects of texts are arranged and how they affect meaning. Examples of stylistic features are lexical choice, syntax, narrative point of view, voice, structure, language patterns and language features, both written and visual. Style can distinguish the work of individuals, for example, Winton’s stories, Wright’s poems and Luhrmann’s films as well as the works of a particular period.

Question 31

Synthesise

Answer 31

Combine elements (information/ideas/components) into a coherent whole.

Question 32

Text structure

Answer 32

The ways in which information is organised in different types of texts
(for example, chapter headings, subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries, overviews, introductory and concluding paragraphs, sequencing, topic sentences, taxonomies, cause and effect). Choices in text structures and language features together define a text type and shape its meaning. Examples of text structures in literary texts include sonnets, monologues and hypertext.

Question 33

Theme

Answer 33

An idea, concern or argument developed in a text; a recurring element
(for example, the subject of a text may be love, and its theme could be how love involves sacrifice). A work may have more than one theme.

Question 34

Tone

Answer 34

Tone describes the way the ‘voice’ is delivered. For example, the tone of a voice or the tone in a passage of writing could be friendly or angry or persuasive.

Question 35

Types of texts

Answer 35

Classifications of texts according to the particular purposes they are designed to achieve. In general, in the senior courses in the English curriculum, texts are classified as imaginative, interpretive, persuasive or analytical types of texts, although these distinctions are neither static nor discrete and particular texts can belong to more than one category.
Analytical texts
Texts whose primary purpose is to identify, examine and draw conclusions about the elements or components that make up other texts. Analytical texts develop an argument or consider or advance an interpretation. Examples of these texts include commentaries, essays in criticism, reflective or discursive responses and reviews.
Imaginative texts
Texts whose primary purpose is to entertain or provoke thought through their imaginative use of literary elements. They are recognised for their form, style and artistic or aesthetic value. These texts include novels, traditional tales, poetry, stories, plays, fiction for young adults and children, including picture books, and multimodal texts such as film.
Interpretive texts
Texts whose primary purpose is to explain and interpret personalities, events, ideas, representations or concepts. They include autobiography, biography, feature articles, documentary, satire and allegory.
Persuasive texts
Texts whose primary purpose is to put forward a viewpoint and persuade a reader, viewer or listener. They form a significant part of modern communication in both print and digital environments. They include advertising, debates, arguments, discussions, polemics and essays and articles.

Question 36

Visual elements

Answer 36

Visual components of a text such as composition, framing, representation of action or reaction, shot size, social distance and camera angle.

Question 37

Voice

Answer 37

Voice, in a literary sense, is the distinct personality of a piece of writing. Voice can be created through the use of syntax, punctuation, vocabulary choices, persona and dialogue. Texts often contain ‘multiple voices’. These are the views, positions, ideas and perspectives of individuals or groups. It is important to recognise the various voices in a text, how they relate to one another, and how the creator of a text uses these to shape audience response.