This article will give you all the Mod C practice questions you need for HSC English exams.
While some questions ask you to create a piece of writing (reflective, persuasive, discursive, or imaginative), others will be two-part questions with a reflection.
Keep scrolling and you’ll get 20 general Module C practice questions, 5 questions with visual stimuli and text-specific questions as well! Set your timer, and let’s go! 💪
How should I practise for Module C?
General Module C Questions
Mod C Questions with Stimuli
Text-Specific Module C Questions
→ Prose Fiction
→ Nonfiction
→ Speeches
→ Poetry
First, how should I practise for Module C: Craft of Writing using these questions?
The best way to get better at Module C is to start writing!
These questions are here to help you experiment, refine your style, and get comfortable with different text types—whether it’s reflective, persuasive, discursive, or imaginative.
Don’t stress too much about getting it perfect on the first go; the goal is to practise, play around with using language techniques, and figure out what works for you.
A super easy way to plan your response in an exam is to use the “IDEA” acronym:
- Identify your purpose (What are you trying to achieve?)
- Develop a strong central theme (What’s the heart of your response?)
- Experiment with language (What techniques will you include?)
- Analyse your choices (Prepare to explain why you wrote it that way)
Keep this in mind while you draft, and you’ll be in good shape for Module C!
General Module C Practice Questions
Question 1
“No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today than they were yesterday.” – Alexander Pope
Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that expresses your perspective about a significant concern or idea that you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
Question 2
(a) Choose a character, persona or speaker from ONE prescribed text that you have studied in Module C. Express the thoughts and beliefs of this figure, through an alternative perspective to the one presented in your text.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 3
“The place comes first. If the place isn’t interesting to me then I can’t feel it. I can’t feel any people in it. I can’t feel what the people are on about or likely to get up to..” – Tim Winton
(a) Use this sentence as a stimulus for an imaginative, discursive or persuasive piece of writing which centres a strong connection between characters and place. In your response, you must include at least ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have explored during your study of a prescribed text in Module C.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Question 4
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that expresses your perspective about a significant concern or idea that you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
Question 5
(a) Choose a character from ONE prescribed text that you have studied in Module C. Using the voice of this figure, write their thoughts and feelings on a concept from their text as if they were writing on it.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 6
(a) Choose a character from ONE prescribed text that you have studied in Module C. Using the voice of this figure, write their thoughts and feelings on a concept from their text as if they were writing on it.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 7
(a) Write a piece of imaginative fiction based on a significant theme within one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B or C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 8
“Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” – Kurt Vonnegut
(a) Use this sentence as a stimulus for an imaginative, discursive or persuasive piece of writing which centres a character’s motivation. In your response, you must include at least ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have explored during your study of a prescribed text in Module C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 9
(a) Write a piece of imaginative fiction with a strong setting, based on the techniques of one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B, or C created a strong sense of place.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Question 10
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – Charlotte Bronte
(a) Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that expresses your perspective about a significant concern or idea that you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 11
(a) Write a piece of imaginative fiction which centres an unusual, strong character, based on the techniques of one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B, or C which created a memorable character.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Question 12
“Characters are most memorable when contrasted against ones who are their equal and opposite.”
(a) Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that expresses your perspective about a significant concern or idea that you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 13
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov
(a) Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that demonstrates your understanding of a significant textual feature in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 14
(a) Write a piece of imaginative, persuasive, or discursive fiction which centres on a conflict, based on the techniques of one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B, or C which created a memorable character.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Question 15
“The truest art I would strive for in any work would be to give the page the same qualities as earth: weather would land on it harshly, light would elucidate the most difficult truths; wind would sweep away obtuse padding.” – Gretel Ehrlich
(a) Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that demonstrates your understanding of a significant textual feature in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 16
(a) Write a piece of imaginative persuasive, or discursive fiction which centres on a character’s momentous realisation, based on the techniques of one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B, or C.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Question 17
“It’s possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things – a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman’s earring – with immense, even startling power.” – Raymond Carver
(a) Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that demonstrates your understanding of a significant textual feature in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 18
(a) Write a piece of imaginative, persuasive, or discursive fiction which centres on a character struggling to keep a secret, based on the techniques of one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B, or C.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Question 19
“It is through their voices that characters become memorable.”
Use this quote as a stimulus for a piece of persuasive, discursive or imaginative writing that expresses your perspective about a significant concern or idea that you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
Question 20
(a) Write a piece of imaginative, persuasive, or discursive fiction on the theme of ‘escape,’ based on the techniques of one of the texts you have studied in Module A, B, or C.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C has influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature that you have used in part (a).
Mod C Practice Questions with Stimuli
Question 1
(a) Using the provided image as inspiration, compose a short imaginative OR discursive piece that explores the theme of resilience and the power of imagination in overcoming barriers.
(b) Explain how at least ONE of your prescribed texts from Mod C influenced your writing style in part (a). In your response, focus on ONE literary device or stylistic feature used in part (a).
Question 2
(a) Using the provided image as inspiration, compose a short narrative that explores the theme of growth and transformation.
(b) Justify the creative decisions that you have made in your writing in part (a).
Question 3
Drawing from the image in Question 2 as a stimulus, write a discursive piece reflecting on the idea that past desires and ambitions shape actions in the present. Explore a philosophical, literary, or personal perspective featured in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
Question 4
Use the provided image as inspiration for a short imaginative piece exploring the theme of self-expression in an urban landscape.
Ensure your writing engages with imaginative techniques you have engaged with in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module C to evoke a strong sense of place.
Question 5
Drawing from the image in Question 4 as a stimulus, write a discursive OR persuasive piece examining the relationship between art and cultural identity. Include a significant textual feature in ONE of your prescribed texts from Module A, B or C.
Text-Specific Mod C Practice Questions
Prose Fiction
Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis
(a) Compose a short story inspired by Metamorphosis that explores themes of alienation and transformation. Utilise symbolism and characterisation to develop your narrative.
(b) Write a reflective statement justifying how your use of symbolism and characterisation in Part (a) aligns with the themes and techniques in Kafka’s Metamorphosis.
Nam Le, Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice
(a) In Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice, Nam Le explores the tension between personal experience and literary expectation. Write a discursive essay discussing whether writers should prioritise authenticity or creativity when depicting cultural narratives.
(b) Compose a reflective statement explaining how your discursive essay in Part (a) engages with the themes and perspectives presented in Nam Le’s story.
Non-Fiction
Siri Hustvedt, ‘Eight Days in a Corset’
“Society imposes invisible corsets on individuals, shaping how they move through the world.”
Write a persuasive or discursive piece using Hustvedt’s ‘Eight Days in a Corset’ as a point of inspiration. In your response, use the above stimulus quote as the first line.
George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’
Craft a satirical discursive piece that emulates Orwell’s concerns about political jargon and ambiguous language. Ensure your response engages with other themes and techniques used in ‘Politics and the English Language’.
Speeches
Margaret Atwood, ‘Spotty-Handed Villainesses’
Create a monologue from the perspective of a traditionally ‘villainous’ female character, challenging one-dimensional portrayals and embracing complexity. Incorporate the themes and techniques Atwood uses in Spotty-Handed Villainesses in your response.
Geraldine Brooks, ‘A Home in Fiction’
Inspired by Brooks’ reflections on the relationship between fiction and reality, write a short story that reimagines a historical event from a deeply personal perspective. In your response, use techniques that mirror Brooks’ use of form.
Poetry
Kim Cheng Boey, ‘Stamp Collecting’
Write an imaginative OR discursive piece that reflects on the significance of an object from your childhood, drawing on memory, nostalgia, and cultural identity, similar to Boey’s approach in Stamp Collecting.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, ‘The Lady of Shalott’
(a) The Lady of Shalott is often interpreted as a critique of societal constraints on women. Write a persuasive OR discursive piece that examines the impact of traditional gender roles.
(b) Compose a reflective statement explaining how your response in Part (a) engages with the themes and perspectives of The Lady of Shalott.
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