50 HSC Module B Standard English Practice Essay Questions 📝

Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time 

Question 24

“Effective fiction uses the narrative voice to engage the reader’s emotions and intellect. To what extent is this true of your prescribed text?”

Question 25

“Analyse how the central ideas of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time are explored through the distinctive qualities of the text.”

Question 26

“In what ways does The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time invite questions about acceptance and prejudice?” In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text

Question 27

In what ways do the distinctive qualities of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time offer new understandings of the world?

2️⃣ Poetry

Robert Gray, Coast Road 

Question 28

“When far off, I turn. The sun brings, because it’s perfect warmth, the feeling that I wear great wings while stepping along the earth.” – ‘Byron Bay: Winter’, Coast Road by Robert Gray (Black Inc. 2014).

Use these lines of poetry as the starting point for an analysis of how Robert Gray creatively engages with everyday experiences. In your response, make close reference to ‘Byron Bay: Winter’ and at least ONE other poem by Robert Gray set for study.

Question 29

Analyse how the central ideas of Gray’s poetry are explored through the distinctive qualities of the poems. In your response, make detailed reference to the extract below and at least ONE other prescribed poem. 

She and I came wandering there through an empty park, and we laid our hands on a stone parapet’s fading life. Before us, across the oily, aubergine dark of the harbour, we could make out yachts — beneath an overcast sky, that was mauve underlit, against a far shore of dark, crumbling bush. Part of the city, to our left, was fruit shop bright. After the summer day, a huge, moist hush. – ‘Harbour Dusk’, Coast Road by Robert Gray (Black Inc. 2014)

Question 30

In what ways does Robert Gray’s poetry invite questions about appreciation and indifference? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text. 

Question 31

A substantial literary text is built upon an imaginative interaction of the expected and unexpected. In what ways does this statement align with your personal response to Gray’s poetry?

Oodgeroo Noonuccal, 24 Poems 

Question 32

Analyse how the central ideas of Noonuccal’s poetry are explored through the distinctive qualities of the poems. In your response, make detailed reference to the extract below and at least ONE other prescribed poem. 

“For 2,000 years The Earth Mother Nursed her son, Until By chance, A pick and shovel, Revealed his secret. The earth opened up And exposed to the world, His fear, His insecurity.” (from Entombed Warriors) 

Question 33

In what ways does Noonuccal’s poetry invite questions about loss and discovery? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text. 

Question 34

In what ways does the structure of Noonuccal’s poetry influence the reader’s understanding of Aboriginal identity and cultural continuity?

3️⃣ Drama 

Scott Rankin, Namatjira from Namatjira & Ngapartji Ngapartji – Two plays by Scott Rankin 

Question 35

In what ways does Namatjira invite questions about creativity and conformity? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text. 

Question 36

The complexity of human relationships is central to Namatjira. To what extent do you agree with this statement? In your response, make detailed reference to the extract from Namatjira and the play as a whole. 

Question 37

“I am not just a painter, I am a reflection of my people’s struggle and spirit.” To what extent does this statement reflect the ways in which Rankin explores identity and cultural connection in Namatjira?

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream  

Question 38

Analyse how the central ideas of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are explored through the distinctive qualities of the text. In your response, make detailed reference to the extract below and your prescribed text. 

Question 39

To what extent does A Midsummer Night’s Dream use dramatic conflict to engage audiences with its key ideas?

Question 40

In what ways does A Midsummer Night’s Dream invite questions about conflict and reconciliation? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text.  

4️⃣ Nonfiction 

Anna Funder, Stasiland 

Question 41

Analyse how the central ideas of Stasiland are explored through the distinctive qualities of the text. In your response, make detailed reference to the extract below and your prescribed text.

‘Just a moment,’ he says. ‘It is hard for you to understand. Without understanding my childhood, you can’t see why anyone would want to join the Stasi.’ This isn’t quite true. I have given a lot of thought to why people would want to join. In a society riven into ‘us’ and ‘them’, an ambitious young person might well want to be one of the group in the know, one of the unmolested. If there was never going to be an end to your country, and you could never leave, why wouldn’t you opt for a peaceful life and a satisfying career? What interests me is the process of dealing with that decision now that it is all over. Can you rework your past, the grit that rubs in you, until it is shiny and smooth as a pearl?

Question 42

In what ways does Stasiland invite questions about resentment and forgiveness? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text. 

Question 43

How do the connections between ideas, form and language inform your understanding of the significance of your prescribed text? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text.

Question 44

How does Funder portray people and places to create a personal and intellectual connection with the reader? In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text.

5️⃣ Film 

Peter Weir, The Truman Show 

Question 45

In what ways does The Truman Show invite questions about resistance and acceptance? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text.

Question 46

“We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” How do the textual features of The Truman Show work to develop ideas about the nature of reality? In your response, refer to the quote, and your understanding of The Truman Show.

Question 47

“Effective storytelling uses narrative devices to engage the readers’ emotions and intellect.” To what extent is this true in The Truman Show?

6️⃣ Media

Simon Nasht, Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History

Question 48

In what ways does Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History invite questions about perception and truth? In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text. 

Question 49

How does Nasht shape character and setting to create a personal and intellectual connection with the audience? In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text.

Question 50

To what extent has your study of Frank Hurley invited you to reconsider your understanding of knowledge?In your response, make close reference to your prescribed text.