Just started Year 11 Standard English Module B: Close Study of Literature and have no idea what to expect?
Don’t worry! As someone who scored a Band 6 in HSC English and has since tutored students like yourself for 2+ years, I’m going to break down what topics and Year 11 texts you’ll study, what the rubric means, how to write a great essay, and more!
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!
1. What do you learn in Module B of Year 11 English Standard?
2. What you need to know from the Module B Rubric
3. What Year 11 texts will I study in Module B?
4. How do I write a good Year 11 English Standard essay?
5. My 3 Tips for Getting a Band 6 in Module B
🤔 What do you learn in Module B of Year 11 English Standard?
Studying ‘Module B: Close Study of Literature’ teaches students to critically analyse how meaning is created and conveyed in texts, developing their skills in writing clear and concise responses.
Through studying this module, students will be expected to build a personal connection to the text. This will further strengthen their abilities to appreciate and dissect the themes and ideas the text explores.
🤔 Breaking down the Module B: Close Study of Literature rubric
Now that we have a brief idea of what Standard English Module B is about, let’s dive into the nitty gritty of what each statement in the rubric means.
Statement 1:
“In this module, students develop their knowledge and appreciation of a substantial literary print text. Through their close study of and personal responses to the text in its entirety, students develop an understanding of the ways that language features, text structures and stylistic choices can be used in literary texts.”
What does this mean?
Students will closely study a piece of literature, learning and recognising how authors use language techniques, text structures and stylistic approaches in their work.
Statement 2:
“Students study one literary print text, for example a prose fiction, drama or a poetry text, which may constitute a selection of poems from the work of one poet. They identify, analyse and respond to the ideas in the text and the ways in which meaning is shaped.”
What does this mean?
Students will focus on a particular form of written text, such as prose fiction, drama or poetry. They will then study and analyse what ideas are explored, and how the author creates meaning.
Statement 3:
“Students examine the conventions that are particular to their chosen literary form, and the ways that authors use, manipulate and/or challenge those conventions.”
What does this mean?
Students investigate what techniques are specific to the textual form they are studying, and how the author utilises or challenges these techniques.
Statement 4:
“Through their critical and creative responses to the text, students develop their understanding of the use and effects of elements such as style, tone and mood. They further develop their critical skills to analyse and assess the ways meaning is shaped and conveyed.”
What does this mean?
Through analysing and responding to the text, students learn how literary elements such as style, tone and mood are used to portray meaning, and how effective they are at doing so.
Statement 5:
“Through their engagement with the text and their own compositions, students further develop their personal connections with, and enjoyment of the text, enabling them to express their personal interpretation of its meaning and importance.”
What does this mean?
During ‘Module B: Close Study of Literature’, studying the text allows students to form personal connections to it, using their unique perspectives when writing about the text’s meaning and significance.
Statement 6:
“They express their ideas clearly and cohesively using appropriate register, structure and modality. They plan, draft and refine their own written and spoken texts, applying the conventions of syntax, spelling and grammar appropriately for their audience, context and purpose.”
What does this mean?
Students use correct grammar, structure and language to clearly convey their ideas regarding the text. They plan, draft and edit their written and verbal responses, ensuring that their response is of optimal quality and can be easily understood by their audience.
What Year 11 texts will I study in Module B?
There are no set prescribed texts for Module B, so it depends what text your teacher chooses. Nonetheless, we’ve gathered a list of commonly studied texts for your reference, so if you haven’t been prescribed one of these they are still great options to use as related texts for year 11 and 12.
- Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
- Oodgeroo Noonuccal poems
- Wilfred Owen poems
- Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
- The Secret River by Kate Grenville
- I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King Jr
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
How do I write a good Year 11 English Standard essay?
Having thorough knowledge of the specific form of literature you are studying is crucial in making sure you’re on the right track with English Standard Module B.
Getting your head around the terminology and techniques used in that type of text is key to forming a solid argument as to how effective it is in communicating ideas.
It is also super important to understand what different essay question terms mean back to front. Whether the question asks you to analyse, assess or discuss, you should immediately recognise what you are being asked to do.
In regards to these three terms, to analyse is to determine the elements of the text and how they interact with each other, to assess is to make a judgement regarding how effective the text is in conveying a message, and to discuss requires you to debate differing ideas or perspectives explored in the text.
For example, here’s a sample HSC essay question:
As you can see, this question includes “to what extent”, which is asking the student to make a judgement. In this case, you are required to decide how effective the author’s use of narrative voice is in engaging readers’ emotions and intellect using language that clearly expresses your stance.
My 3 Tips for Getting a Band 6 in Module B
Tip #1: Develop your Textual Knowledge
As discussed before, having thorough knowledge of techniques and language features will elevate your essay responses. It shows that you have deeply engaged with the piece of literature and can confidently discuss it.
Furthermore, digging deeply into what aspects are unique to the specific form of text you are studying, eg. poetry, drama or prose fiction, will solidify your argument.
Having an inventory of literary devices under your belt will allow you to practise annotating, analysing, and understanding your text. You can do this by writing analytical chapter summaries or discussing ideas with friends and your teacher.
Tip #2: Conduct a Close Study of Your Selected Text
There’s no way around the fact that if you want to do well in Module B, you need to have a deep understanding of your text. However, this isn’t as simple as memorising a few quotes and writing them down.
🧑🏫 Ask your teachers what text you’ll be doing a close study of and read it!
Since there are no prescribed texts for Year 11 Standard English, finding out from your teacher which text you will be studying and reading it early will give you a major advantage in this course. The sooner you find out, the sooner you can dive into your studies.
It will also give you more time to reread the text, which is particularly important for the close study of texts.
Also, make sure that you’re annotating your text in some way while you’re reading. Colour coding quotes according to theme is a great way to make navigating the text way easier.
🔎 Research context
Your understanding of the context your text was produced in will improve your mark.
This goes beyond knowing things like important events and location, but the societal attitudes of that time, and how this aligns with or is challenged by your text. It also means knowing what writing traditions your text belongs to.
✍️ Get started on your TEE Tables
Now that you’re reading the text and understand the context, it’s time to apply that knowledge with some TEE Tables.
What’s useful about TEE tables is that you’re making yourself think analytically about the text, whilst accumulating notes for you to later draw evidence for your arguments from.
This is exactly where your AI English Tutor, Artie comes into play, as it enables you to easily find quotes for specific themes. Check out how I can use the “Find Quotes” feature to identify quotes about fear from Craig Silvey’s Jasper Jones:
Tip #3: Show your understanding of your text in writing!
Of course, in order for any of this learning to be useful, you need to be able to produce clear, direct, strong responses.
While your analysis may be strong, you will significantly lose marks if it doesn’t follow a cohesive, easy to follow structure. We recommend the STEEL structure for English essays: Statement, Technique, Example, Effect, and Link.
Next you must put these tips into action by doing practice essay questions.
You will also want to time yourself writing and write in pen. Learning to write neatly and at length to a variety of stimuli is a skill that will make sitting an exam much easier.
And finally, having other people read your work is important as when we read our own work we tend to overlook our own mistakes. However, you can also try reading your work aloud to yourself, which is another way to make sure your writing flows well.
Are you looking for a tutor to help you ace Module B of Standard English?
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Luka Russell is an English tutor at Art of Smart Education, and graduated from UTS in 2023 with a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Journalism. Aside from educational content, she is passionate about health and beauty journalism, having written various articles on female health topics. She also loves to draw in her spare time.
Isabella Hanley is the former Digital Content Manager at Art of Smart. She is super passionate about sharing her knowledge on surviving the HSC since completing the Year 12 in 2014. In her downtime, she enjoys Netflix binging like a pro, singing in the shower and hanging out with her awesome rescue dog, Ruby.
