HSC English (Standard) Supplementary Standards material

These samples of student responses from the 2007 HSC English examination supplement the existing English (Standard) standards package. This material has been developed to assist teachers and students to have a fuller understanding of performance in English (Standard). The selected student responses relate to the following two prescribed texts:

  • Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry)
  • Educating Rita (Willy Russell).

The material has been selected from responses to the 2007 HSC English (Standard) Paper 2, Module C: Texts and Society, Questions 10(a) and (b). Responses have been chosen for each text, representing performance at the borderlines between Bands 5 and 6, Bands 4 and 5, and Bands 3 and 4.

Reading the student responses to the examination questions will assist teachers and students to develop an understanding of how well students at each borderline answered each question. This will help to build a picture of the knowledge and skills typical of achievement at each of these levels of performance. However, remember that to gain a full understanding of standards of achievement in English (Standard), these responses should be read in conjunction with the existing standards packages.

It is important to note that the samples of student responses in the standards packages typify the standard of work produced by students on the borderline between performance bands. They should not be regarded as exemplary responses, nor should they be seen as typical of all students achieving a mark placing them in a particular band.

For information regarding the development and setting of standards, the English syllabus and band descriptions, refer to the 2002 English (Standard) standards package.