Assessment and exam practice.

Try this with English Studies

1. Check the task format, time limit and permitted materials with your school.
2. Start with one timed section or task and record where you spent the most time.
3. Review errors before attempting another section. Separate missing knowledge from timing problems.

View English Studies resources on ATARMAXXING ↗

Practice paper focus areas

• Exam 1 — Section I: unseen texts on first experiences and belonging (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text represents the ways individuals respond to challenges; Section II model answer: Favel Parrett, Past the Shallows
• Exam 2 — Section I: unseen texts on connection to place (5 questions, 3+3+4+4+6 marks); Section II: to what extent a statement that texts invite us to see the world differently applies; Section II model answer: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Exam 3 — Section I: unseen texts on learning from failure (5 questions, 3+4+5+4+4 marks); Section II: how the composer represents the emotions arising from human experiences through the features of the form; Section II model answer: Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
• Exam 4 — Section I: unseen texts on courage and fear (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text reveals paradoxes and inconsistencies in human behaviour; Section II model answer: Arthur Miller, The Crucible
• Exam 5 — Section I: unseen texts on voices that speak up (5 questions, 3+3+5+4+5 marks); Section II: how storytelling in the text expresses and reflects particular lives; Section II model answer: Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, I am Malala
• Exam 6 — Section I: unseen texts on hope in hard times (5 questions, 3+4+4+5+4 marks); Section II: how the text represents hope and resilience; Section II model answer: Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See
• Exam 7 — Section I: unseen texts on family stories and memory (5 questions, 3+3+4+4+6 marks); Section II: how the text represents collective experiences that connect people; Section II model answer: Jane Harrison, Rainbow's End
• Exam 8 — Section I: unseen texts on ordinary moments that matter (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: in what ways the text gives insight into human qualities, motivations and actions; Section II model answer: Kenneth Slessor, Selected Poems
• Exam 9 — Section I: unseen texts on growing up (6 questions, 2+3+3+4+4+4 marks); Section II: how the text invites the responder to reflect personally; Section II model answer: Tim Winton, The Boy Behind the Curtain
• Exam 10 — Section I: unseen texts on strangers and belonging (5 questions, 3+4+5+4+4 marks); Section II: how the text challenges assumptions about other people; Section II model answer: Ivan O'Mahoney, Go Back to Where You Came From
• Exam 11 — Section I: unseen texts on loss and healing (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text represents grief and the ways people heal; Section II model answer: Amanda Lohrey, Vertigo
• Exam 12 — Section I: unseen texts on judgement and fairness (5 questions, 3+3+4+5+5 marks); Section II: how the text explores prejudice and the human capacity for mercy; Section II model answer: William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
• Exam 13 — Section I: unseen texts on time and change (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text represents the effects of time on human experience; Section II model answer: Rosemary Dobson, Rosemary Dobson Collected
• Exam 14 — Section I: unseen texts on making something from nothing (5 questions, 3+3+4+4+6 marks); Section II: how the text represents transformation in individual lives; Section II model answer: Lucy Walker, Waste Land
• Exam 15 — Section I: unseen texts on leaving and returning (5 questions, 3+4+5+4+4 marks); Section II: how the representation of particular lives enriches understanding of the endurance of the human spirit; Section II model answer: Favel Parrett, Past the Shallows
• Exam 16 — Section I: unseen texts on truth and trust (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text represents individuals who resist power; Section II model answer: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Exam 17 — Section I: unseen texts on dreams and determination (6 questions, 2+3+3+4+4+4 marks); Section II: how the text represents identity and belonging; Section II model answer: Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
• Exam 18 — Section I: unseen texts on standing apart from the crowd (5 questions, 3+4+4+5+4 marks); Section II: to what extent individuals in the text keep their integrity under pressure; Section II model answer: Arthur Miller, The Crucible
• Exam 19 — Section I: unseen texts on finding your voice (5 questions, 3+3+5+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text represents the power of an individual voice; Section II model answer: Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, I am Malala
• Exam 20 — Section I: unseen texts on connection in conflict (5 questions, 3+4+4+4+5 marks); Section II: how the text represents human connection in a time of conflict; Section II model answer: Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See