Guide to research and literary criticism of current texts used in VCE English and English as an Additional Language (EAL), English Language, and Literature
Page 22 of the VCE English and English as an Additional Language Study Design gives guidance on Writing about play
Explorations of experiences and traditions of play and playing in many cultures and through history.
Students could explore play as it is applied to games, sport, acting and make-believe, music, language and images. They could also explore concepts of collaboration and connection, digital vs analogue, rules and rule breaking. There is scope to consider the ways play and play acting can represent the ‘real’ world, and to explore issues associated with using play or play acting to minimise or mitigate against events or actions. "
Key text: Gay, Virginia, Monologue from Cyrano
Task: Students can play with looking forward with hope and joy to an unfolding future, exploring mischievous vocabulary and figurative language, or with looking backwards to events of the past with the same uplifting tones. The exploration of promise and faith can often go missing in contemporary writings; this mentor text provides space to experiment with that voice. VCE English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) Text List 2024 p.16
The monologue speaks to the joy and giddiness of love
Each of these is a sports memoir, some are sports fans, others write about the experience of playing sport
Poems.
Songs
Key text: Russon, Penni, ‘All That We Know of Dreaming’ (A), in the EBook (2015). Something Special, Something Rare : Outstanding Short Stories by Australian Women
Task: Why do we dream? What role do dreams play? What power can dreams hold? This demonstrates how students could, within the short story form, use voice, imagery and figurative language to add depth and complexity when writing about play. VCE English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) Text List 2024 p.16
Task: The letter format invites students to consider the power of explicitly addressing an audience. Roffey’s use of tone, including the interplay of irony and mockery, models ways in which a writer achieves ‘voice’. Her use of allusion will open a world of opportunity for students to enrich their own writing by building on the ideas and philosophies of others. The personal style adopted with its effective use of understatement, humour and imagery demonstrates how appropriate debate can be instigated about contentious topics. VCE English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) Text List 2024 p.17
Harris, Tayla, and Jennifer Castles. More Than a Kick: Footy, the Photo and Me 1st ed. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2020.
Montague, J. The third man: The forgotten Black Power hero , CNN April 25, 2012
Key text: Winton, Tim, ‘About the Boys’ (A)
Task: Through imagery and figurative language, Winton explores what is offered to young men to replace ‘the coherence of tradition’. This allows the reader to envisage both the problem and its consequences. His writing models how to discuss social problems in a challenging and yet respectful way.
This text illustrates the language features students could use to create an informal, authentic voice to project authority into their own writing about the experience of childhood and the way young people’s play reflects society’s underlying beliefs and values. VCE English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) Text List 2024 p.17
