THE N.S.W. HSC PAPER 1
SECTION 1 STUDY GUIDE

Teachers rarely, if ever, teach how to do the comprehension section of Paper 1. It makes up one-fifth of your mark, yet it is virtually ignored in all schools.

But it is easy. Once you know the tricks. There are many, but they are straightforward and easy to learn. It then takes practice. One a week for all of Year 12 will get you out of trouble, but if you can start earlier doing one a week then this HSC section will be a breeze. The comprehension, often called “Reading Task”, is labelled Section 1 on the front page of the HSC exam paper.

In the ‘new’ HSC, there will be an instruction such as this at the beginning of Section 1 of the 2019 paper:

Your answers will be assessed on how well you:

• demonstrate understanding of human experiences in texts
• analyse, explain and assess the ways human experiences are represented in texts

This means that you must be able to recognize themes and techniques quickly – and then, equally quickly, write your answer in a limited space. So, I am going to show you how to do both of these.

Thus, an understanding of the technical term, ‘Textual Integrity’, is essential to understanding and analysing any text, whether it is for Paper 1 or 2. Without understanding this, you may have real problems answering questions:

Textual Integrity is how the stylistic devices create and transmit the thematic ideas of a text. (‘Stylistic devices’ means techniques.)

When a question refers to form and features of a text or refers to techniques or refers to language, forms, features and structures used by the composers, it means that you need to address the textual integrity of the text. Or in other words, what does the text say thematically and what techniques are used to convey these ideas. This will be explained and demonstrated progressively throughout this Study Guide with examples for all possible types of texts. There is also a more in-depth explanation of ‘Textual Integrity’ on page 192 of this guide.

In this Study Guide, I outline how to answer questions on all the different text-types that could appear in the HSC Section 1. I use an easy-to-understand approach, using an informal tone so that the message gets across. In the sample answers, I use more formal language and tone, just as you would need to do in an exam. Within individual chapters and at the end of this guide there are lists of words, definitions, set-phrases and handy ideas/tips that you will need to know if you want to save time whilst still getting top marks. For example, the definition of tone and names of types of tones are in the “tones list” at the end of the guide. There is also a list on types of language, as in formal and informal or factual and figurative or subjective and objective as well as word-lists on themes that help you with “Human Experiences”. There are lists that cover everything that you need to know for Section 1 of Paper 1 – and that will help you with essays and creative writing for both papers.

In other words, I am trying to cover all that you need to know – information that you should have received over the first 11 years of your schooling but may not have. I am trying to fill in the gaps that are especially left in Years 7,8,9,10 and 11. Also, if you like this guide, please recommend it to your fellow students, because the results of those in your cohort can affect your mark – the better they go, the better you go.

Finally, the techniques that are given in this guide have been used to help achieve outstanding results. These techniques are essential for any exam, including those in Paper 2 of the HSC, wherein any of the text-types that are addressed in this guide appear – this includes all the final year exams of all the other states in Australia.