SUNDAY 9TH OCTOBER 2011

THE IMAGINATIVE LANDSCAPEVCE ENGLISH UNITS 3 & 4

PRESENTER: KELLIE HEINTZ

PATHWAYS REVISION LECTURES

THE CONTEXT

In the exam – the aim is to:

Develop your thinkingGive more depth and meaning to your writing

SOThis section of the exam is all about writing

NOTAbout knowledge of the text

USE OF TEXT

The texts are a way in to thought

You must be flexible – you need to have two texts prepared but it is better to use one in your answer

There needs to be a clear relationship between the answer and the text specified as the focus text

The Context Response must not be a Text Response answer

USE OF TEXT

It is important that you do more than just re-tell the story of the focus text

The starting point must be the ideas, issues and arguments from the focus text, not the

plot

USE OF TEXT

Just moving the same story/material into another geographic place or another time is not

developing the ideas

You are not expected to include quotes from the focus text

Supplementary material can be useful to stimulate ideas but does not need to be

referred to in the response

USE OF TEXT

You are provided with a prompt. It is not a topic as in the Text Response question

The prompt is the springboard for ideas, but it cannot be ignored while you write your own self-chosen

response

The relationship between the focus text and the response must be clear and apparent

You do not necessarily need to mention the focus text in your actual response

THE PROMPT

‘Events and experiences influence the way we connect to place.’ (VCAA, 2008)

‘We live in a specific time and place yet, simultaneously, we experience an

internal life that is not limited in this way.’ (VCAA, 2009)

THE PROMPT

‘The inner landscape and its relationship to the outer world is significant in people’s lives.’

(VCAA, 2010)

THE IMAGINATIVE LANDSCAPE

The texts:

Tirra Lirra by the River – Jessica Anderson

The Poetry of Robert Frost

One Night the Moon – Rachel Perkins (director)

Island – Alistair MacLeod

THE IMAGINATIVE LANDSCAPE

This Context is concerned with:

The physical landscapeA sense of place

Humans and their relationship with the natural world

The features of the physical landscape - its beauty as well as its harshness

Connections with the landscape

THE IMAGINATIVE LANDSCAPE

The influences of the physical landscape on:

Our internal landscapeOur emotional state

Our imaginationOur memories

Our sense of selfOur views of the world

Our senses

Tirra Lirra by the River – Jessica Anderson

Links to ‘The Imaginative Landscape’

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

Tirra Lirra by the River explores the imaginative landscape and its influence

on:

• Imagination• Creativity• Memory

• One’s sense of self• Perceptions of reality• Feelings and emotions

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

Anderson uses a variety of language techniques to create the internal world of her protagonist Nora. She does this by:

• Positioning Nora as the narrator

• Using recurring images such as: the Lady of Shallot, the globe & Camelot

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

• Using the physical landscapes as prompts for memory

• Describing the imaginative landscape through the use of the senses: sight, smell, touch, sound & taste

• Having the emotional state of Nora reflected in her physical landscapes, that is, the contrasts between: Brisbane, Sydney & London

The Poetry of Robert Frost

Links to ‘The Imaginative Landscape’

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

The poetry written by Robert Frost explores many broad ideas such as the:

Different ways that humans respond to and understand nature

Ways that humans are powerless against the forces of nature

The rhythms of nature and the way this has an influence on our lives

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

The poetry written by Robert Frost explores many broad ideas such as:

Our separateness to, but connection with the landscape

The way that the landscape can reflect human emotions

The way that the natural landscape can trigger self-discovery

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

Frost uses a variety of language techniques to create his many landscapes. He does this through:

• The use of a first person narrator

• Placing his speakers at key moments in their lives, such as, the man at the end of his life in ‘After Apple-Picking’

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

Frost uses a variety of language techniques to create his many landscapes. He does this through:

• Highly descriptive writing where the scenes are created with attention to detail so that they are real to the reader

• Use of imagery and symbols that give his poems depth and meaning

Island – Alistair MacLeod

Links to the ‘Imaginative Landscape’

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

The short stories in Island explore the ways that the landscape represents:

TraditionA sense of place

DangerBeauty

LimitationsFreedom

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

A way of lifeA challenge

The pastThe futureMemories

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

MacLeod uses a variety of techniques to describe life on Cape Breton Island. Some of these include:

• A first-person narrator who is often unnamed to represent the many people who share similar thoughts, feelings and experiences

• A strong use of colour to describe the physical features of the landscape

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

MacLeod uses a variety of techniques to describe life on Cape Breton Island. Some of these include:

• Images that recur through the stories, such as, fishermen, drunks or young men who feel trapped by their environment

• A sad tone that pervades the stories and often reflects the landscape itself

One Night the Moon – Rachel Perkins (director)

Links to the ‘Imaginative Landscape’

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

The film explores the way that the landscape represents:

Different things to different culturesAn extension of humanity to Indigenous

AustraliansA source of life and work, as well as a

threat to white Australians

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

The film explores the way that:

Indigenous Australians have an affinity with the natural landscape

Indigenous Australians understand the contradictory nature of the land

The white Australians do not necessarily have an intuitive of knowledge of the

landscape

Ideas you can use in your own writing to make your

connections clear

Perkins develops the following ideas in the film:

• The contrast between the views about the land of Jim Ryan (father) with the views of Albert, the black tracker

• The use of the line: ‘This land is mine’ by Jim which denotes power, ownership and control

• The use of the line: ‘This land is me’ by Albert which illustrates his inextricable connection with his physical surroundings

Ideas you can use in your own writing to make your

connections clear

Perkins develops the following ideas in the film:

• The harsh, unforgiving nature of the landscape

• The isolation of the landscape

• The ever-changing forces of the weather and its effects on the landscape

• The need for human beings to understand the complexities of their physical surroundings

• The lack of control that humans have over the landscape

SAMPLE PROMPTS

‘The place in which we live has an impact on our understanding of the world.’

‘The physical setting of a place can often reflect the state of our emotions.’

‘The way we relate to our physical environment can determine the kind of

person we become.’

SAMPLE PROMPTS

‘The landscapes that we create in our minds help to keep our imaginations alive.’

‘The natural world around us helps to shape our destiny.’

‘The inner landscape and its relationship to the outer world is significant in people’s

lives.’  

THE EXAM

Section B in the exam requires you to:

Complete an extended written response in expository, imaginative or persuasive style.

Your writing must draw directly from at least one selected text for this Context and explore

the idea that…

THE EXAM

You will NOT be given a specified audience, purpose or form to use in the exam.

You will have to determine the most appropriate way to discuss the ideas, issues and arguments that come from your Context

You do NOT have to provide a written explanation

THE FORMS

How to write on the Context in the exam

In the exam you will have the option of responding to the Context in one of the

following forms:

1. Expository2. Persuasive

3. Imaginative

EXPOSITORY

Expose or explain a detailed view of the Context

A discussion of how the Context works, not only in the world of the text, but also in

your world

Consider different points of view on the Context

EXPOSITORY

Possible forms include:

An essay A feature article

A news reportAn interview

PERSUASIVE

Responds to the Context by presenting a point of view on it

Argues a clear perspective for one side of the issue generated by the text/s

The world outside the text informs the response

PERSUASIVE

Possible forms include:

An essay A speech

An opinion pieceAn editorial

IMAGINATIVE

Can step inside the text and write from the point of view of a character

Can remain outside the text and use the language features, structures or conventions of

the focus text to explore the Context

Can use personal experience as the base from which to explore the ideas in an imaginative way

IMAGINATIVE

Appropriate forms include:

A short story A scene, interior monologue or section of

scriptAn epilogue or a prologue

A reflective narrative

EXAM CRITERIA

Prompt – handling of, the connection with, the relevance to

Ideas – the quality and development of

Expression – control of language, spelling, punctuation & clarity