English: General Year 11

Unit 1
COURSE OUTLINE
Students explore how meaning is communicated through the relationships between language, text, purpose, context
and audience. This includes how language and texts are shaped by their purpose, the audiences for whom they are
intended and the contexts in which they are created and received. Through responding to and creating texts, students
consider how language, structure and conventions operate in a variety of imaginative, transactional and persuasive
texts. Study in this unit focuses on the understanding of a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts and how visual
elements combine with spoken and written elements to create meaning. Students apply skills of analysis and creativity
and they are able to respond to texts in a variety of ways, creating their own texts and reflecting on their own learning.
Wee
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1-5

Key teaching points

Telling stories
Read a range of short stories,
poems and view a feature film.
Review generic conventions of
a range of text types including
film, short stories and poetry.
Explore how narrative
techniques shape audience
response to ideas presented in
a range of modes and
mediums.
Examine how different texts
are structured in order to
convey ideas.

Syllabus content

Consider the ways in which texts communicate

ideas, attitudes and values.

Consider how texts are constructed to engage

and shape audience response.

Understand how texts are structured to organise

and communicate information.

Consider the use of narrative techniques

including characterisation and point of view.

Communicating ideas and information clearly.

Using strategies for planning and proofreading.

Developing appropriate vocabulary and

sentence structures and using accurate spelling,
punctuation and grammar.

Locating and extracting information and ideas

from texts, for example, skinning and scanning.

Assessment tasks

Task 1- 5% (Set Week 1, due

Week 4) Responding: In class short
answer response.
1. What is the main idea that is
developed in ONE text? Explain with
supporting detail.
2. How is one narrative technique
used to engage the reader/viewer in
ONE text? Explain with supporting
evidence.
3. Compare the texts provided and
explain why you believe one is more
engaging to you than the other.
Task 2- 7.5% (Set Week 4, due
Week 6)
Responding: In class and at home.
Evidence required of note making,
drafting and editing.
Write a film review for a specified
audience assessing how well ideas

6-9

The truth of it
Discuss different types of nonfiction and expository texts;
focus on conventions.
Read a range of extracts,
provided in the Reader.
Students discern writers
attitudes to people, places and
events.
Examine the selection and
structuring of detail and the
choice of language involved in
representing ideas, people,
places and events.
Consider how selection of
detail and language position

Communicating and interacting with others by

working collaboratively and cooperatively.

Use strategies and skills for comprehending

texts by posing and answering questions that
clarify meaning and promote deeper
understanding of the text.
Consider the ways in which texts communicate
ideas, attitudes and values focusing on the
construction aspects for particular purposes,
audiences and contexts.
Explore how conventions of written language
shape audience response.
Use information for specific purposes and
contexts by understanding how texts are
structured to organise and communicate ideas.
Respond to a text that communicates ideas and
information
Communicate and interact with others.

have been conveyed. Be sure you

consider how the text has been
constructed to engage and shape
audience response and support your
argument with evidence.
Task 3- 10% (Set Week 1, due
Week 14)
Creating: In class and at home.
Maintain a journal based on your
reading and viewing. Class and
homework time will be allocated.
Journal entries for each text must
include title, author and date of
publication/creation.
1. Briefly describe what the text
is about (content and ideas)
2. Consider how narrative
techniques have shaped your
response to the text.
3. Explain any influence or
impact this text has had on
your beliefs.
Task 4-7.5% (Set Week 9, due
Week 9)
Responding: In class
Read an unseen, complex
informational text and answer
questions which assess literal and
inferential comprehension skills and
basic literacy.
Task 5- 7.5% (Set Week 9, due
Week 13)
Creating: In class; one hour; notes
submitted.
Write a series of letters; formal,
informal and letter to the editor,
based on your reading of non-fiction

the reader to respond in a

particular way.
Discuss influence of the
readers context on response
to text, including wider reading
and viewing.

Your say
Revise research skills. Provide
format for effective note-taking
and appropriate structure for
the presentation of a
bibliography.
Students locate, comprehend
and critically appraise relevant
information and ideas from a
range of texts.
Revise formal presentation
skills.

10-14

Create texts using written language to shape

audience response.
Develop appropriate vocabulary and sentence
structures and using accurate spelling,
punctuation and grammar.
Adapt listening behaviours to different contexts.

texts.

Use strategies and skills for comprehending

texts including relating texts to personal life and
other texts..
Consider the ways in which texts communicate
ideas through structure, written and visual
language features to communicate information
and influence audiences.
Use information for specific purposes and
contexts by using strategies and tools for
collecting and processing information.
Create a text that uses appropriate language,
content and mode for different purposes and
audiences.
Communicate and interact with others by
communicating ideas and information clearly.
Create texts using written and visual language
to shape audience response.
Create a text that uses text structures and
language features to communicate ideas and
information in a range of media and digital
technologies.

Task 6: 7.5% (Set Week 10, due

Week 14)
Creating: In class and at home. Pairs.
Create a multimodal presentation
using appropriate language and
content to communicate ideas and
information on one of the societal
issues explored this year.
Task 7: 5% (Set Week 1, due
Week 14)
Responding: In class.
Students will be assessed on their
ability to collaborate and cooperate
with small groups and the class as a
whole.