Così is usually studied in the Australian curriculum under Area of Study 1 - Text Response. For a detailed guide on Text Response, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Text Response.

Introduction

Note: Louis Nowra’s play is referred to as Così while Mozart’s opera is referred to as Così Fan Tutte in this study guide.

Background

Louis Nowra’s semi-autobiographical play, Così is a touching yet biting portrayal of human relationships in a Melbourne mental institution ostracised by society.

Prior to the 1970s, those who suffered from mental disorders were sent to mental institutions in order to prevent them from bringing shame onto their families and the community. Since there was little scientific progress on mental health, people with a spectrum of ‘illnesses’ were admitted. These ‘illnesses’ ranged from true mental instability, including Schizophrenia and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to alcoholics and drug abusers. Due to the increase in social stigma towards these ‘problems’, those believed to be mentally ill were secretly admitted and matters only discussed privately within a family. It is because of the private nature of people dealing with mental patients in addition to people’s fear of the ‘abnormal’ patients that a divide between mental institutions and society existed.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam War, which occurred from 1955 to 1975, lead to over 100,000 Melbournian demonstrators at moratoriums to end the violence. The international dispute ignited as a result of North Vietnam’s desire to unite South Vietnam with North Vietnam under communism. In an attempt to prevent South Vietnam from being taken over as a communist state, the United States, Australia and other countries such as South Korea and New Zealand joined South Vietnam as anti-communist forces. While this war divided countries, it was also an issue that was highly debated by Australian citizens, as seen in Così.

Also during this period was a large force behind the feminist movement for women’s rights. The main concerns included education, equal pay in the workplace, and a women’s right to control their body – in particular the decision to use contraception and undergo abortion. As a consequence, a new era of ‘free love’ emerged, since women possessed sexual freedom. However, free love also criticises marriage due to the lack of emotional involvement, which leads to the question of fidelity and loyalty in committed relationships.

Setting / Time

Melbourne Mental Institution, Australia during 1970s.

Purpose

The line between reality and illusion is explored through the ‘insane’ characters as well as the ‘normal characters.’ Nowra demonstrates that reality is unique for each person, and often people may slip into illusions in order to avoid the truth. It is suggested that although they may not have been completely ‘normal’, those considered to be ‘insane’ still possess great insight that ‘normal’ people may overlook. Additionally, Così reminds the reader of the absurdities of a mental asylum shunned by society, which would only have added to patients’ instabilities, especially as families dealt with the matter secretly. Furthermore, the issue of love and fidelity since Mozart’s era is proven to be relevant up until our modern times.

Characters

Lewis

The protagonist of Così, Lewis is a new university graduate who has agreed to direct a play with patients from a mental institution because he required the money. At first, Lewis shares the same values as his friends Nick and Lucy, that love is unimportant due to the ongoing Vietnam War. During the time he spends with the patients however, Lewis experiences a turning point in his understanding and perception of people. By the end of the play, Lewis learns to appreciate love and friendship over war and politics.

Lucy

Girlfriend and roommate of Lewis. She has an affair with Nick who shares similar beliefs – that the Vietnam War protest is more important than anything else. Lucy cannot understand why Lewis is directing a play about love when thousands are dying in the war.

Nick

An experienced student director, roommate and friend of Lewis. He promises to help Lewis with Così Fan Tutte, however quickly he breaks this vow in order to spend time with Lucy. Lewis later discovers that Lucy and Nick are having an affair. Nick is heavily involved in the moratorium, a protest against the Vietnam War.

Doug

A patient who was sent to the mental institution as a result of burning his mother’s cats and home. He is a pyromaniac – someone who gains satisfaction from deliberately starting fires. He appears to light fires quite frequently, once in the theatre toilets and once outside the theatre. He also supports free love and is keen on the potential violence that may transpire at the moratorium.

Roy

A patient who insists on performing Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte even though none of the other patients can sing nor speak Italian. Believing that Lewis is a poor director, Roy takes charge assigning patients to characters in the play. He is quite blunt in expressing his opinions of others.

Henry

A shy patient who rarely speaks and avoids eye contact with others. A former lawyer, he now suffers from a disability with his left arm. However it is shown to be a false disability when he switches his ‘bad arm’ from left to right. He is obedient others, especially Roy. Towards the end of the play however, he overcomes his timidity to defend Lewis.

Cherry

A patient who has an abusive personality and carries a flick knife with her. She has a violent relationship with Doug, as she is always ordering him to ‘go burn a cat.’ She is overprotective of Lewis, with whom she has a crush. As a form of affection, she is constantly feeding him with food in order to ‘fatten’ him up.

Julie

A patient addicted to illicit drugs. She is Lewis’ love interest in the play and is a catalyst for Lewis and Lucy’s deteriorating relationship. She believes that men have double standards, since females are routinely targeted for their infidelity while men are also unfaithful to their partners. It is revealed after her affair with Lewis that she is involved in a relationship.

Ruth

A patient suffering from an obsessive disorder. Throughout the play, she focuses on minor issues such as having real or fake coffee on set, and the number of steps she needs to take to reach her position on stage.

Zac

A catatonic patient who takes the part of musician for Così Fan Tutte. He prefers to play Wagner over Mozart, which sparks a dispute between himself and Roy.

Justin

A social worker who organised the patients from the mental institution to be a part of the theatre project. He is patronising towards the patients and represents society’s view on the mentally ill.

Themes

Fidelity & infidelity

According to Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte, the issue of fidelity is depicted to be an ideal that is never achieved. Since ‘women are like that’ – the interpretation of ‘così fan tutte’, Mozart encouraged the belief that men should simply accept women are indeed disloyal in relationships. Nowra illustrates this same idea about women and infidelity through Lewis and Lucy’s relationship. While Lucy is ‘sleeping’ with Lewis, she is also triflingly ‘having sex’ with Nick. When Lewis discovers Lucy’s betrayal, she waves aside his shock, defending that ‘it is not as if we’re married.’ The revelation does indeed prove that Così Fan Tutte is correct in stating that, ‘woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix. Everyone swears it exists, but no one has seen it.’

Although the women in both Così Fan Tutte and Così are shown to be unfaithful, so are the men. While the men in Così Fan Tutte do not actively participate in adultery, they do fabricate their departure to the war and also disguise themselves as ‘Albanians.’ Their deception is also a betrayal to their wives. Meanwhile, Don Alfonso manipulates everyone. As seen in Così, Lewis is unfaithful to Lucy as he kisses Julie during rehearsals. Julie later reveals that she has a girlfriend who she would prefer to be with, confirming that both men and women are unfaithful in relationships.

Sanity & insanity

The line between sanity and insanity is explored through the juxtaposition of the patients and society.  In the 1970s, those who behaved abnormally were declared to be ‘insane’ and placed in mental institutions that were shunned by society. As we now know with scientific developments, these environments often failed to assist their patients. The use of electric shock therapy for example, frequently lead to severe, long term negative effects upon patients.

While the patients were viewed as ‘madmen’ from outsiders, Lewis soon discovers that they are in many ways, ordinary people. Although each patient has a mental flaw, all possess interesting opinions and beliefs on different matters. It was perhaps society’s abandonment of these people that so few were able to appreciate them as ordinary humans. Instead, many adopted a sense of fear and patronisation towards the ‘insane.’

Reality & illusion

The question of what is real or an illusion is weaved through the patients’ state of mentality. As shown through Ruth who struggles to pretend having real coffee on stage, it is difficult for some to distinguish reality from illusion, even if it is clear to everyone else. For others, they may willingly refuse the truth and succumb to an illusion. Lewis deluded himself into believing that Lucy was faithful, when all signs such as Nick residing in the same home and Nick and Lucy spending time together, indicated that Lucy was in fact, blatantly disloyal.

Misogyny

Misogyny, or the hatred of women is commonly shown through Così. Set in a time where women’s rights were rapidly shifting, the hatred of women for being merely female grew more prominent. The idea of misogyny accompanies the tradition of male-dominated societies where women had few, if any privileges and power. Nowra attacks Lucy’s involvement with free love encouraging readers view her with emotions of disdain and distaste. Women’s hatred towards their own sex is also a form of misogyny. Cherry and Julie’s strained relationship involving Lewis’ affections is explores suspicion, jealously and overprotection.

Learning & Self-development

Lewis’ experience with the patients does, as Justin predicted, teach him more than his entire university education. At the beginning, Lewis is only interested in earning some money and alike other outsiders, views them as madmen. However, as he works with the patients, he develops a new perspective and insight into certain matters and himself. When Nick and Lucy denounce him for doing a play about love, Lewis sees that love is important, regardless of the Vietnam War. He learns about the importance of friendship and instead of attending the moratorium, helps the patients prepare for their performance with an additional rehearsal.

Symbols

Burnt-out theatre

The setting of a burnt-out theatre depicts the miserable environment the patients of mental institutions are forced to live with. As they are ostracised by the community, a lack of care and support is shown through the rejected and deteriorating theatre. The patients’ considerable enthusiasm highlights their unfortunate circumstances, since even a chance to spend their time in an old building performing a play causes much excitement.

Arabian Phoenix

The women in both Così Fan Tutte and Così are compared with the Arabian Phoenix. The mythical creature is a representation of women, for it is beautiful and enchanting, capturing men such as the god Apollo with its voice. This reflects the power of women to attract men. Nevertheless, its rarity, as often commented in Cosi, is linked with the seemingly infrequent loyalty demonstrated by women.

Lights

The lights in Act 1 Scene 1 highlight Lewis’ entrance into a new world, where he associates with patients who will ultimately, help him in learning and self-development. At first Lewis possesses a ‘pitch black’ perspective of the world, along with Lucy and Nick. This is a representation of their modern beliefs that circulate around politics and the war. When the lights are turned on, Roy is present, demonstrating that the patients of the mental institutions are the source for Lewis’ changing perspective throughout the play.

Così: Act 2 Scene 3

Plot

On opening night, Lewis gives in to Zac who wants to include a last minute piano piece. Julie comes in, telling Lewis he needs to speak to Roy, who is undergoing stage fright and wishes to quit the production. Lewis leads Roy to a private area, and is empathetic as Roy fears of forgetting his lines and people staring at him. Lewis encourages him that people should be looking at him all the time, since that would mean he is giving a good performance. Realising the truth in Lewis’ comforting words, Roy announces that ‘I’m back!’ [pg 75] and heads off to put on his costume. Lewis asks Cherry if Roy’s parents are coming, but Cherry reveals that Roy is an orphan, although he pretends otherwise.

Nick, who showed up unseen, comments that the noticed Lewis was absent at the moratorium. Lewis replies that he ‘didn’t have time. We only stopped rehearsing an hour ago’ [pg 76]. Asking if Nick and Lucy are staying to watch, Nick replies that they are going to ‘celebrate the moratorium’ since ‘she doesn’t want to see an opera about a few upper class twits.’ Lewis realises that Nick is planning to have sex with Lucy that night. Unable to tolerate anymore of his old friend, Lewis punches Nick to the floor when he starts to sing ‘They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa’. Nick retaliates by declaring that Lucy left Lewis because he was a ‘lousy fuck’  [pg 77], and leaves.

Cherry, pleased to hear that Lewis is no longer with Lucy, kisses him on the cheek. Seeing Julie walk in, she threatens, ‘he’s mine!’ [pg 78] and heads off. Lewis leads Julie off stage to show her ‘how to move those flats for the change.’ Zac enters, and noticing no one is on stage apart from Ruth, asks her for sex only to be slapped across the face. Henry runs past crying that he said ‘Macbeth’ and Roy ‘tried to strangle’ him because of the omen of saying ‘Macbeth’ before a performance. Zac swallows multiple pills in order to calm his sexual desires down.

Hearing the audience enter the theatre, Lewis and Julie quickly kiss before the show. Ruth runs in, crying for help since Zac is in comatose. Lewis and Julie run off to help. Ruth, acknowledging the chaos, calls Henry to begin his part since they will skip the overture.

Analysis

Throughout Cosi, Roy presents himself with a dominating and forthright personality. The change in his temperament to cowardly is understood when Lewis discovers that Roy is in fact, an orphan. His strong external image concealed his fears and insecurities since he had never had a true family. Instead he ‘farmed out to foster parents who, realising what a nut case they had on their hands, put him back, quick smart’ [pg 76]. His sudden change in behaviour before performing to an audience is due to his fear of being people ‘staring’ [pg 75] at him. Since he had spent much time inside wards, an indication of his adopted family’s failure to support him, Roy has become used to being a ‘reject.’ Hence, he has lived a life unnoticed and insignificant. His role in the play however, places the attention and spotlight onto him for the first time.

The split between Lewis and Nick’s friendship is forged due to their contrasting ideas. Nick’s betrayal by believing that ‘I thought you’d think the same [about free love]’ [pg 77] rather than appreciating his friend’s opposition in sharing Lucy demonstrates that Nick has no sense of respect for loyalty, either in friendships nor romantic relationships. Lewis’ statement that ‘women’s constancy is like an Arabian Phoenix’ is not only applied to women, but also men, reinforcing the idea that both sexes can be disloyal.

Nick satirises the patients by singing the song ‘They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa’ by Napolean XIV, a popular and successful single released in 1966. The song adopts society’s view on the mentally ill by including politically incorrect lyrics about a man about to be sent off to a mental institution. Nick’s treatment of the patients as merely a joke only further drives apart his friendship with Lewis.

Important Passages

‘Lewis, you’ll have to speak to Roy…I’m back!’ [pg 74 – 75]

‘Opening night nerves, Lewis?….[He goes]’ [pg 76 – 78]

Important Quotes

‘I purposely didn’t take me medication today so I’d be right on top of everything.’ [pg 73]

‘I don’t have a concept, I’m a director.’ [pg 74]

‘A hundred thousand people, maybe 200. Took hours to get to Parliament House, yelling out, ‘1, 2, 3, 4, we don’t want your fuckin’ war’. Radicalised the nation.’ [pg 76]

‘No, she’s sleeping with you, we’re having sex.’

‘Lucy’s not possessive about you, I’m not possessive about her. What’s the fuss?’

‘What are you on about – too much time with the loonies, Lewis.’ [pg 77]

‘It’s only sex.’

‘Women. You have to wrap it all up in fancy language and then they swoon for you, when all it comes down to is the same thing.’ [pg 79]

‘Women are God’s punishment for men playing with themselves.’

‘Everyone blames women but I forgive them, if they change their love a thousand times a day, some call it sin, others a drug but I think it’s the necessity of women’s hearts.’ [pg 80]

Così: Act 2 Scene 4

Plot

The group performs the final scene of the opera with Ferrando and Guglielmo in their Australian military uniforms. The queue for music is missed, and the group whisper to each for one of them to faint. Roy pretends to have a heart attack while Lewis runs off stage to turn on the music. They all sing to the Italian tune with Ferrando and Guglielmo declaring that they will not ‘put [their wives] to the test again’ [pg 83] while the women declare that they ‘will compensate your heart / with love and with fidelity / and will love you forever.’

Analysis

The correlation between the two plays is illustrated since both the men and women discover each other’s disloyalty. While Ferrando and Guglielmo are aware of their wives infidelity, the wives learn that the men deceived them into believing that they had been sent to the war. This storyline is similar to Lewis and Lucy’s relationship, since Lewis kissed Julie while Lucy slept with Nick. Nevertheless, the conclusion of the opera indicates that despite the ‘vicissitudes of life’ [pg 84], one must accept that life comes with both ups and downs in order to ‘find serenity and peace’.

Important Quotes

‘We are safe and sound and have returned from the war our hearts full of joy / Wanting to embrace our sweethearts and thank them for their fidelity.’ [pg 80 – 81]

‘I’ve deceived you but my deception / undeceived your lovers who, / from now on will be wiser. Give me your hands, now that you’re united / Embrace each other and say no more about it / All four of you can laugh now / as I have laughed and will continue to laugh.’ [pg 83]

‘My love, if this is true / I will compensate your heart  / with love and with fidelity/ and will love you forever.’

‘I believe you, my beautiful one, / But I won’t put you to the test again.’

‘Is this a dream / I’m confused and ashamed / But doesn’t matter if they fooled me/ because I’ll fool others.’ [pg 84]

‘Happy is the man who calmly takes life as her finds it / and through the vicissitudes of life / lets himself be ruled by reason / what makes another weep / will make him laugh / and despite the tempest of his life / he will find serenity and peace.’

Così: Act 2 Scene 5 

Plot

After the performance, Justin congratulates Lewis on his ‘marvellous’ [pg 84] play. He comments on how Lewis succeeded in brining the cast ‘out of their shells,’ the goal of his project. Congratulating Lewis again, Justin presents him an envelop with his pay.

Ruth thanks Lewis while still obsessing over the number of steps she took on stage. Doug comes up, stating that he was a part of the audience. He asks about Lewis’ girlfriend and when Lewis shares that he and Lucy have split, Doug says he meant Julie. Lewis avoids the question; Doug goes on to declare that he might go after Lucy since she is into ‘free love and orgies’ [pg 86]. As usual, Cherry tells him to ‘go burn a cat.’ Cherry shoves chocolate liqueur down Lewis’ mouth. She then kisses him ‘long and passionately’ and departs. Henry shakes Lewis’ hand with his left hand that was previously ‘paralysed.’ Lewis asks Henry about his arms, but Henry brushes it off, saying that the bad arm ‘changes.’ Henry exits.

Lewis undresses, only to have Julie watch him surreptitiously. She reveals that she’s going to leave the institution for Sydney, and an upset Lewis offers to driver her to the railway station. However, she quietly rejects his offer since she thinks she has fallen for him. She explains that the problem is that she has a girlfriend, who will be joining her in the move. She announces her goodbye by kissing him on the cheek. Coincidently Cherry walks in, and upon seeing the kiss, pulls out her flick knife. Lewis jumps between the two to protect Julie and fervently kisses Cherry in order to calm her down. He takes the knife from her, calling it a ‘keepsake’ [pg 87]. Julie leaves by mocking Cherry, declaring that Lewis was ‘the best lay I’ve ever had’ [pg 88]. Lewis calms Cherry once again by saying that Julie was only ‘teasing’ her. Roy comes in, providing Lewis a list of criticism, declaring that next year, they will perform Don Giovanni.

Alone, Lewis explains in a soliloquy that ‘there was no next year’ since the ‘theatre mysteriously burn down a week after the performance.’ He had moved out of his apartment soon after. Lucy and Nick ‘didn’t last long because both were not into fidelity.’ Cherry had sent him a love letter, while Ruth became a ‘time and motion expert’ after leaving the institution. Roy moved between wards. Henry and Julie died while Zac joined the music industry. Lewis then turns off the lights on stage leaving the darkness behind.

Analysis

Albeit the chaotic performance with missed music queues and the consequent improvisation, the play is a success. The overall experience of working with each other has enlivened the patients and helped them to ‘blossom’ [pg 84] out of their solitude. Cherry’s favourite phrase, ‘go burn a cat’ [pg 86] presents a tone of affection towards Doug, rather than her previous feelings of irritation. The flick knife, previously a symbol of her cold defense and sharp character is now in the hands of Lewis, demonstrating that she has rendered herself to warmth and fondness.

Meanwhile, Henry accidently switches from one bad arm to the other, which may be an indication of improving illness. The ‘bad arm’ is a physical representation of his illness, but the shift between arms may demonstrate that the illness is no longer absolute due to the delight the project has provided Henry. His death however, indicates a relapse in mentally, and draws the conclusion that although the project was highly beneficial, it was fleeting.

Although Roy initially despised Lewis’ directing skills, his presentation of the list Lewis demonstrates that Roy does appreciate and value Lewis’ work. Roy’s positivity towards creating a new play the next year again how a simple project can drastically help the ill, in contrast to the mental institutions that seem to do very little, if not even worsen the health of patients.

Important Quotes

‘What can you expect from catatonics, right?’ [pg 84]

‘My motto is to try and try again.’

‘You do this old fashioned opera – this is the era of free love and orgies.’ [pg 86]

‘I need my girlfriend. She’s stood by me, through thick and thin, mostly thin.’ [pg 87]

‘You do have a few teething problem with your direction. I made up a list of them.’ [pg 88]

‘Always use the word please and thank you when addressing the cattle, after all, they’re not actors.’

Così: Essay Prompts

1. Così contends that some things are more important than politics.
2. In Così, the ‘insane’ characters are quite normal.
3. The line between reality and illusion is often blurred.
4. Ironically, it is through the ‘madmen’ that Lewis learns what is truly important.
5. Nick and Lucy’s ‘modern’ value of free love is depicted to be a backwards belief. Discuss.
6. In the face of betrayal, Lewis discovers loyalty.
7. ‘They are normal people who have done extraordinary things, thought extraordinary thoughts.’ Così depicts the ‘insane’ characters as heroes. Discuss.
8. Mozart wrote, ‘women are like that’ due to their infidelity. Do the characters in Così confirm this belief?
9. Beneath the humour in Così is a brutal depiction of society’s treatment of the mentally ill.
10.  In Così, all characters are forced to face reality.
11. In Così, Lewis plays more roles than just a director of the group.
12. It is not only Lewis who learns in Così, but other characters as well.
13.  Così demonstrates that illusion is a safer place than reality.
14. ‘Love is an emotional indulgence for the privileged few.’ Does Così warrant Lucy’s beliefs?
15. ‘It’s about important things – like love and fidelity.’ How does Lewis learn to distinguish what is important and what is not?
16. While the characters in Così work as a group, Così calls attention to their isolation. Discuss.
17. The Australian involvement with the Vietnam War only highlights the importance of love and friendship.
18. Così is not a play about patients; it is a play about people.
19. It is through their performances in Così Fan Tutte that the characters discover themselves.
20. Così demonstrates there is darkness in both reality and fantasy.

Così: Study Tips

Learn about Così Fan Tutte

An understanding of Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte is required in order to comprehend the themes and purpose of Louis Nowra’s play, Così. The most significant connection between the two pieces is love and fidelity. Much alike the men in Così Fan Tutte, Lewis is confronted with a similar experience where his partner, Lucy is having an affair with his friend, Nick. However, while there are many similarities, there are also considerable differences. Make sure that while studying Così, comparisons are made between the themes, setting / time and dialogue. Furthermore, listen to Così fan tutte. Hearing the opera can help auditory learners gain insight into the emotions and thoughts of the characters via pitch, rhythm etc.

Appreciate that Così is a play

Think about why Louis Nowra chose a writing style of a play. In plays, not only is the dialogue important, so are stage directions and setting. Understand the significance of a play within a play.

Watch Così the film

This is a good way to consolidate or revise your knowledge, especially for visual learners. The film provides a chance to additional insight into characters, setting and dialogue.

Mark Joffe directed the film, Così in 1996. It stars Ben Medelsohn as Lewis, Barry Otto as Roy and Toni Collette as Julie.

Research on history

Historical events and politics during the 1970s are heavily weaved throughout Così. Nowra reflects on the treatment of mentally ill, the Vietnam War, and women’s liberty throughout the characters in the play.

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The following is a snippet from my eBook, How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation. It's filled with unique advice that takes you from start to finish in mimicking the techniques used by a perfect-scorer VCE Year 12 student.

This blog covers the first step within Pillar 2: Writing The ‘This Is-Going-To-Blow-You-Away’ Speech.

Once you've chosen an interesting topic and have researched all of its different viewpoints, it's time to formulate your contention.

Often, creating a killer contention is about avoiding some common traps that will make your overall presentation boring, bland and just like the rest of your cohorts'.

So, I like to avoid:‍

Broad, overarching statements

If you think your contention is, ‘abortion in Australia’ then you’re wrong. This is simply not a contention! A contention is an opinion. The example, ‘abortion in Australia’ offers no insight into your opinion on the issue at all. Instead, ‘We need to consider women’s mental health when judging their decision on abortion’ is an opinion.‍

A contention that is just plain obvious

Let’s say we use the issue of ‘homelessness in Australia’. Arguing ‘homelessness in Australia is a problem’ or ‘we need to fix the homelessness issue in Australia’ just isn’t going to cut it because you’d never argue the opposite, ‘homelessness is great’. There are no differing viewpoints against your contention which means that you have nothing to argue against.

You need to be more specific with your issue - that’s why you looked up all those viewpoints in your research. For example, you could contend, ‘We need to fix the problems in homes in order to fix Australia’s homeless issue.’ This does has varied viewpoints because someone else’s solution could be to give homeless people greater access to help.

TEST: Before you move on to writing structure, ask yourself, can people argue against my contention? If yes, proceed ahead! If no, you’ll need to revise your contention again. Do this over and over until you can confidently answer ‘yes’ to the above question.

Avoid a contention that is generally accepted as true in today’s age ‍

When climate change first came onto the radar, the main debate was whether it was a real or a conspiracy theory. These discussions were in full force over 5+ years ago. These days (with the exception of climate change skeptics of course), discussion on climate change revolves more heavily around the slow pace of policy implementation, intergenerational effects of climate change, and mental health surrounding climate change.

Rather than arguing, ‘Climate change is real?’ (which your teacher has probably listened to a dozen times), you’re better suited to argue ‘Young people, not governments, should lead the fight against climate change’. Not only does this tie into the LSG belief that you should be more specific with your issue, it’ll also mean that your contention is relevant to today.

Now it's your turn. Give it a go! You might need to take a few tries to get your contention right, and that's absolutely OK.

If even after that you’re still unsure about your contention, make it a priority to speak to your teacher about it. Ask them if they could review your proposed contention and offer you any constructive feedback. Heck, even if you are confident with your contention, I’d ask your teacher anyway for any insight you mightn’t have thought of.

Wondering where to go from here? Well, luckily, my eBook, How To Write A Killer Oral Presentation, details my exact step-by-step process so you can get that A+ in your SAC this year.

• Access a step-by-step guide on how to write your Oral Presentation with simple, easy-to-follow advice
• Read and analyse sample A+ Oral Presentations with EVERY speech annotated and broken down on HOW and WHY students achieved A+ so you reach your goal
• Learn how to stand out from other students with advice on your speech delivery

Sounds like something that'd help you? I think so too! Access the full eBook by clicking here!

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We've all struggled with identifying tones for language analysis. So, I've compiled an assortment of tones you can choose from, categorised into their 'intensities'! For a detailed guide on Language Analysis including how to prepare for your SAC and exam, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Language Analysis.

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For a detailed guide on Language Analysis including how to prepare for your SAC and exam, check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Language Analysis.

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[Video 1 Transcription]

Hey, guys. You can see that I am holding a stylus, which means we're doing something different today. Today's the first time that I'm going to be analyzing an article. Because I know that a lot of you are actually studying analyzing argument or basically language analysis, where you get an article, usually it's called material, and you have to analyze what persuasive techniques the author is using. Now, this is actually my favorite part of the English course. So I don't know why it took me so long to do this, but I'm actually really excited to start this sort of segment. If you do enjoy what you've watched at the end of this video then give me that like. Because I'll really appreciate it because I'll know if you guys actually do like it or not, and I'll make more of these if so.

Basically, the way I'm doing this is very much like how I teach my students inside my tutoring sessions with them. I'm going to be going through the article with you and highlighting language techniques we see and then interpreting them. So, trying to understand why it's persuasive or trying to understand why authors try to use these persuasive techniques to persuade people to agree with their argument. Now, obviously, it's not going to be exactly like a tutoring session because I didn't want this video to be too long. So, I'm going to go through it a little bit of haste, but hopefully still with enough detail for you to be able to take away and be able to do more of it on your own.

I'm going to be looking down because I have a stylus on me, which I borrowed from my lovely nephew, Alex. Thank you, Alex. And actually uses this computer for school. Lols. I have attached the PDF to this article in the description box below.

Now, this is a very old article from VCAA, back in the year 2000. Now, the reason why I chose such an old article was because: one, it's still really relevant despite its age. The things that we're doing today, in today's study design, is still very much so similar to what they did back in the day. The second thing was, I didn't want to do an article that I felt a lot of you had already done. I wanted to be able to offer you something new and bring something new to the table, basically.

So before we get started, what I want you to do is download this article in the description box below. Make sure you have a read of the article, and then try to analyze it on your own before we actually get started. This way you can compare the things that you've found versus the things that I found, and I think you might be very surprised to see that we'll probably have different interpretations.

The focus of today's video is really just to identify language techniques and to try to understand why they've been used. There are other elements of the criteria that need to be covered and they will be in due time. But that's just something that I wanted to focus on first because I want to make sure that you guys have got the fundamentals down pat. As always, reading background information is critical for your understanding of the issue.

As you can see here, we've got a report of Ms. Smith, principal of Anyton Secondary College, to the annual general meeting of the school council. So it's clear from her report that she is very concerned this year at the rising level of absenteeism among the middle school students. Also, it says, "How can students learn if they're not in class?" In the end, she writes: "So I urge the school council to devise a policy that will enable us to put an end to this epidemic of truancy. We need to take a firm line to ensure all our students are in school."

Okay.  So now that we've read the background information and we understand the context of the situation, let's now move into the first article. So the first article has been written by a parent, Tom Frost. So automatically, we can see that he is a parent, which goes to show that there are some credentials there. So credentials, basically, is what's the title of the person who's writing the article. The fact that he is a parent goes to show that he is someone who is actually invested in the education of students, so we as readers may be more inclined to believe him or trust him because he obviously has a child at that school, and so he wants the best for that child. So, let's hear what he has to say. "I'd like to speak against the proposal of the principal, Ms. Smith, to come down on truancy like a ton of bricks."

Okay. So, automatically, we can see that he has labeled truancy and Ms. Smith's proposal like a ton of bricks. Now, if we think about a ton of bricks, to me, a ton of bricks is an idiom. An idiom is like a saying. So it's related to the idea that something is a burden, and so he's making truancy seem like a burden, so something that's not a good thing. So, from the get-go, he makes Ms. Smith's proposal of a policy on truancy something that has negative connotations. Next, he says, "Let's not get too carried away with this truancy issue." The fact that he uses let's is inclusive language.

This should be quite easy for you guys to pick up. Whoops. If only I knew how to spell language. Okay, fine. I'll spell it properly.

So, why do we actually use inclusive language? Inclusive language usually involves words like let's, we, our. And these create the sense that there is a collective responsibility that we hold. So, potentially as readers, we could even be parents ourselves who feel like we need to get involved in the issue in order to actually have an impact on what's happening here. The fact that he doesn't just say, "Ah, I'm not going to get carried away with this truancy issue," and he says, "Let's not get carried away," automatically includes you on his team and so may make you more inclined to support his idea. To add onto the sense that there is quite a bit of credibility, he says, "I've got three kids here." So, I believe that that compounds his credentials; his authority in this matter. So, as a parent, he should know what's good and what's not so good for his children, unlike the principal who is just an authoritative figure.

He then goes on to say, "I'm not sure they need to be chained to their desks all day." This is a great one. This is a metaphor. This metaphor of the children being chained to their desks all day, it doesn't sound great, does it? To be chained to something implies that you've been imprisoned or that maybe it's even likened to slavery. So if we're thinking of kids as being imprisoned and enslaved, obviously, this is something that we definitely don't want, and so he really pushes us from supporting Ms. Smith's policy and feeling sympathetic to these students.

Seven days a week itself also compounds on this metaphor. I would say that by saying it's seven days a week, he really leaves no room for there to be argument. To me, this is exaggeration. Why? Because students are only at school five times a week, so to say seven days is already an exaggeration. But he does this in order to really stress this idea that this policy is definitely a no-go. None of us would want our children... We're not parents, but let's just say, if we're in the position of a parent reading this article, none of us would want our children to be chained to desks seven days a week, would we?

He goes on to say, "Is it so bad to wag school?" Here we have a rhetorical question. Sorry. I switched from a thicker pen with exaggeration back to the normal one because I think it's a little bit too thick. Rhetorical questions are generally put there in order to get you thinking. And rhetorical questions tend to have an obvious answer that you should be agreeing to. So, when he says, "Is it so bad to wag school?" it's not the same as openly asking, "What do you think about wagging school?" where you're then open to the opportunity to support it or not to support it. Whereas, the way that he phrases it, "Is it so bad to wag school?" is already urging you to say, "Ah, of course not." So, at the same time, he belittles this issue. He dismisses the issue of wagging school and turns it into something that is just to be thrown away; something that shouldn't really be a concern of parents. So, at the same time there, I'm going to say that there's belittling there.

He then goes on to say, "After all, most of us have wagged school without coming to grief or causing trouble, haven't we?" That's generalization, right there. Whoops. Why can't I write on this side? Generalization is done when we want to make it sound like something is super common. By saying "Most of us," he collectively involves everyone to make it seem as though everyone has wagged school before, so really, what's the issue?

Next, he says, "In our house." Okay. This, I believe, really draws upon family values. By now including his home, he is saying that this is an issue that just goes beyond just kids wagging school or kids not being at school. It's a family value. "The fact that they don't go to school is something that they call mental health days." He puts a positive spin on the negatively connotated truancy, and because a lot of people are advocates for mindfulness, meditation, and looking after ourselves, this is something that may encourage readers to agree with the author.

Okay, continuing on. "Seems to me there are good reasons why kids play truant." Play is a really interesting word choice. By using the word play, it definitely dumbs down the issue and makes it seem something super lighthearted. Because when kids play, of course, it's just fun. It's joyful. And so, he's making this issue of truancy, basically, a game. So again, it's like it's not a serious issue and it underplays the principal's point of view.

If we skip ahead a little bit, he even says, "I can see from your nods." So here, again, it's like the collective response. He's already indicating, through his speech, that everyone pretty much agrees with him and so should you. Then there's rubbish. Rubbish has negative connotations. You get reminded of words like waste, garbage, and nonsense, which undermines the idea of independent and flexible learning, as though it's something that actually isn't really that helpful. He then continues to say, "Kids decide to find out about life firsthand." What he's saying here is that kids actually need to experience things themselves.

Let's move into our final paragraph. He says now, that "School started out as places to educate kids and then became kind of a childcare for big kids." The imagery there... I would say imagery, you don't have to use imagery. You could say negative connotations. You could say metaphor. You could label it whatever you want. For me, I get this picture of a childcare with really old kids that are like teenagers running around in the cradles, kids in cots, playing with little games, and it's just nonsensical. In addition to this, by saying that school is like a childcare, he suggests that school isn't really a place that has children's best interests at heart; now they're part of the remand system.

Remand is legal jargon. I actually didn't even know what this word meant, so I had to look it up. But if you use jargon, you're using words from a certain field that most people won't be familiar with. So lawyers, obviously, will be really familiar with terms like being on being on bail, custody, defense, prosecution. Words like that, that say, for me, as an everyday person who might only know a little bit about the law, because I've watched quite a few legal dramas on TV, that's when it becomes jargon; when it's vocabulary that's beyond just the everyday person. So, here you could say that it's legal jargon and that he is now creating the picture of a school, not as a place for education, but a place where people are in custody. So, they're in custody of the school, which sounds terrible, doesn't it?

He goes on to keep using inclusive language. So, that is some repetition that is used throughout his piece. To sum up, he says, "You hear all these things about drop-in centers, buddies, big sister programs, peer support, and other schemes. Why can't we try some of these than hounding students endlessly?" Rhetorical question. It's interesting that he has now offered alternative solutions. This is something that may encourage other people to agree with him because he's not just slamming down the principal's suggestion, but he's offering his own solution to the problem. Which implies that he has carefully thought this through, and he has thought about other ways they can improve on absenteeism. Moreover, you could even say that maybe the principal hasn't been doing her job because if she had been trying drop-in centers, buddies, big sister program, maybe she wouldn't be at this point where she's trying to enforce the truancy policy.

That's just where I'm going to leave it today. I didn't want this video to stretch out too long for you guys, so I didn't go into as much detail as I could have. But that's to say that there are plenty more language techniques for you guys to pick up. It's your job now to have a read of it again and see if you guys can find anything else. I'm going to respond to every single one of you who has analyzed something and left it in the comment section below.

I also wanted you guys to know that I have an online course called How to Achieve A+ in Language Analysis. If you're somebody who struggles with language analysis and you've found this video helpful, or you've liked my teaching style, then I encourage you to check it out. I've just updated some of the videos for 2018 so that it's up to date, and I share with you all the secrets that I discovered when I achieved A+ in my own language analysis SACs and in the exam when I was in year 12. I'll put it down in the description box just down below. And next week, we're going into part two of this article, where we're going to analyze Rosemary Collins' letter, so I'll see you guys then. Bye!

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[Video 2 Transcription]

Hey guys, welcome to part two of the article that we'll be analyzing today on the topic of truancy. If you haven't watched my previous video where I analyze the first article in this language analysis, then I'll just put it in the card up above. But if you have, then you're ready to join me on this next part.

Last week, we looked into Tom Frost's speech, whereas this week we're going to be looking at Rosemary Collins. I will be looking down here, so don't mind me, and I'll be annotating live for you guys as we do this. So just to reinforce on what I said last week, I can't possibly go through every single language technique here with you, especially because I don't want this video to be too long. So I'll just be choosing the ones that stand out to me, and I'll be sharing with you the language technique that it's called or how I would call it, and why I think the author might use that in an attempt to persuade the audience.

So let's begin here with Rosemary Collins. So Rosemary herself is... I thought I can expand it. That's cool. All right. So Rosemary herself is a parent. We know that because of this down here. So she automatically uses her credentials from the get-go. So as somebody who uses their credentials, we may be more inclined as the audience to agree with what she's saying because, one, she's a parent, so she has a child at the school, and so therefore has their best interests at heart.

Now, unlike the first article, what we can see here is an image. It's a key and on it says, "Key Educational Consultants," and it has the address. I think this image is really interesting because keys are usually indicative of safety, of the answer, or something that is trustworthy. So it definitely shines a positive light on Rosemary Collins, who is some sort of Key Educational Consultant. So not only is she a parent, but she seems to hold quite a high position when it comes to something involving education. She is a consultant herself, so maybe that means that she shares her advice with other people and people actually pay her for this, so therefore maybe we're more inclined to support her point of view.

Additionally, we could also identify a pun here. Further credibility. The final thing I would say here is that there as a pun. So with key, it's not only the physical key, but it's the key as though it's the answer. So as you can see just from the one image, we've been able to find at least three different language techniques. So don't be afraid to go into this much details, teachers actually love this.

So we've already established that she's writing as a parent and we've talked about that. Now she goes on to talk about how she's a consultant, so I feel like we've touched on that, so I won't go into that again. But then she goes on to talk about how it is a complex issue and that it will not be solved by a punitive model of discipline, one which is both ineffective and... Woops my camera turned off. Sorry, lost the battery. So let's make this super quick.

By saying punitive model of discipline, punitive itself means punishment, so here essentially she's saying that it's a form of punishment, which actually reminds me of Frost's comment earlier, that students would be chained to their desks. So you call that negative connotations, if you would like to. One of my favorite ones. One of my favorite language techniques to use. Okay, the word alienating is interesting as well. School should be a place that's welcoming, it should be inclusive, comforting, but not alienating, going against everything that school should represent. So the portrayal of this discipline model is a negative one.

So if we jump ahead into the next body paragraph, I'm just going to group a few things together. She uses research and statistics, particularly in Victoria as well. So we know from early on that she is a researcher, so that's credible within itself, because she is someone who's experienced in the field and someone who has done her research and she's knowledgeable. She uses statistics, and statistics itself is seemingly factual, it's something that we can't refute and, therefore, we may be more inclined to agree with her based on those facts. Moreover, she includes the fact that they're in Victoria, so this means that it's relevant and applicable to us as readers because pretty much all the students who'll be doing this article will be from Victoria. Because it affects us directly, we might be more inclined to therefore agree with what she's saying.

She also mentioned that students who do not attend school regularly are disengaged socially and educationally. So what this does is it absolves students of the blame, as though it's not their fault. There is a reason why they don't show up at school. And so the concern and the focus should really be on that, rather than just punishing them even more and therefore alienating them even further. This might connect with parents who especially don't want their children to be unfairly blamed.

In her last sentence, she says that students absent from school due to an impediment are equally deserving of attention according to their needs. So again, this is reinforcing the fact that it's not the student's fault, but we need to work harder at lifting them up, so that they do receive equal attention. And it's implied that this hasn't been happening. She says our school. In our last video, we talked about inclusive language and how that encourages people to agree.

She talks now about a holistic approach to absenteeism. So like Frost, she offers her own solution to the matter, rather than just slamming down the principle's policy. Now we're looking at something that is about the entire community. So if we go ahead with a holistic approach, it's as though everyone wins and as readers, we might be more inclined to agree with this because we always want the best for everyone's interests. She elaborates by talking about alternative curriculum options, positive community service experiences. So by offering her own solution, she now is encouraging readers to agree with what she's saying. And she ties it in with four other students going to show that it's not just a one-size-fits-all. Every student is different and so, therefore, the way that we go about helping them should be different as well.

Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I just realized that I forgot to annotate the articles. I'll do that in a second and attach the PDF to this annotated version for you in the comment section below. The last thing I would want to talk about is how she mentions, "I would be happy to be part of a working group." So she's not just talking, but she's actually going to walk the talk. Therefore, we should trust her judgment because even she is a willing participant of her own solutions. So if that's the case, then we're more inclined to agree with her.

Lastly, she concludes with her credentials. So of course that ends up on that high note to ensure that we do trust for her and to show that she is somebody who is deserving of our trust. So that ends off my analysis of this particular article.

If you wanted more information or you like the way that I teach language analysis, then you might be interested in my online course, How to achieve A+ plus in Language Analysis. It's had over 300 students participate and an overall rating of 4.5 stars, so I'm really happy to say that I believe this course has been doing really well at helping those who struggle in language analysis. So if you're somebody who struggles from the basics of not knowing how to identify a language technique to somebody who is unsure of how to explain how it persuades or somebody else who struggles with analyzing the argument and seeing how the argument comes together and develops, then I would strongly encourage you to go ahead and check it out.

Otherwise, there are plenty of language techniques that I haven't covered just yet. And I'm sure that you guys have interpreted some of the language techniques I've found here differently. I'd absolutely love to hear what you guys have to say. Leave it in the comment section below, and let's all work together to do well in language analysis over this next term. Can't wait to see you guys next week. Bye!

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[Video 3 Transcription]

Hey guys. So what am I talking about? So recently, I released a new segment where I talk about analyzing argument and I analyzed an actual article with you. I haven't done it before, but from what I can see, you guys are actually really enjoying it. I want to remind you guys that I am doing a analyzing argument livestream next Friday, the 27th after school at 5:00 PM. So if you have any questions for me I encourage you to start asking away. I'll put the link to the livestream below for you guys so you can hit that link and then go and set up a reminder for yourself. There's also a chat section there for you to actually start answering your questions. So do that because you know, I need questions to start off with, to answer. If you get in early, then I'll probably start off with yours.

So heck yeah, let's answer this. Asa has asked me, "Hey, Lisa. This video was super helpful, but I was wondering if next time you could include a section where you translate annotations and put it into a paragraph. I know in order to get a high mark you shouldn't be focusing too much on the techniques, but rather in a more holistic way. It'd be pretty cool to see which ones out of the bunch you annotate you choose to include in your analysis. Thank you."

I eventually wanted to get up to this point and talk more about structuring an essay and how to organize it in a body paragraph. But I was trying to figure out what to do for this video. Then I thought, "You know what, why not just do it now?" Obviously, with analyzing argument or language analysis, however you want to call it, it's a big section in the exam and there's a lot to cover. So I'm not going to go into too much detail about how I actually structure the essay for language analysis, because I think that is most suited to an entire video in itself. But I thought I would at least just create one paragraph for you guys just to give you a little bit of an idea of how I would go about it so you can walk away from this video with a little bit of extra knowledge to help you with your language analysis.

So basically, in the paragraph that I've created, you'll see that I don't use every single language technique that I have found, and that's the whole point. You want to be at that skillset where you can find so many language techniques, but you're so good that you know that you can't analyze absolutely everything, so you go and choose the gems out of the lot. So choose the ones that you think will help you set yourself apart from other students. For example, I always try to encourage my students not to necessarily always talk about stats or rhetorical questions or inclusive language, because those ones are super obvious. They're the ones that everyone can find.

So of course, you don't just strategize your essay and choose techniques that you think no one else is going to write about. Because, what if that rhetorical question is actually a really strong one where you could elaborate and say something really insightful about it, right? So it's all a balancing game. Let's just get into the paragraph and give you guys a look. What I do is I base paragraph according to ideas. Now, every single author who creates an article has a main contention, but what we're after now are the smaller ideas that the author makes in order to support that overall contention. One idea that I have chosen to talk about is the idea of what school has become, or the current school culture. In my paragraph, I have included a few language techniques that I believe fit into this overall idea.

So Frost highlights the current and unpleasant school culture in an effort to rile support from other parents. You can see here that this is the idea that I'm focused on. His use of the metaphor, chained to their desk all day, suggests how children are being imprisoned by their schooling. Especially since it's seven days a week. This may deter parents from supporting the principal's absenteeism policy, as they feel as though their children are spending more than enough time at school.

You can see here that I've included one language technique, and it's the metaphor. The main reason why I've included this metaphor is because the idea that children are chained to their desk all day really reflects the school culture and attitude of Frost's child school.

Next I say, Frost compounds this idea of trapped children through highlighting that school is now a childcare for big kids, rather than a place to educate kids. The childcare works to portray the school, and by extension the principal, as incompetent at their job of raising an independent next generation. As a result, disgruntled parents may resist the idea of a truancy policy as it becomes apparent that more times at school is unlikely to equal better outcomes for the child.

I've inputted a second language technique here, and I've really focused on the idea itself though. I'm emphasizing the fact that this school, as it is right now, is just not a good place to be. You can see that I'm being consistent with this idea, because I start off the sentence with, "Frost compounds this idea," showing the link with my own sentences.

Then I move on. Moreover, Frost's declaration that school is now a remand system may further encourage parents to support his case, as it is implied that children are being held custody by the school. His passion may strike a chord with other parents who feel alienated by the seemingly impenetrable school culture, with which they find it difficult to contribute or influence.

So I finished off this paragraph with a third and final language technique. As you can see here, what I am focused on more as a writer of this essay is the idea of school culture. With that, I try to find language techniques that work with it. I don't do it the other way around, where I base it off a language technique and try to cram, I don't know, just ideas into a language technique or try to make it work that way, because it's going to be a lot tougher for you. Focus on the ideas and see which techniques fit into it.

Now, I found more techniques I think than the three, that could have fit into this body paragraph, but I felt like these three pointers were probably the strongest ones and the ones where I felt like I could really show off my analytical skills. So I talked about a metaphor. I talked about how the place is a childcare. The betrayal of the school, lack of childcare and the idea of trapped children or imprisoned children, I worked off this idea. Then I worked off this idea even further by talking about a remand system, which is legal jargon for custody.

It's like these children are just being condemned to this school, which is something that no parents would want. And so, I really emphasized that. So yeah, that's pretty much it. I hope that answers your question, Asa. I only used three language techniques, but it's not about the quantity. It is about the quality of the work that you're portraying. Sorry, I keep looking down because I've written my stuff here for you guys, but you'll notice that these language techniques don't come one after another in the article, they're kind of all over the place. This is really important to enable you to be able to go and find different techniques from different areas of the article, rather than just confining yourself to, "Oh, this author has written this one paragraph. Let me try to find all these techniques in this one paragraph and transport that into one paragraph in my essay." You know?

To sum up, main messages are, focus your paragraphs on an idea. It's not about quantity, it's about quality of your language techniques. Try to find the ones that are going to show off your skill. And fourth, you don't need to find language techniques in a chronological order. You can pick them out wherever you please. That's it.

If you find this interesting or if you're not being taught this at school or you feel like the advice that I'm giving you is actually really helpful, then I'd encourage you to go and check out my study guide that I created with two other girls who achieved a study school of 50. So we have an entire section there about analyzing argument, from analyzing itself, language techniques, essay structure, writing up the essay, then showing you high essay responses with annotations to ensure that you know what you're doing. So I've got you covered, all right? Don't stress.

So I will see you guys next week for the livestream. It will be on Friday the 27th at 5:00 PM. So as usual, I'm your Friday girl. I'm always here on Fridays and you guys can ask me any of your questions related to analyzing argument then. Speak to you guys then. Bye!

Are you an EAL student worrying about the listening component of the new study design?

Are you worried? If you are, fear not, I am here to help!

Here are some extremely useful tips that I have acquired from completing both Japanese and Chinese listening exams. They are very applicable to the EAL exam and will hopefully make you feel more confident about this new component!

1. As EAL students we are allowed to bring bilingual dictionaries into the exam, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT! You will be amazed at how useful your dictionary can be.
2. Use your reading time efficiently! Take a close look at your listening tracks’ questions! Search your dictionary for tricky vocabularies that are embedded in the question. Make each second count!
3. Look out for the key question words! If you spot “when” and “why” in the question, then you know for sure that you need to listen out for location and time!
4. Pay attention to the tone.
5. Take note of any adjectives, phrases and words that express the character’s (in the listening track) thoughts, feelings and concerns.
6. There is a space in the exam paper for you to take notes, USE THAT SPACE! Write down all the key information you can possibility hear from the track! According to the examiner’s report those students who wrote notes in the space provided tend to score much more higher than those who don't.
7. Don't waste time wondering what the track just played! Listen carefully for the next sentence, missing out on one piece of information is better than two!

Misconception

Some of you out there might be thinking “Listening is easy! I just need to write down the correct answer, it's a piece of cake.” Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for EAL listening or any VCE Language listening SAC or exam. The VCAA examiners will look at the accuracy of your answer, grammar and spelling. They even look at how well you phrase your response!

If you are aiming for a perfect listening response you MUST take a look at my breakdown of the examiners’ marking criteria!

Marking Criteria

For the listening component of the exam/SAC the examiners (and your own teachers) will be marking your answers base on TWO main points

1. Your ability to understand and convey general and specific parts of the listening track
2. Your ability to convey information accurately and appropriately

• Appropriateness of vocabulary
• Accurate use of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Are you feeling more confident for the VCE EAL Listening section with a couple of handy hints in your pocket? I hope you are! Give it a go, it is not as scary as you think!

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The following is the LSG criteria that will ensure you find an interesting topic!

Step 1: Select a topic that has appeared in the media since 1 September of the previous year

Getting started on this first part can be tricky, especially if you want to choose something a bit more original or fresh.

In any case, the first thing you need is an event. An event in the VCE English context is anything that happens which also generates opinionated media coverage—so, it’s not just an event but it has to be an event that people have published opinions about, and they have to have been published since September 1.

You might wonder why we don’t go to the issue straight away. Here’s a hypothetical to illustrate: if you asked me to name an issue, the best I could probably come up with off the top of my head is climate change. However, if you asked me to name an event, I’d pretty easily recall the Australian bushfires—something much more concrete which a) has generated specific and passionate opinions in the media; and b) can easily be linked to a wider issue such as climate change.

So where do you find an event? If you can’t think of a particularly interesting one right away, you could always try Wikipedia. Seriously, Wikipedia very helpfully has pages of things that happened in specific years in specific countries, so “2019 in Australia” might well be a starting point. The ABC news archive is also really helpful since you can pick dates or periods of time and see a good mix of news events from then.

I wouldn’t underestimate your own memory here either. Maybe you attended the School Strike for Climate and/or you feel vaguely disappointed in the government. Maybe there was something else happening in the news you remember (even though it is often about the environment these days). It doesn’t have to be from the news though—maybe there was a movie or TV show you watched recently that you have thoughts about. You could really do a speech on any of these, as long as you suspect there might be recent, opinionated media coverage.

Only once you have an event should you look for an issue. This will be a specific debate that comes out of the event, and can usually be framed as a “whether-or-not” question. The bushfires, for example, might generate debate around whether or not the Australian government is doing enough to combat climate change, whether or not Scott Morrison has fulfilled his duties as Prime Minister, whether or not it’s appropriate to discuss policy already when people are still grieving. All of these issues are going to be more current and more focused than just ‘climate change’, so pick one that resonates for your speech. In the next couple of sections, I’ll offer you a list of 2019-20 issue-debate breakdowns (i.e. topic ideas!).

Most importantly, choose an event/issue that is interesting for you. You’re the one who’s going to deal most intimately with this event/issue - you’ll have to research multiple sources, come up with a contention and arguments, write the essay, present the essay - so make it easier for yourself because you’re going to be spending a lot of time completing all these steps. Besides, an inherently interesting topic means that you’ll showcase your opinions in an authentic way, which is incredibly important when it comes to presentation time.

Step 2: Filter out the boring events/issues

“Your aim of this entire Oral Presentation SAC is to persuade your audience to agree with your contention (whatever that may be) based off the issue you’ve selected.”  
-The VCAA English Study Design

Next, you’ll need use this test to see whether or not your topic will stand up to the test of being ‘interesting’ enough for your audience. My first question to you is: who is your audience?

Is it your classroom and teacher? Is it a handful of teachers? If you don’t know, stop right now and find out. Only continue to the next question once you’re 100% certain of your audience.

Once you know who your audience is, ask yourself: Does this event and issue relate to my audience?

This question matters because “your aim of this entire Oral Presentation SAC is to persuade your audience to agree with your contention (whatever that may be) based off the issue you’ve selected.” This means that what you say to your audience and how they respond to your speech matters. Even if your assessor isn’t counting exactly how many people are still listening to your speech at the end, everyone knows a powerful speech when they’re in the presence of one - it hooks the audience from start to end - and an assessor, consciously or subconsciously, cannot deny that the collective attentiveness of the room has an influence on their marking of your Oral Presentation.

That’s why you should choose a topic that your audience can relate to. This is just my personal opinion, but I don’t find a speech on the Adani Coalmine (broad issue = climate change) as interesting and engaging as School Strike For The Climate (broad issue = climate change). That’s not to say that I’m for or against the Adani Coal Mine, but I know that if I’m speaking to a crowd of 17-18 years olds, the School Strike For The Climate would be a better choice because it’s going to hit a lot closer to home (1) (perhaps some of those in your audience - including yourself - have attended one of those strikes).

To extrapolate this idea further, I try to avoid topics that have too many unfamiliar words for my audience. For example, I recall one year when one of my students decided to take a stance on pain medications and that they should be restricted to only over-the-counter in pharmacies. Have I lost you already with the ‘over-the-counter’? Yeah, I have no doubt that some of you are unfamiliar with that word (don’t stress, I didn’t know it either when I was in school). On top of this phrase, she used words like ‘Schedule A’, ‘Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme’, ‘Medicare rebate’, ‘opioids', ‘subsidised’, and other words that aren’t part of the usual vocabulary of her audience. I’d take heed because in order to captivate the audience’s attention, they need to understand what you’re talking about. As soon as there’s something they don’t understand, it becomes much harder for them to follow your speech, and before you know it, Sarah, the class sleeper is taking her afternoon snooze and the others are struggling to keep their eyes open! Having said all that, if you have an equivalent jargon-heavy topic like pain medications that really does interest you, then go for it. Just bear in mind that you’ll need to explain any new vocabulary during your speech to keep your audience’s attention.

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