Practice Exam

[atar92point4]

How do you guys structure your response for section B - the analytical commentary 
Do you use subheadings (what subheadings?), or essay format ?

Also can someone please explain what they mean by comment on the:

• The situational context of the text
• stylistic and discourse features of the text
• contextual factors affecting the text

[Joseph41]

I'm not sure how much help this will be because I'm a little shaky, and to be honest I can't remember too much from last year. Regardless, I'll give it a crack, but take this answer with a grain of salt. I'm sure others will correct parts of it.

For Section B, I used sub-headings. I'm not sure whether there is a requirement one way or the other. In general, my first paragraph was under the sub-heading "Context", which outlined factors such as the apparent relationship between interlocutors, location of the correspondence, potential audience, and anything else which would affect the way that the conversation was performed.

The subsequent 3-4 paragraphs were under headings either consistent with the five sub-systems, or things such as "Turn-taking and topic management". This really depends on the prompt with which you are provided.

Lastly, I would conclude by trying to link all of the sub-headings together to relate back to the context of the situation. It is also important to link the context of the correspondence to each sub-heading, commenting on how the contextual factors shaped your prompt.


Apologies if that didn't make sense or isn't much help!

[ieatachoo]

Hi guys,
VCAA hasn't stimulated an exact clear structure for the commentary section - as long as you show your understanding and address the criteria. I usually tell my students to structure the commentary into subsystems as it's the way seen in most practise exams and the insight revision book.
 ie. Para 1 -phonology/morphology/lexicon
      Para 2 - syntax
      Para 3 - discourse (coherence/cohesion)

[ECheong]

The formats Joseph41 and ieatachoo have laid out imo are very solid. However, don't feel like you're tied to a structure, if you can see a structure that would work better (possibly analysing different functions of the text in each section and how they're reflected in linguistic features) then go for it. As long as it's clear the direction you're going.

Also can someone please explain what they mean by comment on the:

• The situational context of the text
• stylistic and discourse features of the text
• contextual factors affecting the text

The 'situational context' and 'contextual factors' rope in factors such as mode, social relationship between interlocutors and place. Essentially, the environment that surrounds the text. These features are hence reflected in the text in terms of register, lexical choice and phonology (to name a few).

The 'stylistic and discourse features' involve the features that stem from the context. Which features make the language distinctive and a part of a certain style of English? Features of formal language, jargon, discourse particles are some examples  of these features

hope this helps!

Edit: grammar