Original source · Published January 2026 · Updated January 2026

Course overview

Rationale

The QCAA English learning area is made up of five senior secondary subjects: Essential English, English, Literature, English & Literature Extension, and English as an Additional Language. These subjects share common features that include the continuing development of students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing, designing and writing. Differences between the subjects lie in the emphasis on how language and skills are developed and the contexts in which they are applied.

English learning area subjects offer students opportunities to enjoy language and be empowered as functional, purposeful, creative and critical language users who understand how texts can convey and transform personal and cultural perspectives. In a world of rapid cultural, social, economic and technological change, complex demands are placed on citizens to be literate within a variety of modes and mediums. Students are offered opportunities to develop this capacity by drawing on a repertoire of resources to interpret and create texts for personal, cultural, social and aesthetic purposes. They learn how language varies according to context, purpose and audience, content, modes and mediums, and how to use it appropriately and effectively for a variety of purposes. Students have opportunities to engage with diverse texts to help them develop a sense of themselves, their world and their place in it.

The subject Literature focuses on the study of literary texts, developing students as independent, innovative and creative learners and thinkers who appreciate the aesthetic use of language, analyse perspectives and evidence, and challenge ideas and interpretations through the analysis and creation of varied literary texts.

Students have opportunities to engage with language and texts through a range of teaching and learning experiences to foster:

• skills to communicate effectively in Standard Australian English for the purposes of responding to and creating literary texts
• skills to make choices about generic structures, language, textual features and technologies to participate actively in the dialogue and detail of literary analysis and the creation of imaginative and analytical texts in a range of modes, mediums and forms
• enjoyment and appreciation of literary texts and the aesthetic use of language, and style
• creative thinking and imagination by exploring how literary texts shape perceptions of the world and enable us to enter the worlds of others
• critical exploration of ways in which literary texts may reflect or challenge social and cultural ways of thinking and influence audiences
• empathy for others and appreciation of different perspectives through studying a range of literary texts from diverse cultures and periods, including Australian texts by Aboriginal writers and/or Torres Strait Islander writers.

Syllabus objectives

The syllabus objectives outline what students have the opportunity to learn.

1. Use patterns and conventions of genres to achieve particular purposes in cultural contexts and social situations.

When students use patterns and conventions of genres, they apply their knowledge and understanding of them to purposefully construct texts by combining elements to form a coherent whole. In their development of texts, students demonstrate their understanding of genres and their features as influenced by cultural contexts and social situations.

2. Establish and maintain roles of writer/speaker/designer and relationships with audiences.

When students establish and maintain roles of the writer/speaker/designer and relationships with audiences, they set up and sustain a purposeful relationship within a specific context to create a rapport with, or have a particular influence over, the audience. Students demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between context, audience and purpose of a text by making decisions about language, subject matter, register and mode-appropriate features.

3. Create and analyse perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places.

When students create perspectives and representations, they develop points of view and devise textual constructions of concepts, identities, times and places. When students analyse perspectives and representations, they examine in detail how these construct meaning in texts.

4. Make use of and analyse the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions.

When students create texts that make use of the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and shape meaning, they manipulate these to invite audiences to take up positions. When students analyse, they examine in detail the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and explore how these shape meaning and invite audiences to take up positions.

5. Use aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve purposes and analyse their effects in texts.

When students use aesthetic features and stylistic devices (the aspects of texts that prompt emotional and critical reactions) to achieve purposes, they apply their knowledge and understanding of these to express a thought, feeling, idea or viewpoint to purposefully invite an audience to respond in a particular way. When students analyse the effects of aesthetic features and stylistic devices in texts, they examine the effects of those features and devices in detail to explore how they shape meaning and invite audiences to respond in particular ways.

6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives.

When students select subject matter, they make purposeful choices about the inclusion of material to support perspectives. When students synthesise, they combine elements to construct coherent texts.

7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.

When students organise subject matter, they arrange material systematically and purposefully, e.g. by paragraphing. When students sequence subject matter, they place information in a continuous or connected manner to achieve particular purposes.

8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of texts.

When students use cohesive devices, they apply mode-appropriate language structures to emphasise and develop ideas, and connect parts of texts.

9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.

When students make language choices, they make decisions about the selection of vocabulary that is appropriate to particular purposes and contexts.

10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes.

When students use grammar, they apply knowledge of morphology and syntax to create and express meaning in texts. When students use language structures, they systematically arrange words, phrases, clauses and sentences to express meaning in texts for particular purposes.

11. Use mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

When students use mode-appropriate features, they select written, spoken, visual, gestural or digital features appropriate to the text type to express meaning in texts for particular purposes.

Mode-appropriate features include:

• written, e.g. conventional spelling and punctuation
• spoken, e.g. pronunciation, phrasing and pausing, audibility and clarity, volume, pace, silence
• gestural, e.g. proximity, stance, movement
• complementary, including digital features such as graphics, still and moving images, design elements, music and sound effects.

Designing a course of study in Literature

Syllabuses are designed for teachers to make professional decisions to tailor curriculum and assessment design and delivery to suit their school context and the goals, aspirations and abilities of their students within the parameters of Queensland's senior phase of learning.

The syllabus is used by teachers to develop curriculum for their school context. The term course of study describes the unique curriculum and assessment that students engage with in each school context. A course of study is the product of a series of decisions made by a school to select, organise and contextualise subject matter, integrate complementary and important learning, and create assessment tasks in accordance with syllabus specifications.

It is encouraged that, where possible, a course of study is designed such that teaching, learning and assessment activities are integrated and enlivened in an authentic setting.

Course structure

Literature is a General senior syllabus. It contains four QCAA-developed units from which schools develop their course of study.

Each unit has been developed with a notional time of 55 hours of teaching and learning, including assessment.

Students should complete Unit 1 and Unit 2 before beginning Units 3 and 4. Units 3 and 4 are studied as a pair.

More information about the requirements for administering senior syllabuses is available in the 'Queensland curriculum' section of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.

Curriculum

Senior syllabuses set out only what is essential while being flexible so teachers can make curriculum decisions to suit their students, school context, resources and expertise.

Within the requirements set out in this syllabus and the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook, schools have autonomy to decide:

• how and when subject matter is delivered
• how, when and why learning experiences are developed, and the context in which learning occurs
• how opportunities are provided in the course of study for explicit and integrated teaching and learning of complementary skills.

These decisions allow teachers to develop a course of study that is rich, engaging and relevant for their students.

Assessment

Senior syllabuses set out only what is essential while being flexible so teachers can make assessment decisions to suit their students, school context, resources and expertise.

General senior syllabuses contain assessment specifications and conditions for the assessment instruments that must be implemented with Units 3 and 4. These specifications and conditions ensure comparability, equity and validity in assessment.

Within the requirements set out in this syllabus and the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook, schools have autonomy to decide:

• specific assessment task details
• assessment contexts to suit available resources
• how the assessment task will be integrated with teaching and learning activities
• how authentic the task will be.

In Unit 1 and Unit 2, schools:

• develop at least two but no more than four assessments
• complete at least one assessment for each unit
• ensure that each unit objective is assessed at least once.

In Units 3 and 4, schools develop three assessments using the assessment specifications and conditions provided in the syllabus.

More information about assessment in senior syllabuses is available in 'The assessment system' section of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.

Subject matter

Each unit contains a unit description, unit objectives and subject matter. Subject matter is the body of information, mental procedures and psychomotor procedures (see Marzano & Kendall 2007, 2008) that are necessary for students' learning and engagement with the subject. Subject matter itself is not the specification of learning experiences but provides the basis for the design of student learning experiences.

Subject matter has a direct relationship with the unit objectives and provides statements of learning that have been constructed in a similar way to objectives.

Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives

The QCAA is committed to reconciliation. As part of its commitment, the QCAA affirms that:

• Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first Australians, and have the oldest living cultures in human history
• Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples have strong cultural traditions and speak diverse languages and dialects, other than Standard Australian English
• teaching and learning in Queensland schools should provide opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge of Australia by engaging with the perspectives of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• positive outcomes for Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students are supported by successfully embedding Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across planning, teaching and assessing student achievement.

Guidelines about Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and resources for teaching are available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/k-12-policies/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-perspectives.

Where appropriate, Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives have been embedded in the subject matter.

Complementary skills

Opportunities for the development of complementary skills have been embedded throughout subject matter. These skills, which overlap and interact with syllabus subject matter, are derived from current education, industry and community expectations and encompass the knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviours and dispositions that will help students live and work successfully in the 21st century.

These complementary skills are:

• literacy — the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions about language and texts essential for understanding and conveying English language content
• numeracy — the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students need to use mathematics in a wide range of situations, to recognise and understand the role of mathematics in the world, and to develop the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully
• 21st century skills — the attributes and skills students need to prepare them for higher education, work, and engagement in a complex and rapidly changing world. These skills include critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social skills, and digital literacy. The explanations of associated skills are available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/senior-subjects/general-subjects/21st-century-skills.

It is expected that aspects of literacy, numeracy and 21st century skills will be developed by engaging in the learning outlined in this syllabus. Teachers may choose to create additional explicit and intentional opportunities for the development of these skills as they design the course of study.

Additional subject-specific information

Additional subject-specific information has been included to support and inform the development of a course of study.

Pedagogical and conceptual framework

Education in the discipline of English offers students ways of thinking about, creating and engaging with texts, and how they represent the world and human experience. The framework for the subject's interrelated objectives is informed by an understanding of the relationships between language, text, purpose, context and audience, and how these relationships shape meaning and perspectives. Students engage critically and creatively with a variety of texts, taking into account the ways:

• language and structural choices shape perspectives to achieve particular effects
• ideas, attitudes and perspectives are represented in texts and the effects of these representations on readers, viewers and listeners
• that meanings in texts are shaped by purpose, cultural contexts and social situations
• texts position readers, viewers and listeners.

All senior secondary English subjects aim to develop students' critical and creative thinking, both independently and collaboratively, and their capacity to understand and contest complex and challenging ideas in order to form their own interpretations and perspectives, and to understand the interpretations and perspectives of others.

Text selection

Teachers must give students opportunities to engage with a wide range of literary texts to encourage their development as language learners and users, and students are encouraged to read widely across the course. Courses should include literary texts from different times, places and cultures, including texts that aim to develop in all students an awareness of, interest in, and respect for the literary traditions and expressions of other nations in the Asia–Pacific region. Australian texts, including texts by Aboriginal writers and/or Torres Strait Islander writers, must be included across the course of study and within each unit pair of the course. At least one of the Australian texts studied over the four units of the course must be by an Aboriginal writer or Torres Strait Islander writer. Schools may also include texts translated from other languages.

The classification of texts as 'literary' changes over time and across cultural contexts, and texts considered non-literary in some contexts are considered literary in other contexts. For this reason, the term 'literary' as used in this Literature syllabus refers to a way of reading texts rather than a set of qualities in a text that exist independently of how a text is read. The practice of reading a text as a literary text involves a focus on:

• the use of aesthetic features in a text — to read a text as literary is to focus on the aesthetic dimensions of language used in the text. An appreciation of literary texts involves analysing how authors and creators of texts have manipulated aesthetic features of language to construct meaning and to create particular emotional and critical effects in readers and viewers
• the text's capacity to engage readers or viewers in critical reflection — to read a text as literary is to focus on how the text positions and encourages readers to engage in critical reflection. When a text is read as literature, it invokes a wide range of critical responses and allows for a wide range of creative interpretations. In the subject Literature, students engage in considering how literary texts present representations and perspectives, and how they reflect, reinforce or challenge particular cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs in a range of different contexts.

Units 1 and 2

For Unit 1, students must study at least:

• one complete text
• one additional text that is either complete, or a selection of extracts from a range of texts.

For Unit 2, students must study at least:

• one complete text
• one additional text that is either complete, or a selection of extracts from a range of texts.

Across the two units, the texts selected for study must include at least:

• one complete novel
• one complete play or screenplay
• a selection of poetry (at least five poems)
• one complete film or episode of a television series.

At least one of the texts selected must be Australian (see the 'Text selection' section).

Other types of texts that students could study include:

• short stories
• biographies, autobiographies, memoirs
• essays
• interpretations of, and responses to, literary texts
• live performances
• digital stories.

Units 3 and 4

In Units 3 and 4 students must study at least six texts from the prescribed text list. The selection must include:

• one complete novel
• one complete play
• a selection of poetry (at least 10 poems)
• one complete film or episode of a television series.

At least one of the texts selected must be Australian.

At least three of the six texts selected across Units 3 and 4 must be studied in depth.

Other types of texts that students could study include:

• short stories
• essays
• interpretations of, and responses to, literary texts
• live performances
• digital stories.

In Unit 3, at least one text from an international context must be studied. This could include texts translated from other languages. A text studied in Unit 3 or Unit 4 cannot be studied in Unit 1 or Unit 2 of this syllabus, or in any units in the General syllabus of English.

Aesthetic features and stylistic devices

Engaging with aesthetic texts 'allows us to rehearse different ways of seeing the world and different emotional reactions' (Misson & Morgan 2006, p. 136). Such engagement is crucial for developing empathy.

The aesthetic is far more than that which is simply 'beautiful' in a text. It refers to the complex relationship between perception and sensation, and encompasses a wide range of emotional and critical responses to texts.

Aesthetic features and stylistic devices refer to those aspects of texts that prompt emotional and critical reactions. As such, the aesthetic is closely tied to reader/audience positioning. Aesthetic features and stylistic devices may draw upon and interplay with textual features already used for other purposes.

The experience of reading aesthetic texts and the experience of writing them are closely interrelated. The more students engage with the aesthetic dimension of texts, the more they learn to read with their own writing in mind, and write with their reader in mind.

Creators of aesthetic texts, including students as writers, engage in a creative process when crafting texts. This process involves manipulating, refining, and experimenting with language choices and text structures to produce more successful texts.

Style refers to the distinctive ways in which aspects of texts are arranged, the ways particular techniques and forms have been used to create an imaginative reality, and how these arrangements, techniques and forms affect the reading or viewing experience of an audience. Style can distinguish the work of individual writers, the work of a particular period, or works of a particular genre or type of text.

Examples of aesthetic features include:

• poetic devices such as alliteration, assonance, imagery, metaphor, personification, simile, symbolism
• written devices such as imagery, irony, metaphor, motif, personification, representation, symbolism
• spoken devices such as imagery, motif, rhetoric, symbolism
• film devices such as costuming, editing, imagery, motif, photography, screenplay, symbolism
• dramatic devices such as costuming, dialogue, motif, style, symbolism.

Stylistic devices can be any literary device or technique, such as:

• text structures
• juxtaposition, e.g. of two contrasting settings
• approaches to narration
• the use of narrative viewpoint
• approaches to characterisation
• use of figurative devices
• use of rhetorical devices, e.g. repetition
• control of sentence length and form
• literary patterns and variations
• sound devices
• visual devices.

Analytical essay

The central purpose of an analytical essay in Literature is to inform the reader of an interpretation of a literary text. This analysis is written in a formal tone, includes relevant literary terminology and follows appropriate academic conventions. The audience of an analytical essay is an educated reader familiar with the literary text being discussed. Like any genre, there are many valid ways to respond in an analytical essay.

In the subject Literature, the types of interpretations of literary texts that students are expected to produce change in focus and complexity throughout the course. As they progress through the course, students will develop more informed, complex, exploratory and creative interpretations, supported by a closer and more detailed reading of a literary text, having considered others' interpretations of the text.

An analytical essay is structured around a thesis, which is a statement of the central argument of an essay. This thesis presents an interpretation of a literary text or texts. It is supported by arguments and substantiated by relevant evidence, in the form of discussion, exploration and examination of a literary text.

As the focus of an analytical essay is an interpretation of a literary text, the majority of supporting evidence is comprised of references to this text.

Key terminology

Key terms in this syllabus include:

• attitude: an internalised way of thinking about a situation, idea, character or social group; a position revealed in a manner towards something or someone
• audience: in Literature, the recipients of a text; the group of readers, listeners or viewers that the writer, designer, filmmaker or speaker is addressing; audience includes students in the classroom, an individual, the wider community, review writers, critics and the implied audience
• belief: that which is believed; an accepted opinion; a tenet or tenets; something an individual or group of people thinks is true
• cohesive devices: features of vocabulary, syntax and grammar that bind different parts of a text together; examples include connectives, ellipses, synonyms; in multimodal texts examples include establishing shots in films and icons for links on webpages
• context: the environment in which a text is responded to or created; context can include the general social, historical and cultural conditions in which a text is responded to and created (the context of culture) or the specific features of its immediate social environment (context of situation)
• concept: in Literature, a concept is an idea elaborated within a text; different concepts may be attributed to the same text
• cultural assumptions: ideas, beliefs or attitudes about such things as gender, religion, ethnicity, youth, age, disability, sexuality, social class and work that are taken for granted as being part of the fabric of the social practices of a particular culture; cultural assumptions underpin texts and can be used to position audiences
• genre: the categories into which texts are grouped; the term has a complex history within literary and linguistic theory and is often used to distinguish texts on the basis of, e.g. their subject matter (detective fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy fiction) and form and structure (poetry, novels, short stories); genres are not static but change in response to a range of factors, such as social context, purpose and experimentation; some texts are hybridised or multigeneric
• intertextuality: associations or connections between one text and other texts
• language features: linguistic elements that support meaning, e.g. sentence structure, noun group/phrase, vocabulary, punctuation, figurative language; choices in language features and text structures together define a type of text and shape its meaning; these choices vary according to the purpose of a text, its subject matter, audience, and mode or medium of production
• mode: a method of communication chosen as the way to transmit a message; these may be written, spoken, visual or auditory; in combination, these methods form multimodal texts
• Mode-appropriate features:
  • written, e.g. conventional spelling and punctuation
  • spoken, e.g. pronunciation, phrasing and pausing, audibility and clarity, volume, pace, silence
  • gestural, e.g. proximity, stance, movement
  • complementary, including digital features such as graphics, still and moving images, design elements, music and sound effects
• multimodal: uses a combination of at least two modes (e.g. spoken, written or gestural) delivered at the same time, to communicate ideas and information to a live or virtual audience, for a particular purpose; the selected modes are integrated so that each mode contributes significantly to the response
• patterns and conventions: a genre's distinguishing structures, features and patterns that relate to context, purpose and audience
• perspective: in Literature, the way a reader/viewer is positioned by a text, or how a particular ideology is embedded in a text, e.g. a feminist perspective; a point of view or way of regarding/thinking about situations, facts and texts
• positioning: how texts influence responders to read in certain ways; responders are positioned or invited to construct particular meanings in relation to the characters, the arguments, or the groups in a text; a selection of techniques of composition influencing the responder to adopt a particular point of view and interpret a text in a particular way; composers position responders by selectively using detail or argument, by carefully shaping focus and emphasis and by choosing language and other textual features that promote a particular interpretation and reaction
• register: the use of language and detail in a text appropriate for its purpose, audience and context; a register suited to one kind of text may be inappropriate in another; the composer makes deliberate choices when constructing a text in relation to the language, subject matter, the role and relationship with the audience, e.g. the degree of formality or informality for a particular purpose or in a particular social situation
• reimagination: to imagine again means to offer a new understanding or perspective of a literary text where the cultural context is different from the base text
• representation: textual constructions that give shape to ways of thinking about or acting in the world; texts re-present concepts, identities, times and places, underpinned by the cultural assumptions, attitudes, beliefs, values or world view of the writer, shaper, speaker, designer (and of the reader, viewer, listener)
• text structure: the ways in which information is organised in different types of texts (e.g. layout, heading, lead, subheadings, overviews, introductory and concluding paragraphs, sequencing, topic sentences, cause and effect); choices in text structures and language features together define a text type and shape its meaning; examples of text structures in literary texts include sonnets, monologues and hypertext
• values: characteristics, qualities, philosophical and emotional stances, e.g. moral principles or standards, often shared with others in a cultural group; attributions of worth.

Reporting

General information about determining and reporting results for senior syllabuses is provided in the 'Determining and reporting results' section of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.

Reporting standards

Reporting standards are summary statements that describe typical performance at each of the five levels (A–E).

A

The student, in responding to and creating texts, demonstrates discerning application of knowledge of the relationships between text, context, audience and purpose through analysis and creation of perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in texts; analysis and use of the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions; and analysis and use of aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve particular effects.

The student demonstrates discerning organisation and development of texts for purpose, audience and context through use of genres and the role of writer/speaker/designer to achieve consistently controlled relationships with audiences in a variety of cultural contexts and social situations; selection, synthesis, organisation and sequencing of subject matter to support perspectives, including use of mode-appropriate cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of texts.

The student demonstrates discerning use of textual features for purpose, audience and context through combination of a range of grammatically accurate/appropriate language structures and language choices, including aesthetic and stylistic, to achieve particular purposes; and use of mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

B

The student, in responding to and creating texts, demonstrates effective application of knowledge of the relationships between text, context, audience and purpose through analysis and creation of perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in texts; analysis and use of the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions; and analysis and use of aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve particular effects.

The student demonstrates effective organisation and development of texts for purpose, audience and context through use of genres and the role of writer/speaker/designer to achieve control over relationships with audiences in a variety of cultural contexts and social situations; selection, synthesis, organisation and sequencing of subject matter to support perspectives, including use of mode-appropriate cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of texts.

The student demonstrates effective use of textual features for purpose, audience and context through combination of a range of grammatically accurate/appropriate language structures and language choices, including aesthetic and stylistic, to achieve particular purposes; and use of mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

C

The student, in responding to and creating texts, demonstrates suitable application of knowledge of the relationships between text, context, audience and purpose through analysis and creation of perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in texts; analysis and use of the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions; and analysis and use of aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve particular effects.

The student demonstrates suitable organisation and development of texts for purpose, audience and context through use of genres and the role of writer/speaker/designer to establish and maintain relationships with audiences in a variety of cultural contexts and social situations; selection, synthesis, organisation and sequencing of subject matter to support perspectives, including use of mode-appropriate cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of texts.

The student demonstrates suitable use of textual features for purpose, audience and context through combination of a range of mostly grammatically accurate/appropriate language structures and language choices, including aesthetic and stylistic, to achieve particular purposes; and use of mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

D

The student, in responding to and creating texts, demonstrates a superficial application of knowledge of the relationships between text, context, audience and purpose through analysis and creation of perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in texts; analysis and some use of ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions; and analysis and some use of aesthetic features and stylistic devices.

The student demonstrates inconsistency in organisation and development of texts for purpose, audience and context through use of genres and the role of writer/speaker/designer to establish relationships with audiences in a variety of cultural contexts and social situations; selection of subject matter and organisation and sequencing of subject matter to support perspectives, including some use of mode-appropriate cohesive devices to connect parts of texts.

The student demonstrates inconsistency in use of textual features for purpose, audience and context through grammar, language structures and language choices, including some aesthetic and stylistic, and use of mode-appropriate features.

E

The student, in responding to and creating texts, demonstrates fragmented application of knowledge of the relationships between text, context, audience and purpose through identification and creation of perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in texts; and identification of the ways attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts.

The student demonstrates fragmented organisation and development of texts for purpose, audience and context through use of genres and the role of writer/speaker/designer; selection and sequencing of subject matter; and some connections between parts of texts.

The student demonstrates fragmented use of textual features through grammar, language structures and language choices, and mode-appropriate features.

Determining and reporting results

Unit 1 and Unit 2

Schools make judgments on individual assessment instruments using a method determined by the school. They may use the reporting standards or develop an instrument-specific marking guide (ISMG). Marks are not required for determining a unit result for reporting to the QCAA.

The unit assessment program comprises the assessment instrument/s designed by the school to allow the students to demonstrate the unit objectives. The unit judgment of A–E is made using reporting standards.

Schools report student results for Unit 1 and Unit 2 to the QCAA as satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U). Where appropriate, schools may also report a not rated (NR).

Units 3 and 4

Schools mark each of the three internal assessment instruments implemented in Units 3 and 4 using ISMGs.

Schools report a provisional mark by criterion to the QCAA for each internal assessment.

Once confirmed by the QCAA, these results will be combined with the result of the external assessment developed and marked by the QCAA.

The QCAA uses these results to determine each student's subject result as a mark out of 100 and as an A–E.

Units

Unit 1: Introduction to literary studies

In Unit 1, students develop knowledge and understanding of the ways literary styles and structures shape how texts are received and responded to by individual readers and audiences. Students study a range of literary forms from various contexts and consider how textual choices engage readers imaginatively, emotionally and critically. They develop familiarity with key terms, concepts and practices that equip them for further studies in literature, and an appreciation of the various ways literary texts are crafted.

Students develop an awareness of how the views and values of readers may influence the interpretation of a text. They develop an understanding of how more studied and critical responses to texts can enhance their own initial personal responses. Students learn to select and discuss aspects of literary texts that support their interpretation.

In analytical responses, students discuss the significant ideas and the distinctive qualities of particular literary texts drawn from a widening range of historical, social, and cultural contexts and substantiate their interpretations with textual analysis.

In the creation of imaginative texts, students use their knowledge and appreciation of literary techniques to explore and experiment with aspects of style and structure to shape representations and perspectives.

Unit objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of imaginative and/or analytical genres to achieve particular purposes in cultural contexts and social situations in relation to literary studies.
2. Establish and maintain roles of the writer/speaker/designer and relationships with audiences.
3. Create and/or analyse perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in a range of texts.
4. Make use of, in their own imaginative texts, the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions, and/or analyse these ways in literary texts created by others.
5. Use aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve purposes in their own imaginative texts and/or analyse their effects in literary texts.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in imaginative and analytical texts.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes in imaginative and analytical texts.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of texts.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes in written, spoken and/or multimodal texts.
11. Use mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

Subject matter

Ways literary texts are received and responded to

• Explore how individual points of view, experiences and contexts shape individual reader's responses to texts.
• Examine how cultural assumptions, values, attitudes and personal perspectives underpin texts and affect how different audiences receive and respond to texts.
• Explore how literary texts construct representations of concepts, identities, times and places.
• Explore how mode, medium and form shape responses to texts.
• Develop initial personal responses to literary texts.
• Read and consider critical responses to texts to develop more studied and complex interpretations.
• Understand how responses of readers, viewers and listeners can range from empathetic to critical.

How textual choices affect readers

• Examine the ways stylistic devices and aesthetic features of literary texts are used to shape meaning and create particular effects and nuances.
• Explore the ways literary patterns and text structures shape meaning and create particular effects.
• Analyse representations of the perspectives of characters, narrators and the implied author in literary texts.
• Understand different approaches to characterisation and narration.
• Explore the use of figurative language and stylistic devices in literary texts.
• Explore how sound and visual devices in literary texts are used to create particular effects.

Creating analytical and imaginative texts

• Structure arguments and points of view using relevant textual evidence.
• Use appropriate linguistic, stylistic and critical terminology to respond to texts.
• Use appropriate form, content, style and tone for different purposes and audiences in real and imagined contexts.
• Experiment with and use aesthetic features to craft and articulate perspectives and to achieve deliberate effects.
• Examine a range of analytical and imaginative texts in different modes, mediums and forms.
• Participate in modelled, guided, shared and independent construction of texts.
• Use strategies for planning, drafting, editing and proofreading to produce appropriately sequenced and coherent texts.

Unit 2: Intertextuality

In Unit 2, students develop knowledge and understanding of the ways literary texts connect with each other. Students study texts that are closely related in terms of genre, concepts and/or context, or texts that are adaptations of other texts. They consider how changes to the form and medium of a text affect its meaning. They compare and contrast the ideas, style and structure of different texts and/or related texts to explore the ways in which texts interact with and build on each other to offer varied representations and perspectives. Students engage with critical readings and imaginative adaptations of literary texts to enhance and develop their own interpretations and responses.

In analytical responses, students establish the connections between the chosen or related texts by analysing their similarities and differences in terms of style, structure and/or subject matter. By experimenting with text structures and stylistic choices, students create texts that reimagine aspects of literary texts to purposefully shape representations and perspectives.

Unit objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of imaginative and/or analytical genres to achieve particular purposes in cultural contexts and social situations.
2. Establish and maintain roles of the writer/speaker/designer and relationships with audiences.
3. Create and/or analyse perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in a range of texts.
4. Make use of, in their own imaginative texts, the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions, and/or analyse these ways in literary texts created by others.
5. Use aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve purposes in their own imaginative texts and/or analyse their effects in literary texts.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in imaginative and analytical texts.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of imaginative and analytical texts.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes in written, spoken and/or multimodal texts.
11. Use mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

Subject matter

Ways literary texts connect with each other — genre, concepts and contexts

• Explore the ways in which texts are influenced by other texts and by contexts.
• Explore the relationship between conventions of genre, audience expectations, and interpretations of literary texts.
• Explore the ways in which informed reading influences interpretation of literary texts.
• Explore the ways in which texts resemble and refer to other texts, e.g. through parody, imitation, appropriation and transformation, and the ways in which adaptations of earlier texts allow new insights into original texts.
• Explore the ways in which aspects of literary texts have been appropriated into popular culture, e.g. through the use of iconic literary situations, symbols or characters.
• Compare and contrast representations and perspectives in connected texts.
• Explore how the choice and combination of mode, medium and form transform texts.

Ways literary texts connect with each other — style and structure

• Examine the ways stylistic and aesthetic features of connected texts create varied effects.
• Examine the ways literary patterns and text structures of connected texts create varied effects.
• Consider how the conventions of genres can be challenged, manipulated and changed over time.
• Investigate the relationships between purpose, language and meaning to compare connected texts.
• Analyse how language choices in connected texts are used for different purposes and contexts.
• Compare representations of the perspectives of characters, narrators and the implied author in connected texts.

Creating analytical and imaginative texts

• Structure arguments and points of view using relevant textual evidence.
• Use appropriate linguistic, stylistic and critical terminology to compare and contrast texts.
• Use appropriate form, content, style and tone for different purposes and audiences in real and imagined contexts.
• Experiment with ways of reimagining texts for different audiences and purposes.
• Manipulate and change aesthetic features and stylistic devices in literary texts and reflect on the significance and effects of these choices.
• Integrate real and imagined experiences by selecting and adapting particular aspects of texts to create new texts.
• Participate in modelled, guided, shared and independent construction of texts.
• Use strategies for planning, drafting, editing and proofreading to produce appropriately sequenced and coherent texts.

Unit 3: Literature and identity

In Unit 3, students develop knowledge and understanding of the relationship between language, culture and identity in literary texts. Students inquire into the power of language to represent ideas, events and people, comparing these across a range of texts, contexts, modes and forms. Through critical analysis, students consider how texts endorse, challenge or question cultural assumptions. In engaging with literary texts, students reflect upon their own backgrounds and experiences and how these affect their interpretations. Students analyse textual representations to explore the cultural assumptions that underpin points of view and perspectives in texts.

In analytical responses, students demonstrate an understanding of how the style and structure of literary texts engage critically with representations of issues and ideas related to culture and identity in particular contexts. Student responses are evidence-based and draw on a range of interpretations of literary texts.

In creative responses, students challenge conventions and reinterpret ideas and perspectives by drawing on their knowledge of literary conventions to create new texts that exploit style and structure.

Unit objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of imaginative and analytical genres to achieve particular purposes in cultural contexts and social situations.
2. Establish and maintain roles of the writer/speaker/designer and relationships with audiences.
3. Create perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in their own imaginative texts, and analyse these in literary texts created by others.
4. Make use of, in their own imaginative texts, the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions, and analyse these ways in literary texts created by others.
5. Use aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve purposes in their own imaginative texts and analyse their effects in literary texts.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in imaginative and analytical texts.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve imaginative and analytical purposes.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of imaginative and analytical texts.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes.
11. Use mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

Subject matter

Relationship between language, culture and identity in literary texts

• Explore how readers are influenced to respond to their own and others' cultural experiences and how these may change over time and place.
• Explore how cultural perceptions are challenged or supported in literary texts.
• Explore the ways in which literary texts represent culture, place and identity through language.
• Examine the relationship between cultural contexts and representations in literary texts.
• Examine their own and others' interpretations of literary texts and how these interpretations are shaped by cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and ideas.

Power of language to represent ideas, events and people

• Examine the ways stylistic and aesthetic features of literary texts represent ideas, events and people in particular ways.
• Examine the ways literary patterns and text structures of literary texts represent ideas, events and people in particular ways.
• Examine the impact of literary conventions and stylistic techniques in different texts and forms in constructing representations of cultural identity.
• Examine the ways in which language, structural and stylistic choices communicate values and attitudes and shed new light on familiar ideas.
• Explore the ways in which different literary forms may evolve due to changes in culture and identity.
• Explore the ways in which changes to language, context, genre and/or form may prompt audiences to question or reflect on cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and/or beliefs.

Creating analytical and imaginative texts

• Structure complex arguments and points of view using relevant textual evidence.
• Synthesise subject matter and substantiate their own responses and perspectives using textual evidence.
• Use appropriate linguistic, stylistic and critical terminology to form conclusions about texts and interpretations of texts.
• Use appropriate form, content, style and tone for different purposes and audiences in real and imagined contexts.
• Experiment with aesthetic features and stylistic devices to prompt critical and emotional responses.
• Apply knowledge of literary conventions to exploit style and structure of imaginative texts to challenge conventions and reinterpret ideas.
• Participate in guided, shared and independent construction of texts.
• Develop editorial independence by using strategies for planning, drafting, editing and proofreading to produce appropriately sequenced and coherent texts.

Unit 4: Independent explorations

In Unit 4, students demonstrate increasing independence in exploring, interpreting, analysing and appreciating the aesthetic appeal of literary texts and the insights they offer. The unit focuses on the dynamic nature of literary explorations and interpretations, and how a close examination of structure, style and subject matter of literary texts supports various responses.

In analytical responses, students draw on a range of interpretations of a literary text to develop their own independent, informed and sustained exploration and interpretation that is supported by close textual analysis.

In creating texts, students independently develop and compose original, imaginative texts in which they purposefully manipulate aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve particular effects.

Unit objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of imaginative and analytical genres to achieve particular purposes in cultural contexts and social situations.
2. Establish and maintain roles of the writer/speaker/designer and relationships with audiences.
3. Create perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in their own imaginative texts, and analyse these in literary texts created by others.
4. Make use of, in their own imaginative texts, the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions, and analyse these ways in literary texts created by others.
5. Use aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve purposes in their own imaginative texts and analyse their effects in literary texts.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in imaginative and analytical texts.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve imaginative and analytical purposes.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of imaginative and analytical texts.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes.
11. Use mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

Subject matter

Dynamic nature of literary interpretation

• Examine how the textual features of literary texts make available different interpretations.
• Explore how interpretations are produced by cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs of readers, viewers and listeners.
• Explore how interpretations of texts vary over time and across contexts, and how perspectives presented in these texts can be renewed for contemporary audiences.
• Examine a range of critical interpretations of particular literary texts.
• Examine the ways in which the expectations and values of audiences shape perceptions of texts and their significance.

Close examination of style, structure and subject matter

• Examine the ways a wide range of literary patterns and text structures of literary texts create varied effects.
• Examine the ways a wide range of stylistic and aesthetic features of literary texts create varied effects.
• Examine the use of literary devices such as point of view, narrative voice, plot structure, non-linear narrative, focalisation, characterisation, symbolism, motifs, setting, dialogue, mood.
• Investigate the relationship between purpose, language and meaning in texts.

Creating analytical and imaginative texts

• Structure original and complex arguments and points of view, substantiating interpretations with relevant textual evidence.
• Use appropriate linguistic, stylistic and critical terminology to develop a close, detailed reading of a literary text.
• Use appropriate form, content, style and tone for different purposes and audiences in real and imagined contexts.
• Experiment with manipulating and exploiting literary conventions to achieve particular effects.
• Make deliberate choices in medium, form, style, point of view and language when creating imaginative texts.
• Compose texts independently.
• Develop editorial independence by using strategies for planning, drafting, editing and proofreading to independently produce appropriately sequenced and coherent texts.

Assessment

Internal assessment 1: Examination — extended response (25%)

Students write an analytical essay in response to a seen question/task on a literary text from the prescribed text list.

Assessment objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of an analytical essay to inform readers of an interpretation of a literary text.
2. Establish and maintain the role of essay writer and relationships with readers.
3. Analyse perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and/or places in a literary text, and others' interpretations of, and/or responses to, this text.
4. Analyse the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and/or beliefs underpin a literary text and invite audiences to take up positions.
5. Analyse the effects of aesthetic features and/or stylistic devices in a literary text in prompting critical and emotional responses.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in an essay.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to inform readers of an interpretation of a literary text.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of an essay.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts in an essay.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes in an essay.
11. Use written features, including conventional spelling and punctuation, to achieve particular purposes in an essay.

Specifications

The teacher provides an examination that asks students to:

• respond using an extended response in the form of an analytical essay for an audience with a deep understanding of the studied text
• respond to a seen question/task
  • related to the literary text from the prescribed text list (available on the QCAA website)
  • that must focus on how the specified literary text addresses issues and ideas related to culture and identity
• critique others' interpretations or responses to the literary text.

Conditions

• This is an individual supervised task.
• Time allowed
  • Planning time: 15 minutes
  • Working time: 120 minutes
• The teacher provides the task to students one week before the examination.
• The teacher must not provide advice, guidance or feedback once the question/task is distributed.
• Students must not bring notes or the studied text into the examination.

Mark allocation

Instrument-specific marking guide (IA1)

Knowledge application

Organisation and development

Textual features

Internal assessment 2: Imaginative response (25%)

Students focus on the reinterpretation of ideas and perspectives in a literary text from the current prescribed text list (the base text). They draw on their knowledge of the relationship between language, culture and identity to create a reimagined spoken/multimodal response for a new cultural context.

Assessment objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of an imaginative genre to engage audiences with a reimagined text and invite them to reinterpret the base text.
2. Establish and maintain the role of the speaker/designer and relationships with audiences.
3. Create perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and/or places in a reimagined text.
4. Make use of the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and/or beliefs underpin texts to invite audiences to reinterpret the base text.
5. Use aesthetic features and/or stylistic devices in a reimagined text to prompt emotional and critical responses.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in the reimagined text.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of the reimagined text.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes.
11. Use mode-appropriate features to achieve particular purposes.

Specifications

This task requires students to:

• choose an aspect/s of the base text from the current prescribed text list (available on the QCAA website), such as perspectives of characters and/or representations of concepts, identities, times and/or places, suited to a reimagining for a different cultural context
• use their knowledge of the relationship between language, culture and identity to reinterpret ideas and perspectives in the base text
• select a new cultural context for the setting of the reimagined text that is sufficiently different in time and place from that of the base text and allows opportunities to demonstrate the assessment objectives
• assume that the audience for the reimagined text is familiar with the base text and the new cultural context
• respond in an imaginative form that
  • is mode-appropriate for the genre and context (e.g. a dramatic monologue, a digital story, a literary collage or pastiche, a podcast, a segment for a mockumentary, a social media reel or vlog)
  • invites the audience to question or reflect on the dominant cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and/or beliefs that underpin the base text or the new cultural context
  • prompts emotional and critical reactions from the audience to specific aspects of the base text.

Conditions

• Students receive 4 weeks notification of task.
• Students can develop their responses in class time and their own time.
• This is an individual task.
• Students must have open access to resources.

Response requirements

One of the following:

• Spoken (live or recorded): up to 8 minutes, or signed equivalent
• Multimodal (at least two modes, one spoken, delivered at the same time): up to 9 minutes

Mark allocation

Instrument-specific marking guide (IA2)

Knowledge application

Organisation and development

Textual features

Internal assessment 3: Imaginative response (25%)

Students focus on the creation and crafting of an original literary text. They independently develop and create an original, imaginative written text in which they purposefully manipulate aesthetic features and stylistic devices to shape representations and perspectives and achieve particular effects. There is no prescribed text list for this assessment instrument.

Assessment objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of an imaginative genre to achieve particular purposes in a specific context.
2. Establish and maintain the role of the writer and relationships with audiences.
3. Create perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and/or places in an imaginative text.
4. Make use of the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and/or beliefs underpin texts and invite audiences to take up positions.
5. Use aesthetic features and/or stylistic devices in an imaginative text to prompt emotional and critical audience responses.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in an imaginative text.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of an imaginative text.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes.
11. Use written features, including conventional spelling and punctuation, to achieve particular purposes.

Specifications

This task requires students to:

• draw on and use their understanding of the range of stylistic features they have studied throughout the course, such as point of view, narrative voice, plot structure, non-linear narrative, focalisation, characterisation, symbolism, use of motifs, setting, dialogue, mood
• determine and use a clear purpose/s for writing the text, whether it be to engage, to explore, to celebrate, to critique, to inspire, to satirise, to question, to move, to disconcert, to subvert, or to entertain
• consider how their imaginative text will shape perspectives and representations to position audiences in relation to cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs
• decide on subject matter and a genre that best suits their purpose/s
• respond in any imaginative form (e.g. a short story, a memoir, interior monologue, a chapter for a novel, a drama script, a screenplay for a short film or TV series) that is predominantly prose and allows them to demonstrate the assessment objectives.

Conditions

• Students receive 6 weeks notification of task.
• Students can develop their responses in class time and their own time.
• This is an individual task.
• Students must have open access to resources.

Response requirements

Written: up to 2000 words

Mark allocation

Instrument-specific marking guide (IA3)

Knowledge application

Organisation and development

Textual features

External assessment: Examination — extended response (25%)

External assessment is developed and marked by the QCAA. The external assessment in Literature is common to all schools and administered under the same conditions, at the same time, on the same day.

Assessment objectives

1. Use patterns and conventions of an analytical essay to respond to an unseen question/task.
2. Establish and maintain the role of essay writer and relationships with readers.
3. Analyse perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and/or places in a literary text.
4. Analyse the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and/or beliefs underpin a literary text and invite audiences to take up positions.
5. Analyse the effects of aesthetic features and/or stylistic devices in a literary text.
6. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives in an essay response to an unseen question/task.
7. Organise and sequence subject matter to achieve particular purposes.
8. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of an essay.
9. Make language choices for particular purposes in an essay.
10. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes in an essay.
11. Use written features to achieve particular purposes in an essay.

Specifications

This examination:

• relates to Unit 4
• may ask students to
  • respond to an unseen question related to a literary text from the external assessment section of the prescribed text list (available on the QCAA website)
  • respond using an extended response in the form of an analytical essay for an audience with a deep understanding of the text
  • communicate an informed and critical perspective.

Conditions

• Mode: written
• Time allowed
  • Planning time: 15 minutes
  • Working time: 120 minutes
• Students must not bring the studied text or notes into the examination.

Glossary

The syllabus glossary is available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior-qce/common/snr_glossary_cognitive_verbs.pdf.

References

Marzano, RJ & Kendall, JS 2008, Designing and Assessing Educational Objectives: Applying the new taxonomy, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California. ——2007, The New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, 2nd edn, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California. Misson, R & Morgan, W 2006, Critical Literacy and the Aesthetic: Transforming the English classroom, National Council of Teachers of English, Illinois.

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