HOW TO USE THE TEXT IN YOUR WRITING

The Imaginative Landscape

USE OF TEXT

The texts are a way in to thought

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

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

The Context Response must not be a Text Response answer

USE OF TEXT

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

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

plot

USE OF TEXT

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

developing the ideas

You are not expected to include quotes from the focus text

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

referred to in the response

USE OF TEXT

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

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

response

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

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

THE PROMPT

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

(VCAA, 2010)

THE IMAGINATIVE LANDSCAPE

This Context is concerned with:

The physical landscapeA sense of place

Humans and their relationship with the natural world

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

Connections with the landscape

THE IMAGINATIVE LANDSCAPE

The influences of the physical landscape on:

Our internal landscapeOur emotional state

Our imaginationOur memories

Our sense of selfOur views of the world

Our senses

Island – Alistair MacLeod

Links to the ‘Imaginative Landscape’

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

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

TraditionA sense of place

DangerBeauty

LimitationsFreedom

IDEAS, ISSUES & ARGUMENTS

A way of lifeA challenge

The pastThe futureMemories

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

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

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

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

Language techniques you can use in your own writing to make

your connections clear

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

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

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

THE FORMS

How to write on the ContextYouwill have the option of responding to the

Context in one of the following forms:

1. Expository2. Persuasive

3. Imaginative

EXPOSITORY

Expose or explain a detailed view of the Context

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

your world

Consider different points of view on the Context

EXPOSITORY

Possible forms include:

An essay A feature article

A news reportAn interview

PERSUASIVE

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

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

The world outside the text informs the response

PERSUASIVE

Possible forms include:

An essay A speech

An opinion pieceAn editorial

IMAGINATIVE

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

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

the focus text to explore the Context

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

IMAGINATIVE

Appropriate forms include:

A short story A scene, interior monologue or section of

scriptAn epilogue or a prologue

A reflective narrative

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

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

Ideas – the quality and development of

Expression – control of language, spelling, punctuation & clarity

PROMPTS

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

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

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

person we become.’