What does an A+ VCE English essay look like?

The answer in short:

An A+ VCE English essay is one that fulfills VCAA’s marking criteria.

The answer in long:

How do we determine whether a piece of writing is good or mediocre or terrible?

We might have our own internal perceptions of what good writing encompasses. For example, I personally believe that good writing bears elements of transparency. To me good writing exercises transparency through its acknowledgement of limitations and flaws in the arguments it puts forward.

However, this may not align with what someone else’s definition of what it means to write well. For your essays to be marked and cross-marked by multiple assessors, there needs to be a common ground – a similar understanding of what ‘good writing’ is going to look like. This is what ensures consistency and accuracy across the board with marking – the implementation of an evaluative system used by all markers. This evaluative system is VCAA’s marking criteria.

It therefore makes sense that when writing our essays and evaluating our work, that we understand what the criteria is asking for. If we have this understanding, we can then tailor our writing to best represent these qualities.

I want to spend some time analysing VCAA’s marking criteria for Section A of the VCE English exam in order to better help you understand its importance.

These are the expected qualities for the 9-10 mark range of a Section A essay (2017 – 2022 study design).

9-10: Demonstrates a close and perceptive reading of the text, exploring complexities of its concepts and construction. Demonstrates an understanding of the implications of the topic, using an appropriate strategy for dealing with it, and exploring its complexity from the basis of the text. Develops a cogent, controlled and well-substantiated discussion using precise and expressive language.

These are the skills we need to exhibit, and the standards to which we must show these skills. It is not enough to provide “a reading of the text.” The type of the reading must be “close,” and the standard of the reading must be “perceptive.”

Ask yourself what this means. What does a close reading look like? What does a perceptive reading look like?

Consider this as well: an 8/10 essay according to VCAA, “demonstrates a close reading of the text, exploring its concepts and construction.” It’s clear then that one of the distinguishing features between an 8/10 essay and a 9 or 10/10 essay is this perceptiveness.

What does perceptive insight look like? If we look at synonyms for perceptive, we see words like “thoughtful” or “discerning.” A perceptive reading is therefore likely one that is nuanced.

This leads us on to our next question: how we might we see nuance as reflected within a text? That depends on your text.

Here are some examples of what perceptiveness can look like:

• We can see perceptive understanding in the ability to spot differing representations of the same character: while Medea in Euripides’ play Medea is often associated with primal passion, we also see her use of logic when manipulating men throughout the play. Your ability to recognise the nuance and complexity within her character, which oscillates and mutates throughout the text, reveals perceptiveness as it moves beyond basic linear correlations between character and theme.

• We can see a perceptive reading when a student reflects on contrasting representations of the same theme: In Mandel’s Station Eleven we see faith and religion give birth to tyranny and extremism, but we also see instances where faith provides a balm for the soul in times of hardship. These are the same ideas that result in radically different consequences for different people. Arguing that Mandel presents a harsh rebuke of religion isn’t an entirely accurate or nuanced interpretation, it can’t be when this faith is presented sympathetically in her depiction of August’s quiet prayers over the dead.

This is my interpretation of what “perceptive” looks like, and different examples of how I might aim to provide a perceptive reading.

You might have different ideas of what constitutes perceptiveness – and if you do, that’s great! Individual interpretation of these criterion markers provides diverse and fascinating insight into texts. What’s key is using the marking system to inform your decisions and choices around what your writing looks like. As long as you recognise perceptive understanding is the standard of understanding you need to exhibit, then you are working to better target the criteria.

Spend time dissecting each criterion that you are striving towards, for each section of the exam. Does this if you are studying EAL or Literature as well!

Ask yourself questions about each criterion, for example, with the 9-10 criteria, ask yourself what are “implications of the topic?” How can I show that I understand them?  Ask yourself, how do I use “an appropriate strategy” to deal with a topic? Can I create one?

What is also key is acknowledging what is absent from the criteria. Remember, you are not being marked according to your subjective perceptions of what good writing entails. You might think, for example, that good writing involves a sophisticated vocabulary, but we don’t see this represented in the criteria. Your language must be “precise and expressive” – this does not mean you need to labour over every word looking for an adequately fancy synonym!

If you’re a student who is striving for an A+ VCE English essay, my first piece of advice would be to spend time considering VCAA’s marking criteria. Ask yourself honestly, “does my writing embody these qualities?”