how to write a drama essay hsc

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• DRAMA ESSAYS! How to write them without dying (theatrically)

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Re: DRAMA ESSAYS! How to write them without dying (theatrically)

SUSIE!!!! This is the best thing EVER!! I literally thought that drama essays would remain a mystery till the end of time but this makes everything so much better!! Now I feel so much more confident in having the balance between the storytelling component and the analytical component. I'll definitely post back when I have questions which will inevitably happen when I start revising!

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I got curious the other day and pondered when you first joined AN so I stalked your very first few posts. They were about drama and not history. Welcome back to where you started

Angela Karanikolas

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[Centre stage spotlight on SUDODDS] Hey hey! With your Trial exams coming up, I've decided to write up a quick little guide on how to approach writing a killer HSC Drama Essay - because guess what, the theory component of drama DOES actually exist! (unfortunately) [Cue applause SFX - lights dim for dramatic affect]

Oh my god!! This is the worlds greatest post to date. I have spent my assessments up to now just trying to formulate the perfect way to write those essays and here it is. I had one of the worst issues with storytelling, analyzing and synthesising. This completely puts everything into perspective in regards to being able to complete it and not completely break down in a fit of tears. Like Maria said, expect me back here. Thank you so much Susie, you have quite literally saved my drama marks!!!

This is so helpful! Thank you so much! my teacher has literally never taught us how to do drama essays despite them being a large part of our grade! THANK YOU

Potatohater

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How do you decide what points and examples are most important? I feel like I have so much to talk about for drama, especially for approaches to acting, but there's not enough time!

jamiesanders

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hey Susie! thanks a lot for that guide it really really helped! My question is how many quotes would you include in the essay per text? Thanks!!

irafriedberg

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Essay writing tips for the written examination

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A State Ranker’s Guide to Writing 20/20 English Advanced Essays

I completed 4 units of English, so take it from me, I've written lots of essays!

Marko Beocanin

99.95 ATAR & 3 x State Ranker

1. Introduction to this Guide

Essays can be tough. Like, really tough.

They’re made tougher still because every HSC English module has a different essay structure, and no-one seems to have a consistent idea of what an ‘ essay’ actually is (not to get postmodern on you!).

My name is Marko Beocanin, and I’m an English tutor at Project Academy. In this post I hope to demystify essay-writing and arm you with a “tried and proven” approach you can apply to any essay you’ll write in HSC English and beyond. In 2019, I completed all four units of English (Extension 2, Extension 1, and Advanced), and state ranked 8th in NSW for English Advanced and attained a 99.95 ATAR – so take it from me, I’ve written a lot of essays! Here’s some of the advice I’ve picked up throughout that experience.

2. My Essay-Writing Methodology

For us to understand how to write an essay, it’s important to appreciate what an essay (in particular, a HSC English essay) actually is. I’ve come to appreciate the following definition:

An essay is a structured piece of writing that argues a point in a clear, sophisticated way *, and expresses* personality and flair.

Let’s have a look at each of these keywords – and how they should inform our essay-writing process – in more detail.

3. “Arguing a point” means CAUSE and EFFECT

When most people study English, they tend to make huge lists of Themes, Values, Concerns, Quotes and so on. While this is a great exercise for collecting evidence and understanding your texts, it’s important to remember that your essay is not simply a theme summary or quote bank – you have to actually argue something!

And any argument needs a cause and an effect.

When you approach any essay question, it’s not enough to simply chuck in quotes/topic-sentences that abstractly relate to it. An internal checklist you could go through while reading a question might look like:

What is the question actually asking me?

What is my response to the question?

Am I actually making an argument in my response, and not just repeating the question?

What is my cause?

What is my effect?

How can I prove my argument?

It’s only at question 4 that quotes/analysis/topic-sentences appear. Your first step in writing any essay is to actually have an argument to prove.

Cause and Effect in Thesis Statements

To demonstrate what I mean by cause-and-effect, let’s have a look at a lower-band essay thesis on Nineteen Eighty-Four:

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell explores totalitarianism.

This sentence is a flat declaration of a theme. While it does identify totalitarianism, it doesn’t give any indication on what parts of totalitarianism Orwell explores, and what the actual effect of totalitarianism is.

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell explores the abuse of power in totalitarian regimes.

This one is certainly better, because it describes a specific element of totalitarianism that Orwell explores – but it’s still missing an actual argument about what totalitarianism DOES to people. A full cause and effect (and higher band) thesis statement might look like:

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell explores how the abuse of power in totalitarian regimes leads to a brutalised human experience.

This thesis explicitly outlines how the CAUSE (abuse of power in totalitarian regimes) leads to the EFFECT (a brutalised human experience).

There’s certainly still some ambiguity in this sentence – for example, what sort of human experiences are being brutalised? – and in an exam, you’d substitute that for the specific human experiences outlined in the question.

In general, whenever you see sentences like “Composer X discusses Theme Y” in your essay drafts, think about developing them into “Composer X discusses how Specific Cause of Theme Y leads to Specific Effect of Theme Y”.

Cause and Effect Diagrams

To make sure that your arguments actually have a specific cause and effect , try writing them out in the following diagrammatic way:

_Surprisingly, drawing the arrow made a huge psychological difference for me! _

If you struggle with this, try to restructure/rephrase your arguments until they can be categorised in such a way. Making and rewriting these diagrams is also a great way to prep for exams without writing out your whole essay.

Cause and Effect in Analysis

Similarly, when it comes to your actual analysis itself, make sure that you’re not just listing techniques and quotes. You’re not just analysing your quotes for the sake of naming the techniques in them – you’re analysing them to prove a point!

Whenever you consider a quote for your essay, ask yourself:

What is this quote about?

How does this quote prove my argument?

How do the literary techniques in this quote prove my argument?

Let’s use an example from King Henry IV, Part 1 to illustrate this. A lower band piece of analysis might look like:

King Henry’s opening monologue employs anthropomorphism: “Daub her lips with her own children’s blood…bruise her flow’rets with…armed hoofs.”

While the technique of anthropomorphism is identified, this sentence doesn’t link to any argument about WHY that technique is there and what it does.

King Henry’s opening monologue anthropomorphises England as a mother violated by war: “Daub her lips with her own children’s blood…bruise her flow’rets with…armed hoofs.”

This is certainly better, because it explains what the technique actually does – but it still doesn’t discuss how the technique guides us to an actual point.

King Henry’s opening monologue anthropomorphises England as a mother violated by war: “Daub her lips with her own children’s blood…bruise her flow’rets with…armed hoofs…” to convey the civil unrest caused by his tenuous claim to the throne.

This analysis not only outlines the technique in detail, but it also explicitly embeds it with an argument – this time, structured as EFFECT ( civil unrest ) caused by CAUSE ( his tenuous claim to the throne ).

In general, whenever you see analysis in your drafts written as “Composer X uses Technique Y in Quote Z”, try to rewrite it as “Composer X uses Technique Y in Quote Z to argue Point A”.

4. Clear, Sophisticated Way

In general, clarity/sophistication in Advanced essays comes from two main sources.

Essay Structure

For most essays, the simplest and most effective overall structure looks like:

Intro: Here, you answer the question with an argument, summarise your points and link to the rubric.

3 – 4 Body Paragraphs: Here, you actually make your points.

Conclusion: Here, you re-summarise your arguments and ‘drop the mic’.

While it’s cool to play around with the number of body paragraphs, for example, the structure above is generally a safe bet for Advanced.

The most variety comes from the actual structure within your body paragraphs.

There are plenty of online guides/resources with fun acronyms like STEEL and PEETAL and less fun ones like PEEQTET – but ultimately, the exact formula you go with is a relatively inconsequential matter of choice and style. Just make sure you have the following elements roughly in this order!

Cause and Effect Topic Sentence

Here, you make your point as clearly as possible (remember cause and effect), and address the specific argument that the paragraph will cover. It’s fantastic if you can link this argument to the argument in your previous paragraph.

Context Sentence

This bit is vital (and often forgotten!). Texts don’t exist in a void – their composers had lives, were influenced by the world around them, and had inspirations and purposes in their compositions. Context can be political, socio-cultural, religious, philosophical, literary etc… as long as it’s there!

Cause and Effect Analysis

In a three-paragraph structure, a solid aim is for four to five quotes per paragraph. Each point you make should be justified with a quote, and each quote should have a technique linked to it. It’s usually helpful to order your quotes chronologically as they appear within the text (to show how the argument progressively builds) – but in more non-linear forms like poetry, for example, you can switch it up a little. Make sure each paragraph covers quotes from the whole text, to demonstrate a broad range of analysis!

Here, you might give a restatement of your topic sentence that summarises your main ideas.

Wording and Expression

A common misconception with English Advanced is that huge words and long, meandering sentences will score the most marks.

In Advanced, clarity should come from your expression , while sophistication should come from your ideas . Ultimately, the more complex your expression and sentence structure is, the more your markers will have to work to connect with your content.

While an occasional well-executed piece of technical jargon is impressive, it should never come at the cost of clearly and explicitly getting your point across.

A few general tips I’ve picked up from both my time as a student and my work as a tutor include:

Avoid using a thesaurus/online synonym-search whenever possible! If you didn’t consider using a word naturally, it’s unlikely it will flow with the rest of your expression.

A long, comma-intensive sentence can (and should) almost always be replaced with two or more sentences.

Use semicolons sparingly (if at all), and with GREAT caution.

Never underestimate words like “because”, “leads to”, “causes” etc. They are simple, but brilliantly effective at establishing a clear cause and effect structure!

Make sure to continuously reuse words from the question. Even if this feels clunky, it helps you actually engage with the question.

Also make sure to continuously use rubric keywords – particularly in Common Mod and Mod A!

5. Personality and Flair

And now… the hardest bit. Putting a bit of you into your essays.

There’s no one way to “add personality/flair” – this is where you have the freedom to develop your own voice and style. Remember that your markers love literature – and for them to see real, unadulterated enthusiasm in your work is an absolute win that will be marked generously.

To develop that passionate flair/personality, I encourage you to do three things:Practice. A Lot. The more you write – whether it’s homework questions, mini paragraphs, or flat-out full practice essays – the better you’ll become at writing. It’s as simple as that.

6. Concluding Remarks

Get feedback on your work..

To make sure you’re actually improving with your writing, aim to get plenty of feedback from both of these groups:

People who know your text and HSC English in-and-out (teachers, tutors, scholars etc.), so they can engage with your analysis and help develop your style/structure.

People who don’t know your texts and HSC English particularly well (parents, friends, etc.), so they can check your arguments actually make sense!

Explore your own English-related interests.

Reading widely and writing weird stuff just for fun adds an indescribable but very real level of depth and nuance to your essay-writing. For me, this involved immersing myself in crazy literary theory that had nothing to with my texts, and writing super edgy poetry. Find what works for you!

Good Luck!!!

Whether this article reaches you the night before Paper 1, or at the start of your English journey – I’m confident that you can do this. If you can find even one thing that you connect with about this subject… whether it’s a character you love, or a beautiful poem, or a wacky critical piece that’s totally BS… hopefully you’ll realise that essay writing doesn’t have to be so tough after all!

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HSC DRAMA ESSAY WRITING detailed booklet

• Word Document File

Description

Highly detailed student study booklet that will assist Year 12 HSC Drama students in completing the written examination. The class this was made for attained FOUR band 6's in the HSC and their essay writing improved significantly.

This booklet would be very helpful for a new Drama Stage 6 teacher. Even if you did not study the same texts, it is very detailed in terms of structure that can be followed etc.

The texts in focus:

SECTION I - AUSTRALIAN DRAMA AND THEATRE: Contemporary Australian Theatre

• Life Without Me (Daniel Keene)
• Stolen (Jane Harrison)

SECTION II - STUDIES IN DRAMA AND THEATRE: Verbatim Theatre

• Beyond the Neck (Tom Holloway)
• Parramatta Girls (Alana Valentine)
• exemplar essays that have been broken down with a scaffold
• annotated list of all past HSC questions
• detailed list of quotes and themes relevant to each section
• sample paragraphs
• study suggestions
• scaffold for each section

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Drama essays -HELP!!!!

• Thread starter JYBJYBJYB238
• Start date Apr 7, 2013

JYBJYBJYB238

captainpigs

Tutor and note seller.

Don't be put off by your Bs in your essays- my drama class never once had an A range essay between any of us yet we all still performed well int he exam. could i ask what topics your doing? Yes- when speaking about workshops speak in first person. A really good resource to read is this http://dramateachersnetwork.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/tips-for-writing-a-drama-essay/ it gives you a good idea. I was lucky as we had a dedicated literacy teacher who gave all subjects structure scaffolds. Good luck!  

Damn I did different topics so I can't help. Most of the drama texts aren't very interesting- I know most of mine weren't, you really just have to make sure you include some good techniques with your relevant workshop examples and you should do fine.  

JYBJYBJYB238 said: I'm a year 12 student at a (dreadfulll) country high school, and my class (and myself) still don't know how to write a drama essay properly!! What we write for drama would be excellent A range english essays (but including include exporential learning ect etc - we put in what we're told to) - and receive a B at the highest! which is terrible as I want a minimum of a band 5 in drama, and an overall high atar. The teacher seems to mark by his own mysterious, objective methods, and none of us can figure out how to please him with our essay work Are we supposed to write in first person for the exporential? What are some of the must-do points for a drama essay? Some advice, in any way, shape or form would be excellent. Thanks. Click to expand...

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{{item.title}}, my essentials, ask for help, contact edconnect, directory a to z, how to guides, creative arts k–12, sample hsc drama assessment task.

There are two parts to this task.

• Part A - performance essay (20 marks)
• Part B - two extended responses of between 400 and 600 words each (10 marks each).
• H1.2 uses performance skills to interpret and perform other scripted material
• H2.2 uses dramatic and theatrical elements effectively to engage an audience
• H2.3 demonstrates directorial skills for theatre and other media
• H2.4 appreciates the dynamics of drama as a performing art
• H3.1 critically applies understanding of the cultural, historical and political contexts that have influenced specific drama and theatre practitioners, styles and movements
• H3.2 analyses, synthesises and organises knowledge, information and opinion in coherent, informed oral and written responses
• H3.3 demonstrates understanding of the actor-audience relationship in various dramatic and theatrical styles and movements.

© Board of Studies, Drama Stage 6 Syllabus, 2009

Task description

PART A (20 Marks) - performance essay - in groups of 1-3 present a performance essay for the following question.

How are the elements of drama manipulated to engage the audience in the two plays you have studied?

Each person in the group is to consider one element of drama. Each person's section of the performance essay must be submitted in writing. Each person has a performance time limit of 3-5 minutes.

PART B (20 Marks) - extended response questions

• To what extent are the plays you have studied a reflection of Australian society? Your answer should consider the views of the playwrights, and the social, historical and cultural references the plays make in regards to Australian society.
• How do the plays you have studied accept or reject the conventions of traditional Australian drama? Your answer should show an appreciation of how the style of realism is manipulated in both plays.

Write 400-600 words for each response.

Performance essay

A performance essay is a moved presentation of the theoretical information inside an essay. It is usually done in documentary style with a narrator moving in, out, and around selected scene extracts ? explaining their relevance to the question. The key to a good performance essay is to ensure the information is informative and engaging.

The following example is an extract from a performance essay showing how the dramatic element of tension is manipulated in Act III of the Thornton Wilder play, Our Town . The text is read aloud by a narrator while the extracts from the play are performed by both the narrator and another actor.

Following the funeral of Emily we see an attempt by her to return to the world of the living. This ultimately, unsuccessful attempt, creates tension between the two worlds of 'life' and 'death'. [The actors playing Emily and Mrs Webb begin to act out the scene. They freeze at the point where Emily tries to tell her mother she is dead.] You will have noticed the characters seem unwilling to look at each other. By employing this simple technique of movement, in this case no eye contact between the characters, significant tension is created. As an audience we are longing for Emily's mother to acknowledge her daughter, but we know this cannot happen. [The actors continue to act out the scene until Emily is 'ready to go back'.] Emily's final departure presents an unresolved climax. She has died and there is no chance for her to gain closure with what she acknowledges is a lacklustre past. There is also significant dramatic irony within the scene as we, the audience, know that Emily is dead, whereas Mrs Gibbs is unaware of this fact. This creates a sense of dread, in that we know there is much sadness ahead for the family.

Marking guidelines – Part A

These guidelines are used to mark the collaborative task.

Marking guidelines – Part B

Each of the two responses is marked separately.

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How to write full mark answers for HSC English short response (with examples!!)

This article is focused on crafting top-scoring HSC English short responses! Learn key strategies and explore 2022 HSC English paper 1 solutions to ace your exams.

8 months ago   •   6 min read

Need to master the art of unseen short-response questions? If that’s you, you're in the right place.

Let me walk you through a step by step process on how to write full-mark responses for 2022’s HSC English paper 1 short response section.

Before we kick things off let us quickly remind ourselves of how we should structure our answers.

• Start with a topic sentence (a mini thesis if you will) essentially summarizing our argument/answer to the question in one sentence. Make sure you DO NOT REPEAT the question but utilize its KEY words.
• Now the evidence. The general rule is number of evidence = number of marks - 1. This isn’t set in stone but it is a good guideline if aren't sure how much to write.
• Lastly, finish it off with a strong concluding sentence. Prove to the marker you really answered the question and you know exactly what you’re talking about (If you went off track from what the question was asking, this is the place to redeem yourself).

Okay, now let's get into the paper.

Question 1 (3 marks)

Text 1 Poem

In what ways does Azzam celebrate togetherness?

Before I read the actual text I like to quickly annotate the question first to see what themes and techniques I should be looking out for. In this case, we have “ celebrate ” and “ togetherness ”. As I read the text, I think about HOW Azzam is portraying togetherness and WHY he is portraying it the way he is. Notice the abundance of alliteration and gustatory imagery he uses to draw us into his warm and lively experience. I’m getting hungry from just reading it.

Azzam’s poem captivates readers with his sensory illustrations (how) to celebrate the wonderful togetherness that culture can provide (why). The personification of his gustatory imagery in “Tango on the Tongue” conveys how the warm embrace of food makes it come alive, “stepping, stomping, swaying.” His use of alliteration brings rhythm to his words and mimics the festive celebration of a “global salute,” the metaphor expressing the united sense food provides.

Many students just state the technique and forget to actually explain why the composer used it. The personification conveys , the alliteration brings rhythm , the metaphor expresses. Always ensure your technique is combined with a doing verb.

Question 4 (3 marks)

Text 4 — Memoir extract

Analyze how Saramago conveys the value of memory in this extract?

The key theme to focus on here is the value of memory. As you read the text you are looking to answer the following questions:

• What is the value of memory being conveyed (why does the composer think memory is valuable)?
• And how is the composer conveying his idea about memory (what stylistic features is he using)?

Well, the extract talks about how his house is gone but lives on in his mind. We can interpret this in a few different ways, like:

• The composer sees memory as a way for individuals to revisit the past and find comfort in nostalgia.
• The composer sees memory as the vessel in which past experiences are used to construct present identity.
• The composer sees memory as the way in which our minds make transient experiences permanent.

Note how there are so many different takeaways and there is no right or wrong answer. It’s your job to find your interpretation and explain with evidence why you think that’s what the composer is trying to say (in a formal third-person way obviously).

A good way to practice unseen response is trying to find multiple interpretations of a text to really challenge your ability to think on the spot and draw meanings out of texts kind of like what I just did with my three different dot points. ‌‌Now I will pick my favourite to analyse for you.

Saramago reflects on his childhood to establish memory as a valuable vessel used to revisit the past and enhance experiences through nostalgia. (Don't just say ‘Saramago conveys the value of memory’ but how and precisely what this its value was. Basically to add more detail to what’s already  in the question.) Though his childhood home has literally “disappeared beneath a mound of rubble,” it figuratively continues to live inside his mind with his ability to “rebuild its white walls.” (More sophisticated answers can seamlessly integrate evidence into their response. This makes the analysis sound less robotic and repetitive.) The motif of construction elucidates memories' restorative powers and the way it allows physically lost things to permeate into the present. Finally, the reflective and intimate tone in the narrator’s emotive statement “long ceased to cause me any suffering” highlights the comforting presence of nostalgic memories. Hence Saramago conveys how memories valuably allow individuals to revisit comforting moments of the past to relieve present experiences. (Here I just restate my topic sentence and summarise the main ideas of my analysis).

When looking for quotes, find ones that build off each other. Many student responses I’ve seen use quotes that do similar things and use up words without actually strengthening the argument. Find a logical structure to the evidence you are putting forward.

Question 5 (6 marks)

Text 5 — Nonfiction extract and Text 6 — Photograph

Compare how Falconer and Paine represent interactions between humans and the natural world.

This one is a tough one because the answer isn’t a whole lot obvious. Especially because the prompt is just a girl on a bike in the desert. What the heck is that telling me about the human experience?

Let's start off by discussing the structure for a comparative response. Your introduction should read something like ‘ Both text 5 and text 6 [insert similarity]. However, while text 5 [insert a unique thing text 5 does] and text 6 [insert unique thing text 6 does].’

Yep, two sentences are all you need. Remember it's only six marks, don't go crazy. For evidence aim for 5-6. The general rule above tells you five but for some people, it may feel more natural to do 6 (three for each text). Splitting up the text into two paragraphs is also a good idea. Contains your ideas in a logical structure and makes things easier for yourself and the marker (so they can tell which text you’re referring to).

Hopefully, from reading the texts, you have at least gathered that they both explore how humans interact with the natural environment. Namely, they demonstrate the way we become captivated by the beauty and power of nature and it is in searching for natural worlds and immersing ourselves in them that we derive joy and meaning. But while they seemingly have the same overarching theme, they explore it in different ways. Text 5 takes on a more collective perspective while text 6 focuses on the individual. Text 5 celebrates glimpses of natural beauty in an urban landscape to demonstrate how its sentimental significance brings bliss and joyousness. Text 6 embraces the raw power of the Earth and the excitement of adventuring the natural landscape.

Both Text 5 and Text 6 represent how individuals interact with the natural landscape to derive joy and meaning from daily lives. However, while Text 5 explores how individuals search for nature in the urban world to appreciate the beauty and significance of life, Text 6 demonstrates the immersive strength of Earth’s captivating natural landscape to be all around us.

The desire for humanity to form a deep-rooted connection with nature is established in Falconer’s anecdote about how “each mother of a newborn” was given “a jacaranda seedling,” a means to intertwine nature with the cycle of life. She then contrasts the bright purple “bloom against the colonial sandstone wall” to further highlight how this continoual serach for natural beauty is a way of finding joy and bliss amongst urbanisation's aggressive mundanity. Ultimately they the jacarandas serve as a metaphorical “reminder of the transience of feelings,” encouraging humanity to embrace fleeting moments and continuously appreciate the beauty in life.

A different perspective is represented in Text 6 where individuals are permanently immersed by the raw power of the natural landscape, fueling the human experience with adventure and excitement. The vector lines created by the road leading into the distance allude to the vastness of the natural world while the crazed movement of hair demonstrates the unruly state of the wind with a mind of its own. Despite this, the salient young girl remains smiling and upright in the foreground. She is dressed in boots and goggles stating she is ready to revel against the Earth’s elements. This showcases how nature instills in humanity a thirst for adventure and excitement with its overwhelming raw power and immersive beauty.

Ultimately, while Text 5 explores the personal desire to search for joy and meaning in natural beauty and Text 6 demonstrates nature’s instillation of excitement and adventure as omnipresent, both texts establish the interactions between humans and the natural world as a positive means of deriving an appreciation for human and natural life.

Written by KIS Academics Tutor for HSC English, Thao Peli Nghiem Xuan. Thao is pursuing a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering at the University Of New South Wales. You can view Thao's profile here and request her as a tutor.‌‌

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