Preparing for VCE English Exam 2024: What Year 12s need to know about the Study Design Changes.

If you’re a Year 12 doing the VCE English exam this year, there’s probably a little confusion on your end. The study design has undergone drastic change. What’s the VCE English exam going to look like after all these updates? What do you need to do differently as a Year 12 student? 

In this blog, I’ll go through each section-by-section as to what changed in the English exam so you know exactly what to expect & how to prepare.

Changes in Section A: Text Response

Thankfully, text responses are essentially unaffected by the 2024 study design changes. Phew! My students & VCE English study community have voiced very little confusion about this section in the exam, apart from the usual exam nerves. 

If you’re doing ‘High Ground’ or ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’, check out my free blogs or 33+ page study guides for them. They’re chock full of insights, evidence and tutor-written advice by me. No ChatGPT, just years of tutoring experience translated onto page. 

(Plus, students highly rate these guides and their teachers approve too.)

Changes in Section B: Creating Texts 

This section is where all the major changes are born. 

Once upon a time, we’d call this section ‘comparatives’. Then in 2023-24, VCAA completely sliced comparatives out and replaced it with what we colloquially referred to as a creative. 

If you’re in Year 12, you’ll already have done Creating Texts in Year 11 - so it won’t be completely new territory. But this will be the first time Creating Texts are officially marked by VCAA examiners and contribute to your study score & ATAR via exam. Admittedly, we’re all a little nervous as to how that will go. 

If you’re still feeling a little blurry about Section B, that’s okay. Most Year 12’s are. Take a few deep breaths, and keep reading. 

Here’s the few main points to keep under your thumb. 

VCAA requirements

• For the exam, do NOT do poems, verses or songs. If you’ve prepared one, change it into something else now.
• You must include the title that’s given in your exam.
• You must incorporate at least one stimulus into your story.
• NO statement of intention in the exam - they require ‘one written piece’, the creative itself.

Remember

• Your frameworks: The framework is the foundation of your piece. Develop ideas surrounding Protest, Play, Personal Journey or Country. 
• Four purposes: Remember to score well your text MUST reflect one or more of the following: Argue, express, reflect, explain. 
• Message: Your piece needs an underlying message / contention. Ask yourself what your story is trying to convey to the audience. Ask yourself if the audience should walk away feeling inspired to make change, or to feel deeply connected to you. Better yet, ask someone to read your piece and ask them if they got your message (along other things like, was it easy to read? Was it interesting? Evocative? Did it meet any 1/4 purposes?)

Most English tutors (myself alike) recommend the strategy of having a draft piece ready, so that you can jump into the exam with something at hand. 

I’ll be going through how to do Section B: Creating Texts in further depth, at my VCE English Exam Preparation workshop - one ticket includes access to the online live workshop, recording and PDF exam prep workbook. 

(Take a look at everything we’ll be covering in the workshop agenda here.)

Changes in Section C: Argument Analysis 

Although Argument Analysis remains in section C, a few study design tweaks have left Year 12s a bit confused as to how the exam will look. From my perspective, it’s essentially the same as before - but I’m here to clarify a few common misconceptions and points of confusion. 

Update 1: This year audio & audiovisual analysis has been integrated into the curriculum. How does this impact your VCE English exam section C?

How to address the update: The thing is, the exam won’t actually contain audio & audiovisual. This was only integrated into the SACs. So take that off your stress-list! 

If you ask me for my personal opinion, it’s most likely because it’s too hard to standardise and implement across all schools, with all VCAA supervisors. People sitting at the front of the room would probably have an advantage right? What if there’s technical difficulties on the day? They probably thought about it and scrapped it. So your Argument Analysis is going to look essentially the same.

Update 2: They also scrapped the ‘comparative’ element of Argument Analysis. Back in my day, we had to compare two or more texts in the exam and learn how to compare two elements in context of language. 

How to address the update: You don’t need to specifically study for ‘comparing’ in Argument Analysis anymore. Don’t stress! Although, you might want to integrate comparative techniques or similar language devices. 

Take a look at my free language device document for more language device analysis. Or if you want to be taught how to write an Argument Analysis essay from head-to-toe, intro-to-conclusion, grab my Argument Analysis Workshop recording or Argument Analysis Study Guide.

In summary:

• Audio + audiovisual has been integrated into the study design.
• Auditory analysis is not in the exam.
• There is no more comparative requirement of Argument Analysis. 
• Don’t forget there is still visual analysis. 

VCE English Exam Preparation Workshop

If you’ve got the time, grab a ticket to my VCE English Exam Preparation workshop. Designed to tackle exactly what we went through today, but in-depth, with actionable exercises & strategies. Take a look at the specific agenda that will be covered below.

Grab your tickets here!💚

Good luck for your VCE English exams, Year 12s!

Remember to look after yourself. Prioritise your wellbeing. Have a set schedule. You can do this.

All of this is derived from VCAA’s official website, so take a look if you’re still curious. Plus, you can grab a lot of my other awesome free resources here. (Or binge my Tiktoks…)

If you have any questions regarding this VCE English exam curriculum update blog, the study guide or the other free resources, feel free to email me directly and we'll get in touch launatutors@gmail.com 💌

Good luck for your exams! I believe in you!

About the author

This blog was written by yours truly, Launa. My teaching style is structured, analytical but easily digestible for high school students and teachers. Most students comment on how I can untangle difficult concepts and make it "understandable", as well as deliver nuanced perspectives that elevate their essays.

I've been tutoring since 2020, and have worked with over 100 students for hundreds of hours. I've done workshops that sold over 200+ tickets and created several resources, paid & free. If you're curious about what people have to say, head over to my testimonials section of the site. If you have any issues with this resource, go ahead and shoot me an email launatutors@gmail.com. Happy to help.

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