Context is another name for “creating and presenting”, the second task in the VCAA English exam. There are four different contexts, with each student studying only one. Choose your context from the list below to learn more about its specific themes and texts:

• Identity and Belonging
• Imaginative Landscape
• Encountering Conflict
• Whose Reality?

The task

The fundamental task of context is to respond to a prompt on your particular context. This prompt is effectively a question which is phrased as a sentence, but does not limit a response to simply agreeing.

When responding to this prompt, your response should carefully balance not only providing an answer to that prompt, but everything you have learned about the context and your text(s). You are not limited in the same way as a text response essay to only talk about the text, instead there is an expectation that you will weave in other, bigger ideas, such as examples from the real world and philosophical ideas about the context. The trick is to not feel limited: make sure you tick all of the boxes, but be creative, broad-thinking and original in your response.

Writing forms

Context gives you the choice of writing a creative, persuasive or expository piece. These are not mutually exclusive, but can be blended together where appropriate. To learn more about each style, choose from the list below:

• Creative
• Persuasive
• Expository