Australia · ACARA Content Descriptions
Year 12 English
This course challenges students to critically analyze how complex texts represent human experiences and cultural perspectives. Students develop sophisticated writing and speaking skills through the exploration of canonical and contemporary literature, film, and media.

01The Art of Persuasion and Rhetoric
Exploration of how language is used to manipulate, persuade, and challenge audiences in public discourse.
Students will analyze classical rhetorical appeals in contemporary speeches and advertisements.
Analysis of how political leaders use ethos, pathos, and logos to construct authority and national identity.
Students will identify and deconstruct common propaganda techniques used in historical and modern media.
Examining the shift from traditional oratory to the rapid-fire persuasion of digital platforms.
Students will practice constructing well-reasoned arguments for a specific audience and purpose.
Analyzing satire and parody as tools for critiquing dominant social and political narratives.
Students will learn to identify and analyze various forms of bias in news articles and media coverage.
Students will discuss the ethical boundaries of persuasive communication and the responsibility of the communicator.
Students will analyze how images, infographics, and visual design persuade audiences.
Students will examine the rhetorical strategies employed in foundational historical documents.
Students will deconstruct the persuasive techniques used in various forms of advertising.
Students will identify and analyze rhetorical strategies in daily conversations, debates, and personal interactions.
Students will explore how scientific findings and data are presented persuasively to different audiences.
Students will apply their understanding of rhetoric to write a comprehensive rhetorical analysis essay.
Students will present their rhetorical analysis findings in an engaging oral presentation.

02Literary Worlds and Cultural Values
A deep dive into how prose fiction constructs immersive worlds that reflect or reject the values of their time.
Students will analyze different narrative structures and their impact on storytelling.
Investigating how authors build psychological depth to explore universal human struggles.
Students will explore how authors use setting to create mood, foreshadow events, and reflect character psychology.
Analyzing how the choice of narrator influences the reader's trust and interpretation of events.
Students will identify and analyze the central themes in prose fiction and their relevance to human experience.
Unpacking the layers of meaning hidden within recurring images and objects in a text.
Students will analyze the use of figurative language, irony, and other literary devices in prose fiction.
Students will explore texts that convey deeper moral or political meanings through symbolic narratives.
Students will analyze how dialogue reveals character, advances plot, and establishes tone.
Students will examine how literary movements (e.g., Romanticism, Modernism) reflect their historical and cultural contexts.
Students will explore how postcolonial texts challenge dominant narratives and explore themes of identity, displacement, and resistance.
Students will apply feminist critical lenses to analyze gender roles, power dynamics, and female representation in literature.
Students will focus on the unique structural and thematic elements of short fiction.
Students will develop strong thesis statements and select compelling textual evidence for literary essays.
Students will refine their literary analysis essays, focusing on logical organization and coherent argumentation.

03Dramatic Forms and Performance
Analyzing dramatic texts through the lens of performance, staging, and audience engagement.
Students will analyze the foundational elements of dramatic texts and their interplay.
Examining how playwrights use dialogue and stage directions to escalate interpersonal and societal conflict.
Students will explore how set design, lighting, sound, and costume contribute to the meaning of a play.
Tracing the evolution of the tragic hero from classical origins to modern interpretations.
Students will analyze how comedic forms (satire, farce, black comedy) are used to critique society.
Investigating metatheatre and techniques that acknowledge the artifice of the performance.
Students will analyze how recurring symbols and visual imagery contribute to the thematic depth of a play.
Students will examine the function of extended speeches in revealing character's inner thoughts and motivations.
Students will compare a dramatic text with its film adaptation, analyzing changes in interpretation and medium.
Students will explore plays that challenge traditional narrative and explore themes of meaninglessness and human existence.
Students will examine the role and function of the chorus in classical Greek drama.
Students will analyze Shakespeare's use of language, verse, and prose in relation to performance.
Students will apply their understanding of dramatic elements to write a short scene.
Students will perform a short scene, focusing on vocal and physical interpretation.
Students will write an analytical essay on a dramatic text, focusing on performance elements.

04Poetic Language and Emotional Resonance
A study of how poets compress language to evoke intense emotion and explore complex themes.
Students will analyze how a poet establishes a distinct voice and tone through word choice and syntax.
Analyzing how poets use sensory language to ground abstract ideas in concrete experience.
Students will identify and analyze various forms of figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification) and their effects.
Exploring how the formal properties of a poem contribute to its meaning and mood.
Examining the persona in the poem and the relationship between the speaker and the poet.
Students will unpack layers of meaning conveyed through symbols and references to other texts or events.
Students will compare and contrast the structural and thematic characteristics of different poetic forms.
Students will analyze how poets use sound to create musicality, emphasize meaning, and evoke mood.
Students will explore how poets use their craft to address social injustices, political issues, and cultural critiques.
Students will examine how poets draw on personal experiences to explore universal themes.
Students will analyze how poets represent the natural world and its relationship to human experience.
Students will explore the relationship between poetry and song lyrics, analyzing shared poetic devices.
Students will experiment with different poetic forms and techniques to create their own poems.
Students will practice and perform poetry, focusing on vocal delivery and interpretation.
Students will write an analytical essay on a poem, focusing on its language and structure.