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Week 1
Text types and Literary Texts

We assess and report against the Australian Curriculum. Each week we will be covering
different parts of the curriculum in the course notes and activities. Make sure you read all of
the notes each week and follow the instructions for activities very closely. If you are at all
unsure about what to do then contact your teacher for assistance.
Learning Goals for Week 1
By the end of this week you will learn to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Identify and provide examples of the types of texts you have read.
Critically discuss and analyse a short story.
Identify the different types of genres and provide your own examples.
Identify purpose and audience in different types of literary texts.
Plan, create and present a short character description.
Draft, proof-read and revise your work for accuracy in spelling, grammar and
sentence structure.

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Types of texts and you

Throughout the year you will come across many
different types of texts, not only in this English course,
but in many of your other subjects, as well as in your
everyday life, texts are all around you!!
Before we have a look at the different types of texts
that we will get you to work with in English, we want
you to have a think about the types of texts that you
have read in the past two months. For example, have
you read a novel? Do you read the newspaper (either
online or paper version), magazines or comics?

List the types of texts that you have read below and provide examples of them.
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Text Type
Magazine

Activity 1: My texts
Example
Who Weekly

Please also attach one example of some of your texts, such as a newspaper clipping, a
blurb from a novel, a magazine article, etc.

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These are the text types that we will be looking at

throughout the year:
Literary texts

Novels and short stories

Poetry
Plays
Narrative films

Persuasive texts

Editorials
Letters and emails to the editor
Opinion pieces
Opinion writing online

Informative texts

New reports
Biographical texts
Documentary films

Visual, multimedia and digital texts

Visual can include; cartoons, photographs, posters, charts, graphs, tables and other
visual aids
Multimodal texts can include; advertisements and television current affairs programs
Digital texts can include; e-texts, websites and social networking sites

Texts at work
A text is a form of spoken, written or visual communication which is to convey meaning to an
audience. A text could be factual, literary, visual, media and everyday texts. Texts include
novels, poems, newspaper articles, films, reviews, jokes, cartoons, comic strips,
advertisements, emails, scripts, diaries, letters, paintings, posters, photographs, brochures and
autobiographies.
The choice of words in a written text enables the writer to introduce certain attitudes and
feelings: for example, anger, informative, irony, genuine, sympathetic, critical or joyful. These
attitudes and feelings form the tone of the text. It is through the writers tone that the
emotional message of the text is communicated to the audience.

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Activity 2: Identifying purpose and audience

1: Write down the purpose and audience for each of the following texts.
1. A school report
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
2. A letter to the editor of a newspaper
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
3. A car manual
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
4. A travel brochure about travelling to Asia
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
5. Nursery rhymes
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
6. A television guide
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
7. The blurb on the back cover of a novel
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
8. A restaurant menu
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
9. A film script
a. Purpose:
b. Audience:
2: Reflect back over the texts that you identified earlier in Activity 1 and see if you can
identify the purpose and audience that they are trying to target.
Text Type
Example
Audience
Purpose
Magazine
Who Weekly

nd

Adapted from Sadler Rex & Sadler Sandra, Complete English Basics: A class and homework course 4, 2
Edition, Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd, 2011 (pp. 6 8)

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Before we go any further its important to introduce you to some of the key terms and phrases
that you will come across throughout the year. This will assist you in completing tasks
throughout the year.

Key Terms:
Analyse examine texts in detail in order to show the meaning
Compare emphasise similarities and differences between two or more texts
Contrast compare by showing the differences
Demonstrate show or explain; use evidence to prove
Discuss write in detail, giving arguments for and against
Explain make clear the cause or reason, giving evidence in support
Express show clearly in writing
Extend give more detail; go further beyond
Generalise (make a general statement) make a summary statement about information given,
without specific details
Give evidence include detail from text to support
Identify give the name, nature, characteristics, etc. of a person or thing
Illustrate make clear in writing, using examples
Interpret explain the significance of the information given
Justify show to be right by using convincing evidence
Quote repeat words or data exactly from an original source
Review examine (or re-examine) and discuss critically, usually in a written account
Summarise choose the key points and express them in a shorter, clearer form
Add to this list throughout the year in your Everyday Words graphic organiser.
As you read through your weekly work identify any words that you have come across that
you are not familiar with, and add these to the graphic organiser with a definition of that
word so that you can refer back to it throughout the year.

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Words you will come across throughout your weekly work:

Autobiography the story of a persons life, written by themselves
Biography the story of a persons life, written by another
Broadsheet a newspaper with a large format and regarded as more serious than a tabloid
Caricature a depiction of a person in which distinguishing characteristics are exaggerated,
usually for comic effect or to ridicule
Characterise to build a picture of a character for the reader
Colloquial language used in ordinary conversations, not formal
Context the circumstances that form the setting for an event
Convince to cause someone to think differently; to believe in, agree with or accept an idea
Criticism the expression of disapproval of someone or something; a critical assessment of a
text
Emphasis special importance given to an idea, or stress laid on a word or words in speech
Generalisation a broad statement made by inferring something from specific cases. For
example all dogs are vicious.
Genre a style or category of text
Metalanguage a set of terms used for the description or analysis of how language is being
used
Metaphor language that makes a comparison by stating that one thing is another, in a nonliteral sense. For example, he is the giant of the team.
Narrator the person telling a story in texts
Persuade to provide sound reasoning or argument; convincing and effective
Plot the events of a story
Protagonist the main character in a text
Rebuttal ideas and evidence presented to contradict or nullify an opposing argument
Repetition the act of repeating or restating a word or phrase
Sensationalism in journalism, the practice of focusing on one shocking or curious aspect of a
story that may not be the main point
Simile language that makes a comparison by stating that one thing is like another. For
example, he was as brave as a lion.

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Stereotypes assumptions about groups of people that may not be true

Subplot a secondary story that is told alongside, and usually connected to, the main plot
Tabloid a newspaper with pages half the size of a broadsheet, popular in style and dominated
by sensationalist stories
Target audience a group for whom a text is designed or intended
Themes the main idea of a text, for example a novel or film might explore themes such as
growing up, bravery or relationships
Add to this list throughout the year using the Everyday Words graphic organiser.
As you read through your weekly work identify any words that you have come across that
you are not familiar with, and add these to the graphic organiser, with a definition of that
word so that you can refer back to it throughout the year.

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EVERYDAY WORDS
1. Identify all the new words that you have encountered during the lesson, and list them
in the left hand column.
2. Over the next 24 hours, use the words as much as possible in your conversations.
3. Record how you used the word, and note how you would explain the word to others.
4. Be sure to continue using the words whenever you can throughout the next few days.
Word

How I would explain the

word

How I Used it

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EVERYDAY WORDS
1. Identify all the new words that you have encountered during the lesson, and list them
in the left hand column.
2. Over the next 24 hours, use the words as much as possible in your conversations.
3. Record how you used the word, and note how you would explain the word to others.
4. Be sure to continue using the words whenever you can throughout the next few days.
Word

How I would explain the

word

How I Used it

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Learning about different literary texts

Novels
A novel is a piece of writing that is imagined or invented and
allows us to enter the worlds and lives of the characters. But what
exactly is a novel you ask?
A novel is made up of many elements and it is more often than not
an imaginative narrative, which tells a story (plot) of imagined
peoples lives (characters). Also, many novels explore broad ideas
(themes) and an author conveys a message to the reader about
these ideas.
Elements of a novel
Plot the action of the story, what actually happens and/or takes place. Orientation
Complication Rising action Climax Resolution.
Characters many novels tell the story of an ordinary or believable main character, who is
often referred to as the protagonist.
Theme the theme is what the novel is about, it is not a summary of the events that take place
throughout the novel. The theme is the main idea, problem or message expressed through the
plot and characters.
Background or setting this is the time in history, and the geographical location in which the
novel unfolds. However, for some novels the background or setting does not play a big part in
the narrative, whereas, in others it is an essential part of the narrative. For example, in Harry
Potter and the Philosophers Stone the setting is particularly important Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, Platform 9 and the Forbidden Forest present a vastly different
world from the one we live in.
Language it is important to note that the themes of a novel are also explored by the language
the author uses. When reading a novel it is important to understand the style of the text, this
means looking at the tone, language, sentence structure and imagery that is used by the
author, as well as who the target audience is and the purpose of the novel.
Other things to consider while reading your next novel
1. What does the novel reveal about the age, gender, society or culture of the author?
2. Is the author presenting a biased point of view of events, characters or places?

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Short stories
A short story has all of the features of a novel, but as it is in a short self-contained form, it does
not have the luxury of unlimited words. A short story deals with a single event or situation, and
as a result every word must be carefully chosen to create the overall impression the author
wants to achieve.
The Honey Thief: short story
The Honey Thief is a collection of short stories from Afghanistan, written by Najaf Mazari and
Robert Hillman. Tenderly evocative, poetic, dreamy, wise and imaginative are not usually
the first words to enter our minds when thinking of Afghanistan, however, these words exactly
describe the ideas and emotions stirred by this poignant story of a young boy and his insightful
grandfather in the harsh landscape of Afghanistan. Najaf Mazari, a young shepherd boy who
eventually became a master rugmaker, witnessed truly terrible things in Afghanistan. However,
instead of letting hatred and violence consume him, he was able to transform these potentially
soul-destroying emotions into hope. By 2001, Mazari fled the repression and brutality of the
Taliban, and sought refuge in Australia. Mazari explains the optimism and charm of his writing
with these words, I chose peace over fighting. I had seen enough bloodshed to turn me away
from war forever. In my writing, I try to show how peace calls for more imagination than war.
Once you can imagine peace, war seems primitive.
Read the excerpt below from The most intelligent of creatures taken from The Honey Thief,
and then answer the questions on the following page.
Each morning, Esmail told the boy one of the stories for which he was famous.
The first story he told was of a man whose hearing was so
sharp that he could hear the sound made by cloud
shadows as they passed over the land below.
And what sound do the cloud shadows make? asked the
boy.
A cloud moving fast makes a sound like this, said Esmail,
and he put his lips together and whistled softly, almost too
softly to hear. But when the wind is light and the clouds
travel slowly, they make a sound like a flower opening in
the sun.
Abbas smiled. He had a practical mind and he didnt believe that the stories he was told by
Esmail were strictly true.
My hearing is good, he said. I can hear the sound of pebbles rolling when a red fox
stumbles a long way off. But I have never heard a shadow.
Nevertheless, he enjoyed listening to the old man. While they were being told, he believed
the stores for the pleasure of it. The old man had tales to tell of horseshoe bats that flew

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across the sky in such numbers that they blacked out the light of the moon; of brown bears
that held conversations with human beings; of snow leopards that sang songs.
When hes finished a story, Esmail would ask the boy if hed enjoyed it. The boy would say,
A snow leopard cannot sing, or Bears dont talk, by he always said it with a smile. As he
grew older, he understood that Esmail had such mastery as a storyteller that sometimes he
would become fanciful just for his own amusement.
If the old man had only told stories of talking bears and singing leopards, he would not have
built the reputation he had amongst our people, the Hazara. He was considered a man of
learning, even though he had never been to school.
Men came to him when they were troubled and listened to his advice. He spoke quietly on
these occasions, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting. He carried a staff with him
everywhere, made from the wood of a gundy tree and worn smooth all along its length.
When he gave advice, he would tap the base of the staff on the ground, digging up the soil
just a little, as if this helped him to concentrate. He gave advice on disputes between
families, on marriages, on children who were growing up wild.
OShea Rosemary, Insight English Skills 10, Insight Publications Pty Ltd, 2011 (pp.104 105)

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Activity 3: Short story analysis

Read through the above extract once again and answer the following questions, which will
help you understand how authors use descriptive language to create atmosphere, meaning
and emotion.
1: What opinion does Abbas have of his grandfathers stories? How is this conveyed in the
short story?

2: What are his feelings towards his grandfather? Support your response with evidence from
the text.

3: What do we learn about the qualities that Abbas possesses? Find a quote to illustrate
your point.

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4: Describe Esmail. His words convey details about the type of person that he is. What do we
learn about him?

5: Identify your favourite piece of descriptive language, and discuss the emotions/reactions
that it evokes from you.

6: Why was Esmail perceived to be a man of learning and respected by his people, despite
never having gone to school?

7: Are there different intelligences other than those we gain from the study of books and
theories?

Adapted from OShea Rosemary, Insight English Skills 10, Insight Publications Pty Ltd, 2011 (pp.106 107)

Poetry
Unlike many other types of literary texts,
poems often do not have a narrative; they do
not tell full stories. Instead, poems often seek
to create an impression, or to evoke an
emotion. While poetry can be very flexible,
and much of the challenge and enjoyment of
poetry comes from the lack of absolute rules,
you should be aware of some common
features of poetry. In order to be able to
understand poetry, it helps to understand
form, voice, metre, rhyme and imagery.

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Plays
The main characteristic that distinguishes plays
from the other literary forms that we have looked
at so far, is that plays are written to be
performed. Most modern plays are performed in
theatres and on stages with sets that re-create
the plays location, and with actors that play out
the action and deliver the dialogue. One
interesting consequence that happens when
staging a play is what happens to the narrative
voice. While the audience is able to see what the characters are like and what the play is about
through the characters, their dialogue and their actions, there is usually no narrator to guide
the audience. Therefore, without a narrator to help the audience, the playwrights need to
make careful choices to convey information about the characters and story.

Narrative Films
Studying narrative films requires you to
think about the film-making process, in
particular the collaborative nature of
film-making. Whilst a novel is written by
an author working in relative isolation, a
film is a group effort, as the director is
responsible for most of the stylistic and
structural choices. However, it is also
important to consider the influence of
the screenwriter, producer,
cinematographer, set designer, costume
designer and editor.

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Genre
Genre is a French word that means kind or type. All literary texts can be categorised into
different genres fantasy, crime, romance, horror and Sci-Fi.
All genres have their own common features and characters that are particular to that genre.
For example, a fantasy text has a world of dragons, ogres, giants, heroes, heroines, witches and
wizards. The Harry Potter series would fit into this genre.
Can you think of any other genres? If so list them below and the literary texts that they relate
to.

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Activity 4: Genres in Action

1: List any other genres that you have come across and list the book that it relates to. For
example;
- adventure genre would be Hunger Games.
2: Use words from the box below to answer these questions.
Who am I?
1. I travel into space.
2. I am a dead body.
3. I bring legal action against people.
4. I am similar to a magician but use evil spirits.
5. I share in a crime.
6. I suck on the blood of living people.
What am I?
1. I am a place where prisoners are kept.
2. I am a place where the dead are buried.
3. You would have trouble finding your way out of me.
4. I am an underground prison.
5. I am sometimes called a falling star or a shooting star.
6. I am an angry argument.
Fantasy
labyrinth
magician
ogre
disappear
mysterious
enchanted
sorcerer

Crime
detective
accomplice
investigator
alibi
custody
jail
prosecutor

Romance
captivating
infatuated
quarrel
attractive
embrace
mutual
Affection

Horror
malevolent
vampire
ominous
corpse
cemetery
dungeon
tomb

Sci-Fi
satellite
astronaut
interplanetary
mission
meteorite
asteroid
orbit
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Adapted from Sadler Rex & Sadler Sandra, Complete English Basics: A class and homework course 4, 2
Edition, Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd, 2011 (pp. 64 65)

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Characters
Using the examples below we would like you to create a fictional creature or character of your
own that belongs to one of the genres listed on the following pages. You need to ensure that
you make your character interesting by providing details about the characters appearance.

Jabba the Hutt

His head was three times human size, perhaps four. His
eyes were yellow, reptilian his skin was like a snakes, as
well, except covered with a fine layer of grease. He had
no neck, but only a series of chins that expanded finally
into a great bloated body, engorged to bursting with
stolen morsels. Stunted, almost useless arms sprouted
from his upper torso, the sticky fingers of his left hand
languidly wrapped around the smoking-end of his waterpipe. He had no hair.
From Return of the Jedi by James Khan

Dracula
His face was a strong a very strong aquiline, with high bridge
of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed
forehead, and hair growing scantly round the temples, but
profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost
meeting over the nose and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in
its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see it under the
heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with
peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips,
whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a
man of his years.
From Dracula by Bram Stoker
nd

Sadler Rex & Sadler Sandra, Complete English Basics: A class and homework course 4, 2 Edition, Macmillan
Education Australia Pty Ltd, 2011 (pp. 67 68)

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In order to help you write your character description it is important that you use adjectives, all
good writers use adjectives to make their subjects more interesting to the reader. An adjective
adds colour, shape, size, strength, feeling or some other quality to a noun.

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Activity 5a: Writing in detail using expressive adjectives

Replace each of the adjectival phrases below with a strong adjective from the list below. We
have completed the first one for you.
destitute
gaunt
feeble
minuscule
very poor
very angry
very tasty
very ugly
very roomy
very fierce
very hungry
very large
very wicked
very rude
very dry

terrified
villainous
delicious
parched

anxious
spotless
spacious
ravenous

destitute

hideous
precious
idiotic
insolent

furious
colossal
perilous
ferocious

ancient
jubilant
solemn
vivacious

very weak
very stupid
very valuable
very serious
very small
very lively
very risky
very happy
very thin
very worried
very clean
nd

Adapted from Sadler Rex & Sadler Sandra, Complete English Basics: A class and homework course 4, 2
Edition, Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd, 2011 (pp. 67)

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Activity 5b: Writing in detail my character

Using the examples above as a guide we would like you to

create a fictional creature or character of your own that
belongs to one of the following genres:
- Horror
- Crime
- Western
- History
- Adventure
- Thriller
- Fantasy
- Romance
- Supernatural
- Science fiction
You need to ensure that you make your character interesting by providing details about the
characters appearance using expressive adjectives to help you, and your description needs
to be between 100 150 words.

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References
For content:
Johnstone Ryan & Horne Michael, Oxford Year 10 English Australian Curriculum, Oxford University Press, 2012
OShea Rosemary, Insight English Skills 10, Insight Publications Pty Ltd, 2011
Ramsey Margaret, The Complete Guide to English Usage for Australian Students, Nelson Cengage Learning, 2011
nd
Sadler Rex & Sadler Sandra, Complete English Basics: A class and homework course 4, 2 Edition, Macmillan
Education Australia Pty Ltd, 2011

For images:
http://learn-english-india.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/importance-of-english-language.html
http://www.transpositions.co.uk/2010/10/are-labels-useful-or-why-im-not-sure-aboutchristianliterature/
http://www.acpmagazines.com.au/magazines.htm
http://janellemccullochlibraryofdesign.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/is-this-week-end-of-print-media.html
http://www.reddskull.com/
http://www.netrafic.com/blog/your-audience-is-your-priority/
http://lifeinthefastlane.com/2012/09/purpose/
http://pogomonster.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/reflections-on-finishing-another-novel/
http://ecodirectory.com.au/business/new-internationalist-shop/honey-thief
http://soulfulinsights.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/poetry.html
http://www.freewebs.com/midmichfamilytheatre/graphics.htm
http://blog.crowdfunder.co.uk/2010/11/04/the-success-of-crowdfunding-films/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JabbaTheHutt.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24905220@N00/3402406560/
http://bioeventspr.com/tag/event-planning-2/

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Checklist . . .

This week I have attached and sent the following to my teacher:

Activity 1: My texts

Activity 2: Identifying purpose and audience

Activity 3: Short story

Activity 4: Genres in action

Activity 5a& 5b: Writing in detail

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315 Clarendon Street, Thornbury 3071
Telephone (03) 8480 0000
FAX (03) 9416 8371 (Despatch)
Toll free (1800) 133 511

Fix your student barcode

label over this space.

STUDENT NUMBER _________________

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[30301]

STUDENT NAME ____________________

___________________________________

English

SUBJECT
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MODULE
TEACHER

WEEK

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[ZX]

PLEASE CHECK THAT YOU HAVE ATTACHED:

Activity 1: My texts

Activity 4: Genres in action

Activity 2: Identifying purpose &

audience

Activity 5a & 5b: Writing in detail

Activity 3: Short story

REVIEW, REFLECT AND ASK

I found this weeks course work:

I think the work was:

( ) Very interesting

( ) Too easy

( ) Interesting

( ) Easy

( ) Sort of interesting

( ) OK

( ) Not interesting

( ) Got me thinking and challenged me

( ) Hard
( ) Too hard

Questions I have about this week: (Why? What? When? Who? How?)

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TEACHERS COMMENTS
Some great things about your work were:

Please consider doing the following next time: