The Task

CAT 3 in VCE Literature is the final exam, a two hour paper where students complete two pieces of writing based on two texts they have studied from the Part B list this year.

Toorak College students will choose two from Bronte, Rayson and Frost to write about in the exam. Students cannot choose to do two books which   are from the same section of the course, such as two novels.

Unusually, the exam consists of a series of passages. Each text on the course has a separate page in the exam with three passages from the text reproduced on it. There is no old style essay question and the instruction for each text is the same. 'Use one or more of the passages below as the basis for a piece of writing about this text'.

This sounds easy! After all, there's no tricky or esoteric question to answer. You know in advance what the exact format will be. On the other hand, there is little to guide you in your response other than the passages, and you don't know which passages are going to be chosen. So in this way it can be difficult. The best preparation might be to know the text well, and to have developed a reading of it.

What the Chief Examiner Said...

In June 1998 I attended a meeting of Literature teachers where the Chief Examiner (Terry Hayes) spoke of the requirements for this CAT. Some of the points he made were:

• That the examiners certainly weren't looking for the ONE true interpretation. Various readings were acceptable as long as they were verified by the text.
• Examiners looked for close reading of the text, an ability to work with the passages provided, and the ability to move beyond the passage to broader discussions of the text.
• Most responses students gave were in the traditional Leavisite prac. crit. approach; not surprising considering the training of most of the teachers. However, theoretical approaches and responses, while not common, were also possible.
• The best answers had an element of personal inisight; he used the word 'internalise' a couple of times. Thus, good students had somehow 'internalised' their understanding of the text.
• While it is possible to respond to only one passage on the exam [and he showed us a couple of examples of that approach], the most common approach by students was to discuss all three passages.
• Much of the differences in quality in exam answers came from differences in the 'student's prose styles'. Students were generally well taught and well prepared. HOW they wrote their answer made a significant difference. He used the words 'sharp phrasing' as a good thing here.
• He emphasised the variety of approaches that were possible, and had been successful in writing in the exam. Some students wrote introductions, some didn't. He emphasised though, that the best students 'evoke what's there in front of them'.

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