HSC 2021: what questions students struggled with in English paper 1

Year 12 students said Tuesday’s essay question was a walk in the park but were baffled by a set of unseen texts with a set of random objects.

A question about an Irish actress, tweezers and a poem about crystals have left some HSC students feeling befuddled after their first exam.

Students at Rose Bay Secondary College said the first big hurdle of the HSC — the English exam — went well with a broad essay question that made the test a walk in the park although there were some curly questions with an extract of an Anne Enright book about an Irish actress.

Rose Bay Secondary College Hordur Zoega, 18, said the extract from the author’s book Actress was the trickiest question.

“The Katherine O‘Dell one, I think the question was how does narrative voice shape characterisation of Katherine O’Dell,” he said.

“That was the hardest question in my opinion.”

Rose Bay Secondary College students (L-R) Hordur Zoega, 18, Alexandra Hay, 17, and Harriet Shand, 17, sat their first English HSC exam on Tuesday. Picture: David Swift

Fellow student Alexandra Hay, 17, it was tricky because it required a long response. “It was a six marker so it was one of the biggest ones you‘ll get in the test and you have to put in the most analysis.”

“I didn‘t really understand who Katherine O’Dell was.”

For Harriet Shand, 18, she said thought it was an easier exam than she thought.

“The essay question was quite broad and allowed students to interpret it there own way and do different things.

She said it was not a big deal to wear a mask after working from home for three months of the year.

“I think it was fine, it was just a necessity and for everyone‘s safety. For us it wasn’t a big deal,” she said.

After the exam, students posted in a Facebook group with memes of a grandmother’s hair being plucked with tweezers while one student was not happy with a question involving crystals.

“Whoever wrote that (HSC) exam must be really into manifesting and crystals because what the hell did a quartz have to do with a human experience,” the student wrote.

Here’s our last minute guide on everything you need to do to nail Tuesday’s English paper II.