'Into the Future' Writing Paper Analysis - NSW Selective Test 2022
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Hi, my name is John, and today I will be breaking down the writing test in the 2022 NSW Selective exam on the 31st of March. I did the same type of video with the 2021 exam last year as well as the selective sample paper. They both received really great feedback with many students finding it extremely valuable. I will not go over a sample response as that will take too long but rather I will help students understand the question and what it is asking students.
For context, this is not the exact writing question that was asked but it is a recreation of it based on student feedback and my experience in understanding the way questions are typically structured. No one will be able to know the exact question unless they had a copy of the exam themselves or if the department of education releases it. Although whether or not that happens, a good recreation will suffice for students. The objective of this video is two folds. First, it is for the students who just did the exam in March 2022 this year and are curious to see whether they understood what the question was asking. Secondly, it will allow students who have not yet done the exam but are doing the NSW Selective exam in the future to learn and practice from this. For the students that we teach at Bing’s Academy, we are already in the midst of adapting our resources based on the new changes that were done. There were many new interesting twists that have been introduced which I will share over time whenever I get the chance.
Regardless, let’s get into the actual question.
1. Title
Let’s start with the title, ‘Into the future’. This gives us a bit of contextual information on what will occur later. It may be a good idea to incorporate this line into the writing response and we know the setting has to be futuristic.
2. First sentence
This gives us the text type that they are asking for. We know that it is a diary entry, so we must follow the conventions of a diary entry. It is quite like a letter but instead of writing it to someone else, you are writing it to your diary most likely for yourself to look at later. The ‘voice’ that should be used in terms of the writing is specified where you must write from the perspective of a boy or girl your age in the future. This would mean it will have to be written from the lens of someone around 11-year-old as year 6 students in Australia are that age. This is significant as we know the diary entry cannot include items or events that are not appropriate for this age group. Items like a baby pacifier would be for a toddler or baby while a walking stick could be for the elderly. The gender of either a boy or girl is important too because we know that you cannot write from the perspective of a creature or alien etc so it has to be grounded in reality since the parameters of what they have provided are doing that.
3. Second sentence
In the next line, it provides an exact date being 19th July 2099. This is the date in the future where we know it is nearly 80 years later than 2022. This is important because this is the time period in which the diary entry needs to be set. Students can either write that the diary entry was written on 19th July 2099 or that the events that are recorded in the diary entry occurred on that date. This is a significant detail and quite sneaky by the examiners as many students who are writing this diary entry in the past tense cannot say that the events happened that day. If the events that are written down occurred on the 19th of July 2099, that means the date that you should write for the diary entry needs to be a later date. This shows again that the selective writing exam will not provide you with an unnecessary piece of information. Every detail has meaning and value. They did something similar with last year’s paper with Chaos on the Beach and now they are doing it again.
4. Third sentence
This sentence, specifically instructs students to begin with the words, “Dear Diary, I woke up to my house robot loudly singing, then I remembered…” This should be a signal for students to know that they have to write in a chronological format as they are telling you to start with just waking up. We know the reason why you woke up as well (the house robot singing). This is interesting as we know that it is set in the distant future where a house robot is most likely the norm, leading students to wonder what other technological innovations will exist in this fictional world. Students will also have to address why the house robot was singing – perhaps this is a new alarm system to wake people up instead of using a phone. The possibilities are endless. It also graciously tells students to start with ‘Dear Diary’ which is helpful for the students who do not know the format of a diary entry or perhaps forgot it so this can be a reminder.
5. Main question
This affirms the text type of what is required which is a diary entry. They are requesting students to explore what life is like which will include a few different facets and factors of daily life. The time setting is repeated which is in the distant future (shows how important it is) and will influence the events and objects that will be discussed.
6. Dot points
When they provide dot points in topics and ideas that may or could be discussed, it is another disguise where they mean it must be incorporated into the writing task. Students can include more points beyond the ones that are provided but they must tick off the ones that are suggested.
The first dot point being ‘new and innovative technology’ means that students can make up futuristic technology beyond the singing house robot. They generally will have to not exist in 2022 because this is many decades in the future. Perhaps instead of a video call, it is a hologram. The opportunities are endless, and students can share their creativity.
The second dot point being ‘home and social life’ requires students to talk about how people interact at home and with other people. Are there any differences or similarities? Remember that the context of the diary entry is a boy or girl living in 2099, this means that the child will most likely not be too surprised about these new technologies and instead it will be part of their norm. Unless it is the narrator’s first time seeing it before. The good thing is that the scene starts with the house robot singing which means it begins in a home environment.
The third dot point being ‘transportation methods’ suggests that students need to talk about futuristic transportation methods such as flying calls or teleportation devices. Perhaps the student wakes up from the house robot and travels elsewhere to meet their friends (social life) using a bunch of new technology.
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