HSC English and Abstraction

HSC® Exam English. The subjective subject. Since the study of English involves a style of thinking that can be less formulaic than that of mathematics or chemistry, there is a certain abstract quality about English that teachers may not have the time to focus on or spend time discussing in the frantic year that is the HSC® Exam. It doesn’t mean it should be neglected in your HSC® Exam preparation, because once you understand but also master the use of abstraction, it will give your work that little extra quality that translates into great HSC® Exam scores.

When you engage with English as a subject, there is a certain level of meaning that you can extrapolate from analysing camera angles, metaphors and allusions. Understanding the use of abstraction will allow you to perceive the full depth of the ideas and emotions presented, thereby uncovering the real conceptual meaning of the text. When you watch your favourite film, for instance, or listen to your favourite song, there is a certain feeling you may get that transcends plot, lyrics, or basic melody. There is an intangible quality that art has, that makes humans go back and revisit their favourite film or book or poem. This is because humans are emotional beings. When you can truly connect to this intangible, abstract quality in your study of texts, you are able to transcend a one-dimensional view of the text and provide a response that is more sophisticated and richer in its insight and conceptual understanding.

Since HSC® Exam preparation for English is largely about extrapolating and expressing meaning, you must first access that meaning through your texts. This isn’t to say you should feel obliged to cry tears of joy when reading Mrs Dalloway, but you should try to appreciate the text as a work of art in the literary world.

Each text that you come across in HSC® Exam English is a combination of an author’s intent, as well as creative inspiration, which gives a text its realism and value. If you consider the emotions that are behind a text, then you are on your way to writing responses that transcend superficial or overly analytic interpretations of the text and widen the scope of your analysis. For instance, by making a comment on the theme of love or hate in a text, you are essentially making a comment about the nature of love or hate in the world itself, and this is the beauty of English. Not only can HSC® Exam English foster textual appreciation in the literary world, but it can serve as inspiration when considering the abstract nature of meaning and emotion that is behind every great literary work.