HSC English Advanced Past Papers (English)
HSC English Advanced is examined in two papers: Paper 1 (Texts and Human Experiences - the common module, 1 hour 30 minutes) and Paper 2 (the Modules - 2 hours), both set and marked by NESA.
There are only a handful of papers under the current syllabus, so each one is worth sitting properly under timed conditions.
Check the syllabus year. A new English Advanced syllabus is first examined in the 2027 HSC. If you sit the exam in 2027 or later, the past papers below are from the previous syllabus - still useful for exam technique, but confirm the content against the current syllabus. If you sit it in 2026 or earlier, they match your course.
Official English Advanced HSC exam papers & marking guidelines (2019–2025)
NESA publishes the past HSC exam papers, the marking guidelines and the notes from the marking centre for English Advanced on its own site. They are the real exam questions - sit them under timed conditions, then mark with the guidelines.
What's on the English Advanced papers?
Paper 1 responds to the common module 'Texts and Human Experiences' - an unseen-texts short-answer section and an essay on your prescribed text. Paper 2 covers the three Advanced modules: Textual Conversations (Module A), Critical Study of Literature (Module B) and The Craft of Writing (Module C).
The exam rewards a sustained, conceptual argument and precise textual analysis - technique that transfers straight from the past papers to your own text list.
How to use the past papers
Sit each English Advanced paper in one timed session, closed-book, before you look at anything else. Then mark it against NESA's marking guidelines for that year - the guidelines show exactly how marks are awarded, which is where most of the improvement comes from.
Finish with the notes from the marking centre (NESA's examiner feedback): it spells out what the strongest responses did and the mistakes the state cohort repeated. All three - the paper, the marking guidelines and the marking-centre notes - are on the official NESA page linked above.
Practice English Advanced beyond the past papers
There are only a handful of NESA papers, so once you've done them, generate fresh questions on the exact topics you're weakest on with Polarbear's AI exam-cram - grounded in the HSC English Advanced syllabus, free to try.
English Advanced past papers FAQ
Source: NESA's official English Advanced HSC exam papers. HSC exam papers are © State of New South Wales (NESA) - Polarbear links to the official papers rather than rehosting them, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NESA.