VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: The age opinion
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 90%: The recent Medical Misogyny series published by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has sparked debate about…
The recent Medical Misogyny series published by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has sparked debate about systemic gender bias in healthcare. This issue has raised public concern over the delayed diagnoses, poor treatment, and higher mortality rates women face. In his opinion piece “Doctors Don’t Hate Women, But We Can Be Idiots When It Comes to Their Health”, oncologist Nicholas Wilcken, writing for The Age’s socially conscious, educated Australian readership concerned with public health and gender equity, concedes that gender disparity exists but argues that it stems from ignorance rather than misogyny. Across the piece, Wilcken blends professional authority, vivid anecdotes, historical reasoning, and linguistic reframing to persuade readers to replace the term medical misogyny with gynagnosia. His tone shifts from collegial agreement to defensive humour, concluding with optimism and humility to promote reform.
Wilcken strategically begins with the statement that “medical culture has … ignored the health plight of women” — a deliberate move to establish common ground with readers likely sympathetic to gender equality. This early agreement not only aligns with their values but also frames him as a self-aware insider prepared to admit fault. By embodying technical explanation of heart attack physiology with informal phrasing, describing the aorta carrying “all that lovely red, newly oxygenated blood”, Wilcken blends professional authority with conversational warmth. His repeated use of inclusive language “we doctors” signals collective responsibility, preventing the impression of defensive individualism. This combination of authority and accessibility reassures readers that his later rejection of the term medical misogyny comes from credibility, not denial. The professional tone positions educated Australians to see him as part of the solution, making them more open to his reframing of the debate.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: If not not, when?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 72.5%: Dear Football Fans, Hope all is well. I wanted to reach out for some time now as a player and a person with a…
Dear Football Fans,
Hope all is well. I wanted to reach out for some time now as a player and a person with a message that is close to my heart. Over the years I’ve been playing football, I’ve come to realize that the demand for change exists everywhere, not just on the field, change is needed everywhere.
Because I was raised on the pitch, I know that racism in the sporting world does not exist as just a trending topic. It exists. It’s all well and good for football to consume our lives, but it does not encompass everything. Therefore, situations like this one happen to good people every day outside the field. I’ve been a victim of racist attacks from people who think they have the right to comment on you and tear you down due to your personal appearance. I’ve been lucky enough to stay positive and overcome this but this isn’t about me it’s about us.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: “A nation’s culture resides in the…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 92.5%: “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”
“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Through his masterful fusion of film noir, Gothic satire, and meta-cinematic critique, Billy Wilder’s Sunset…
Through his masterful fusion of film noir, Gothic satire, and meta-cinematic critique, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950) exposes the degree to which he views relationships to be transactional, on a single benedictory standpoint, within Hollywood, directing the film to indicate instances of prioritising materialistic things over fostering and nourishing genuine contention. By creating a stark and awkward contrast, Wilder can showcase those for who don’t align themselves with the transactional aspect of Hollywood. The director makes an argument that every relationship is transactional to an exist, including the one the viewer has with Hollywood – the movie they are viewing.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Now you're officially the best-looking…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 77.5%: Set during the post-apartheid era, Trevor Noah’s memoir Born a Crime explores the struggles of poverty and…
Set during the post-apartheid era, Trevor Noah’s memoir Born a Crime explores the struggles of poverty and oppression that the black South Africans endured, under a serious but also humorous tone. Growing up in a society built on the foundation of institutionalized racism, as a mixed-raced child, it forces him into a childhood of resilience and pain. Noah showcases that humour as his strongest defence and his strongest offense, but to some extent implies that it can expose his weak points in times of humiliation. Living in the treacherous world of violence, Patricia taught Noah how to live freely. Instead of being chained down by resentment, he is taught to forgive and move on by laughing, a lesson that would guide him from being imprisoned in the cycle of poverty. Although it would be one of his greatest strengths, in times of humiliation and vulnerability, it would be his greatest enemy.
Noah illustrates the mentality of the masses as inept in venting emotions and emphasising that their reliance on harbouring them would only lead to further despair. Throughout the memoir, Patricia teaches Noah to utilize humour to transcend bitterness and trauma. During the vignette at the mulberry tree, Patricia ‘kept laughing it off, telling [Noah] to get over it’, with him commenting that she found ‘everything was funny’. Highlighting her ability to defuse situations in times of crisis into laughter, which contrasts with the under ruling foundations of the apartheid. Instead of letting the bitter hatred culminate, she ‘lets go’, which parallels her defiance against ‘apart hate’. On the other hand, Abel, a broken figure who encapsulates the generational trauma caused by the ostracisation, was ‘venting his rage on a twelve-year-old boy’, embodying the ‘devil’. Abel’s metaphorical depiction personifies the generational psychological wounds inflicted, but unlike Noah, he has no outlet for his hatred other than to reciprocate it back onto others. Noah demonstrates how the decades of trauma had conditioned many to internalize the oppression, and that even after the apartheid dissolved, the pain amongst black South Africans was still prevalent. Emphasising the importance of humour in his life, to relinquish the pain to protect him from the evils of harbouring deep resentment. Ultimately, Noah tributes Patricia for educating him on the vitality of having a coping mechanism to protect oneself from the pain of life and evils, to break the cycle of hatred.
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: "Flat Whites, Long Blacks and…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 72.5%: Following the backlash from local residents, journalist Annete Williams' opinion article (published in…
Following the backlash from local residents, journalist Annete Williams' opinion article (published in 'Weekend Happenings') explores the plea from local residents to ban dogs from cafe's. In a neutral and conservative tone, the author contends to Melbourne cafe' enthusiasts and 'Weekend Happenings' readers the necessity to "exercise... common sense" in response to the "increasingly prevalent" "canine companions". 'Flat Whites, Long Blacks and... Puppacinos?' reflects on the beneficial aspects of cafe's to all, and formulates a solution to the pleas of local letters.
Williams opens her article to the newspaper readers by reflecting on the importance and prevalence of cafe's. Williams opens her article in a passive and calm tone through the generalisation of "every Melbournian understanding the scenes of cafe's on "a Sunday morning". Through this, Williams places an exceeded weight on the "scenes" and prevalence of "local café[s]". Moreover, Williams furthers this relationship with the readers through the subtle marriage of rule of three and visual imagery, exploring the vast calibre of consumers. Referencing the "pelotons of cyclists", "gentle chit-chat", and "old friends [laughing]" sustains her establishment of the vibrant and inclusive environments cafe's uphold, and appeals to the reader's to reflect on their past encounters and fond memories of Melbourne cafe's. Williams cements her establishment of the morning restaurants through the hyperbolic statement of their being "few rituals... as soothing and inclusive". Here, Williams emphasises to the readers of the 'Weekend Happenings' the necessity of cafe's within Melbourne, highly exaggerating their effects on locals to boost her claims.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Noah depicts division as toxic. Discuss.
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: In Born A Crime,Noah depicts division as toxic and harmful but also can be overlooked, The memoir portrays the…
In Born A Crime,Noah depicts division as toxic and harmful but also can be overlooked, The memoir portrays the separation of racial groups as unfair and cruel. Additionally, Noah explores how division can be ignored depending on perception. Despite his constant criticism, Noah adapts to best suit this destructive enforcement of division.
Noah’s criticism of division is consistent throughout the memoir, portraying it as dehumanising and cruel. He commends the text with division itself. The text opens with the “Immortality Act”, highlighting the difference in the way laws are enforced on “white” and “black” people. If a black man was caught having sex with a white woman, “he’d be lucky if he wasn’t charged with rape”, indicating the harsh consequences, or even accusations, black people would face as compared to white people. This doesn’t just highlight the injustice in Apartheid’s legal system, but also portrays women as “vulnerable”, implying she wouldn’t voluntarily engage in sexual activities with a black man. This is only one of many ways he condemns division. In the chapter, “The second girl”, Noah uses statistics to denounce the apartheid’s division of land based on the colour of one’s skin. “Despite the fact that black people made up 80% of South Africa’s population, the territory allocated for the homelands was about 13% of the country’s land.” Noah uses numbers and percentages to explain how under-privileged and over-crowded the places “allocated” for black people were. His word choice of “allocated” conveys the dehumanising of black people that white people, illustrating the dystopian nature of apartheid. Noah creates a sense of sympathy in the audience by listing the cruel realities of the homelands with “no running water, no electricity" and how “people lived in huts”, demonising the act of separation based on the colour of people's skin.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: writing about protests .
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: Today we all stand in sorrow, today our fellow student has become another statistic to bullying. I come not as…
Today we all stand in sorrow, today our fellow student has become another statistic to bullying. I come not as a random person but as a fellow friend who also stands in guilt. James won't ever experience the ups and downs of being a young adult, won't be able to sit these exact exams with us, won't enjoy time with family and friends partying as if there is no tomorrow. For James there really is no tomorrow, instead they place his cold, once positive future into a gloomy 6 foot hole. Our silence cost his life.
Although many say that boys teasing their mates is just part of a friendship, innocent attacks to harden one's exterior, these very playful jabs made James take his life. Those jabs punctured him after every blow, never allowing time to heal. This idea needs to be removed from society, young boys need to be told the difference between being a playful friend and an outright bully laying in sheep's clothing. But this starts with this generation, staying in silence allows that friend to keep pushing,edging that victim within the friendgroup towards the edge of the cliff, each comment,each remark, joke and meme pushes him towards that cliff, where once over there is no return.
Voice of the most importance, identify the culprit and convey to them the importance of the issue. Don't allow yourself to be another bystander.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “I hate that word. It’s a return to the…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 75%: Intro Fame is a seductive illusion, drawing individuals into its embrace while mercilessly discarding those who can…
Intro
Fame is a seductive illusion, drawing individuals into its embrace while mercilessly discarding those who can no longer captivate audiences. Billy Wilder’s 1950’s American film Noir Sunset Boulevard delivers a deep exploration into the obsession individuals have with fame and how its allure is ultimately a destructive force, revealing how Hollywood entices individuals with promises of eternal stardom with concealing the harsh reality of its disregard and disposability of those who are no longer deemed valuable. Set against the backdrop of post-World War II, a time when Hollywood was seen as the pinnacle of success and the American Dream was idealised, the film dismantles the illusion that hard work and ambition guarantee prosperity. The booming entertainment industry in the 1950s promised stardom to those who pursued it, yet Wilder reveals that beneath the glamour lies a ruthless system that exploits and discards individuals once they are no longer valuable. This idea is encapsulated in Norma Desmond’s bitter remark, “I hate that word. It’s a return to the millions of people who have never forgiven me for deserting the screen.” Her words highlight the cruel reality that stars are not allowed to fade on their own terms, once they lose relevance, they are cast aside, their absence perceived as betrayal rather than misfortune. The film undertakes stark contrasting setting to highlight Hollywood’s paradox, a place that offers glamour and success but ultimately leaves its stars broken and forgotten. Wilder then contrasts the fates of those who fall victim to Hollywood’s illusions with those who manage to see through its façade. Ultimately, while the film critiques Hollywood as a callous industry that discards people once they lose their appeal, it also suggests that those who retain their own sense of agency can resist being consumed by the seductive force of fame. Through this, Wilder ultimately conveys the idea that Hollywood's promise of stardom is an illusion, and that true fulfillment cannot be found in external validation but rather through self-awareness and authenticity.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: resist and persist “Change begins when…
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: We are told that protest is noise — the roar of a crowd, the clash of slogans, the shaking of fists in the…
We are told that protest is noise — the roar of a crowd, the clash of slogans, the shaking of fists in the street. But real protest is quieter than that. Real protest is persistence: the daily, deliberate act of refusing to give in to apathy.
Because let’s be honest — apathy is comfortable. It tells us, you alone can’t fix it. It whispers that our voices are too small, our reach too limited, our hope too naïve. And so, one by one, we retreat into silence. But silence, history reminds us, is not neutrality. It is surrender.
(Look at the times when silence was complicity — when governments turned away from refugees, when neighbours ignored the cries of the marginalised, when good people did nothing and cruelty marched unopposed. History’s darkest moments — from the Stolen Generations to the Holocaust — were made possible not only by those who acted, but by those who didn’t. Yet each era also held people who refused the comfort of apathy: the journalists who told the truth when it was censored, the whistleblowers who risked careers for integrity, the citizens who marched when it was easier to stay home. Their courage is proof that caring is never wasted.)
When we choose to care — when we choose to act — no matter how small that action, we resist that surrender.
A nurse who stays through another double shift, not for pay, but because there’s one more patient who needs her. A teacher who keeps telling hard truths in a world that prefers easy lies. A student who writes one more email to their MP even when the last five went unanswered. These are not the faces we see on the evening news. Yet these are our quiet revolutionaries.
They remind us that resistance isn’t only about marching in the streets. It’s about showing up — again, and again, and again — when exhaustion would be easier. It’s about persisting in compassion, in integrity, in courage, long after the applause has faded.
We live in an age that glorifies the instant — instant outrage, instant sharing, instant forgetting. But the most profound change rarely trends. It happens in the slow grind of persistence: the mother teaching her son that fairness matters; the neighbour who checks in after hearing shouting through the wall; the friend who
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: Framework is protest. Title is unity
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 75%: Unity I still remember the first time I saw Colin Kaepernick kneel during the national anthem. It was 2016, and…
Unity
I still remember the first time I saw Colin Kaepernick kneel during the national anthem. It was 2016, and I didn’t fully understand what he was doing or why. At first, it was confusing. It was a way of expression towards an issue we haven’t really seen before in sport. We’re used to seeing everyone stand at attention during the anthem, and when someone breaks that tradition, it stands out. But as the season went on and the conversation around him grew louder, I began to pay attention not just to the gesture, but to the message behind it.
Fast forward to 2020, and I was watching an NBA game after months of no sports due to the pandemic. Almost all the players were kneeling during the anthem, wearing BLM shirts. Then there was Jonathan Isaac standing alone, not wearing the shirt, hands clasped in front of him. Once again, I felt that confusion. But this time, it was because his decision felt so out of sync with the powerful image of unity around him during a time where people were so focused on uniting together.
Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel sparked a nationwide firestorm. A lot of people saw his protest as disrespectful to the military or to the flag, even though he clearly explained that his kneeling was about police brutality and systemic racism. He worked with a military veteran to make sure his protest would be peaceful and respectful, but still powerful. Despite that, he was booed, vilified, and labelled un-American by politicians and fans alike. Eventually, he lost his place in the NFL. Even after several seasons had passed, no team signed him. For all the attention he brought to issues that desperately needed it, he paid a personal and professional price that continues to this day.
When Jonathan Isaac stood during the anthem in 2020, he also faced intense backlash—though from
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Sunset Boulevard is a story of illusion…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 87.5%: Exposing the powerlessness of “naive dream[s]” of fulfillment against Hollywood’s deceit which has “seized…
Exposing the powerlessness of “naive dream[s]” of fulfillment against Hollywood’s deceit which has “seized [their] heart[s]”, Billy Wilder’s quintessentially American film Sunset Boulevard [1950], poignantly reveals Hollywood's glamourous facade as a front for a false belief. Compounded by the skillful overlaying of a gothic lens, this noir film highlights the idea that the victims of Hollywood’s allure choose to be engulfed in the comfort of their own delusions, further, Wilder reveals the consequences of continuing to live in a world disconnected from reality. Additionally, behind the chaos that overwhelms its characters, is the mastermind, Hollywood, creating and fueling its victims false perception of reality. Through his intelligent blend of fiction and meta cinema, Sunset boulevard emerges as a powerful cautionary tale, warning the audience on the devastating effects of the Hollywood system.
Initially contextualising the illusory world of Sunset Boulevard as a brutal reality, Wilder reveals the concerning choice of Hollywood’s victims to succumb to the comfort of their own delusions. The setting of Norma Desmond’s dilapidated mansion with dark curtains shielding her from the sunlight and outside world, demonstrates her extreme disconnect from reality, choosing to be irrecoverably submerged in the comfort of her own desires. Further, the countless mirrors and portraits of herself are used as a motif that reinforces Norma’s delusion, where she is in an endless confrontation with her past self, symbolising her obsessive self-regard and fixation on her own image. Hence, her choice to place mirrors and portraits in every corner of the house emphasises her decision to be engulfed by the glory of her silent-era. The intertextual reference to Ms Havisham from “Great expectations” depicts Norma as an unnerving reincarnation of her who is “rotting” in the tattered wedding dress all because Hollywood gave her the “go by”. Ms Havisham being unable to accept change and stopping all the clocks in her house, foreshadows Norma’s preserved fantasy world that keeps her insulated from the truth, additionally, this intertextual parallel mirrors Norma’s choices to purposefully be stuck during her glory days. Moreover, Edith Head’s costume selection for Norma being leopard print jackets from her glamour days, demonstrates how Norma is refusing to acknowledge that Hollywood has moved on without her, Head’s design thus illuminates the notion that Norma is choosing to be fixated on an outdated version of herself. Furthermore, Max Von Mayerling replaying Norma’s silent films disturbingly reveals that they mutually fuel each other's delusions, which further imprisons Norma in her own chamber of “sleepwalking” in the dreams of a “return”. Through the perspective of one who is entrapped in the past, Wilder reveals that the victims of Hollywood’s allure choose to surrender to the trickery of their own delusions.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: At what cost?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 95%: TITLE: AT WHAT COST? Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum. Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri…
TITLE: AT WHAT COST?
Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum.
Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri Lankans have fought for generations. We are protesting government corruption, economic mismanagement, and policies that have plunged citizens into poverty and scarcity. If the decisions of the Rajapakse government continue to harm every home, village, and community, at what cost are we remaining silent?
My name is Ranil, and I am seventeen. I am not a politician, a propagandist or a puppet. I am a student, the son of proud parents. Yet how can I focus on my studies while my mother cries quietly, terrified of hunger, and my exhausted father stands for hours queuing for fuel? How can I concentrate when blackouts sweep our home into darkness robbing it of warmth and safety?
I cannot. And nor can anyone else.
A couple months ago, the government made the decision to ban chemical fertilisers overnight. While they feasted, entire villages were unable to grow crops, leaving many of our already impoverished brothers and sisters without access to fresh food. And if we want to buy something, inflation prevents that too. Every policy, every act of mismanagement, compounds the human cost.
Yet it is not only material suffering we witness. It is the erosion of trust, the corrosion of civic faith, the quiet resignation of people who begin to believe their voice does not matter. As of 2022 Sri Lanka's national debt reached approximately eighty-six billion, accounting for around a hundred and ten percent of the country's GDP due to decades of unsustainable borrowing by the government. The rapid depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee has further increased the burden of foreign debt, leading to increased repayment costs and contributing to our country's financial instability. This has left our current government unable to provide essential services, import necessary goods, or stabilize prices. It forces ordinary citizens like us to shoulder the cost, and this issue does not seem to be declining under the current system.
Such government driven economic struggles are not new
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: 'Flames' illustrates that being connected…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 72.5%: In Robbie Arnott's magical ralism novel, 'Flames', he explores the multidimensional and complex network of…
In Robbie Arnott's magical ralism novel, 'Flames', he explores the multidimensional and complex network of connection. Although individuals way be driven to proceed with life by many different factors, Arnott contends that the maintenence of connections is an extremely significant factor that contributes towards prospering. Arnott unveils how a loss of identity can follow having unhealthy connections. Additionally, Arnott uncovers the karma that one faces due to a hostile relationship with nature. Moreover, Arnott highlights the importance of having positive connections during the time that allows them to exist.
Arnott posits that unhealthy connections lead to a loss of self preservation and identity. In 'Grove', Levi exclaims to Charlotte, "I don't need help, I'm helping you" whilst makig Charlotte's "gumwood" coffin, despite her existence. Levi making Charlotte's coffin is symbolic for the distractions one may seek, in order for then to mitigate the impacts of grief, as they mourn over the loss of what was once a loving connection. Levi exclaiming how he is "helping [Charlotte]" and doesn't require his own help is employed by Arnott to elicit a sense of concern for the reader, as they may not only perceive the unnatural actions of Levi's coffin-making frenzy as an irrational coping strategy, but also to reflect on their past actions that were disproportionate, although catalysed by the mourning of a loved one. Additionally, in 'Feathers', Allen exclaims, "How I hate them; Oh, I wish them pain", in reference to Nicola anf Charlotte. Not only does Allen's cormorant transformation act as the climax that reflects his shift in personality due to his prior harmful connection to the wombats, but also is reinforced by the alliterated 'h' sounds from "How I hate", capitalising on the immense shift in personality, growing a hatred for Charlotte and Nicola, who he previously respected. Although Arnott unveils the impacts of unhealthy connections, he continues to unveil how nature fights back to negative connections with itself.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: At what cost?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 97.5%: TITLE: AT WHAT COST? Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum. Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that…
TITLE: AT WHAT COST?
Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum.
Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri Lankans have fought for generations. We are protesting government corruption, economic mismanagement, and policies that have plunged citizens into poverty and scarcity. If the decisions of the Rajapakse government continue to harm every home, village, and community, at what cost are we remaining silent?
My name is Ranil, and I am seventeen. I am not a politician, a propagandist or a puppet. I am a student, the son of proud parents. Yet how can I focus on my studies while my mother cries quietly, terrified of hunger, and my exhausted father stands for hours queuing for fuel? How can I concentrate when blackouts sweep our home into darkness robbing it of warmth and safety?
I cannot. And nor can anyone else.
A couple months ago, the government made the decision to ban chemical fertilisers overnight. While they feasted, entire villages were unable to grow crops, leaving many of our already impoverished brothers and sisters without access to fresh food. And if we want to buy something, inflation prevents that too. Every policy, every act of mismanagement, compounds the human cost. Yet it is not only material suffering we witness. It is the erosion of trust, the corrosion of civic faith, the quiet resignation of people who begin to believe their voice does not matter.
As of 2022 Sri Lanka's national debt reached approximately eighty-six billion, accounting for around a hundred and ten percent of the country's GDP. The rapid depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee has further increased the burden of foreign debt, leading to increased repayment costs and contributing to our country's financial instability. This has left our current government unable to provide essential services, import necessary goods, or stabilize prices. It forces ordinary citizens like us to shoulder the cost, and this issue does not seem to be declining under the current system.
Government-imposed economic struggles are not new to our country, and history shows that collective action can drive meaningful change. In 1953, Sri Lankans of the labouring class rose in the
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Rainbow's End suggests that progress for…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 85%: Set on the backdrop of colonial Australia, Indigenous Australians were left culturally displaced as a result of the…
Set on the backdrop of colonial Australia, Indigenous Australians were left culturally displaced as a result of the stolen generation. Jane Harrison's play 'Rainbow's End', set in 1950's Australia, explores the complex lives which many Indigenous Australians experience of systemic racism and aspirations for change. Harrison depicts progress as highly complicated as it offers both material and educational advancements, while often demanding painful compromises for First Nations Australians. The progress offered to Indigenous Australians is heavily constrained due to the long-lasting impacts of systemic racism. Moreover, progress is shown to First Nations Australian characters at the cost of cultural identity and belonging. Despite these costs, Harrison suggests that genuine progress stems from cultural pride, unity, and the reclamation of agency.
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: At what cost?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 95%: TITLE: AT WHAT COST? Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum. Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri…
TITLE: AT WHAT COST?
Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum.
Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri Lankans have fought for generations. We are protesting government corruption, economic mismanagement, and policies that have plunged citizens into poverty and scarcity. If the decisions of the Rajapakse government continue to harm every home, village, and community, at what cost are we remaining silent?
My name is Ranil, and I am seventeen. I am not a politician, a propagandist or a puppet. I am a student, the son of proud parents. Yet how can I focus on my studies while my mother cries quietly, terrified of hunger, and my exhausted father stands for hours queuing for fuel? How can I concentrate when blackouts sweep our home into darkness robbing it of warmth and safety?
I cannot. And nor can anyone else.
A couple months ago, the government made the decision to ban chemical fertilisers overnight. While they feasted, entire villages were unable to grow crops, leaving many of our already impoverished brothers and sisters without access to fresh food. And if we want to buy something, inflation prevents that too. Every policy, every act of mismanagement, compounds the human cost. Yet it is not only material suffering we witness. It is the erosion of trust, the corrosion of civic faith, the quiet resignation of people who begin to believe their voice does not matter.
As of 2022 Sri Lanka's national debt reached approximately eighty-six billion, accounting for around a hundred and ten percent of the country's GDP. The rapid depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee has further increased the burden of foreign debt, leading to increased repayment costs and contributing to our country's financial instability. This has left our current government unable to provide essential services, import necessary goods, or stabilize prices. It forces ordinary citizens like us to shoulder the cost, and this issue does not seem to be declining under the current system.
Significant economic struggles brought upon our
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: ‘High Ground illustrates the consequences…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Stephen Johnson’s 2020 film High Ground examines the violent collision between British colonisers and the Yolngu…
Stephen Johnson’s 2020 film High Ground examines the violent collision between British colonisers and the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land during the early twentieth century, exposing how conflicting cultural values surrounding land, law, and justice shape the lives of both groups. High Ground significantly critiques the destructive consequences that arise when one culture seeks to dominate another, ultimately suggesting that the clash between Indigenous and colonial values leads to the erosion of identity and the corruption of justice; while fleeting moments of empathy hint at reconciliation, Johnson reveals that true coexistence remains impossible without mutual respect and recognition of indigenous values.
High Ground establishes that the clash of cultural values leads to violence and dispossession. Violence is born from the colonial desire to control land and its individuals. The opening sequence juxtaposes a serene panorama of Arnhem Land; lush canopies, tranquil water, and Aboriginal families living in harmony, with the sudden chaos of the massacre that follows. Johnson’s use of sound and camera movement intensifies this contrast: the calm, rhythmic singing of the Yolngu is replaced by the violent intrusion of gunfire, dust, and the frantic motion of horses. This visual and auditory shift captures the moment when one worldview violently replaces another. The dialogue between Travis and Baywara during the massacre crystallises the moral and cultural divide at the heart of the film. When Travis insists, “We don’t want any trouble,” and Baywara replies, “It’s our land, we should fight,” the film exposes the colonisers’ hypocrisy—they bring “peace” at gunpoint. The resulting bloodshed symbolises the destruction of Aboriginal harmony with Country. For the Yolngu, the land is not property to be owned but a living entity that connects them to their ancestors; for the colonisers, it is territory to be claimed. Through fast-paced editing, low camera angles, and the use of dust and smoke to obscure the frame, Johnson conveys the suffocating chaos of invasion.
The massacre scene sets the tone for the film’s exploration of dispossession. Not only are lives lost, but Aboriginal law, language, and spiritual connection to Country are undermined. The lack of punishment for the perpetrators of the massacre highlights the colonial belief that violence against Indigenous people was justified as a necessary step towards “civilisation.” This early act of violence establishes the film’s central argument: that the collision of incompatible cultural values—one valuing domination, the other harmony—produces irreparable loss and moral corruption.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: Oedipus the King shows that when faced…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 80%: Sophocles Oedipus the King retells the legend of Oedipus, presenting him as the quintessential tragic hero who…
Sophocles Oedipus the King retells the legend of Oedipus, presenting him as the quintessential tragic hero who elicits profound pity and fear from the Athenian audience through his eventual self-inflicted downfall. Sophocles contrasts how, when faced with difficult circumstances, some characters respond with courage and dignity, while others act in a less than noble manner. Thus, the play suggests that the qualities of an individual are underscored in times of hardship. Even when individuals act with honour and bravery to subvert fate, the playwright suggests that the will of the Gods will always outweigh human efforts, as is seen through the miasma that challenges the leaders of Thebes. Furthermore, he explores how they respond to the confronting truth thus harming the city's order.
Even when acting with dignity and courage to subvert fate, Sophocles suggests that the power of the Gods will always surpass the acts of humans. In his opening stage directions Sophocles sets the scene by explaining that "Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx" and "now a plague has struck the city." By immediately connecting Oedipus' triumph with the city of Thebes' present suffering, Sophocles cautions his Athenian audience against celebrating human intelligence, warning them that the will of the Gods will always prevail over acts of courage to deny fate. Likewise, Jocasta's dramatically ironic statement that "the land (is) so sick" speaks to the playwright's determination to signal to his audience that the loimos is a result of the wrongdoing of the citizens of Thebes who hadn't sought justice for the previous king Laius' regicide. Furthermore, the length to which Jocasta and Laius went to avoid the prophecy is seen when Jocasta reveals that their infant son was abandoned on a barren trackless mountain" when he "wasn't three days old". This depiction of failure of parental duty underscores their courage and hubris as they believe they can outwit the gods and prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy that their son "must make love with (his) own mother" and "shed (his) father's blood with (his) own hands." Here, their courageous attempt to outwit the gods to protect their family exposes their abandonment of moral responsibility as parents. Through this, attempts to resist divine will despite courageous intentions only lead to greater devastation, reinforcing the necessity of reverence towards the gods.
Moreover, the miasma inflicted on Thebes challenged the dignity and courage of the leaders. In the Prologue, Thebes is plagued by a miasma where the city is suffering immensely with the citizens lamenting that "Thebes is dying". Here, the emotive language used by the Chorus reflects the depth of their despair as they refer to their home as the "city of death" and speak of how "black death luxuriates in the raw wailing misery". By personifying death via vivid imagery, the playwright sets the tone of the city of Thebes suffering and consumed by darkness due to divine will. For Oedipus' tragic action is not so much the murder itself, but rather his insistent pursuit of the truth. In the pursuit, Oedipus' hubris, that is his hamartia, is highlighted through his undignified declaration "you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." Here, the excessive pride against which Sophocles is warning is highlighted. Oedipus' confidence in his own intellect is escalated when he claims "Yet we grant you your prays," an undignified courageous statement that is deeply offensive to divine power. At this point in the play, Oedipus believes that he can solve the mystery of the murder of Laius
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: At what cost?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 90%: TITLE: AT WHAT COST? Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum. Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri…
TITLE: AT WHAT COST?
Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum.
Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri Lankans have fought for generations. From the Hartal of 1953 to the streets of Colombo today, throughout history ordinary people have risen at great personal cost to demand accountability.
Because at what cost do we remain silent while injustice persists?
My name is Ranil, and I am seventeen. I am not a politician, a propagandist or a puppet. I am a student, the son of proud parents. Yet how can I focus on my studies while my mother cries quietly, terrified of hunger, and my exhausted father stands for hours queuing for fuel? How can I concentrate when blackouts sweep our home into darkness robbing it of warmth and safety?
I cannot.
These hardships are not just mine to bear, reflecting a system that fails ordinary citizens, where the decisions of those in power take control of every home, every village and every community. A few months ago, our government banned chemical fertilisers overnight. While they feasted, my father and I wondered if we would eat a proper meal in the coming months. It left entire villages unable to grow crops, threatening our food security, leaving many of our already impoverished brothers and sisters without access to fresh food. If I, and all of us, remain silent while such suffering plagues us, we are going to continue to feel this pain.
Our struggle is not new, and the past can guide us today. In 1953 Sri Lankans of the labouring class from every caste ethnicity and religion united in the Hartal to protest rice subsidy cuts that threatened to starve the poor. That peaceful yet powerful action forced the government to reconsider its policies. It shows us that collective ethical resistance can achieve meaningful change. It reminds us that moral courage transcends generations. When the vulnerable are harmed
VCE · Creative Response
Creative Response: At what cost?
VCE Creative Response essay scoring 92.5%: Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum. Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri Lankans have…
Ayubowan, Vannakum, Salam Alaikum.
Today, we gather as participants in a struggle that Sri Lankans have fought for generations. From the Hartal of 1953 to the streets of Colombo today, throughout history ordinary people have risen at great personal cost to demand accountability.
Because at what cost do we remain silent while injustice persists?
My name is Ranil, and I am seventeen. I am not a politician, a propagandist or a puppet. I am a student, the son of proud parents. Yet how can I focus on my studies while my mother cries quietly, terrified of hunger, and my exhausted father stands for hours queuing for fuel? How can I concentrate when blackouts sweep our home into darkness robbing it of warmth and safety?
I cannot.
These hardships are not just mine to bear, reflecting a system that fails ordinary citizens, where the decisions of those in power take control of every home, every village and every community. A few months ago, our government banned chemical fertilisers overnight. While they feasted, my father and I wondered if we would eat a proper meal in the coming months. It left entire villages unable to grow crops, threatening our food security, leaving many of our already impoverished brothers and sisters without access to fresh food. If I, and all of us, remain silent while such suffering plagues us, we are going to continue to feel this pain.
Our struggle is not new, and the past can guide us today. In 1953 Sri Lankans of the labouring class from every caste ethnicity and religion united in the Hartal to protest rice subsidy cuts that threatened to starve the poor. That peaceful yet powerful action forced the government to reconsider its policies. It shows us that collective ethical resistance can achieve
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: “In Oedipus the King, all who deserve it…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 90%: Sophocles’ Oedipus the King examines the fragility of human greatness and the inescapable justice of divine order.…
Sophocles’ Oedipus the King examines the fragility of human greatness and the inescapable justice of divine order. Written in the context of fifth–century BCE Athens — a world governed by both civic reason and reverence for fate — the tragedy exposes the limitations of human intellect when it attempts to supersede divine law. While the surface of the play seems to affirm that those who err against the gods are punished, Sophocles’ moral vision is far more complex. The punishment inflicted upon Oedipus and others in the play is not a matter of cruelty, but of revelation. Through his downfall, Oedipus attains insight into his own nature and the moral structure of the world. Thus, rather than suggesting that every character “deserves” their fate in a moral sense, Sophocles depicts punishment as the necessary process through which ignorance gives way to understanding. Justice, in Oedipus the King, operates not as vengeance, but as enlightenment — the restoration of cosmic balance through human suffering.
At the centre of the play stands Oedipus, a man of extraordinary intellect and ambition whose defining flaw is not malice, but ignorance. Sophocles constructs his downfall as the inevitable consequence of his attempt to assert human reason against divine decree. From the outset, Oedipus defines himself as a solver of riddles — the man who “alone could answer the Sphinx,” and thus “saved Thebes.” This assertion of intellect creates an image of human agency and control that the play steadily dismantles. His determination to uncover Laius’ killer stems from noble intent — “I must bring what is dark to light” — yet this language foreshadows the tragic irony of a man blind to his own culpability. In his relentless pursuit of knowledge, Oedipus challenges the limits set by the gods. When he mocks Tiresias as “blind in ears and mind,” Sophocles presents the audience with a dramatic inversion: it is Oedipus who is spiritually blind, and the seer who perceives the truth. His punishment, then, is not undeserved cruelty but the fulfilment of a cosmic law — the revelation that human understanding is subordinate to divine will. Oedipus’ self-inflicted blindness becomes a physical manifestation of the moral blindness that defined his rule, transforming punishment into purification. Through this act, Sophocles implies that true justice lies not in external retribution, but in the painful recognition of one’s limitations before the gods.
VCE · Text Response
Text Response: In Sunset Boulevard, all characters are…
VCE Text Response essay scoring 82.5%: Billy Wilder’s film noir, ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ exposes the formulaic and corrupt system of the Hollywood film…
Billy Wilder’s film noir, ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ exposes the formulaic and corrupt system of the Hollywood film industry. To a great extent, ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ explores the victimization of individuals through Hollywood’s seductive allure of fame, and the destructive capabilities of unrealistic beauty standards, however Wilder additionally illustrates that individuals are ultimately victims of their own greed. Hollywood generates a face, creating a false depiction of stardom, charming others. In addition, Wilder criticizes the aesthetic ideology imposed by the hard industry, creating an unhealthy obsession. However, it is through Wilder’s portrayal of avarice that victimizes others trapped in Hollywood, corrupting their morality.
‘Sunset Boulevard,’ demonstrates the chaotic charm of the Hollywood film industry through the flawed system’s use of false promises. Through Wilder’s portrayal of the femme fatale, Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson), Wilder critiques the enticing nature of stardom. When Norma visits Paramount Studios, she is unaware of her faded fame, basking once the spotlight has both literally and metaphorically shined on her. The high angle shot of Norma in the spotlight highlights her deluded “…celluloid self,” as she appears vulnerable. Through Wilder’s consistent use of high angle shorts, he articulates the “…hollow,” ephemeral nature of fame, demonstrating the synthetic, blithe industry. This idea is further reinforced when the harsh light is turned “…back to where it belongs,” exposing the fleeting, harsh reality of fame. Wilder criticizes the industry’s neglect towards their own stars they have fostered, driven purely based on profit. Additionally, Wilder confronts the progression from the Silent Film Era to the Rise of the ‘Talkies,’ victimizing those who are unable to adapt to the fact-paced industry. Hence, ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ illustrates how the Hollywood film industry utilises the seductive allure of fame and in turn, creating an illusion to capture others.
Wilder exposes the allure and destructive capabilities of the unwavering societal beauty norms enforced y the film industry, creating unwanted behaviours. Betty Schaefer (played by Nanny Olsen) is the antithesis of Norma Desmond; however, both are ultimately victims of a flawed system. Betty is first introduced in Sheldrake’s office, appearing in a white collared shirt and neat hair in a bow, suggesting her innocence, “…itching with ambition,” has not been destroyed by Hollywood. Wilder’s utilization of Betty’s costumes depicts Hollywood’s beauty standards in younger women, fulfilling characteristics such as innocence, hope and youth. Conversely, Norma’s extravagant, yet excessive
VCE · Language Analysis
Language Analysis: Analyse the use of language in the…
VCE Language Analysis essay scoring 70%: 2025 trial exam section C In response to being awarded the 2024 #GoldenSlice title by @VanillaVibes, resulting…
2025 trial exam section C
In response to being awarded the 2024 #GoldenSlice title by @VanillaVibes, resulting in anti social behaviour from customers, Carter Chan, owner of River Bakery, took to the bakeries social media page to offer his gratitude to @Vanillavibes for the award, but also to share his disappointment in the “apalling behaviour” displayed by the customers over the weekend. Addressing the regular customers of the bakery, specifically those responsible for showing “hositlity” to the baker’s staff, Chan seeks to emphasise that the rude behaviour exhibited will not be tolerated by the bakery, encouraging all customers to “embrace kindness” and also to support the new surveillance measures being implemented in the bakery, to ensure the safety of all individuals.
Chan Commences by “expressing his gratitude” to the “River Bakery family” for the “overwhelming support” in his bakery becoming a “beloved part of the community”.His use of the word “family” aims to create a sense of belonging among his customers, allowing regulars of the bakery to feel connected and included in the bakery’s decisions and events, which further increases their likelihood of supporting Chan’s upcoming opinions and viewpoints on a need for change in the bakery’s environment.Furthermore, Chan continues to thank @VanillaVibes for showing their “appreciation” for (the bakery’s) “baked goods” and awarding the bakery the “truly humbling” 2024 #GoldenSlice title. By personally thanking @VanillaVibes, Chan seeks to emphasise to the page and its followers that his post is not out of ungratefulness, and he has not taken the awrad for granted. His use of the adjectives “truly humbling” further intends to gain the bakery’s customers, and @VanillaVibes follower’s respect, and assure them to believe that his intentions are for the best interests of all individuals parties involved,which further increases the likelhiood of his aim to gather support for surveillance to be supported.
Having established his initial appreciation of being acknowledged by @VanillaVibes, Chan then takes responsibility for the bakery’s “failings last weekend”, due to the “unprecedented demand”. His description of the increased “lengthy cues” being “unprecedented”,hopes to potentially remove some of the blame that may be placed upon the bakery for the “difficult situation”, by highlighting that it was completely out of the bakeries control. Hoping to direct some of the blame off the bakery, Chan hopes to evoke feelings of understanding from his customers for the “limited stock availability”, to ensure he does not lose any potential customers due to the frustrating events. Chan then progresses his argument by “wholeheartedly (apologising) to his customers, especially for those “who travelled lengthy distances to experience the delicious River Bakery offerings”, in order to express to his customers that may be “frustrated and disappointed” that the bakery is truly empathetic and understanding of their feelings. By describing the bakery’s apology as “wholeheartedly”, Chan reiterates to his customers that he takes some of the blame for the events of last weekend, removing any idea of customers feeling solely targeted and blamed for the circumstances. This also aims to highlight the bakery’s genuninity and dedication to providing the best service and protecting both its staff and customers, which would further gain the support from residents of Lamsville, specifically those that are regular customers of the ‘River Bakery’.