WACE ATAR English as an Additional Language or Dialect cheat sheet

Identify the text type first (expository, persuasive, narrative, procedural, multimodal advertisement, infographic); text type predicts structure, register and likely purpose.

State purpose as a verb plus object: to persuade readers to..., to inform audiences about..., to entertain through...; avoid vague labels such as 'about' or 'interesting'.

Separate literal meaning from inferred meaning: literal content is directly stated; inference requires combining stated detail with background knowledge and must be justifiable from textual evidence.

For multimodal texts, treat each mode as a semiotic system: written language, image (subject, gaze, angle, colour, layout), and spatial arrangement all carry meaning independently and jointly.

Salience in an image is produced by size, foregrounding, colour contrast, focus and placement; the most salient element usually carries the text's central claim.

Track cohesion across a text: reference chains (pronouns, synonyms, nominalisation), lexical repetition, and connectives signal how ideas link and where emphasis falls.

Distinguish main idea from supporting detail by asking which sentence the other sentences exist to support; topic sentences usually, but not always, state it.

Audience positioning is inferred from assumed knowledge, jargon density, formality, and appeals; a text addressing 'you' directly constructs an implied reader.

Analyse with the formula: feature + quoted evidence + effect on reader + link to purpose; naming a device without effect earns no analytic credit.

Lexical choice categories: connotation (positive/negative/neutral loading), denotation, jargon, colloquialism, euphemism, dysphemism, abstraction versus specificity.

Figurative devices to identify precisely: simile (like/as), metaphor (tenor + vehicle), personification, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, irony; each works by transferring or distorting meaning.

Syntax analysis: sentence length and type (simple, compound, complex), fragmentation, parallelism, inversion, passive versus active voice, and fronting all shift emphasis and pace.

Modality expresses certainty and obligation: high modality (must, certainly, always), median (should, likely), low (may, perhaps, could); modality strength signals the writer's stance.

Persuasive appeals: ethos (credibility, expertise, shared values), pathos (emotion, anecdote, vivid imagery), logos (statistics, causation, comparison, reasoned sequence).

Register variables are field (topic), tenor (relationship and power between writer and reader) and mode (spoken/written, monologic/dialogic); register shifts mark changing stance.

Rhetorical patterning: rule of three, antithesis, anaphora, rhetorical question, inclusive 'we', direct address - each constructs solidarity, urgency or challenge to the reader.

Analytical response thesis must be arguable and text-based, naming the interpretation you will defend rather than summarising the text's content.

Body paragraph architecture: topic claim, contextual placement, quoted evidence, analysis of feature and effect, concluding link back to the thesis.

Persuasive response structure: contention, three to four reasons each with evidence, pre-emption of the strongest counterargument, refutation, then a call to action.

Concede-and-refute pattern: state the opposing view fairly, identify its limitation or faulty assumption, then restate your position with added evidence.

Evidence hierarchy in persuasion: verifiable statistics and expert testimony outweigh anecdote; anecdote outweighs unsupported assertion; label which type you use.

When comparing two texts, organise by idea or technique rather than text-by-text; comparative connectives (whereas, similarly, by contrast, likewise) must carry the argument.

Quote selection rule: choose the shortest fragment that still shows the feature; integrate grammatically into your sentence rather than dropping in a full sentence.

Tone of the response itself is a choice: measured and authoritative for analysis, urgent or indignant for persuasion; avoid emotive overload that undermines ethos.

Introduction moves: contextual opening, definition of key terms, statement of contention or thesis, signposting of the line of argument in one or two sentences.

Paragraph unity test: every sentence must serve the paragraph's topic claim; a sentence that introduces a new claim belongs in a new paragraph.

Cohesive devices to deploy deliberately: pronouns and demonstratives (this, such, these), lexical chains, connectives of addition, contrast, cause, concession and sequence.

Nominalisation compresses clauses into abstract nouns (they decided → their decision), raising formality and information density; overuse produces opacity.

Sentence variety plan: alternate short declaratives for emphasis with complex sentences carrying subordination; avoid three consecutive sentences of identical structure.

Conclusion must synthesise rather than repeat: restate the thesis in light of the evidence, state the significance or implication, and avoid introducing new evidence.

Formality control: eliminate contractions, first-person anecdote (unless the genre permits it), slang, and vague quantifiers such as 'a lot' or 'things'.

Editing passes are separate: one for argument and structure, one for evidence and quotation accuracy, one for grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Subject-verb agreement traps: intervening phrases, collective nouns, indefinite pronouns (each, everyone = singular), and 'either...or' (verb agrees with nearest subject).

Comma splice and run-on are the most penalised errors: join independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon, or a full stop.

Apostrophes: possessive singular (the writer's), possessive plural (the writers'), plural non-possessive (writers); 'it's' = it is, 'its' = possessive.

Punctuation with quotation: commas and full stops sit inside closing quotation marks in Australian usage; semicolons and question marks outside unless part of the quote.

Cohesive and academic vocabulary to vary: asserts, contends, implies, underscores, foregrounds, undermines, qualifies, juxtaposes, amplifies, legitimises.

Common confusions: affect (verb) / effect (noun); imply (speaker) / infer (listener); principal (main) / principle (rule); complement / compliment; practice (noun) / practise (verb).

Parallel structure in lists and comparisons: items joined by 'and' or 'or' must share grammatical form; 'not only...but also' requires matching structures.

Australian English spelling conventions: -ise not -ize (analyse, criticise), -our (colour, behaviour), -re (centre), -ce for nouns and -se for verbs (licence/license).