How to write the commentary for VCE English/EAL Crafting Texts
Our Year 11s and Year 12s now have to write a commentary accompanying their Crafting/Creating texts piece, and this is rather different to the old Statement of Intention (SOI) from the Creative SAC from the old study design!
While some schools have chosen to format this as a collection of short answer questions for their VCE students, most schools are choosing to format this task in a more free-form, flexible writing task. Which brings us to the question…
How do I write the commentary?
While there are no set rules for how to write the commentary, we’ve come up with a rough structure that should help many students to include everything they need:
Part 1 – Overall structure and purpose
The first part should be about the overall structure and purpose of the piece. In this part, you should talk about the chosen form and the reasons why it was chosen. How did you structure your piece? Why did you structure it that way? Explain the reasons for why this form and genre of writing was chosen.
If you’ve written an opinion article, why didn’t you choose a speech, a letter to the editor, or a personal reflective? How does the opinion article form support the message you are trying to convey, to the audience you’ve chosen?
This part should also cover the structure of the piece by discussing the overall movement of ideas. Explain the choices made throughout the piece: why did you start with this anecdote? Why did you bookend the piece with this metaphor? Why include this point in the middle of the piece?
Part 2: Audience and your message
In this second part, you should explicitly identify the chosen audience like an argument analysis: geography, socio-economic status, and hobbies/interests (or lack thereof). What was the intended message for this audience and how did you achieve your purpose of expressing, arguing, explaining or reflect? What choices were made to target this audience?
Part 3: Specific language choices and reflection
The last part of the commentary should focus on the specific language choices made. The discussion should label the choices wherever possible (metaphor, adjective, etc) and you should discuss how these choices convey your message to your audience. What did you consider when choosing this language feature? Did you consider other language choices? How would it have conveyed your message differently?
This part is also a chance to reflect on what you’ve learnt throughout the writing process. Have you had any realisations about your voice as a writer, or how you portray yourself to your audience? What did you learn about yourself or the writing process?
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