Extended response written for a public audience

Context

You have examined Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake and Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris's film Little Miss Sunshine.

Kill Your Darlings is one of Australia's leading arts and culture magazines. It is an eclectic online magazine providing commentary and discussion of literature.

Task

Write a discursive essay for the online publication Kill Your Darlings analysing the representation of the concept of ‘family’ across two texts:

• Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake

• Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris’s film Little Miss Sunshine Checkpoints

Authentication strategies

• You will be provided class time for task completion.
• Your teacher will observe you completing work in class.
• Your teacher will collect and annotate a draft.
• Your teacher will conduct interviews or consultations as you develop the response.
• Your teacher will ensure class cross-marking occurs.
• You will use Turnitin to submit your response.

Scaffolding

To complete this task, you must:

1. Reflect on how the concept of family is represented in each text.

2. Develop a thesis statement about the representation.

3. Develop this thesis across the essay, supporting your perspective with equal analysis and evidence from both texts (characters, events, aesthetic features, stylistic devices).

4. Use the generic conventions and textual features of a discursive essay to comment on how each text explores the concept.

5. Format your work using complementary features suitable to an online essay such as breakout quotes, images, masthead, captions, by-lines.

Instrument-specific Marking Guide 

Written Response for a Public Audience 

Knowledge Application

Assessment objectives:

1. Analyse perspectives and representations of concepts, identities, times and places in two texts

2. Analyse the ways cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs underpin different texts and invite audiences to take up positions

3. Analyse the effects of aesthetic features and stylistic devices in the two texts

Organisation and Development

Assessment objectives:

1. Use patterns and conventions of the chosen genre to achieve purposes in a specific context

2. Establish and maintain the role of the writer and relationship with public audience

3. Select and synthesise subject matter to support perspectives

4. Organise and sequence subject matter

5. Use cohesive devices to emphasise ideas and connect parts of a text

Performance standards

• Discerning use of genre conventions and writer’s role
• Discerning selection and synthesis of subject matter
• Discerning organisation, sequencing, and cohesive devices
• Effective use of genre conventions and writer’s role
• Effective selection and synthesis of subject matter
• Effective organisation, sequencing, and cohesive devices
• Suitable use of genre conventions
• Suitable selection and adequate synthesis
• Suitable organisation, sequencing, and cohesive devices
• Inconsistent use of genre conventions
• Narrow selection of subject matter
• Inconsistent organisation and some cohesion
• Fragmented use of conventions
• Fragmented subject matter
• Some connections between parts of the text
• Does not satisfy descriptors

Textual Features

Assessment objectives:

1. Make language choices for particular purposes and contexts

2. Use grammar and language structures for particular purposes

3. Use written features (and complementary features) to achieve purposes

Summary of Assessment Requirements

The assessment requires students to write a discursive essay for the online magazine Kill Your Darlings, analysing how the concept of ‘family’ is represented in:

• Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake

• Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris’s film Little Miss Sunshine

The response must:

1. Analyse perspectives and representations of family across both texts.

2. Examine the cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs shaping these portrayals.

3. Analyse the aesthetic features and stylistic devices used in each text.

4. Use discursive essay conventions appropriate to an online publication (tone, structure, by-lines, layout features).

5. Present an argument supported by accurately selected and synthesised subject matter from both texts.

6. Be well-organised, cohesive, and clearly sequenced.

7. Use effective language, grammar, and complementary online features.

How the Academic Mentor Guided the Student 

The mentor supported the student through a structured, step-by-step approach that aligned with the task requirements and the ISMG criteria.

1. Understanding the Task and Context

The mentor first helped the student interpret the assignment sheet:

• Identify the genre: discursive essay for a public audience, not a traditional analytical essay.

• Recognise the publication context: Kill Your Darlings uses reflective, sophisticated, culturally aware writing.

• Clarify expectations: equal analysis of both texts, digital formatting features, and strong engagement with the concept of family.

This ensured the student understood the purpose, audience, and stylistic requirements.

2. Exploring Representations of ‘Family’ in Both Texts

The mentor then guided the student to brainstorm and take notes on:

• Key characters and family relationships

• Significant scenes/events

• Cultural forces (immigrant identity, American dream, intergenerational conflict, belonging)

• Stylistic devices (narrative perspective, cinematography, symbolism, tone)

The goal was to help the student recognise patterns and contrasts in how family is depicted.

3. Developing a Thesis

Using the brainstormed ideas, the mentor helped the student craft a thesis that:

• Went beyond description

• Identified a central idea about how and why the texts portray family

• Allowed exploration rather than arguing a single rigid stance

The mentor ensured the thesis was suitable for a discursive essay—reflective, insightful, and flexible.

4. Planning the Essay Structure

The mentor provided a planning scaffold that used the conventions of a discursive online article:

• By-line & intro connecting both texts and framing the idea of family

• Body sections addressing:

  • Cultural assumptions shaping each text

  • Representation of family relationships

  • Techniques used to communicate these ideas

  • Comparative insights woven throughout

• Breakout quotes from each text

• Conclusion reinforcing the discursive nature—reflective, open-ended, thought-provoking

This ensured coherent sequencing, synthesis of ideas, and effective cohesion.

5. Drafting with Attention to Textual Features

While the student drafted, the mentor guided them on:

• Using language appropriate for a literary magazine

• Blending analysis and reflection

• Maintaining an informed writerly voice

• Using grammatically clear and varied sentence structures

• Integrating complementary online features (images, captions, quotations)

The mentor provided feedback without writing the content, teaching the student how to refine their own work.

6. Final Refinement and Quality Check

Before submission, the mentor supported the student in:

• Strengthening cohesion (topic sentences, transitions, linking phrases)

• Ensuring equal representation of both texts

• Checking alignment with the ISMG criteria

• Proofreading for clarity, structure, and accuracy

• Ensuring originality and proper referencing to meet academic integrity standards

Outcome and Learning Objectives Achieved

By the end of the mentoring process, the student:

• Understood the purpose, audience, and genre of a discursive essay.

• Demonstrated the ability to analyse representations of concepts across texts.

• Explored how cultural values and assumptions influence narrative portrayals of family.

• Identified and examined the effects of stylistic and aesthetic devices.

• Organised and synthesised subject matter logically and cohesively.

• Applied appropriate language, structure, and digital features for an online publication.

• Strengthened skills in critical thinking, comparative analysis, and academic writing.

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