VCE Literature past exams 2017–2025, by year and topic

Exam Section A – Developing Interpretations (From 2023) · 2 mapped questions

Also in this areas of study: Endorsing, challenging or marginalising a text's ideas, views and values — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Exam Section B – Close Analysis (From 2023) · 1 mapped question

Also in this areas of study: Analysing how set passages contribute to an overall interpretation · Close reading of literary form, features and language — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Pre-2023 Exam Format (2017–2022) · 2 mapped questions

Also in this areas of study: One text per section, each from a different category (novels, plays, short stories, other literature, poetry) — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

The rest of the study design

Question-level mapping for these areas is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

• Adaptations and Transformations (Unit 3, AoS1) — Close analysis of a set text via a key passage · How adapting a text to a different form changes meaning · Comparing an original text with its adaptation (print-to-stage, print-to-screen etc.) · How adaptation creators emphasise or minimise the original's viewpoints and assumptions
• Developing Interpretations (Unit 3, AoS2) — Interpreting a text's views and values within its historical, social and cultural context · Comparing multiple readings/interpretations of the same text · Using a supplementary reading to inform a fresh interpretation · Testing an interpretation against a key moment in the text
• Creative Responses to Texts (Unit 4, AoS1) — Constructing an original creative transformation of a text · Recasting a scene, adding to a text, or shifting point of view · Reflecting critically on the connection between the creative response and the original · Using stylistically appropriate voice, form and structure drawn from the original
• Close Analysis of Texts (Unit 4, AoS2) — Detailed scrutiny of language, style and construction in set passages · Synthesising analysis of multiple passages into a coherent whole-text view · Examining how nuances of language shape meaning · Identifying the views and values suggested by a text
• Text Categories and Selection Rules — Novels · Plays · Short stories · Other literature (essays, memoir, life writing) · Poetry · Rule: the two chosen texts must come from two different categories
• Views, Values and Context (cross-unit) — Reading a text's views and values through its historical/social/cultural context (Unit 2, AoS2 and Unit 3, AoS2) · Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, perspectives and knowledge (Unit 2, AoS1) · Literary movements and genres (Unit 1, AoS2) e.g. modernism, tragedy, magic realism, crime, science fiction