Contexts and Values (VCE SSCE English): Revision Notes
Contexts and values
Introduction to context in crafting texts
When crafting texts for the SSCE VCE English course, understanding context is essential. Context refers to the circumstances and conditions that surround the creation and reception of a text. As you work on this area of study, you need to consider two key aspects: the context in which your mentor texts were written, and your own context as a writer creating texts for specific audiences and purposes.
Context shapes everything about a text. It influences the author's choice of structure and language, the ideas they explore, and how readers interpret those ideas. By understanding context, you can craft more meaningful and authentic texts that connect with your intended audience.
Understanding context: texts as products of their time
All texts emerge from specific historical moments and cultural circumstances. To fully understand this concept, consider how entertainment and media change over time. Action films from the 1980s look very different from today's blockbusters - their special effects may seem outdated or even comical to modern audiences. Similarly, stand-up comedy routines from the 1990s might contain jokes that were considered funny then but are now viewed as offensive.
These shifting responses happen because we experience texts from our own contemporary context, which differs from the context in which they were originally created. What seems normal or entertaining in one era may appear strange or even offensive in another.
Context of production and context of reception
Two important terms help us understand how context operates:
Context of production refers to the circumstances surrounding the creation of a text. This includes when and where it was written, who wrote it, what was happening in society at that time, and what cultural values and beliefs were dominant.
Context of reception refers to the circumstances in which a text is read, viewed, or experienced. This includes when and where you encounter the text, your own background and experiences, and the current social and cultural environment.
Example: Reading Pandemic Literature
Consider texts written about the COVID-19 pandemic. Readers who lived through this period will immediately understand references to:
- Zoom meetings and working from home
- Mask wearing and social distancing
- QR code check-ins at venues
However, future readers encountering these same texts may respond very differently, depending on their own contexts. If pandemics become commonplace in the future, or if effective vaccines make such events rare, future readers will bring entirely different perspectives to pandemic literature.
The gap between these two contexts often creates interesting differences in interpretation. This shared understanding between author, text, and reader relies on common social, historical, and cultural contexts. When these contexts differ significantly, the text can seem confusing, outdated, or strange to new readers.
The three types of context
To analyse context effectively, we break it down into three interconnected categories:
Social contexts
Social contexts relate to the conventions, expectations, and norms that govern behaviour in a particular society. These include ideas about acceptable conduct, social hierarchies, gender roles, relationships, and community structures. Social context helps us understand what was considered normal or acceptable at a particular time, and what was viewed as transgressive or unusual.
For example, in early 19th-century England when Jane Austen was writing, society had strictly defined social classes. People were generally unable to move up the social ladder, and their birth determined much of their life trajectory. This rigid social structure appears throughout Austen's novels, shaping her characters' choices and conflicts.
Historical contexts
Historical contexts relate to the key events, discoveries, and developments occurring during a particular time period. These might include wars, political changes, scientific breakthroughs, economic shifts, or technological innovations. Historical context helps us understand what was happening in the world when a text was created.
Continuing with the Austen example, England was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars with France during the period when she was writing. This historical reality explains why army and navy officers feature prominently in her novels - military service was a significant part of life for many people at that time.
Cultural contexts
Cultural contexts relate to the customs, traditions, beliefs, and practices that characterise a particular group or society. This includes religious beliefs, artistic movements, educational practices, entertainment forms, and cultural values. Cultural context helps us understand the worldview that shaped both the author and the original audience.
In Austen's time, men's education was given priority over women's. Women's education focused on becoming 'accomplished' - learning skills like sewing, playing music, drawing, and speaking French. This cultural reality is reflected in Austen's female characters, who demonstrate these accomplishments throughout her novels.
Example: context map for Pride and Prejudice
To see how these three types of context work together, consider Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813 in England:
Worked Example: Context Map for Pride and Prejudice
Social context: England had strictly defined social classes where individuals couldn't move up the social ladder. This rigid structure is reflected throughout Austen's work, creating obstacles and tensions for her characters.
Social/Cultural context: Women were dependent on marriage for economic and social security. Without independent means of support, marriage was often a woman's only route to financial stability. This explains why Austen's novels are so concerned with courtship and marriage - these weren't just romantic concerns but practical necessities.
Cultural context: Men's education was prioritised, while women's education focused on becoming 'accomplished' in arts like needlework and music. Austen's female characters frequently sew, play piano, and display other accomplishments expected of educated women.
Historical context: The Napoleonic Wars between England and France were ongoing. Army and navy officers feature prominently in Austen's texts, reflecting the military presence in daily life.
Jane Austen was a keen observer of her society, and her novels centre on intelligent women who face various forms of marginalisation. These concerns aren't purely products of Austen's imagination - they reflect the real circumstances of the society she inhabited when writing.
Understanding these contexts helps modern readers appreciate why Austen's novels focus on the themes they do, and why certain plot points that might seem strange to us were perfectly logical to her original audience.
Focusing on the author's context
The old saying 'write what you know' captures an essential truth about writing. Authors draw on their experiences to give their work credibility, authenticity, and conviction. While an author's personal context may not be overtly stated in a text, it's always present, shaping the themes, settings, characters, and concerns that appear in their work.
Life experiences shape writing
An author's work generally reflects their life experiences and the values, attitudes, and beliefs they've developed over time. By understanding an author's background, we can better appreciate why they chose to write about particular subjects or present ideas in specific ways.
Consider two contemporary examples:
Margaret Atwood grew up with a father who was an entomologist (a scientist studying insects), and she spent much of her childhood in forested parts of Canada. As an adult, Atwood holds strong views on environmental conservation.
These experiences directly influence her writing. Novels like The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and Oryx and Crake (2003) address environmental conservation and explore the relationship between people and the natural world. She has also written extensively about the relationship between humans and animals, drawing on her childhood experiences in nature.
Robbie Arnott grew up in Tasmania and remains fascinated by Tasmanian landscapes. This personal connection to place shapes his fiction significantly.
His novels Flames (2018) and The Rain Heron (2020) are set in Tasmania or in remote landscapes that evoke Tasmania's wilderness. Like Atwood, Arnott is concerned with relationships between people and the natural world, but his focus emerges from his specific experiences in Tasmanian environments.
Why this matters for your study
When analysing your mentor texts, research the authors' backgrounds. Understanding their life experiences, the historical period in which they lived, and the cultural influences that shaped them will deepen your appreciation of their work. You'll begin to see why certain themes recur, why they made particular stylistic choices, and what messages or concerns they were attempting to communicate.
This research helps you move beyond surface-level reading to more sophisticated analysis. You can explore not just what a text says, but why the author chose to say it in that particular way at that particular time.
Your own context as a writer
Just as professional authors draw on their backgrounds, your own experiences and context will inevitably influence the texts you craft. This isn't a limitation - it's actually a strength. By exploring and drawing on your personal experiences, you can create more authentic and meaningful texts that genuinely connect with readers.
Personal experiences and values
Your background includes your experiences and the attitudes and values you've developed throughout your life. These elements shape your perspective on the world and influence what you choose to write about and how you present your ideas.
Think about the social, historical, and cultural contexts that surround you:
- What major events are you living through?
- Are they local, national, or global in scope?
- What social behaviours are considered acceptable in your community, and what is considered inappropriate?
- How do people communicate with each other - through social media, face-to-face conversations, messaging apps?
- How do people access information and news?
All these contextual factors influence your worldview and, consequently, your writing. When you craft a text, you might weave in settings you know, create characters inspired by people you've encountered, or explore messages and concerns that matter to you personally.
Creating authentic connections
The novelists discussed earlier - Atwood and Arnott - have written imaginative texts to express ideas while weaving in their personal experiences and views. They've also been influenced by broader social and cultural factors, such as widespread concerns about climate change and environmental destruction. While their texts entertain readers, they also contain deeper messages and themes.
You can employ similar strategies in your own writing. By exploring your personal experiences and drawing on your context, you create opportunities for authentic and meaningful communication with your readers. When you write from genuine understanding and feeling, readers sense that authenticity and connect more deeply with your text.
Ultimately, you're seeking to create a relationship with your reader. Drawing on your experiences, values, and beliefs - while being mindful of your intended audience and purpose - leads to writing that resonates and communicates effectively.
Context and purpose
Your context influences different types of writing in various ways. Consider how your experiences might shape texts created for different purposes:
- Express: When writing to express ideas and feelings, you might draw on personal experiences of specific emotions or events that affected you deeply.
- Explain: When writing to explain or inform, your context provides you with knowledge and understanding that you can share with others who may not have the same experiences.
- Reflect: When writing to reflect on experiences or ideas, your personal context is central - reflection requires you to examine your own thoughts, feelings, and perspectives.
- Argue: When writing to argue a position, your context shapes your values and beliefs, which in turn influence what positions you find compelling and how you support them.
Mode, medium, and form: technical aspects of context
Another crucial element of context involves the technical aspects of how your text will be produced and received. Three key terms help clarify these aspects:
Definitions
Mode refers to the process of communication. The main modes are writing, speaking, reading, listening, and viewing. In this area of study, the emphasis is on the written mode, though your text might also involve the spoken mode (for example, if you're writing a podcast script intended to be read aloud).
Medium refers to the channel of communication - how your text will reach your audience. For example, a novel could be produced as a physical printed book or as an ebook. A feature film could be screened in a cinema or streamed to a television or computer. A written text might be published on a website, in a print newspaper, in a magazine, or shared through social media.
Form refers to the type or genre of text you're creating. Novels, plays, poems, letters, speeches, podcasts, blog posts, feature articles, and short stories are all different forms of texts. Each form has particular conventions and features that readers expect.
Why mode and medium matter
Understanding the mode and medium of your text is important because these factors shape many of your creative choices. If you're writing a script for a podcast, your intention is for the words to be read aloud, recorded, and then downloaded by listeners. This means you need to consider how the language will sound when spoken - you might use shorter sentences, more conversational vocabulary, and more obvious signposting than you would in a text meant to be read silently.
The listener's context of reception also matters. They might be going for a walk, driving somewhere, or doing household tasks while listening to your podcast. They can't easily go back and re-read a confusing sentence the way a reader of a print text can.
If you're writing a blog post, the blog website itself forms part of the context for that post. Blog websites are typically highly visual and interactive, with hyperlinks, images, comment sections, and connections to social media. You need to shape your writing to fit this digital, interactive environment.
Context and language choices
When thinking about mode and medium, you're also thinking about your audience and what language choices are appropriate for your context. Different situations call for different registers (levels of formality) and different types of vocabulary.
Example: Language Choices for Different Contexts
Newspaper feature article: Aimed at a wide readership, needs accessible, fairly formal language. Most readers won't have specialist knowledge of your topic, so you need to explain concepts clearly and avoid overly technical terminology.
Personal letter: Written for a private reader, can be much more informal. You might include words, phrases, and references that only you and your specific reader will understand, because you share particular experiences or inside jokes.
Blog post about youth culture: Written for teenage readers, might use slang, informal punctuation (like exclamation marks and ellipses), and contemporary references.
Academic essay: Written for university lecturers, would use formal vocabulary, precise definitions, and references to scholarly sources.
Understanding context helps you make these language choices deliberately and effectively. You're not just writing - you're crafting a text for a specific audience, in a specific form, to be delivered through a specific medium. All these contextual factors shape what you write and how you write it.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Context includes the social, historical, and cultural circumstances surrounding both the creation and reception of a text
- All texts are products of their time, shaped by the conditions in which they were created
- Understanding an author's personal context - their life experiences, values, and beliefs - helps you interpret their work more deeply
- Your own context as a writer influences your text, and drawing on your experiences can create more authentic and meaningful writing
- The mode, medium, and form of your text are part of its context and should shape your language choices and structural decisions
- Context is not just background information - it's fundamental to understanding how texts create meaning and connect with audiences