Start with the non negotiables the exam gives you
Section B is not “write something creative” in the vague sense. In the exam, students are required to produce one written text, and the exam will give you a title plus stimulus material that is connected to your framework of ideas. That title is not decorative. The VCAA is explicit that the title will “very much control the text” and that your writing must be linked to it, with the title functioning as a real title for the piece and being “deeply connected” to what you produce. In practice, this is where many students quietly lose marks, because they write a strong standalone piece that only loosely brushes the title, or they treat the title as a theme rather than a controlling instruction. The marker is not rewarding your best writing in isolation. They are rewarding your ability to build a purposeful piece of writing that is visibly shaped by the title and anchored in the exam’s stimulus.
Why the stimulus is not a “quote bank”
The VCAA position is very straightforward: the stimulus can be varied, and it can include things like quotes, propositions, and visual material. Students are allowed to use any or all of it. The key word is allowed. That means stimulus use is a choice, but it is also a responsibility, because the assessment criteria expects students to use ideas drawn from a framework of ideas, the title, and some of the stimulus material, and for the link to be clear. The most common “off task” feel in weaker responses is not that students ignore the stimulus completely, but that they bolt it on. They drop a quote, they nod at an image, and then they return to a pre planned piece. That creates the exact problem the title is designed to prevent, because it looks like pre learned material wearing a thin stimulus costume. The exam is set up to reward students who can take an unseen set of materials and generate a piece that belongs to that exam sitting, not a recycled draft from earlier in the year.
Purpose is your first major decision, and you are allowed to choose it
One of the most freeing parts of the new Section B set up is that students can choose the purpose of their text. The VCAA lists the purposes students can write to as explain, express, argue, or reflect, and it is your job to make that purpose clear and sustained. This is exactly where “nice writing” can fail, because students sometimes produce something that hovers between purposes. It reads like a reflective piece but starts lecturing, it begins as persuasive but drifts into memoir, or it tries to do all four purposes in miniature. Markers do not reward “covering everything.” They reward control. If you choose to argue, then your structure, your voice, and your language features need to be doing argumentative work, not occasional persuasion sprinkled through an expressive narrative.
Mentor texts help you learn craft, but you are not being assessed on mentioning them
A lot of anxiety around Section B comes from students thinking they need to reference mentor texts in the exam to prove they studied them. The VCAA is very direct here: mentor texts provide ideas about how writing can be structured, and students are welcome to use ideas they find in them, but those ideas are not a compulsory element of the exam. Students are not required to make explicit or implicit reference to any mentor texts. What this means in plain terms is that mentor texts are training equipment, not display equipment. They are there to give you control over structure, vocabulary, texture, and technique, so that when you sit the exam and you meet an unseen title and stimulus, you have enough internalised craft to build something coherent, fluent, and deliberate.
What “voice” actually means in marking terms
Students often hear “voice” and assume it means sounding fancy or sounding like a writer. The VCAA description is more practical than that. The written text needs to be cohesive, connected to a clear purpose, and it needs to incorporate an appropriate voice. “Appropriate” is the key word. Voice is the way your tone, stance, level of formality, and relationship with the audience aligns with what you are trying to do. If your purpose is to argue, your voice might carry conviction, controlled emphasis, and strategic certainty. If your purpose is to reflect, your voice might carry honesty, tentativeness, self correction, and insight. The mistake students make is choosing a voice they like, rather than a voice the situation demands. That mismatch shows up quickly when the title is asking for one thing and the voice performs another. The exam wants you to demonstrate that you can access a variety of voices and use them with confidence.
Cohesion and fluency are not vibes, they are built through structure and language choices
The VCAA flags fluency in very concrete terms: vocabulary matters, but so does how you structure the text at both a macro level and a micro level, and how you employ language features. Macro level is your overall shape. Where does the piece begin, where does it turn, how does it build, how does it end, and how does each paragraph earn its place. Micro level is your sentence control and your transitions, the way your syntax and phrasing create momentum, clarity, emphasis, or restraint. This is why Section B is teachable and trainable. You do not need a genius idea. You need control over writing decisions. The Study Design language for crafting texts is built around exactly that, with students developing vocabulary, text structures, language features, and conventions through drafting and refinement.
The quiet mistake that drags strong students down
The VCAA describes what a lower band response can look like, and it is revealing. It is not simply “bad writing.” It is a limited connection to the ideas raised by the title and the stimulus, where the student was not able to think in the space of the exam. This is the killer problem for high performing students who rely on polish more than adaptability. They have rehearsed structures and reliable pieces, and they try to force the exam title into their existing plan. The fix is not writing more. The fix is practising under conditions where the title changes and you have to generate an angle quickly, then commit to it and build a cohesive text that proves your link is real, not decorative.
How to practise Section B so it transfers into the exam
The internal school based assessment in this area can be run in different ways, including workshop style drafting and feedback, and that is valuable because it builds writing through process, not just performance. The key is making sure your practice eventually includes exam style generation, because the external assessment is asking for a single text produced from a provided title and stimulus. When you practise, train the exact decisions you will need on the day. Decide your purpose early, choose a voice that matches it, select stimulus deliberately, and plan a macro structure that will keep you on task. Then draft with attention to micro control, especially topic sentences, transitions, and endings that return meaningfully to the title.
Where ATAR STAR fits
At ATAR STAR, we coach Section B the way the VCAA describes it: as a controllable writing task built on decisions, not inspiration. We work with students to build a bank of flexible structures, practise rapid planning from unseen titles, and develop voice control so their writing stays aligned to purpose, audience, and context under exam pressure. If you want a plan that turns “I write well” into “I score well,” we can map out exactly what to practise next and how often, based on where your writing currently breaks under constraints.