The rubric is essentially a short paragraph or two that summarises the aims of any particular module-if you are not doing the HSC this year, you may need to ask your teacher for a copy of the rubric of your particular module, otherwise rubrics for HSC modules are found within the HSC English syllabus. the reason why people ask you to deconstruct the rubric is because it is the place where markers will source all possible essay questions from. Below is an example of how you can do this with the HSC Belonging rubric:
1)Deconstruct your belonging rubric-all questions will come from it-so deconstruct it into 5/6 main points. For me, I deconstructed it into the following points:
-Perceptions and ideas of belonging, or of not belonging, vary. These perceptions are shaped within personal, cultural, historical and social contexts.
-A sense of belonging can emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world.
-Within this Area of Study, students may consider aspects of belonging in terms of experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding.
-Texts explore many aspects of belonging, including the potential of the individual to enrich or challenge a community or group. Texts may also represent choices not to belong, or barriers which prevent belonging
-They may reflect the way attitudes to belonging are modified over time.
2)See which parts of your prescribed text best relates to each of the 5/6 main points and list out relevant techniques/quotes/effects to support/expand these main points-can be about belonging or not belonging. Remember to analyse your related text(s) to the main points you have come up covering the whole rubric and relate it to your prescribed text-include relevant quotes, techniques and effects as well.
3)You can either construct paragraphs for each of the main points integrating the techniques/quotes/effects you have extracted from the memoir or start writing practice essays using your notes-and get someone to mark the essay and give you comment and feedback. Paragraphs are better than one long generic essay as there are many components in the rubric.
4)When you do practice essays, you can practice according to trial questions, however, you can alternate this with doing essay plans for other questions-writing out your introduction, body paragraph thesis point-example, technique, quote, effect, and your conclusion to make sure you can adapt your knowledge to as many essay as possible
