I have a dream...

We now begin our study for your HSC English. Our first unit is 'Speeches'.

Essentially, it comprises seven famous historical speeches that have many overlapping themes. Their purposes are different. They are delivered in different manners to different audiences.

Your job will be to understand every facet of every speech. We - and later, the HSC markers - will want you to demonstrate your genuine engagement of a text's ideas and features. We want you to provide detailed analysis of the text. We want you to understand how a speaker has delivered their speech - what rhetorical devices have they used to engage their audiences? To what purpose? Finally, you will need to understand the context and history of the speeches AND acknowledge their ongoing relevance; their unerring value over time.

1. 1977 Anwar Sadat's 'Statement to the Knesset'
2. 1993 Paul Keating's 'Funeral Service of the Unknown Soldier'
3. 1994 Margaret Atwood's 'Spotty-Handed Villainesses'
4. 1995 Aung San Suu Kyi's 'Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women'
5. 1996 Noel Pearson's 'An Australian History For Us All'
6. 1999 Faith Bandler's 'Faith, Hope and Reconciliation'
7. 1999 Sir William Deane's 'On the occasion of an ecumenical service for the victims of the canyoning tragedy'

Your first task will be to read all seven of these speeches.

We will then analyse and annotate these speeches in class and there will be a definite emphasis on using your own ideas. This is your HSC. This is your future. Let's start well.

M