If you are sitting English Advanced in 2026, you can use full papers from the current NESA archive to practise for the English Advanced Stage 6 Syllabus (2017). For the 2027 HSC, you are studying the English Advanced 11-12 Syllabus (2024). Selected questions from older papers can help you practise, but a whole older paper will not match your new exam.
The NESA English Advanced exam-paper archive has the official downloads. The 2025 pack includes both papers, their marking guidelines and online feedback from markers. Keep these together when you practise so you can check what the question asks for, what earns marks and where other students struggled.
Download official English Advanced papers and marking guidelines
When we checked the archive on 22 September 2026, the 2025 pack was the newest available. These papers match the syllabus for the 2026 HSC.
| 2025 resource | Paper | Marking guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Download Paper 1 (PDF) | Paper 1 marking guidelines (PDF) |
| Paper 2 | Download Paper 2 (PDF) | Paper 2 marking guidelines (PDF) |
Read the 2025 marker feedback for examples of what students did well and where they struggled. Use the archive above to find earlier papers. If a PDF link stops working, look for the file on that year's exam-pack page.
For the 2027 HSC, start with the new exam requirements and sample materials before choosing questions from the older papers.
Which English Advanced past papers should you use?
| Your HSC year | Where to start | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Start with the 2025 exam pack, then use earlier papers from the archive. They were written for your syllabus. | Paper 2 may ask about a prescribed text your school does not study. Choose questions for your own modules and texts. |
| 2027 | Start with NESA's sample materials on the 2024 syllabus exam page. You can also use selected unseen-text questions from older Paper 1 exams to practise reading, choosing evidence and explaining how the writing creates meaning. | The available papers from 2019 to 2025 use the previous syllabus. Their module names, prescribed-text questions and marks for each section do not tell you what your new exam will contain. |
The first HSC exam for the 2024 syllabus is in 2027. It has two written papers. Paper 1 covers Texts and human experiences. Paper 2 covers Textual conversations, Critical study of literature and The craft of writing. NESA's exam page above gives the full format. Our guide to the 2027 English Advanced syllabus explains the syllabus change in more detail.
Before starting a question, check:
- Does it ask about an unseen text or a prescribed text?
- Does your school teach the focus area or module as part of your syllabus?
- Do you have the marking guidelines and marker feedback for that paper?
An unseen-text question may help you practise analysis you can use in your own exam. If a question asks about a text you have not studied or content from the other syllabus, choose another one.
Try this short-answer task
We wrote the fictional passage, question and two responses below for this guide. They are not NESA materials or real student work, and they do not predict a future exam question.
At closing time, Mara turned the bakery sign to CLOSED, but left the door unlatched. The street had emptied into rain. She counted six loaves on the cooling rack and wrapped the first in brown paper. When the bus sighed at the kerb, a man stepped down, checked his pockets and looked through the lit window. Mara placed the parcel beside the register before he reached the door.
Practice question: Explain how the writer represents care as an understanding between people.
Give yourself six minutes: one minute to think about how the passage connects care with understanding, then five minutes to write. This is our suggested practice time, not an official time limit or mark allocation.
A first attempt
The writer represents Mara as caring because she leaves the door open and gives the man bread. The imagery of the empty street and rain makes the setting seem lonely. The bus "sighed", which is personification and creates a sad mood. This shows that Mara understands the man and wants to help him.
This response finds relevant details, but mostly names techniques and retells events. It also says Mara gives the man bread, although the passage does not show her handing it over. The last sentence says Mara understands him without explaining how the writer suggests this.
An improved response
The writer shows care through Mara's understanding of what the man may need before he asks. Although the sign says "CLOSED", she leaves the door "unlatched" and places the bread beside the register before he reaches the door. These actions suggest she is preparing to offer help without waiting for him to ask. The "lit window" makes the bakery seem welcoming against the empty, rainy street. By preparing the bread in advance, Mara may be sparing the man the embarrassment of asking for help in public.
This response connects care with unspoken understanding, as the question asks. It chooses details that support that reading and explains why their order matters: Mara prepares to help before the man asks. The contrast between the bakery and the street also supports this reading. The final sentence explains how her actions may protect the man's dignity.
The passage does not tell us whether the characters have met before, whether the bread is free or whether the man accepts it. The response stays with what Mara's actions suggest. Neither response has been given a mark.
You do not need to memorise this response. Another reading can also work if it answers the question and uses details from the passage to explain the reasoning.
Review and retry after a timed attempt
A full paper can show you where you struggle. Choose a set of short answers or one extended response to review, then try it again:
- Use the time allowed for the task. Keep reading time separate and work without notes.
- Underline every part of the question you needed to answer.
- Read the matching marking guidelines and marker feedback on the exam-pack page. NESA says the sample answers may not be complete or ideal responses. Use them to understand what the question asks for rather than copying their wording.
- Choose one main problem to work on. You may have misunderstood the question or chosen weak evidence. You might have described events without analysing the writing, left a comparison unfinished or given too little support for an argument. Poor use of time and unclear writing are other problems to check for.
- Rewrite the whole short answer, or your essay's main argument and one paragraph. Allow about half the original writing time.
- Write down what you changed: "Next time, when the question asks ___, I will ___."
- After several days, try a different question that tests the same skill. Check whether you can apply what you learnt to the new question.
The Paper 1 feedback in NESA's 2025 exam pack repeatedly asks students to analyse the writing rather than describe or restate it. It also asks for clear links between evidence and the question. Use that advice to find and rewrite a sentence where you have described an event without explaining how the writing answers the question.
The Plume English practice exam is an unofficial Paper 1 resource for the 2026 HSC and the English Advanced Stage 6 Syllabus (2017). It does not match a full exam under the new syllabus from 2027. Students sitting from 2027 can choose relevant unseen-text tasks from it, but should use the new exam requirements and NESA sample materials when practising a full paper.
If you want help deciding what to improve in a response, the HSC English Advanced course page explains how Plume teaches and gives feedback. Bring the question, your timed response and the matching official guidance so you can discuss what to work on next.
Find the other subject guides in the HSC resource hub.