how to improve in english? (1 Viewer)

[naila]

i'll be doing adv english this year, but i'm really nervous because my english skills have always been pretty poor. i always winged my exams in y7-10, but i know i can't do that anymore. so, how should i improve my english? i really struggle in unseen short answer q's, especially in a time limit. my writing is okay i guess, but could be better. tuition isn't an option, before anyone suggests that. so basically, tell me everything you know about being good at english. tips, daily habits that could improve my skills, how to analyse short answer texts, how to write essays, cos i know none of this.

i really want to top my cohort in english this year and in the hsc (might sound funny since i just said i'm poor at english - but dreams should be big), and i want to be reallyyy good at english, and i'm willing to work hard to achieve that. i just don't know how to do it.

despite this unstructured, rant-like post, i hope i got my general message across.

please just tell me everything you know, thanks.

 

[...xD]

Advanced English Essay Writing Guide

The 1st edition contained an extensive rant about the injustice of the 2 unit syllabus. I elected to save BOS the bandwidth this time, although I'll put it up if people are bored enough to want to read it. PREFACE (feel free to skip) A quality essay will use excellent technique (essay...

boredofstudies.org

Essay writing guide from a disgruntled tutor

Massive wall of angry text incoming, read at own risk :) I am an ex-English tutor. I started teaching with the best of intentions. Who wouldn't get a kick out of explaining the most controversial and subjective syllabus in the whole HSC to future doctors, lawyers, leaders and captains of...

boredofstudies.org

These 2 are quite comprehensive and really helped me.

 

[nathanlee]

thanks for sharing!

 

[Onyx Ga]

English is one of those subjects that you don't have to be that proficient or competent in naturally to do well. This is prolly because of the subjectivity of the subject, for example one teacher can find what you wrote an incredible full mark essay while some will read the first 2 paragraphs and hand you a low B or smth. However, something that can be definitively recognised is preparation. Whether it be just quoting the text correctly or a somewhat recognisable structure, in essence that is what will rack up marks. In saying that, specifically I would point things out like being able to think critically. For example you will be given a text (make sure you understand how and why it was written) and then an essay question that either complements or contrasts it, your job is to see whether it really has anything to do with each other. Aswell as this for unseen text, you want to be able to quickly recognise techniques; and this just comes with practice.

 

[nathanlee]

I normally prepare a template and list of quotes etc and just adapt based on the questions

 

[raspberriesandpears]

okay i topped my ext 1 english cohort in yr 11 and my biggest tips are as follows:
- context. obviously don't go completely ham and write your whole essay on it unless it's the question, but if you can talk about WHY the author wrote what they did that'll add a lot more credibility to your analysis, e.g. if you're talking about macbeth talk about how king james hated witches with a burning passion and hence why that was such a major part; but you can also talk about the fawkes plot and why shakespeare was exploring the impact of regicide (and ultimately finding this impact negative), plus banquo is a character is only there because james claimed to be descended from him and shakespeare knew to reinforce his royal lineage on the stage. were these necessarily shakespeare's opinions? no, but the historical context of being a writer in the jacobean period lends itself to this.
- my other thing is just write. which i know sounds ridiculous. but i definitely get so caught up in perfectionism that i procrastinate. so literally just get words on paper. i have said to myself that 'the worst essay is the one i don't write' and then preceded to write the second worst, but hey, at least it's the second worst.
idk if this made any sense lmao

 

[moonsuyoung]

I'm so happy you have a goal you want to achieve- remember mindset is very important! I don't have much tips as I do HSC in 2025 but practice always make perfect so try to do a lot of unseen questions and get someone to mark it?

 

[synthesisFR]

Find out if ur teacher has been a past hsc marker, if they were then ur in good hands (atleast the expectations of your work part)
Mine was, and so I learnt exactly what to do and not to do.

for example one teacher can find what you wrote an incredible full mark essay while some will read the first 2 paragraphs and hand you a low B or smth. However, something that can be definitively recognised is preparation. Whether it be just quoting the text correctly or a somewhat recognisable structure, in essence that is what will rack up marks.

(atleast for the hsc), the markers know prescribed texts, their ideas and everything about them inside out and they know exactly what a good response has, you probably won't have a 100% unique idea but as long as the essay you write is good in terms of waht usually need to be in it based on the module, and it shows your personal response to the question, they will mark you accordingly. There should be no disparities no matter which marker marks it. Also i think more than one marker marks each essay.

For school assessments, i'm pretty sure most schools double mark it, so at least two teachers are in charge of marking the assessment to make sure its fair. Although ig if ur english faculty is horrible then u probably will struggle to learn.

 

[naila]

thanks for the tips & resources everyone! i'll try my best to implement these.

These 2 are quite comprehensive and really helped me.

thank you!

 

[naila]

English is one of those subjects that you don't have to be that proficient or competent in naturally to do well. This is prolly because of the subjectivity of the subject, for example one teacher can find what you wrote an incredible full mark essay while some will read the first 2 paragraphs and hand you a low B or smth. However, something that can be definitively recognised is preparation. Whether it be just quoting the text correctly or a somewhat recognisable structure, in essence that is what will rack up marks. In saying that, specifically I would point things out like being able to think critically. For example you will be given a text (make sure you understand how and why it was written) and then an essay question that either complements or contrasts it, your job is to see whether it really has anything to do with each other. Aswell as this for unseen text, you want to be able to quickly recognise techniques; and this just comes with practice.

thanks, this was really helpful!

 

[naila]

I normally prepare a template and list of quotes etc and just adapt based on the questions

noted, thanks!

 

[naila]

okay i topped my ext 1 english cohort in yr 11 and my biggest tips are as follows:
- context. obviously don't go completely ham and write your whole essay on it unless it's the question, but if you can talk about WHY the author wrote what they did that'll add a lot more credibility to your analysis, e.g. if you're talking about macbeth talk about how king james hated witches with a burning passion and hence why that was such a major part; but you can also talk about the fawkes plot and why shakespeare was exploring the impact of regicide (and ultimately finding this impact negative), plus banquo is a character is only there because james claimed to be descended from him and shakespeare knew to reinforce his royal lineage on the stage. were these necessarily shakespeare's opinions? no, but the historical context of being a writer in the jacobean period lends itself to this.
- my other thing is just write. which i know sounds ridiculous. but i definitely get so caught up in perfectionism that i procrastinate. so literally just get words on paper. i have said to myself that 'the worst essay is the one i don't write' and then preceded to write the second worst, but hey, at least it's the second worst.
idk if this made any sense lmao

wow, the context point makes a lot of sense, thanks for both tips!

 

[naila]

I'm so happy you have a goal you want to achieve- remember mindset is very important! I don't have much tips as I do HSC in 2025 but practice always make perfect so try to do a lot of unseen questions and get someone to mark it?

aw, that's quite comforting somehow haha. thank you!

 

[naila]

Find out if ur teacher has been a past hsc marker, if they were then ur in good hands (atleast the expectations of your work part)
Mine was, and so I learnt exactly what to do and not to do.

(atleast for the hsc), the markers know prescribed texts, their ideas and everything about them inside out and they know exactly what a good response has, you probably won't have a 100% unique idea but as long as the essay you write is good in terms of waht usually need to be in it based on the module, and it shows your personal response to the question, they will mark you accordingly. There should be no disparities no matter which marker marks it. Also i think more than one marker marks each essay.

For school assessments, i'm pretty sure most schools double mark it, so at least two teachers are in charge of marking the assessment to make sure its fair. Although ig if ur english faculty is horrible then u probably will struggle to learn.

i'm in luck - pretty sure a couple of teachers in my eng faculty were markers. do you have any suggestions for things that i can ask my teachers/anything else i can do, so that i can make the most of them? thanks for the tips!

 

[Masaken]

i'll be doing adv english this year, but i'm really nervous because my english skills have always been pretty poor. i always winged my exams in y7-10, but i know i can't do that anymore. so, how should i improve my english? i really struggle in unseen short answer q's, especially in a time limit. my writing is okay i guess, but could be better. tuition isn't an option, before anyone suggests that. so basically, tell me everything you know about being good at english. tips, daily habits that could improve my skills, how to analyse short answer texts, how to write essays, cos i know none of this.

i really want to top my cohort in english this year and in the hsc (might sound funny since i just said i'm poor at english - but dreams should be big), and i want to be reallyyy good at english, and i'm willing to work hard to achieve that. i just don't know how to do it.

despite this unstructured, rant-like post, i hope i got my general message across.

please just tell me everything you know, thanks.

as someone who struggled with unseen short answer qns but ended up as one of the top students in my english advanced cohort for year 11, just practise for unseen short answer questions. practice is the only way to get better for them. you can find tons of those for hsc paper 1 english trials, or ask your teacher for some. if you'd like, i'd be happy to email you a year 11 past paper with unseen short answer qns. for 3 markers, aim for 2 quotes and techniques and effects. for 4 markers, aim for 3, and for 5, aim for 4. for 4 markers and above, aim to have quick intros and linking sentences to start and end your responses (3 markers don't need a linking sentence). for 6 markers which are often asking you to write about two texts, write a quick two sentence intro (Text A does this, while Text B does this - aim to have differing/contrasting ideas too, makes your response look effective and good). for questions that ask you 'how is [technique] used to convey [idea]?' and similar questions, you are hunting for that one technique in different quotes, which have different effects that all link back to one idea.

for essay writing, particularly mod b, critical readings are your friend. they assist a lot with context and analysis - i stole analysis from critical readings to use for my mod b exam to help me link back a certain text to an idea that wouldn't usually fit with it. your school might have an account from jstor (which houses the best critical readings), or if not ask your teachers. if your teachers are nice, make sure to send them paragraphs - or even practice essays for them to mark and look at. make sure you keep your idea sustained throughout the essay - everything you are doing is meant to link back to the thesis. the topic sentences are a 'sub-idea' presented in the thesis, which have evidence and are then linked back to the thesis with your final linking sentence at the end of the paragraph. and when writing the thesis itself, think first how you answer the question. read it again and ask yourself if it's just repeating what the question is, not answering it. and take note that for mod a, it's not critical analysis - you need to frame your essay around the idea of storytelling and narratives, not just write down analyses of the themes and ideas presented (you need to link i to storytelling and narratives). to impress your marker, try not to talk about generic ideas of context that are loosely linked to your idea (eg. if you are doing othello as many schools are for year 11, don't just write about racism and patriarchy for the sake of putting down racism and patriarchy as context. i did othello for mod a and i didn't mention racism or patriarchy in my essay at all, i instead wrote about machiavellianism and political nonviolence in the tudor era to link back to how listeners of narratives respond to storytellers).

essay scaffolding does wonders, regardless of whether it's a hand-in assessment or an exam. scaffolding helps clean up my ideas and organise them, and even help me refine my thesis as i'm putting my ideas down on the plan. hope this jumble of words made sense and helped a little bit

 

[moonsuyoung]

i'm in luck - pretty sure a couple of teachers in my eng faculty were markers. do you have any suggestions for things that i can ask my teachers/anything else i can do, so that i can make the most of them? thanks for the tips!

that's good to hear!! Always don't be afraid to ask them for questions and maybe you can just ask them anything you are unsure of!!

 

[naila]

for questions that ask you 'how is [technique] used to convey [idea]?' and similar questions, you are hunting for that one technique in different quotes, which have different effects that all link back to one idea.

wait, so what would an example of one technique having different effects in different quotes be?

also, what are critical readings/critical analysis?

also pt.2, do you memorise pre-written essays as well as scaffolding for unseen essay questions, or do you simply create a scaffold and answer the unseen question on the day without any pre-made material? which would be a better approach, in your opinion?

thank you v much for the long message, appreciated!

 

[Masaken]

wait, so what would an example of one technique having different effects in different quotes be?

for example, if the question asks, How does this text use symbols to describe [idea]? - you look for different symbols in the text. for example, you pick a certain object that could represent a sense of belonging (eg. a cultural item), link that back to the idea, then look for another symbol that you could use that represents a different thing but still links back to the idea. repeat as much as needed, depending on how many marks are allocated to the question (usually 4 or 5). you've got different symbols, but they all have the same technique, just as the question stipulated.

also, what are critical readings/critical analysis?

most of them are works written by scholars or academics specialising in that field of work (in this case of english, mostly literature and maybe even philosophy as i've encountered in the past). they're articles that analyse texts at a depth at a higher degree than what is demanded of you in high school english, yet contain insightful ideas and explorations of links to context that are useful and can be integrated in your essay writing to strengthen your analysis. you can go on jstor to see some of them (eg. just search up '[text] critical reading jstor'). there you can find tons. for example, one of my favourite critical readings i did for mod b last year involved connecting the ideas in a text to the philosophies of a certain Christian theologist. they go very in-depth (which is expected, they are written by uni students specialising in this or even by holders of masters and doctorate degrees), but you can steal chunks of analysis and context to use for your own.

also pt.2, do you memorise pre-written essays as well as scaffolding for unseen essay questions, or do you simply create a scaffold and answer the unseen question on the day without any pre-made material? which would be a better approach, in your opinion?

thank you v much for the long message, appreciated!

i think it depends, i only had one exam last year which i memorised the essay for, but that was because i also memorised the text itself (a set of poems, so i could just cherry pick quotes if any of the ones i had in my scaffold didn't really fit). but if i recall correctly i asked this question before to someone who was doing the english hsc. i think lots of people end up writing adaptable essay scaffolds which is what they blurt out in the hsc, i think someone else could better answer this question. but regardless, you should prepare for an english exam and have some plans of some sorts

 

[naila]

for example, if the question asks, How does this text use symbols to describe [idea]? - you look for different symbols in the text. for example, you pick a certain object that could represent a sense of belonging (eg. a cultural item), link that back to the idea, then look for another symbol that you could use that represents a different thing but still links back to the idea. repeat as much as needed, depending on how many marks are allocated to the question (usually 4 or 5). you've got different symbols, but they all have the same technique, just as the question stipulated.


most of them are works written by scholars or academics specialising in that field of work (in this case of english, mostly literature and maybe even philosophy as i've encountered in the past). they're articles that analyse texts at a depth at a higher degree than what is demanded of you in high school english, yet contain insightful ideas and explorations of links to context that are useful and can be integrated in your essay writing to strengthen your analysis. you can go on jstor to see some of them (eg. just search up '[text] critical reading jstor'). there you can find tons. for example, one of my favourite critical readings i did for mod b last year involved connecting the ideas in a text to the philosophies of a certain Christian theologist. they go very in-depth (which is expected, they are written by uni students specialising in this or even by holders of masters and doctorate degrees), but you can steal chunks of analysis and context to use for your own.


i think it depends, i only had one exam last year which i memorised the essay for, but that was because i also memorised the text itself (a set of poems, so i could just cherry pick quotes if any of the ones i had in my scaffold didn't really fit). but if i recall correctly i asked this question before to someone who was doing the english hsc. i think lots of people end up writing adaptable essay scaffolds which is what they blurt out in the hsc, i think someone else could better answer this question. but regardless, you should prepare for an english exam and have some plans of some sorts

thank you so much!