Difference between a Band 5 and a Band 6? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tara1794
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RocketJess
New Member
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- Jun 13, 2011
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- HSC
- 2012
I've been trying to improve my essays from a Band 5 to a Band 6 and what I've found is that Band 6 essays:
- Go straight to the question. You have to present and develop your thesis from the first sentence and don't have any "fluff" sentences that rewrite the question.
- Demonstrate high understanding and knowledge of your texts. Every time you make a point, you have to prove it with a good, well-chosen example. It's not trivia quiz, but you do want to impress your marker.
- Use textual references well. You don't just stick in quotes and say that it proves your point. You have to briefly give the context of your quote and then explain how it links to your point and then to the question.
- Have lots of techniques. You can't do an entire paragraph without mentioning techniques at all. I've done that before and it won't turn out well. Don't just recount the storyline or what happens to the characters, show how it is presented. It can be as simple as 'first person', as long as you explain it well.
- Refer to the composer. This is something I only started doing recently and it helps. Instead of saying "symbolism" and "the use of symbolism", say "[your composer's name] uses symbolism of ___ to emphasise ___"
- Aren't afraid to get personal. This is also something I only started doing recently. If the question says "to what extent is this your understanding", then you should say somewhere "This is greatly my understanding of [belonging or whatever] and this is seen in [your texts]". And if they say "in the texts you have studied", your introduction and/or conclusion should say something like "the texts which I have studied all demonstrate..."
Hope this helps and that as many of us get Band 6s as possible!
- Go straight to the question. You have to present and develop your thesis from the first sentence and don't have any "fluff" sentences that rewrite the question.
- Demonstrate high understanding and knowledge of your texts. Every time you make a point, you have to prove it with a good, well-chosen example. It's not trivia quiz, but you do want to impress your marker.
- Use textual references well. You don't just stick in quotes and say that it proves your point. You have to briefly give the context of your quote and then explain how it links to your point and then to the question.
- Have lots of techniques. You can't do an entire paragraph without mentioning techniques at all. I've done that before and it won't turn out well. Don't just recount the storyline or what happens to the characters, show how it is presented. It can be as simple as 'first person', as long as you explain it well.
- Refer to the composer. This is something I only started doing recently and it helps. Instead of saying "symbolism" and "the use of symbolism", say "[your composer's name] uses symbolism of ___ to emphasise ___"
- Aren't afraid to get personal. This is also something I only started doing recently. If the question says "to what extent is this your understanding", then you should say somewhere "This is greatly my understanding of [belonging or whatever] and this is seen in [your texts]". And if they say "in the texts you have studied", your introduction and/or conclusion should say something like "the texts which I have studied all demonstrate..."
Hope this helps and that as many of us get Band 6s as possible!
someth1ng
Retired Nov '14
Generally, the above is true. Also, make your work clear and "easy to read". You don't want your work so convoluted that it becomes difficult to read - this happens when people just try to jam in big words, a big word is nice once or twice every paragraph not no more than that. Make sure you have topic sentences and concluding sentences, quote/evidence and techniques in each paragraph. As a whole essay, make sure you talk about the composer's purpose and have the right essay structure.
Last thing would be length, in Standard, if you want a Band 6, you'll need a decent length.
Last thing would be length, in Standard, if you want a Band 6, you'll need a decent length.