English Help (2 Viewers)

[the.chosen.one]

hey, i'm in my prelim year, but i wanted some tips from ppl who've "been there done that"

i've gone through the english syllabus (taking english + ext1) and it's very vague. no straighforward dotpoints to go off or anythin...


so...what exactly is "study" when it comes to english? i'm guessin that would depend on what comes in exams....and i'm clueless bout what to expect in them.




so how do i study...or rather how did you study for english - what worked for you?

and what should i expect in exams?

 

[hopeles5ly]

things you can do are:
- write lots of practice essays based on previous questions
- know the texts you study inside out
- know all your techniques and how they convey meaning in texts
- read widely, it will help you get ideas for creative writing
- increase your vocab

in exams you would be expected to write extended responses or essay on the texts you have studied and often a related text (one of your own choosing). thus you should be familar with words such as asses, analyzie, evaluate .. to get in the top band you will have to link all of these texts together and integrate everything. and yes memorising essay is a good thing because even if you don't get the question based on the essay that you wrote, you can still use many of the ideas from it and the structure of it is usually the same. so instead of you trying to think on the day of what to write or how you would answer the question, you would already have a rough idea of what to do.

 

[TheKey]

If there is a single most important thing to know about english it is this:

things you can do are:
- know all your techniques and how they convey meaning in texts

No matter what question you get, you can count on them actually looking for "language techniques" and how it influences YOUR interpretation of whatever your writing about.

Also you should ideally read other additional materials...but that doesnt mean 900pg books, you can do just as well with a very simple text (cartoon comic) as long as you analyse it like a pro and find relevant relations to your prescribed text.

 

[lala2]

Integration is so important, and so is timing, that's why practising essays is essential. And you have to actually answer the question! Not just roll out some memorised essay. That's why I did it on the spot in the exam, because I didn't like the idea of having to memorise an essay (or rather, four--one AOS, three modules) which might not come in useful, and furthermore, on top of all the other subjects I had to memorise. Preparing a creative writing piece for your AOS, however, is a good idea--no one I know went inside the exam room having absolutely no idea what they were gonna write about.

Linking techniques and examples and therefore to the question, is essential too. Get a few quotes inside your head, and you should have the cat in the bag. I memorised all the quotes and techniques that I could, so that they were at my disposal during the exam.

And balancing your core and related texts within your essay is very important too--don't spend all your time on your best text(s), and have a single five-line paragraph on the others--doesn't look good, and if the neglected texts are your related, the examiners might think this person hasn't put in enough effort regarding independent 'investigation' of texts, i.e. related. Planning is also essential--don't just jump straight in. Five minutes to clear your brain of the previous question and getting planned for the next one will be the best five minutes you ever spent, as I realised after doing a practise essay straight-in.

All this can be done with practice, so practice, practice, practice!

 

[Lexie1001]

exactly what TheKey said, whenever you mention a technique, describe the EFFECT of the technique on the audience and relate it to the area of study or whatever.

Make sure you have structure in your essays and link all texts to the module/topic, think:
topic Sentence
Expand
eXamples

make sure you read a wide variety of texts throughout the year too, it helps your ability to write, expands vocabulary, educates you and gives you a range of relateds to choose from. keeping a journal is also a good way to improve writing skills if you have the time for it, plus it makes a nice memory of year 12

thats all i can think of for now, probably not that helpful. Oh but if you have a take-home assessment, ALWAYS stay under the word limit or time limit if its a speech, cos i always lose like 3 marks for that.

 

[the.chosen.one]

aite, just one thing from what i've read so far... with the related texts...what exactly do u mean by that?


we're studying jane eyre, and othello this year - so are there certain texts that i should read outside the syllabus?

or, like the eg. of the comics strip - can it be any text and i just analyse and relate the two?


is it expected that i know of additional materials to use as comparisons in exams?

 

[hopeles5ly]

related text is a text you choose in which relates to the module your doing. so you would be using that text, your prescribed text and another one for the essays you write.

 

[the.chosen.one]

....is that necessary? wouldn't u only use it if it asks for a comparison?

or are u meant to compare it anyway, to prove ur point?



...junior high english was so much more straightforward :|

 

[pLuvia]

If you are doing an Area of Study you might need to find a few related texts that link in with your topic of study.
You have to choose a related text that relates to the AoS or there is no point in doing it, in Preliminary you may not have to compare and contrast your other texts but in HSC english you definately have to


Just adding

- If you list a language technique also name the example of it and the effect to the audience or how it conveys the essay question.

 

[the.chosen.one]

oh okay...

thnx for the help guys =]




feel free to add to the list

 

[vg_woz_here]

i hate english..why is it compulsory? i hate the teacher..he sux....if we could drop english...that would be the 1 to drop

 

[insert-username]

i hate english..why is it compulsory? i hate the teacher..he sux....if we could drop english...that would be the 1 to drop

If you want an answer, English is compulsory because it's the "control subject" that's the basis for subject scaling used to calculate UAI.


I_F

 

[lala2]

I would've dropped it too--funnily enough, Eng Adv was 89, my third best subject. But Eng Ext was definitely my worse at 80 and still got counted...I was hoping it wouldn't.

 

[hopeles5ly]

i hate english..why is it compulsory? i hate the teacher..he sux....if we could drop english...that would be the 1 to drop

hehe i love english =]

 

[pLuvia]

I hate english Why aren't you doing Adv English then dennis?

 

[Pubert]

Is it just me or does it seem like they are making english advanced purposely boring and english ext is like the 'fun' subject? I thought they were going to be sort of the same but EXT seems to be alot more deep thinking and have many interesting discussions.

Like seriously, why can't they make the advanced syllabus similar to the EXT syllabus? Wouldn't that be better for everyone else?

 

[SoulSearcher]

I think its because the advanced english course is very similar to the standard english course. the advanced course has a few different things that sets it apart from the standard course, but those two courses are basically the same.

 

[Riviet]

I think its because the advanced english course is very similar to the standard english course. the advanced course has a few different things that sets it apart from the standard course, but those two courses are basically the same.

That's true, and also the scaling for each is very similar, people that take extension 1 & 2 english usually do it because they are interested and/or excel in english. I don't think they deliberately made the course boring, otherwise there would be heavy criticism from everyone.

 

[glitterfairy]

In my personal opinion the fundamental difference between Adv Eng and EE1 is the fact that you get so much more time to study texts in EE1... this is what can make it "fun".

Eng Adv on the other hand is totally throwing you into the deep end. You've got about half a year to study what, 9 different texts within three different modules, all with their own sort of "study areas" with related concepts and techniques/theories of choice. Rather than being able to enjoy what you're doing, it's all rush rush rush and no wonder so many people feel frustrated! (I hated Eng Adv btw... lol)

Additionally english isn't really something you can "cram" the way you might do for maths... in english there are three options. You can know what you're talking about, you can have no idea what you're talking about, or you can have no idea what you're talking about but are able to make it look like you know what you're talking about. Ideally the first option is preferable and is the one that will get you higher Band 6's/top marks.

Eng Adv is like so many of the worse Uni first-year "overview" prerequisite subjects. So much content to cover but so little time...!


On a study note, I would actually caution against too much "practicing" if you are already linking it with the word "memorising" in your mind. If you are totally lost, memorising techniques and effects will not help your cause if you have no concept of their importance in the overall text. Instead, take a step back. Read the text again and jot down your immediate personal reactions. Think about any thought-provoking parts and how they affected you - why do you think the composer did this?

Get an idea of how you feel. Get an idea of what made you feel the way you did, then find out why the composer created those things (and what influenced the composer to do that/think in such a way in the first place).

Provided you have a "base" like this, you never have to worry about forgetting things. Once you have your own opinion, you have a base with which to absorb and bounce ideas off - they will be so much stronger and clearer because you will understand why people are bringing them up (and how you can support them/argue against them).

 

[superficiality]

i'm just wondering, is everyone doing change for english extension? does anyone have a good suggestion for my subtext for the topic change? a book preferably. thanks.