Ext 2 English (1 Viewer)

[Lauren]

I was wondering if any current or past year 12 students doing English Extension 2 whose Major Work is any form of a critique. Just wondering about your own experiences and advice for someone in Year 11 who's seriously considering a critique over a novella or poetry. Is it worth it, or should I stick with the more "creative" stuff?

 

[blah says she]

I ended up doing a critical response, but was planning on doing a critique of Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" and other texts. If you like more of a research based thing, then I'd recommend it. I prefered doing a critical response because I'm not too good at the creative side of things. What ideas do you have in mind? The only advice I can give you is to start early and be consistent, don't leave it till the last minute, otherwise you'll be extremely stressed!

 

[chip]

out of the three girls that did extension two at my school two did a critique
one left it to the last holidays to begin the other worked all year
the first girls was on the depiction of the family in young adolesent novels and the second girls was on the role of the father in shakespear
i think that if you enjoy writing this sort of thing go for it... both girls said and continue to say that they are the most un creative people on the planet and so this was a good option for them
overall for all the people who do ee2 the majority do short stories i'd look at this as a bad thing because there are so many more people to comepte with.....
so you dont have to go with creative stuff it is really up to yuorself to pick something that your talent and skills suits

 

[Lolliana]

chooshing a critical response is certainly not an 'uncreative' option
as you probably know by now, its is incredibly difficult to be both entertaining, articulate and relevent while attempting to provide a thorough analysis and point of view

i umed and ahhed a lot beofre choosing to do a script, but if i had do it again id definetly go for critical response

writing a script poem, or short storry is lovely, if your a confident writer youl simply adore the oppurtuny to revel in your own brilliance
but undoubetdly at some point during the year, the very sight of you copputer will make you ill, you will start to question the appropraitness of every comma and expletive, you will begin to wonder if your writing style does not rather resemble beatrix potter on speed, and you grow tired of your own witticism (suddenly terribly unfunny) and you characters (who you have just realised are thinly vieled representations of yourself)

while, critical response will most likely bring about some of the above frustrations, you will have the wonderful advantage, of actually having a point
critical responses, more so than any other form have a structure, a reason, unlike short story you cannot simply 'begin writing' and see where it leads you, well yes you can, but it probably wouldnt be very good

ive read some of the showcase critical responses and they're amazing, intelligent, thought provoking and brilliantly written

its a form that gets neglected by starry eyed ext 2 students, desperate to reveal their inner poet to the world, but i think it would be a fantastic medium to explore

 

[KarmaKitten]

The critical essays to me personally are a lot better than those "creative" works. It just requires actual brain and skills etc

 

[Jinglebell]

you just have to go with what you're comfortable with. if short stories are what you're really good at, don't be deterred by the number of people doing it. I've read a mind-blowingly excellent short story by a guy i know, but his teacher who marks short stories said that there are an overwhelming number of 'days of our lives' style stories...so really, if you're better at creative stuff, take your pick of the creative media you think you can best work with. if you're like me and don't have an inspired bone in your body, go with a critical response.

i think that made sense...

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Find your idea, then do whatever form suits it. I would recommend deciding what you want to writie about, then deciding if it would be best to deal with it through critical response, poetry, short story, multimedia, whatever!

 

[rosie rose]

Originally posted by KarmaKitten
The critical essays to me personally are a lot better than those "creative" works. It just requires actual brain and skills etc

ouch! obviously you're not a fan of short story/poetry.

look, this whole debate over creativeness is ridiculous. you can be creative and
write a critical response. you can be creative and write a short story- it's not like
if you're "uncreative" you should do critical response. the whole course is about
growing an appreciation for the english language as a whole, using both creative
and interpretive skills(good old 3unit jargon!) you
can be heaps creative and do critical response-to make the piece engaging and
thorough both creative and analytical skills are needed.
same as in short story- you can be the most whimsical, imaginative person on
the planet, but if you don't apply a bit of analysis to your work and tough
editorial work, your piece will be unbalanced.
so, essay drawing to a close, none of this bagging either text type- the whole
course is hard, detailed and involved, and no-one can fairly compare the work
they did for different text types cause each requires a different kind of work.
they're all equally demanding.

 

[KarmaKitten]

heh

im gonna do poetry

I didnt mean it the way it came out

 

[braindrainedAsh]

I think that to do a great creative you need to think just as hard as to analyze stuff etc. I would say they are of equal difficulty.

 

[rosie rose]

hey, sorry if i came down a bit hard! no offence taken, am just sick of people
paying out on my fave, creative writing
good luck with the poetry & have fun- it's what ext2's about

 

[blah says she]

Variety is the spice of life, hey? Different people like different things.

When I said I wasn't too good at the creative side of things, I meant that I write cliched horrible stuff, but I love to write (anywhere, any time, any form).

As long as you have fun doing it, like you said rosie rose

 

[grk_styl]

Just been checking out the Board of Studies site and I can't seem to find the extension 2 syllabus anywhere.

Can someone tell me what the word limit is for a critical analysis and if that limit involves the reflection statement?

Thanks!

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Originally posted by grk_styl
Just been checking out the Board of Studies site and I can't seem to find the extension 2 syllabus anywhere.

Can someone tell me what the word limit is for a critical analysis and if that limit involves the reflection statement?

Thanks!

Hey. The word limit for a critical analysis/response is 5000-6000 words, including the reflection statement. My work (Including the RS) ended up being 5970 words, a discussion of the evolution of utopian literature through three 'key texts'; The Republic, Utopia, and Brave New World. Fun.

To second what those above have been saying, generally, it's best to follow whatever form you work best in.

 

[grk_styl]

Thank you very much!! Very helpful indeed. I might follow the lines of Greek Tragedy - seems so interesting

 

[MiuMiu]

From what the Dean of English at our school told us (a senior referee for Ext 2 marking), it is a lot easier for a vast number of students to reach the top bands with a creative piece, as the canditure are inherently good writers, even if an Ext 2 student thinks a creative piece of their own composing is crap, it usually is very good. Fewer get the top bands by doing critical responses, because a sophisticated level of analysis is required.
Having said that, if you are confident in your analytical skills and passionate about your chosen subject, go for it. There is no point chosing a medium simply because of the way it marks.

 

[AsyLum]

well said YEAR12...criticals are extremely hard...i wouldnt touch it due to the fact i would probably start arguing against my own points halfway through

 

[Daemontreu]

Originally posted by AsyLum
well said YEAR12...criticals are extremely hard...i wouldnt touch it due to the fact i would probably start arguing against my own points halfway through

Not only arguing against myself, but also going off on seemingly random tangents, which would end up relating back, and despite their seeming stupidity and nonsensical nature, be impossible to cut out... Yeah. S'why I didn't do critical. That, and I wouldn't have ended up being able to pick something to do.

 

[Daemontreu]

Originally posted by Ms 12
There is no point chosing a medium simply because of the way it marks.

Eh. Depends upon how mercenary minds work I guess.