Ext. Eng - drop it, or not? (1 Viewer)

[connected]

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I just wanted some feedback on past or current experiences by people who have dropped ext. English. To be honest, ever since I got my first assessment task for the year (19th century England & the individual in society), I've been put off from the subject completely, as the set texts are the most headache-inducing things I've ever read. When I think of it, the only positive side of having read them is that they put me to sleep after about 5 pages or so, which is good because I've had sleeping problems for ages.

Well, the main reason I want to drop it is because I don't really need it for the course I wish to study at uni (if I end up going, that is), and also because I really need to focus on other subjects, especially physics, to get into the course. Another reason is that I'm not entirely confident with my ability as a writer, which is pretty much fundamental in this subject.

Anyway, my intention was not to run off on unrelated tangents (sorry, force of habit heh), but to gain feedback. So fire away!

 

[kami]

To be honest, it sounds like you have already made up your mind on which choice to take, to drop it. Though I usually encourage people to maintain their extension subjects for as long as possible, I also think if you hate it from the get go then there isn't much hope for doing well and mayhap it would be best to drop it.

 

[something_funny]

i did english ext. 1 in yr 12 and hated it!!! but i was really glad i kept with it. i was doing 12 units so i really could have dropped it and it was really tempting cos my class went into these boring long political discussions that had nothing to do with what we were ever studying and also it was on monday arvos when all other yr 11s and 12s could go home and staying meant you had to wait around for another 3 hours cos i also had to wait for the bus!!

but it was worth it cos i bombed out in my english hsc exams and luckily extension was scaled up and counted as one of my two english units.

 

[connected]

To be honest, it sounds like you have already made up your mind on which choice to take, to drop it. Though I usually encourage people to maintain their extension subjects for as long as possible, I also think if you hate it from the get go then there isn't much hope for doing well and mayhap it would be best to drop it.

Well the thing is, I loved it last year! Our area's of study were all interesting and I did pretty well in my assessments. But I think it will just get in the way of my other subjects like I mentioned in the first post, and my parents are pushing me to excel in those areas as there is a lot of room for improvement. Anyway, thanks for both your responses. I'm going to have to give it a bit more thought, I think...

 

[glitterfairy]

My advice with EE1 is that you have to remember it doesn't work like most HSC units. It's very much a Uni-style unit in which you actually have to UNDERSTAND what you're learning rather than memorise and regurgitate.

Understanding takes time. I remember EE1 - at the beginning of Yr 12 I felt sooo bad. I couldn't understand my module. I thought it was boring. I thought it was stupid. I thought the books we were studying were stupid. And I was getting terrible marks for my essays, which is always depressing. No matter how hard I tried, that magic thing that happens when you "get" something just didn't happen.

But a week before HSC Trials, something did click. I ended up with an 100% mark for my EE1 essay. I cried when I was handed my paper, I couldn't believe it. I did quite nicely in the HSC EE1 exam too.

I'm not saying this will happen to everyone, but I do advise that you are aware that EE1 works differently. It's up to you to decide whether you want to take that risk. Having done EE1 myself I don't believe workload is an issue (I did jack all for basically terms 1, 2 and 3, maybe that explained the dud marks) however I clearly remember the frustration I felt when I just kept on getting lousy mark after lousy mark.

That being said EE1 was a prerequisite for EE2, and I wanted to study Creative Writing. You're headed down the science path, and I've heard about the workload of the sciences - nasty. So maybe it is a good thing. Some people I knew who dropped EE1 loved it, "because they didn't have to study the stupid books anymore". Others wished they could take it back, because they were getting so bored with the standard "remember this - now regurgitate it" type subjects (ie maths/science). It's really up to the individual.

 

[l-mercedes-l]

i'd agree with glitterfairy. i wanted to drop 3u all year but kept it becasue i was worried about my mathematics mark. i know where your coming from becasue im more interested in the sciences [did PE, bio, chem, maths... and 3u english???]. but the reason im replying is becasue like others have said it worked out really good in the end and improved my uai.

and dont be discouraged. the highest mark i recieved all year was 29/50 and i got 45/50 in the exam. although i still dont really understand the concept. it ended up being really fun towards the end of the year which is an experience i wouldnt have wanted to miss. the other thing it offers to a primarily science based HSC is a little room for flair and creativity. which is a nice break from rope-learned dotpoint material

Oh and one other thing. positive self talk [i know this is PE but bear with me]. 'i will like this novel. its going to be great...'
Stick it out for a few more weeks into this term. talk to your teacher about your concerns and they can help you perhaps with an alternate way to tackle the module which you may find more interesting. its only 9 more months...

 

[Dreamerish*~]

I dropped E1 during the second term of year 12.

Like you, I loved it in year 11 and was quite good at it. Then when year 12 started, I suddenly became completely lost. Our topic was Crime Fiction and while the films/texts were interesting, I couldn't make myself understand anything beyond the words in the book.

For awhile I tried to put more time into the subject but in the end, it took up too much of my time, resulting in negative effects upon my other subjects. I decided to drop it and go with 10 units and it took a load off my back. I felt about half as pressured after dropping EE1.

Well, my advice is - ask yourself this: Is EE1 time consuming? Do you understand it? Do you dislike it? Would you feel less stressed if you dropped it? If your answers are "yes, no, no, yes", then drop it.

 

[whatdafork]

As soon as the oppurtunity came up, I dropped Ext. English. It wasn't because I was doing poorly in it, but because I just couldn't be bothered working through another year of it. To me, the subject was mostly a bludge throughout Year 11. Classes were pretty damn interesting but the homework we got set was terrible and I could never bring myself to read the set texts or the sheets we were given in class. Also, had I kept it I would have had 12 units and then I'd probbably get the mindset that It was Ok to do badly in it since I had a safety net. Oh and another eason I dropped it was because I hated the logn ass assignment we got set for it in Year 11.

 

[omar273]

trust me, if you're competent with the English language, keep Eng ext 1. It is so much less work and more fun than Advanced.

 

[ishq]

Keep it
Not only is it a lot of fun, and a lot more english-y than advanced, if its your 11th unit, it will act as an excellent back up.

 

[nahian]

If you struggle to keep your eyes open for more then 50% of the time
Theres a strong enough indication for all you who want to drop it

 

[joesmith1975]

I dropped it as soon as i had the chance at the end of year 11, it was too boring and it was 2.5 hours after school and i keep falling asleep sometime and the teacher would just go on and on and on and would never shut up and i would dose off LOL. If you can do it keep it, if its boring and don't like it drop it and if you have to focus on physics i say DROP IT, physics is way better.

btw what course are you wantin gto do at uni??