hey blackratpoo, how did you find the quality overalll?
did you read any really good stuff?
I don't want to sound mean but honestly, it was horrible. I practically had to annotate every line. They were undeveloped, incoherent, unsophisticated and a lot of them went the whole essay without even mentioning a technique. Like they didn't even know that techniques existed! Quotes were either too long or irrelevant. It was just a hassle to mark. I felt good at the end of it though as I had thought I had helped someone who knew nothing before.
Actually, the last guy that gave me his essay (just before the rat destroyed my good-will) was really really good. And suprisingly, I think he was a Standard kid. It was top-notch! Definitely 13+/15 worthy. But that was ONE out of like 15 or 16 so the standard isn't that high. Does that make you feel better or worse? lol]
The creative stories were also good, but I didn't know how to critique them. I got 13/15 in HSC in mine which I did the day before trials but then they threw us a speech and had to scrap it so I never had it marked prior to the HSC. So I don't think they mark them too harshly as mine was a little fragmented/pointless imo. Advice on creative: 800-900 words MAX. Use more time for the other two sections, it's worth it.