Need advice from the pros in English? (: (1 Viewer)

[fly-away]

Hi there everyone!

I'm in year 11 this year and i would really like to do well in English, a subject which i am weak in.
I really admire those that write so easily, where their words flow! And i'd like to know how to write good essays, short responses and creative writing pieces!
I mean how do people answer essay questions so easily and write with such sophisticated ease?! And come up with awesome stories?
People often tell me to read read read, but will it really help me in the HSC?
Are there any good textbooks that will assist me?

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks ^^

 

[lukepp]

First of all, don't stress too much about eng this yr. This is your chance to settle in and find out how the system works and what is expected of you. The 'people' you have asked about eng are correct in saying that you need to read a fair bit if you want to do well. As the HSC draws closer, you will be expected to do your own research/reading outside of class to give yourself a greater understanding of the texts you are studying. Critical essays/reviews are a good place to start and see what others think about that particular text. Websites such as sparknotes (free) or enotes (have to pay) are also good to further your knowledge. Also, because of the change in the HSC syllabus from journeys to belonging, there are alot of new study guides coming out with fresh ideas and information on most prescribed texts. It is extremely important to be original and creative when writing. The markers are looking for fresh ideas, they dont want to just see your work as the same as everyone else's, so ensure you try and argue a different point or from a different perspective to ensure you do not have a cliched response. (HSC markers sit in hot rooms marking 500-600 papers per session, so it is important to make yourself stand out from the other 599 people in the pile).

As many others have mentioned before, dont ever attempt to memorise an essay (unless of course you know EXACTLY what the question is going to be). You are far better off spending your time knowing your text inside-out, rather than memorising a 2000 word essay as this prepares you for practically any possible essay question.

Good Luck

PS. always, always, always remember to put quotes from your text into any writing you construct about it. You may write a sophisticated and sustained response with great textual detail, but without quotes, what would normally be a high band 5 or even a band 6 would automatically drop to a 3 or 4.

 

[erm]

Hi there everyone!

I'm in year 11 this year and i would really like to do well in English, a subject which i am weak in.
I really admire those that write so easily, where their words flow! And i'd like to know how to write good essays, short responses and creative writing pieces!
I mean how do people answer essay questions so easily and write with such sophisticated ease?! And come up with awesome stories?
People often tell me to read read read, but will it really help me in the HSC?
Are there any good textbooks that will assist me?

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks ^^

Don't stress mate.

One thing you will realise in HSC english is that sophistication hardly counts for anything (which is gay)...what they're really looking for is content.

To be honest you probably don't even need to read the prescribed text(s) due to the abundance of study guide material (but you probably should unless you're really pressed for time).

The first thing you should do is pick out techniques & quotes from each text. I just wrote them down in point form. Ensure you choose a good variety.

Once you have an idea of the techniques try looking at a few questions. Look at what they're asking and form some kind of thesis or main argument. Then it's just a matter of using these techniques/examples/quotes in support of your argument. This perceived "sophistication" which you talk about is really just people's ability to bullshit. Bullshitting is easy, just come up with SOMETHING that vaguely supports your argument....remember: there's no wrong answer if you back it up.

When exam time comes around all you need to memorise is your list of techniques/examples/quotes. Adapting to the question requires some thinking on your feet, but it's very easy once you practice. Re practice: you don't always have to write out the whole thing once you're practicing....i found it beneficial to place an HSC question at the top of a blank page and plan a "skeleton" essay...i.e. thesis: blah blah ... paragraph 1: blah blah.....structure is important as it allows your argument to flow, don't neglect this. Also make sure whatever you're discussing in each paragraph is clear and defined. In terms of structuring I found it better to structure in terms of themes, rather than treat each text separately (however different strokes for different folks).

HSC english is a joke, and you will realise that later on.

That was a bit of a brain dump, hope it makes sense to you.

 

[ekoolish]

Don't study!
Studying kills brain cells and you need those things for something (at least that's what i heard).

 

[fly-away]

Thanks for the detailed responses guys! Really appreciate it!


By the way, with creativity, does reading improve it? I'm not very good when it comes to creativity, I'm always so repetitive with my ideas that it annoys me.

And with picking out techniques and quotes, would practice make it easier? Sometimes i find it difficult to pick out a sufficient amount.

 

[`kyttie]

I think reading widely will definitely help you, particularly in a creative sense. Read across many different genres - try and read 'substantial' books, i.e. ones that may have garnered literary awards or are on top blah blah of books list. Or ask a teacher for suggestions.

You'll find that people approach fiction/imagination in many different ways. You might also pick up on some interesting things, eg. creative stories don't have to be just creative based on content, you can use syntactical/aesthetic features to also make it creative. eg. if you read "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer, not only does he use different writing styles [from different characters + oscillating between time periods etc], but he also uses blank pages. Or single words on otherwise-blank pages. Or strange patterns on his pages. So those could be different ideas to experiment with, eg. putting a single word on a blank page for impact.

And those ideas are all from just one book. Imagine what you could come across reading a wider variety? Not to mention your vocab being dramatically increased, maybe your writing style might change or you could toss it up throughout the story - eg. instead of just having long, winding, descriptive sentences, you could punctuate these with smaller/shorter phrases designed for impact. Or you could even go further into sentence/phrase structure.. eg. there are things called "cumulative sentences" which you can read about and are actually quite fun to write, and read as very professional [assuming you pull them off correctly]. Or triads.

There are hundreds of ideas out there, it's just a matter of knowing what they are, and then utilising them.


Hope that helps.

 

[fly-away]

Thanks for that http://community.boredofstudies.org/members/`kyttie/`kyttie! That definitely helps me understand how reading can improve not only my vocab but also the way i write! 8)

 

[lychnobity]

The point of reading is to cultivate ideas.

But, if you aren't an avid reader, it's ok.

Use imagination. Pick a scenario that would never happen, make it interesting, "real" and relate it to a higher cause.

That's how you churn out a kickass story.

Writing sophisticatedly takes practice - it nearly gets you nowhere if you don't know your texts well enough (but if you do, pushes up your marks at the top end).

 

[kara42]

Hi there everyone!

I'm in year 11 this year and i would really like to do well in English, a subject which i am weak in.
I really admire those that write so easily, where their words flow! And i'd like to know how to write good essays, short responses and creative writing pieces!
I mean how do people answer essay questions so easily and write with such sophisticated ease?! And come up with awesome stories?
People often tell me to read read read, but will it really help me in the HSC?
Are there any good textbooks that will assist me?

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks ^^

Well by the way that you write, I can tell that you're not bad in English.
Reading books does help.
And with regards to essays - practice makes perfect
Get your teacher to give you an essay question on something you have been studying, and just keep doing them and doing them.

Good luck

 

[LordPc]

people in this thread have agreed that you should read more but they missed one thing. Reading the entire Harry Potter series wont help you improve your creative writing. you need to read short stories more than you should read novels. your going to be writing a short story, so reading them makes sense doesnt it?

 

[lychnobity]

people in this thread have agreed that you should read more but they missed one thing. Reading the entire Harry Potter series wont help you improve your creative writing. you need to read short stories more than you should read novels. your going to be writing a short story, so reading them makes sense doesnt it?

Classic Short Stories--Authors

While some can be very plot driven, these will give you a good sense of a good short story.

 

[closmo]

Don't study!
Studying kills brain cells and you need those things for something (at least that's what i heard).

Ok. DO study. and DO take it seriously, but don't forget that this year isn't as important as year 12. have fun. don't stress, and just do the best that you can. It's harder then year ten, but you get over that pretty quickly.