Should English be compulsory?? (3 Viewers)

[Shadowdude]

What about using it to scale, but not make it count towards an atar.

Not make it count unless it's in the best 10 units? If that's it - then that seems fairer, though it would basically drain all want of students to do English properly as they can be sure that it's not going to count. They'd lose their essay writing skills and the like. Science students need them especially, with the scientific journals and all.

 

[Riproot]

Not make it count unless it's in the best 10 units? If that's it - then that seems fairer, though it would basically drain all want of students to do English properly as they can be sure that it's not going to count. They'd lose their essay writing skills and the like. Science students need them especially, with the scientific journals and all.

Not the same as English essays.

 

[Absolutezero]

Not the same as English essays.

The skills are essentially transferable.

 

[Shadowdude]

It still uses the same "skill" of taking a whole jumble of information, grabbing the important bits, synthesising it to be brief but also concise - and writing it coherently and logically.

 

[Riproot]

It still uses the same "skill" of taking a whole jumble of information, grabbing the important bits, synthesising it to be brief but also concise - and writing it coherently and logically.

No.
It's more like the HSIE essays.
English essays are annoying.

 

[Riproot]

It still uses the same "skill" of taking a whole jumble of information, grabbing the important bits, synthesising it to be brief but also concise - and writing it coherently and logically.

No.
It's more like the HSIE essays.
English essays are annoying.

 

[Shadowdude]

As absolutezero said, the skills are transferrable.

In English - you're writing an essay on language techniques. In history, about historical events. It's still the same skill - just expressed in a different way.

 

[Riproot]

In English - you're writing an essay on language techniques. In history, about historical events. It's still the same skill - just expressed in a different way.

But I get 10/15 in English and 18-20/20 in SOR2... Also, you write topic sentences differently and shit like that.

 

[slyhunter]

As absolutezero said, the skills are transferrable.

In English - you're writing an essay on language techniques. In history, about historical events. It's still the same skill - just expressed in a different way.

No, I'd argue the structuring is different enough.

 

[Shadowdude]

So we can't agree it's the same skill of synthesising information and writing it coherently?

 

[slyhunter]

So we can't agree it's the same skill of synthesising information and writing it coherently?

To an extent.

 

[Shadowdude]

I contend if one gets low marks in English and high marks in SOR essays - then one is just doing better in synthesising information in SOR.

 

[slyhunter]

My history teacher argued they were different.

 

[-may-cat-]

Science students need them especially, with the scientific journals and all.

In English - you're writing an essay on language techniques. In history, about historical events. It's still the same skill - just expressed in a different way.

mmm, not really. I study history at uni and my entire first year was spent trying to UN-learn the way i was taught and expected to write in HSC English. If i wrote an essay the way the HSC English course would have me write it, i probably wouldn't do all too well.

Similarly, my boyfriend studies biology and from what i have seen of his reports they follow a very specific structure and style which is vastly different to the way you are taught to write in the HSC.

 

[Shadowdude]

mmm, not really. I study history at uni and my entire first year was spent trying to UN-learn the way i was taught and expected to write in HSC English. If i wrote an essay the way the HSC English course would have me write it, i probably wouldn't do all too well.

Similarly, my boyfriend studies biology and from what i have seen of his reports they follow a very specific structure and style which is vastly different to the way you are taught to write in the HSC.

But still can we at least agree that the basic skill set of synthesising information and writing logically and coherently is common?

 

[-may-cat-]

Yes, however i do not believe that students who had not studied HSC English would struggle at uni, science students in particular. First year units tend to be based around hammering in the writing style of the discipline; i was practically babied through the process while my boyfriend was actually provided with a textbook which laid out how to write a report with correct APA referencing. Although that is just in my experience.

 

[Shadowdude]

Yeah, I hear university is big on referencing. I had a group assignment and just delegated referencing to one other person... sounds pretty sucky, methinks.

 

[-may-cat-]

It's necessary and you do get used to it. You had better learn, it may well fuck you over later on if you don't. I had a tutor that flat out failed any essay that hadn't been referenced.

 

[Absolutezero]

It's necessary and you do get used to it. You had better learn, it may well fuck you over later on if you don't. I had a tutor that flat out failed any essay that hadn't been referenced.

Yep. I had friends who had to redo an entire group assessment, with only a maximum of 50% possible to achieve, because they accidentally forgot to reference one line. And they got off lightly.

 

[Shadowdude]

Any tips on figuring out how to reference properly? Books? Or just Google it every time I need to do it and copy from there...