Both English Language and Literature (Opinions?)

[Macaron]

Hey.

I've been struggling over whether I should choose Language or Literature.
I'm wondering whether it is possible to do both and do them well?

I would like to see what your opinions/suggestions are.
I'm really interested in doing both subjects though.
I don't know whether there will be too much of work load in addition to my other subjects.

[Bhootnike]

Hey.

I've been struggling over whether I should choose Language or Literature.
I'm wondering whether it is possible to do both and do them well?

I would like to see what your opinions/suggestions are.
I'm really interested in doing both subjects though.
I don't know whether there will be too much of work load in addition to my other subjects.

depends on personal preference really.
what do you enjoy ?
linguistics - study of language, how it works, the attitudes to languages, spoken and written language, how language can reflect identity - this is a summary of topics you do in englang btw, not what english language entails in depth

or literature - reading a few texts, writing essays on them and analysis'    - sorry, not a lit student, but from what ive gathered, that seems to be what happens ?! someone wanna confirm!?

it is possible to do them both, and do well in both.
i know people who do both and are coping well

Personally , I LOVE english language.
It's such a good and enjoyable subject!
if you're a maths/sciencey type person, or a music student, it might suit you more!

what are your other subject choices?

[Menang]

I think all the English subjects require a great deal of work. It's not a bad idea to do two, though, because at least one of them has to be in your top four and having two gives you a greater safety net.

Which history are you doing? (A question more out of personal curiosity than relevance - they all have a considerable workload.) All five of your subjects look like tough ones, which means you will probably have a pretty full on Year 12. Obviously it all depends on your own judgements of how much you can handle. I think your subjects will require a lot of work (and, to be honest, natural intelligence as well) but considering your ATAR goal it sounds like you're up for it.

[Macaron]

Thanks for the advice Bhootnike
I'm more of humanities-based type person but I'm really interested in English Lang.

Also, I like reading and like developing different interpretations + discussing texts & meaning.

I think all the English subjects require a great deal of work. It's not a bad idea to do two, though, because at least one of them has to be in your top four and having two gives you a greater safety net.

Which history are you doing? (A question more out of personal curiosity than relevance - they all have a considerable workload.) All five of your subjects look like tough ones, which means you will probably have a pretty full on Year 12. Obviously it all depends on your own judgements of how much you can handle. I think your subjects will require a lot of work (and, to be honest, natural intelligence as well) but considering your ATAR goal it sounds like you're up for it.

I'm not sure what history i'm doing yet - the school hasn't told us which history subjects they are providing (new school)
I will probably do Revs or Rens, though.

Menang, do you think I should substitute any of subjects for other ones? (I'm kind of indecisive and doubting whether I am capable of doing well or not)
I think I have until mid-August to have my subject selections in.

[Bhootnike]

Yeeah ? btw just saw ur sig haha, didnt notice !
you have quite a balanced selection of subjects
math science humanities !

anyway back on topic
English language at VCE level, i.e. units 1/2 looks at stuff like child language acquisition and globalisation and notion of 'standard' english and some more things ive forgotten :p

unit 3 looks at spoken language, written language  -- > takes like 2 terms or 1 semester. with written language, you dwell deep into different types, - advertising, newspapers, narratives, etc.

for unit 4, there's varieties of aust. english - Standard aust. english, ethnolects, different accents in Aust, aboriginal english, - how these varieties and how language in general can help construct identity of someone.. what else is there.... unit 3 is short answer and extended analysis piece wheras unit 4 is the essay.
also you look at attitudes to language - taboo, euphenisms, dysphenisms etc

its really fun and interesting
i endorse it!

[Menang]

Thanks for the advice Bhootnike
I'm more of humanities-based type person but I'm really interested in English Lang.

Also, I like reading and like developing different interpretations + discussing texts & meaning.

I think all the English subjects require a great deal of work. It's not a bad idea to do two, though, because at least one of them has to be in your top four and having two gives you a greater safety net.

Which history are you doing? (A question more out of personal curiosity than relevance - they all have a considerable workload.) All five of your subjects look like tough ones, which means you will probably have a pretty full on Year 12. Obviously it all depends on your own judgements of how much you can handle. I think your subjects will require a lot of work (and, to be honest, natural intelligence as well) but considering your ATAR goal it sounds like you're up for it.

I'm not sure what history i'm doing yet - the school hasn't told us which history subjects they are providing (new school)
I will probably do Revs or Rens, though.

Menang, do you think I should substitute any of subjects for other ones? (I'm kind of indecisive and doubting whether I am capable of doing well or not)
I think I have until mid-August to have my subject selections in.

Hmm it's hard to say - Bio and Chem (afaik) are pretty important if you're planning to go into science fields so I wouldn't drop those. Doing 2 English's is fair enough, and as a History major myself, the world will freeze over before I tell anyone to drop that.

You can always see how you go in Methods next year and make a decision based on that. You have plenty of time! The best advice I can give anyone is to be flexible and not be afraid of changing your subjects around between Years 11 and 12. I certainly swapped around about half my VCE course several times before the first semester of Year 12 started.

[Macaron]

Thanks Bhootnike, I'll probably be taking up English Language

@Menang, can you give me a brief outline of Literature & History?

Sorry if I'm asking a lot. :S

[Menang]

Thanks Bhootnike, I'll probably be taking up English Language

@Menang, can you give me a brief outline of Literature & History?

Sorry if I'm asking a lot. :S

No worries Macaron

In Literature, you study a number of texts throughout the year. If the curriculum hasn't changed by the time you're in Year 12, there are 5 SACs to complete (usually on one or two texts each) which will be 50% of your assessment. The final exam is the other 50%, where you'll have to choose 2 texts from the ones you've studied and read them (very) closely. In the exam, you'll be given three passages per text and you'll have 2 hours to write 2 essays.
EZ (EvangelionZeta - an English and Lit legend) has written a fuller guide to Literature available here.

In Revolutions you study two of four Revolutions (American, French, Russian or Chinese) - you school/teacher chooses this. There are two areas of study for each Revolution so it works out to be:
-One revolution per 'unit' (Unit 3 or Unit 4)
-One area of study per term.
In AoS1, you do ideas, movements, leaders and events that lead up to the Revolution itself.
In AoS2, you do 'creating a new society' where you study the successes (and mostly failures) of the new regime.
There's a lot of memory work (lots of dates and quotes to memorize) and you'll have to develop a keen awareness of the historiographical debate. It's a great course though, jam packed with lots of exciting events and complex issues.

In Renaissance Italy the structure is a little different. It's much less chronological (ergo, less dates!) and more social and cultural. There's still a massive political side to it, of course, especially in the Florence-and-Venice-specific sections, but there's the added dimension of social life and the development of new art and architecture.
In Unit 3 you first spend a bit of time getting to new Italy - it's geographical and political states during the Renaissance, it's major industries in the different cities, it's alliance to either the Holy Roman Empire or the Papal States, that kind of thing. You then focus in on Florence, doing lots of study on the Medici and early Renaissance Art.
In Unit 4 you start of with a study in social life (either Venice or Florence), looking at things like marriage, religion, guilds, communities etc. The last thing you do is a focused study on Venice, which is quite exciting.

I can't say much about Australian History, having never done that.

Let me know if you have more questions.

[#1procrastinator]

English Language was interesting and useful...wish I hadn't dropped it. I hated Literature, all I remember is the poetry and MacBeth lol

[sabii]

Hi Macaron! I also went through this same phrase last year; confused of whether I should take up only English or both Literature and English. Personally speaking from my experience, some individuals find literature more complex than English, not only becasue it requires a  lot of hard work however also becasue you are competing with students who love writing and reading, and therefore it can be quite intimidating at first. However I have found that Literature has extensively solaced me with my English skills. Doing both English and Literature, gives you a opportunity to intensify you vocabulary and skills in English.

I believe that if you yourself have a good base and are capable of writing good pieces in English than you are set for Literature. Students who tend to score well in English can also exceed in Literature.

Do BOTH!