VCE English Language Question Thread

[AngelWings]

Hi everyone,

I'm just wondering what type of topics are we expecting in the essay this year? As well as the text type for Section A and B?
Is there a pattern with VCAA or is it just random every year?

Thanks for your help!

Very late response, but back in 2014, the usual pattern was Section A or B would be written and the other spoken. (So it would never be both written or both spoken texts.) I don’t think this has changed much.

As for Section C, there’s a few categories they usually pick from and if you do a few practise exams, you’d be able to recognise some of the major ones that appear yearly.

Hey guys
I've been trying to get some practice for sec A's so i thought about going onto past vcaa exams but I can't find the texts that the questions are about. Are they available on some other vcaa page or are they just not available to us?


Thanks!

Often these are copyrighted texts. I’d advise you see your teacher to get the full text.

At this stage though, it might be preferable to ask for company exam papers instead of VCAA exams to practise on so the VCAA ones are unseen later when you get closer to your exams.

Hi,
What's the difference between a clause and a phrase?

Been a long time since I did Eng Lang, but from memory, a clause has a subject and verb in it, whereas a phase has any set of words, regardless of word class.

You should double check that though.

hi, what's the best way to prep for an AC SAC? I'm not sure if I should be writing a bunch of practice ACs or spending time memorising the different features of informal language....any help would be greatly appreciated!

There’s lots of ways you can do this and it depends on what you consider to be your weakness(es):
- if it’s pulling out features from the given text - grab an unseen text and time yourself to see how many features you can discuss and what metalanguage you can use to describe them and their purpose
- if you struggle with metalanguage - review definitions of metalanguage and memorise ones that would be helpful
- if it’s writing a cohorent and cohesive AC (which is probably the biggest issue most students have) - practise writing a full AC if you have time, or sections of one if you don’t have time (e.g. if you struggle with body paragraphs, then write a practise body paragraph)
- if you struggle with the “structure” of an AC - analyse what makes a good one and try using a similar format, eventually developing your own writing style.

[C.J.Tielen]

Ah should 'word formation processes' fit under morphology or lexicology?
Thanks in advance

[beep boop]

Hi

I need help writing an Analytical commentary. I feel like I'm just rambling on in my intro. Any tips?

(I've never done this before and I'm quite scared. As this is quite new. I don't know where to start.)

[EulerFan102]

Hi
I need help writing an Analytical commentary. I feel like I'm just rambling on in my intro. Any tips?
(I've never done this before and I'm quite scared. As this is quite new. I don't know where to start.)

Hey!
So AC introductions are generally pretty brief (with all the good examples and analysis sitting in the body paragraphs). Really the introduction is there to just identify important contextual factors*, the register and the social purposes. So introductions will usually be just 3-4 sentences long and very concisely summarise all that info.
I would recommend having a look at a few past high-scoring ACs so you can vibe out what VCAA likes to see in the introduction.

* Note that by context I'm referring to situational context (so audience, function, field, setting and relationship between participants) and, if it's relevant for the text, cultural context (the values, attitudes and beliefs held by the authors/speakers and the wider community)

[Texyrialed]

Ello there,

I need to write an AC on a transcript and my teacher wants me to write a situational and cultural context paragraph but I have no clue how to start it or what to include in it. Can someone please give me an example paragraph of situational or cultural context so I have an understanding of what to include in the paragraphs?

Thanks!

[lm21074]

Hi!

I'd encourage you to do the following:

1. Get your transcript and annotate for the following:
- Register (formal, informal, mix of both), Social purpose(s). Context (see below)
- Situational context - Field, Audience, Relationship between participants, including relative power and social distance, Mode, Setting
- Cultural context - Beliefs (shared beliefs between speaker and audience or interlocuters), Expectations (expected conventions around the text type), Language choices of society, Politeness (face needs), Taboo topics (e.g. death, wealth, social issues), Social values

2. Note the language features in your transcript that denote these aspects of context. Use metalanguage!!

3. Analysis. It would be an excellent idea to get your teacher to go through how to do this if they haven't already, but in a nutshell, based on what you've annotated:
- identity the language feature and give a language example from the transcript
- explain why the language feature is used (USE analytical verbs such as the one in caps in this sentence, but not too often . This is a great resource for more analytical verbs and how to use them.
- What is the effect? This is where you can link to context, including register and social purpose - why was the language feature used based on the context?


For example, if the text was an informal speech by a teen lifestyle YouTuber, I'd begin with an overarching statement relating to context (in an AC, this usually comes in your introduction):

Text 1, a speech titled, X, by YouTuber shared with her online YouTube audience discusses [aspect of context - e.g. the taboo topic of the implications of social hierarchies amongst teenagers in schools].
Then entail into a further discussion of how the language features in the text support / reflect context.
An example of analysis could be:

The initialism, "OMG" (l. 7), used by YouTuber seeks to capture the language of the audience, predominantly teenage viewers, in order to decrease the social distance between them and YouTuber.

See if you can spot where I incorporated aspects of context and what they are.

I'm not too sure if this hit the nail on the head, but I hope it helps you out a bit


Edit: I didn't realise that writing l.8 with a bracket next to it in one of the examples I gave would give me haha. I have changed it to 7 instead

[Corey King]

Hey guys,
Just wondering. What do you write about relationship for a written text?
E.g. https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce/vce-study-designs/englishlanguage/Pages/Index.aspx
Would you describe relationship to the intended audience? DO you just say stranger

[biology1234]

Hi I am new to Atar Notes. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this biology question. I have attached it below

Thank you I would greatly appreciate.

[Corey King]

Hey guys,
Would Fauna and Citizen be antithesis here?

https://snipboard.io/hw8gRp.jpg

[lm21074]

Hey guys,
Would Fauna and Citizen be antithesis here?

https://snipboard.io/hw8gRp.jpg

Hey Corey,

I'd like to hear the reasoning behind your statement - what makes you say that?

[Corey King]

Additionally,
Is the repetition of 'The Australian Dream' here also antithesis?
https://snipboard.io/PhtySg.jpg

[Corey King]

Hey Corey,

I'd like to hear the reasoning behind your statement - what makes you say that?

The meaning of animal and human are kind of opposites? Maybe not

[lm21074]

The meaning of animal and human are kind of opposites? Maybe not

Hmm...

Antithesis involves contrasting two opposing ideas within a unit of language. Not entirely sure but I wouldn't quite say fauna and human are opposing. It's like whipped cream and strawberry ice cream. Two different things but they aren't opposing ideas.

Additionally,
Is the repetition of 'The Australian Dream' here also antithesis?
https://snipboard.io/PhtySg.jpg

I believe so

[lm21074]

political correctness unites people. drop argument ideas thanks.

I'd love to hear your ideas first! That way, we can flesh out areas of strength and weakness around the topic. Also, you will need contemporary language examples for the exam (and possibly SACs) so by researching articles on PC (see link below for example), you can start now.

To answer this topic, it can often help to compile some examples of PC and then analyse them.

Some prompting questions:
What is the function of PC?
What age groups are PC used amongst predominantly?
Who is opposed to it?



It might be helpful to have a read through articles like this, which I obtained from a simple Google search of PC (spell it out in full though)

if you're really stuck for ideas after researching

Some quick ideas that need to be reworked from the top of my head:
- PC creates a divide between generations who hold different beliefs.
- PC enables people to stand up for what they believe in, in terms of social issues, which brings people together.
- PC can lead to greater inclusivity of marginalized groups in society.

Hope this helps

[riptomysanity]

hi all,

could anyone explain what deference and disfluency are??? i know they're not on the study design, but my teacher wants us to know what they are anyway - despite never having taught us what they are in the first place or mentioning these terms in ANY ppts or other resources...