Generic topics.

[enwiabe]

Fuck, they're annoying, how do you approach them? Should you try to take a really insightful angle and sound intelligent or just argue straight down the line that you're used to?

[Collin Li]

Generic answer.

[Pencil]

ok I think your talking about text responses?
If so, I'd say take the insightful approach, if you can. As in incorporate original ideas if you have any.
eg. a generic question for Hamlet could be 'Why does Hamlet delay', and most people would say how he had to be sure, how he couldn't kill claudius when he was praying etc. But if you had a different idea that you could support with evidence, definitely use it.

(or have I completely misunderstood the q. lol?)

[enwiabe]

Nope, you've hit the nail on the head.

[melanie.dee]

i would also take the insightful approach. i would try and find a subtle element of the question and pick up on that. its a bit hard to explain without an example but i duno, i definitely wouldnt go the generic way. boring. fresh ideas or even just a fresh approach to an idea is always a good thing

[enwiabe]

Even at the risk of being totally wrong, though? As in, I'm talking about having to think these ideas up on the spot. :-/

[melanie.dee]

well i duno.. i wouldnt be writing anything down that i knew was "wrong" as such, but i duno. are you reasonably good at english? i cant imagine thinking up ideas that are wildly wrong and completely off the mark, if you're a perceptive sort of person and click onto the subtleties of texts quickly, i dont see why you'd be thinking up entirely wrong ideas.. really, if you've got evidence to argue something, the chance of it being wrong is pretty small.. unless you're not particularly good at reading into texts.. in that case id be going into the exam with pre learnt ideas and themes and evidence to back it up.. so my answer is: depends how much confidence you have in your english ability and your ability to understand texts

eta; your comment totally threw me to be honest. i dont even consider whether what im saying is right or wrong.. its always just how i read the text and what i take i from it. hmm

[Pencil]

Even at the risk of being totally wrong, though? As in, I'm talking about having to think these ideas up on the spot. :-/

well I was going to say before that whatever you argue you should have evidence, and I wouldn't get too carried away ie. for hamlet I wouldn't go the whole freudian 'hamlet couldn't kill claudius because he was secretly in love with his mother and killing claudius would be like killing part of himself'.
But basically if you actually engage with the text it should just come naturally. Rather than reading all those horrible study guides

But if you gave examples (ie. of a generic q.) that might make it easier

[rustic_metal]

you cant be wrong in a text response unless you misquote or get a fact about the book wrong. text analysis is always speculation, hence you can interperet the text any way you want as long as all your evidence is correct.

most authors are dead and even if they arent, we cant exactly go and talk to them, so theres no right or wrong interpretation as we do not know what the author is intending. even if the author was intending to portray one facet of human life, the book can still be read with a feminist interperetation, as long as no evidence disproves it.

[BA22]

General topics are usually the "discuss" ones.

Your interpretation can be as focused as you like, the more so the better, as general responses may result in superficial analysis, and you won't display the required depth of knowledge or insight. Best focus on key aspects of the prompt.

Eg. "The characters of X are lonely and sad. Discuss"
       
     " X is a confused individual. Discuss"

In these examples the trigger words are obvious, but sometimes the VCAA will ask "How" or "why" questions which seem to offer no key trigger point

eg " How does X convey the tradegy of Y"

     "Why does X falter"

The trigger words become the premise of the question. "How", becomes a essay on the story elements employed by the writer, and "why" becomes an examination of the underlying motives and external effects upon a character

As melanie.dee said, you really would want to explore subtlety to get that best marks, thought it may not be possible with topics such as these, therefore the complexity must come from your examples & evidence and therefore your exploration of them.

The key aspect of replying to general text prompts is too adopt a clear contention, sustained throughout the response. The only restriction is that it must be relevant.

The examiner will ask the following questions of any essay

Is it coherent?
Is it Sustained?
Is it substantiated?
Is it relevant?
Is it logically structured?

If you clearly address every question that can be asked of a response, the you can take a general topic question and shape it any way you want, and you should. Taking control of your response confidently and with flair clearly sets you apart from the rest of the pack.