50 in English - Feel free to ask questions.

[Yang Li]

Whatever floats your boat 



Good luck exam takers! Get an early night.

[Yang Li]

Hey guys,

I hope the exam ran smoothly for everyone. I do hope this thread was a useful resource for you.

There is some great advice on this thread (not just mine). Thanks to all the motivated students who asked questions and the contributors who answered/discussed them.

For students who want English tutoring for 2014, please send me a paragraph of your writing, along with your name and school, to [email protected]. I do give all my students a copy of my notes, although I do not suggest relying on them as the only source of substance.

All the best,

Yang

[MM1]

Hey guys,

I hope the exam ran smoothly for everyone. I do hope this thread was a useful resource for you.

There is some great advice on this thread (not just mine). Thanks to all the motivated students who asked questions and the contributors who answered/discussed them.

For students who want English tutoring for 2014, please send me a paragraph of your writing, along with your name and school, to [email protected]. I do give all my students a copy of my notes, although I do not suggest relying on them as the only source of substance.

All the best,

Yang

Hi, I'm going into Year 11 next year and i'm just wondering, what are some tips/advice for improving in English? I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

[PB]

Hey bro,
I reckon you want to be doing a lot of reading. And with this generic advice that has undoubtedly been used like a million times, may I emphasize that you need to be ACTIVELY reading. No point reading heaps of books and hoping that the writers' skills will somehow rub off on you.  When reading novels, NEWSPAPERS (important for the persuasive language aspect), magazines or whatever floats your boat, you want to conscious of good phrases, words, language use, writing styles etc. that you can add to your writing arsenal. Come year 12, you should be a kickass writer with a wide variety of literary awesomeness at your disposal to leave your teachers in awe.
Note: this is what I found was super efficient and really helped me when I desperately needed to increase my writing tenacity during year 12. You don't have to follow it, but I do wish someone told me this at your stage - rather than the meaningless tip "read more".
Your journey to a 50 in English starts NOW. Happy reading
Regards,
PB

[Yang Li]

Hey MM1,

Sorry mate, wasn't paying attention to the forum recently. PB made a great point. Make a habit of absorbing good ideas, phrases and words as you read. Use those building blocks to help your own writing.

I would also add that it is a great idea to practise writing in small chunks. Write paragraphs every day and get feedback on them.

Obviously, without knowing you or your work any advise I can give is quite generic.

All the best!

Yang

[Robert243]

Hey Yang LI ,
What would your advice be for a y9 going into year 10 be for achieving a high score in english .

[MM1]

Hey bro,
I reckon you want to be doing a lot of reading. And with this generic advice that has undoubtedly been used like a million times, may I emphasize that you need to be ACTIVELY reading. No point reading heaps of books and hoping that the writers' skills will somehow rub off on you.  When reading novels, NEWSPAPERS (important for the persuasive language aspect), magazines or whatever floats your boat, you want to conscious of good phrases, words, language use, writing styles etc. that you can add to your writing arsenal. Come year 12, you should be a kickass writer with a wide variety of literary awesomeness at your disposal to leave your teachers in awe.
Note: this is what I found was super efficient and really helped me when I desperately needed to increase my writing tenacity during year 12. You don't have to follow it, but I do wish someone told me this at your stage - rather than the meaningless tip "read more".
Your journey to a 50 in English starts NOW. Happy reading
Regards,
PB

Awesome tip; Thanks PB!

[MM1]

Hey MM1,

Sorry mate, wasn't paying attention to the forum recently. PB made a great point. Make a habit of absorbing good ideas, phrases and words as you read. Use those building blocks to help your own writing.

I would also add that it is a great idea to practise writing in small chunks. Write paragraphs every day and get feedback on them.

Obviously, without knowing you or your work any advise I can give is quite generic.

All the best!

Yang

Cheers for the advice!

[Yang Li]

Hi Immortaldoctor,

It comes down to a few things that are easy to list and harder to actually adhere to:

1) Read, read and read some more. Use what you read to enrich your own writing and add to your arsenal of expressions and vocabulary.
2) Be critical of your own writing. If you have gotten feedback that "x" doesn't work; omit that certain element from your writing every time you proofread.
3) Get used to planning. If you become adept at planning on paper, you may be able to do it in your head in year 12, saving you up to half an hour in the exam.
4) Keep up with current affairs (read the paper or a news mag) and have discussions / write down your observations.
5) Get used to writing within a time limit. Compare that work with your other work to see if you perform well under pressure.

All the best!

Yang

[Robert243]

Thank for the reply Yang Li ,
Really good advice .
I really appreciate it thanks

[PB]

Awesome tip; Thanks PB!

You are welcome

[Yang Li]

Hey guys,

Many people are PMing me questions.

If you have questions regarding English or EAL, please post it in my thread here so everyone can benefit from it. After all, many people have the same concerns when it comes to VCE.

Bring it in.

All the best,

Yang

[smile+energy]

Can I ask the differences between normal VCE English exam paper and EAL exam paper?
I am doing EAL, do I have to write 3 essays in English exams? Thanks in advance

[Yang Li]

Hi KrystalClear,

There is no physical difference between the EAL and English papers.

The difference lies in two main aspects:

1) The exams are marked to a different standard. That means examiners will take into concern that fact that EAL students do not use English as their first language. Also, there are some differences in exam criteria, especially in the Language Analysis, where EAL students do not have to write an intro or conclusion.

2) Your cohort is different. You will only be marked against the rest of the people who do the same exam. That means EAL students often face easier competition. However, it is hard to score over 45 if you are not fluent in the English language, as a percentage of EAL students, despite studying EAL, are.

All the best!

Yang

[Yang Li]

Hi Lauren,

Thanks for the input, but I think that question is from last year and the student has already completed their VCE.

All the best in uni!

Yang