Eng lan 3/4 HELP

[mabajas76]

Hi, hope all is well.
So I did Eng Lan as a 1/2 this year and it was...rough. I do enjoy the subject and find it interesting but my grades r just awful...I am averaging 69% in it, I am getting consistent 50-55%'s for the essays, I really don't know where I am going wrong. I think maybe I am talking about historical context too much? That is the only feedback i am getitng so I have been trying to cut back on it but I guess it isn't working
But anyway, I am trying to commit so what can I do over the summer holidays to prepare for the 3/4? Does anybody have any practice texts for an analytical commentary (We did those in year 11), and what can I do to improve them besides practice?

Also the main thing I want to improve is my essays. How exactly does it work in 3/4? I am meant to build some example bank right? How do I actually do this and what topics am I meant to write about in the 3/4? I am more looking for resources for writing essays but idk where to get them, so does anybody have any essays, evidence, places to make essays? Also anybody have any tips on how to write them that they found?
Cheers and thanks!

[Joseph41]

Hey mabajas76! I'm going to jump in here for now, but note that I did EngLang in 2012, so hopefully somebody else can post some more contemporary/up-to-date advice and tips.

In general, I think EngLang is an awesome subject, and if you're committed to doing well in it, that's a really great start. Here are some thoughts:

TIPS (note: grad year 2012)

That is the only feedback i am getitng so I have been trying to cut back on it but I guess it isn't working
Have you tried speaking with your teacher about this? They may be willing to elaborate or provide more feedback if prompted. For example, if you've worked on their previous feedback but still aren't getting the grades you're looking for, I think it's fine to explicitly ask what other things you could work on to improve your marks.

But anyway, I am trying to commit so what can I do over the summer holidays to prepare for the 3/4?
I'm pretty sure it's still the case that the main overlap between Units 1&2 and Units 3&4 is metalanguage, and this is what I'd work on over the break if in your position. If you haven't already, you should check out the English Language Study Design: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce/vce-study-designs/englishlanguage/Pages/Index.aspx. There's a list of metalanguage on pages 17-18, which is relevant for both Units 3 and 4.

That list of metalanguage is where I'd start. I'm sure you'll touch on a lot of it through 2022, so it's all good if you haven't come across a lot of the terms yet, but I found it really useful to have a basic understanding of each of these terms. I even made little cue cards with a piece of metalanguage on one side (like "root morpheme", for example), and then a brief explanation and example on the other. If you can accurately identify/use/explain/contextualise these terms through analytical commentaries/essays/short answer responses next year, your responses will be a lot richer.

So in summary, I think I'd just work on nailing metalanguage and that list of terms over the break, unless your teacher/school provides other specific work or areas on which to focus.

Does anybody have any practice texts for an analytical commentary (We did those in year 11), and what can I do to improve them besides practice?
My advice here is that you don't need to be provided a specific text in order to practise your analytical commentaries. You can find your own texts pretty much anywhere - in newspapers, online, in magazines, in TV interviews, in YouTube videos. Obviously some of them are less convenient than others, as you may need to transcribe or manually add line numbers etc. for sake of analysis, but there's really no shortage of texts available.

In fact, the wider the range of texts you've used, the better. You could even use this exact post to practise on if you wanted to - language is everywhere, and it's always used for a purpose.

If you don't want to do a full analytical commentary, you can always just annotate a text. This might be particularly useful early in the year if you don't have much experience doing analytical commentaries. Annotate a text with anything you find interesting - note different language features and why you think they might have been used at that particular moment, in that particular context.

Also the main thing I want to improve is my essays. How exactly does it work in 3/4? I am meant to build some example bank right?
It's good to have language examples and relevant quotes at your disposal for essays, yes. You can work on this throughout the year, but some very broad advice for finding language examples and quotes below:

- Language examples: if you look at the Study Design (linked earlier), there are different Areas of Study through Unit 3 and Unit 4. Try using these as an initial base for "themes" in the course, and then try to find some language examples for each theme. For example, you might start looking at informal language - you could Google things like contemporary or rising slang in particular demographic groups.

- Language quotes: you could check out some well-known linguists. If you're not sure where to start, check out some of the articles written by Kate Burridge and Howie Manns on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/profiles/kate-burridge-130136/articles.

[ConFinCMC]

Hi Mabajas. I did 3/4 Eng Lang last year, and let me tell you that both years are very, very different to one another.
Units 3/4 ask for so bloody much writing, and essays, and Analytical Commentaries that you should probably look into seeing an osteopath or GP at the end of each SAC. I was more concerned about if my hands were gonna drop off, rather than the D- average I was getting.

You just need to write and read so much, get contemporary examples, revise metalanguage (<<this word gives me nightmares, even a year after graduating, holy hell you will hate it so much) and do so much that you don't even learn about in Year 11. I enjoyed Year 11 Eng Lang because it was kept pretty interesting, such as Speech Development and the History of the English Language. That stuff was the absolute coolest thing you could ever learn about in an English room, but there's practically nothing in Year 12 that carried on from the last year.

I'm not trying to persuade you away from doing a subject that you love, but I definitely recommend talking to your teacher about what you think you should do if you want to continue learning it. Get a tutor, ask for holiday homework, look at past exams, do what you must but at the end of the day, definitely consider what will be best for your marks.