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Yaay I need help with On the Waterfront
Just a quick question though, I really hate YOW so I'm planning on just preparing for OTW. Do you think this is a good idea, or is it necessary to go into the exam being prepared for either text? I really can't emphasise how much I just want to focus on OTW and neglect YOW though :\
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I personally think that if you know one text really well, you should technically be able to write a strong essay on any topic you're given. However there's obviously the chance that the topics they give you are just crap/random. Studying two texts really well might be time consuming, and you might feel uneasy about chucking away one text within the first 10 seconds of the exam. Maybe go for a compromise and study one text really well and have this as your first pick, but then know enough of the 2nd text to be able to write a decent essay on it (as a last resort).
I put all my time and energy into one text. In the exam, I read the topics for JUST this text, and didn't look at the topics for the other text until after the exam. Basically forced myself to write on that text, and luckily the topics were good.
To give personal experience further to werdna's advice... I needed to make the exact same decision before my exam - do I learn OTW + YoW, or do I limit myself to one text?
I studied only for Year of Wonders in 2011, and all the people in my year who did so entirely regretted it.
This is a good thread for you to read - it shows me posting just after the English exam what I wrote in my essay for the two rather difficult prompts given in the exam. Most of the people simply didn't know how to handle the second prompt, which really assessed a different set of criteria to the 2010 exam and basically most of what was discussed in class. It made me damn glad I studied the structure and spent my time on all the bonus stuff that my teachers told me to look at.
Basically, the ultimate aim of the game in English is to get the highest score possible. Any action you take or do not take will contribute to getting the best mark you can. If you think preparing both texts is a good idea so that you have a total of 4 options to pick from , then realise you could give yourself more options to write an essay you feel comfortable with and therein obtain yourself a better mark -
then study both texts. If you think you can get a better mark by limiting yourself to a greater, more in-depth knowledge of one text albeit with only two prompts to choose from, then only
study just one text and be able to write on any of the main ideas and themes in it. Ultimately, there is no answer, it depends on your like and dislikes for each book.
That said, I highly endorse studying Year of Wonders over On The Waterfront, because without a detailed disucssion of the cinematography and greater context of OTW you will not obtain great marks as the plot and characters are too simplistic and one dimensional for you to be able to discuss anything of great significance. The story is simple, basically. A 12 year old could write an essay on the same stuff as you do in year 12 for OTW. Year of Wonders is much more layered and complex, and takes a lot of time to study and learn all of the characters, places, themes, settings, and connect all the dots. That also means you have a smorgasbord of ideas to talk about and apply to any prompt, which makes writing essays easier in the long run to score highly with a little more revision effort.