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March 29, 2024, 08:35:07 pm

Author Topic: Vertigo & Other Exam Stuff  (Read 5464 times)  Share 

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prashy

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Vertigo & Other Exam Stuff
« on: August 10, 2020, 06:43:28 pm »
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Hi Everyone, I am studying Vertigo by Amanda Lohrey for Texts & Human Experiences. My main concepts for this text are Discovery, Belonging, Relationships, Grief/Loss, Knowledge & Identity. Obviously in an exam I won't be talking about all of them only perhaps about 3. My trials start on 17th August & I only have 'notes' & an essay plan for the concepts Discovery, Belonging & Relationships. As I don't have much time left do you reckon making notes and cramming them into my head would be any good? Because I haven't read the text in over 8 months and am just going off what notes I have based on an assessment early on in the year.

My other questions:

When you evaluate a text as part of the analysis in a essay what do you actually do? Are we making a judgement on how effectively the composer has used this example to convey the concept mentioned or is it something else?

How do I approach "To what extent" & "Discuss this statement questions"?

And finally... What are some distinct qualities that seperate a band 5 essay from a band 6?



 

angewina_naguen

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Re: Vertigo & Other Exam Stuff
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2020, 04:02:06 pm »
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Hi Everyone, I am studying Vertigo by Amanda Lohrey for Texts & Human Experiences. My main concepts for this text are Discovery, Belonging, Relationships, Grief/Loss, Knowledge & Identity. Obviously in an exam I won't be talking about all of them only perhaps about 3. My trials start on 17th August & I only have 'notes' & an essay plan for the concepts Discovery, Belonging & Relationships. As I don't have much time left do you reckon making notes and cramming them into my head would be any good? Because I haven't read the text in over 8 months and am just going off what notes I have based on an assessment early on in the year.

My other questions:

When you evaluate a text as part of the analysis in a essay what do you actually do? Are we making a judgement on how effectively the composer has used this example to convey the concept mentioned or is it something else?

How do I approach "To what extent" & "Discuss this statement questions"?

And finally... What are some distinct qualities that seperate a band 5 essay from a band 6?

Hey, prashy!

Welcome to the forums  ;D It's always great to hear that there are people studying Vertigo; I think it's such a fantastic novel for the Common Module  :) Here are my thoughts!

- With Trials just under a week away, I would encourage you to focus on using your existing notes and essay plan to do some practice responses. This is a more effective study strategy to me than making notes at this stage into your HSC journey because it not only enables you to simulate your Trials experience but it also will, because you're doing it over and over again, help you remember your quotes and ideas better over time. Your Trials will help you figure out what else you need to revise and add to your notes. You will have a good amount of time after your exams to have a re-read (if you think it's worthwhile) of the text or at the very least revisit sections of it that you feel will be beneficial for deepening your understanding of the module. The only other notes or preparation of that kind that you might want to do now is having 3-5 quotes each for grief/loss and knowledge in the event that you get a question which you might find those concepts more suitable to use. Otherwise, the bulk of your study should be applied practice  :) I have linked some original practice questions for the Common Module here that you might want to look into!

- Your essay is essentially an answer written in extended form to the question you get in the exam. This means that your analysis should ultimately be proving that your answer (i.e judgement). For example, you might be asked on how texts explore uncomfortable truths to evoke emotional responses from the reader. Using your quotes, you can identify techniques and analyse how they allow the composer to represent the concepts you have chosen and respond appropriately to the question. I'm a little bit confused by what you mean with this question so if my answer isn't what you were looking for, feel free to let me know!

- "To what extent" and "Discuss this statement" questions usually invite you to introduce more nuanced arguments to the table. You might choose to simply agree to a great extent or to explore one specific idea with multiple examples of how it manifests in the text. However, you are also able to provide your own insight and perspectives with these questions. With a question that might ask you to explore the use of storytelling to challenge existing views and understandings, you might choose to argue that while the prescribed text confronts our assumptions and provokes questioning, it also reinforces important values and experiences that make us human and give us humanity. In this instance, you are agreeing "to a moderate extent" and "discussing" the ideas of the text without having to explicitly say that you are  :)

- As a tutor, I usually find that Band 6 essays have three key ingredients which I have listed in (what I would consider to be) order of importance. The first is that they respond directly to the question. No matter how good an essay is, I can only see it at most a Band 5 if it appears to be generic and evades from the actual question itself. A Band 6 essay would use the key words of the question to guide the response and develop a sustained judgement with convincing arguments. A Band 6 essay should also make skilful use of quotes and techniques to produce those arguments. I have read many brilliant essays in English that don't use techniques but English is all about techniques, whether students like it or not, and discussing them is the whole point of your essay which needs textual evidence and analysis. Band 6 essays will have quotes that are relevant to the question and enhance their arguments. Finally, Band 6 essays demonstrate a rich vocabulary and strong control over language. I say rich and not sophisticated because students often think they have to use big, flowery language to succeed in English but it is really important to make sure you have clarity in your writing. If the marker is spending too much of their time comprehending your essay and not actually engaging with its ideas, it's a problem  :-\ Students should aim to have a variety of words and relevant synonyms to employ in the response so they aren't repeating themselves. In short, Band 6 students are able to write with style, conviction and flair, while still making sense and showing that they understand the words they are using  :D

Hope this clarifies any questions and concerns  :) Good luck with your study and fire any follow up questions here if need be!

Angelina  ;D
« Last Edit: August 11, 2020, 04:03:38 pm by angewina_naguen »
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