VCE English Question Thread

[nadiaaa]

Guys i begin my expository piece with a quote that i touch on the intro and then in my body paragraph i expand on it, my teacher has never made a comment on it but now she is saying im not allowed to begin a paragraph with a quote, is this true?

[literally lauren]

Could someone please explain to me the differences of syntax sentence structure) eg. polysndenton syntax, asyndeton etc??

Okay, polysyndeton and asyndeton aren't really to do with sentence structure - it's about how you list things.
Polysyndeton means having lots of 'and's or conjunctions (since 'poly' = many)
Asyndeton means having no 'and's or conjunctions (since 'a-' = without; as in, 'asymmetrical' = without symmetry, etc.)

So an example of polysyndeton would be if I were to say 'I went to the shops because I had to buy chips and drinks and lollies and chocolate.'
Asyndeton would be: 'I went to the shops and bought chips, drinks, lollies, chocolate.'

Usually, the effect is the same (assuming you're analysing this in L.A.) as the author is typically emphasising the excessive nature of whatever he's listing.

I'm not sure if your question was more about sentence structure though, so let me know if I've misinterpreted anything!

Is a context paragraph important to include or can I go without it? I feel it's not relevant but I've been told I need one

Would this be for Text Repsonse or Language Analysis? Either way, my answer's the same - you probably don't need to include it. My best guess is that this is an L.A. thing where you have an opening paragraph about the issue and what sparked it or what people's response has been, which you definitely don't need to do in the exam. Just get to the author's contention ASAP in your intro, and then you can start earning marks for your analysis in your body paragraphs. Everything else is just peripheral window dressing

In Burial Rites, Hannah Kent has included an 'author's note' at the conclusion of the text. Is this something that I can refer to in my essays?

Also, this may be a ridiculous observation, but I think their are some elements of a Shakespearean tragedy contained within the novel. That is, Agnes is "cursed" by a mysterious "traveller" as a young maid, and she attempts to "escape" her "destiny" but ultimately succumbs to her inevitable "fate".

Would it be okay to comment on this as a structural element in my essays? If so, how would I refer to it?

You can refer to the author's note if you want to, but to me it seems like the kind of thing that's not going to be wholly useful for many prompts, so I'd prioritise the contents of the actual novel above that.

Re: Shakespearean allusions... I'm not sure how strong the connection is there. Fate and destiny are age-old themes that many texts use as plot devices or key themes, so whilst you could definitely refer to those features in B.R. I don't think it's worth comparing them to Shakespeare or any other text unless you feel like it's directly contributing to your analysis.

Should I revise a little for a second text response text just in case the prompts for my preferred texts aren't what i expected?

Personally, I wouldn't bother because I'm of the opinion that you'd be better off spending that time revising your chosen text and trying to cover all bases than trying to re-learn an entirely different plot/bunch of quotes 'just in case' :/

Think of it this way: if you double down and devote all your T.R. time to your preferred text, it means that virtually everything you do is going to directly help you in the exam. Whereas, if you split your efforts between two texts, you're doing twice the amount of work for only half the reward. What's more - there are very few things VCAA could give you that you wouldn't be able to handle if you prepare adequately, and I say this as someone who got a killer prompt for my text back in 2013. No joke, I looked at it and went '...well there's an entire theme I never knew existed until just now. K, let's do this' and just used what I knew and applied it to the bizarrely left-of-field prompt I was dealt. (There was another option, but that was boring ) So I tend to recommend just focusing on one text to make things easier for you, but if you really want a back up plan and you feel like it wouldn't be too taxing to devote some time to it, I guess it wouldn't hurt to give your secondary text a quick read through or write an essay or two.


& on a related note... just to pick up on the delightful food metaphors going on above...

Two prompts.

One is on zucchini, that thing you looked at once all year.
The other is on celery; how is celery in the text?!

Totally agree with HLS and TheLlama here; the worst thing you can do in cases like this is to say that
   a) Yes, zucchini is a thing in the text, as are tomatoes... here's an essay about tomatoes.
   b) Yes, celery is in the text, just like oranges... here's an essay on oranges.

You can work in related themes and ideas if they are relevant, but you have to make them relevant! To use TheLlama's example:

you're looking to do more than spot the vegetables in a question. If they suggestion is, "in what ways is this text about zucchini?", and you can reveal the dichotomy or link between zucchinis and oranges

Connections between themes and ideas are an awesome way to feel more prepared, and VCAA will often try to throw you off balance by giving you a prompt like 'The text is about courgettes. Discuss' so that half the state goes 'oh shit, wtf is a courgette??' ...but if you're smart and brought a dictionary in, then you'll be able to work out...

...oh look, it's the same major theme and they're just using a close synonym!

But to return to the previous analogy, you NEVER want a contention like 'yep, courgettes are a thing, BUT SO ARE ORANGES' because that's going to be seen as a massive topic dodge. Even having a whole body paragraph exclusively devoted to oranges would be too much, in my opinion. What you can do, however, is have a paragraph about the way courgettes and oranges go great together in a salad... or something... k, imma move away from the food metaphors and go for an actual prompt so this doesn't get too weird...

e.g. In All About Eve, the characters struggle to overcome their own egos. Discuss.

If you look at that and think, yeah, they do struggle to overcome their own egos, but they also struggle to overcome social expectations... be very careful! You can't just talk about social expectations INSTEAD of their egos... but you can talk about how social expectations shape their egos and sense of self, for instance, of how their egos create social expectations for themselves and one another that can be hard to overcome.

In short: add stuff to the prompt, if you can and if you need to, but never replace stuff in the prompt with something you prepared earlier, as you'll likely be heavily penalised for trying.

Guys i begin my expository piece with a quote that i touch on the intro and then in my body paragraph i expand on it, my teacher has never made a comment on it but now she is saying im not allowed to begin a paragraph with a quote, is this true?

Somewhat frustratingly, you can do whatever you want in an expository essay. You can begin a paragraph with a quote if you use it and explain it well, but perhaps your teacher is telling you not to do that because at the moment, the quote doesn't feel like it's being integrated? You never want to make it seem like the quote is doing the work for you - if you're able to explain its significance to your discussion/contention/prompt though, that's a perfectly fine way to begin.

Defs don't do it in T.R. or L.A. though!

[Manige123]

How does the structure of an article persuade readers?
I have a generally good understanding of doing language analysis', except my teacher said I need to focus on the structure used by the writer in attempt to persuade. I didn't get a chance to ask my teacher, so hopefully someone on here can help : )

[YellowTongue]

For text response, my teacher has told me that I must not refer to any specific characters in topic sentences; only discussing what the author says through the text. How can I use this approach to respond to character specific prompts?

For instance (for Burial Rites):

"What role does absence play in Agnes' life?" Discuss

[Daniellac]

Hey,

I was just wondering if there is another word for 'readership' for language analysis, I saw 'circulation" for like newspapers and magazines and stuff could I use that instead so I don't sound so mundane?

Thank you! 

[FatimaEl]

Hey,

I was just wondering if there is another word for 'readership' for language analysis, I saw 'circulation" for like newspapers and magazines and stuff could I use that instead so I don't sound so mundane?

Thank you! 

I could be wrong, and do correct me if i am, but i would say that circulation more so refers to how widely distributed a newspaper or magazine is, and is not a very close synonym to readership, could you give me the sentence you are writing so i can give you a more appropriate word? 
I would say the word 'demographic' is a more suited replacement hope that helped x

[FatimaEl]

This may be a very obvious question, but i was just wondering are we allowed to use brackets in essays? Ive always avoided using them for some reason, and i do not mean these [ ] types of brackets that can be used when modifying a quote to grammatically suit your sentence, but rather these ( ) type of brackets to include additional information rather than using commas, same goes with - this -, are we allowed to use dashes for extra information? or must we always use commas?

[tim.wells]

This may be a very obvious question, but i was just wondering are we allowed to use brackets in essays? Ive always avoided using them for some reason, and i do not mean these [ ] types of brackets that can be used when modifying a quote to grammatically suit your sentence, but rather these ( ) type of brackets to include additional information rather than using commas, same goes with - this -, are we allowed to use dashes for extra information? or must we always use commas?

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules regarding this, personally I have used both and there have never been any issues. I think it can be a useful way to add ancillary information without detracting from the focus of your discussion. I have found them particularly useful during language analysis.

[FatimaEl]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules regarding this, personally I have used both and there have never been any issues. I think it can be a useful way to add ancillary information without detracting from the focus of your discussion. I have found them particularly useful during language analysis.

thank you Tim! and yes i was mainly wondering this cause i found it would be rather useful to use during my language analysis essays

[Rob16]

Can anyone help me think of some synonyms for moral compass? my teacher said its too overused by other people and am having trouble thinking of what to replace it with

[FatimaEl]

Can anyone help me think of some synonyms for moral compass? my teacher said its too overused by other people and am having trouble thinking of what to replace it with

damn :/ didnt know that was overused, i like to use it myself i guess i should be more cautious from now on, you could use 'code of ethics' or 'moral standing',

[literally lauren]

How does the structure of an article persuade readers?
I have a generally good understanding of doing language analysis', except my teacher said I need to focus on the structure used by the writer in attempt to persuade. I didn't get a chance to ask my teacher, so hopefully someone on here can help : )

Hey there!

It's a bit tough to say, since the structure can change from piece to piece, but in general, you can almost always analyse the order of information in the material. For instance, if an author spends, like, five paragraphs talking about how the new pizza shapes are literally the worst thing to ever happen ever, and then says "so what can we do about this gross injustice?" before going on to talk about people should all write letters complaining to Arnotts, then you can analyse his presentation of a problem + solution. This kind of ties in with things like tonal shifts too.

If you get some kind of unconventional style like an interview or a transcript of a podcast or something weird like that (which I think might be likely this year) - you may have to discuss how different speakers interrupt one another, or how one author subtly attempts to dichotomise readers through their structure. But I can't imagine any scenario where that would be a requirement. More likely, it'll be an opportunity for you to analyse, but you could just as easily ignore that, focus on others, and still get a great mark

For text response, my teacher has told me that I must not refer to any specific characters in topic sentences; only discussing what the author says through the text. How can I use this approach to respond to character specific prompts?

For instance (for Burial Rites):

"What role does absence play in Agnes' life?" Discuss

Note: you can have characters' names in topic sentences if you wish, though tbh I'm with your teacher on this one; your points will be stronger and more holistic if you focus on key ideas to start off with instead.

e.g. 'Throughout the novel, Kent draws attention to the ways in which the absence of trust and closeness can negatively impact one's state of mind. For instance, when Agnes...' <-- and from there, you can zoom in to a specific character or chunk of evidence

Hey,

I was just wondering if there is another word for 'readership' for language analysis, I saw 'circulation" for like newspapers and magazines and stuff could I use that instead so I don't sound so mundane?

Thank you! 

I could be wrong, and do correct me if i am, but i would say that circulation more so refers to how widely distributed a newspaper or magazine is, and is not a very close synonym to readership, could you give me the sentence you are writing so i can give you a more appropriate word? 
I would say the word 'demographic' is a more suited replacement hope that helped x

Yeah, 'circulation' is a little weird; 'demographic' is good; 'readers,' 'readership,' 'the audience,' 'the target audience,' and 'his/her audience of ____' (e.g. 'his audience of parents,' 'her audience of scientistis' etc.) can all be used interchangeably, and the material may offer you a more specific alternative. For instance, if the exam piece is a special interest magazine aimed at people looking at getting into the property market, you could talk about how an an author is attempting to persuade 'potential first home buyers' instead of just using the generic term 'readers' all the time.

This may be a very obvious question, but i was just wondering are we allowed to use brackets in essays? Ive always avoided using them for some reason, and i do not mean these [ ] types of brackets that can be used when modifying a quote to grammatically suit your sentence, but rather these ( ) type of brackets to include additional information rather than using commas, same goes with - this -, are we allowed to use dashes for extra information? or must we always use commas?

For reasons that I won't go into (because I think they're dumb) the use of brackets is considered somewhat informal in T.R. and L.A. essays. Anything goes in Context, though

If you want to include parenthetical information - like this - then the use of hyphens is preferred. But you'd have to get a reeeeeally fussy assessor to ever get pulled up for this. It'd only be a problem if there were other odd word choices or colloquial phrases scattered throughout your piece, in which case you might lose a mark or two for the quality of your expression. But if you're including necessary/useful information, I doubt any assessor would mind

Can anyone help me think of some synonyms for moral compass? my teacher said its too overused by other people and am having trouble thinking of what to replace it with

'sense of morality' 'judgement' 'integrity' or 'probity' might work, depending on the context. But it might also help to be more specific (i.e. are you referring to what's right and wrong, or what's ethically justifiable, or what a person is prioritising, etc.)

[FallingStar]

Hi everyone:

I know this is late for asking this question but for timed writing, do we time up (stopwatch) or time down (countdown timer)?

[literally lauren]

Hi everyone:

I know this is late for asking this question but for timed writing, do we time up (stopwatch) or time down (countdown timer)?

I have it on good authority that 1 hour = 1 hour no matter whether you count up or down

Personally, I'd go for counting up because a countdown clock would probably freak me out and is a little too reminiscent of some kind of impending nuclear meltdown for my taste (T minus 20 minutes till the end of my essay ohmygodOHMYGOD).

Timing 'upwards' also lets you be more aware of intervals (e.g. "at the 20 minute mark, I had my intro and first body paragraph done, but then paragraph two took me 25 minutes :/ --> might need to plan so I know what to cover in each section" or "it took me 15 minutes just to get through the intro, but after that I could write all the B.P.s in under 15 minutes each --> need to work on ways to break down the prompt and get started ASAP.")

[larissaaa_]

Does anyone have any tips on getting timing right?? I have always struggled with timing; give me 3 hours and I can pull out a killer essay but give me 60 minutes and it all goes downhill. Unless my school marks really easily, I'm not actually bad at english. I've gotten A+ on all SAC's this year, but under the stress and time limits of exam conditions my mind just goes blank and I can never finish a full essay. Tips please?