VCE English Question Thread

[HopefulLawStudent]

hey guys just some qs with medea:
1. at teh end of the book she rides on some dragon chariot. In some resources, it says that the sun god or something gave her the chariots (can't remember) but in the text, is this true? Cant find any references in my text
2. is the chorus actual characters or is it just like a narrator's voice?

There are a bunch of different translations of the text; in some it says dragon chariot in says there's no mention of one. If there isn't a mention of one in your translation, don't refer to one... ever.

Chorus from memory are the Corinthian women so I guess to this end they're actual characters; however they do form a narrator's voice of sorts. If anything, they act more like a removed third party or moral compass.

Hope that helped!

[hola]

hey guys just some qs with medea:
1. at teh end of the book she rides on some dragon chariot. In some resources, it says that the sun god or something gave her the chariots (can't remember) but in the text, is this true? Cant find any references in my text
2. is the chorus actual characters or is it just like a narrator's voice?

1) In John Davie's translation, Medea says that the chariot was given to her by "her father's father" in line 1321. This is referring to Helios (Ancient Greek sun god), her grandfather.
2) The chorus is made out of Corinthian women and were sort of narrators? If I recall correctly, they were used (back then) to commentate on what was happening on stage, adding a complexity to whatever was being performed.

[Mooshkat]

Hi,
I'm feeling really lost in terms of how to prepare for English next year.
My novels are medea, Nineteen Eighty Four, Stasiland and I for Isobel.
I've read my novels and feel somewhat familiar with them, but I don't know where to go from here, and not doing anything is making me nervous 
Does anyone have any tips as to what to do between now and the start of the year?

[clarke54321]

Hi,
I'm feeling really lost in terms of how to prepare for English next year.
My novels are medea, Nineteen Eighty Four, Stasiland and I for Isobel.
I've read my novels and feel somewhat familiar with them, but I don't know where to go from here, and not doing anything is making me nervous 
Does anyone have any tips as to what to do between now and the start of the year?

Hi Mooshkat,

That's great that you've already read all of your texts.

I'm also studying 'Medea' for English. Since the 'Medea' SAC will be held in the first term, I am spending more time with this particular text. What I've done, which I've found useful, is annotate the individual lines of 'Medea.' While this can become quite tedious, it helps to generate your ideas on the text and assists in building up an interpretation.

As well as this, I've been reading some practice essays of 'Medea' on AN, which has been a great help. If you're feeling really keen, you may want to look at an essay prompt and plan a response (finding relevant quotes, building up arguments, etc.).

Also remember to enjoy your holidays, as I'm sure year 12 will be a very busy year!
All the best!! 

[www]

Hi,
I'm feeling really lost in terms of how to prepare for English next year.
My novels are medea, Nineteen Eighty Four, Stasiland and I for Isobel.
I've read my novels and feel somewhat familiar with them, but I don't know where to go from here, and not doing anything is making me nervous 
Does anyone have any tips as to what to do between now and the start of the year?

Something you could do is begin creating a document with various themes/motifs you've picked up when reading as headings, and then going through the text(s) and typing in the quote, who said it, what page, and any other contextual information required if it doesn't make much sense on its own. Multiple quotes can fit multiple themes too. This can assist when preparing for SACs, the actual SACs, and the exam because you can later pick out the relevant headings to utilise according to the prompt you're dealing with (to memorise, I recommend the method of Loci). It isn't limited to quotes either, a sentence or two summing up an event or sentences you craft that you think you could use are just as good. Also a section for key words to assist in your expression right at the top won't hurt.

Overwhelming, but don't overkill it this break. It's a feat in itself to have read all your set texts already. Work progressively and refine as you go. Collaborate with friends if that's possible so you can cover more ground. Most importantly, be sure to enjoy the time you have off! Stay focused, know when to relax, and good luck!

[uuuu]

Hey all.

Regarding the creative SAC, are you supposed to replicate the text's ideas (to show your understanding) or extend on them (i.e add your own ideas)?

[HopefulLawStudent]

Hey all.

Regarding the creative SAC, are you supposed to replicate the text's ideas (to show your understanding) or extend on them (i.e add your own ideas)?

Hey! Welcome to AN!

I'm leaning towards extending it in some way though if your teacher happens to say someth to the contrary then ignore me. The task feels a lot like the creative task in Lit and for that one the point of it was imo to rework or extend the text and its core ideas which is what I think they're looking for in the Eng creative. And for that creative task you were heavily penalised if you just replicated the text and its main ideas and didnt extend beyond the text.

Like if I was doing Id sort of approach the task like I was borrowing key ideas/symbols and giving them new meaning or putting it in a new context.

Hope that helped?

[uuuu]

Hey! Welcome to AN!

I'm leaning towards extending it in some way though if your teacher happens to say someth to the contrary then ignore me. The task feels a lot like the creative task in Lit and for that one the point of it was imo to rework or extend the text and its core ideas which is what I think they're looking for in the Eng creative. And for that creative task you were heavily penalised if you just replicated the text and its main ideas and didnt extend beyond the text.

Like if I was doing Id sort of approach the task like I was borrowing key ideas/symbols and giving them new meaning or putting it in a new context.

Hope that helped?

Hello! Thanks for the reply. The text I'm studying is The Lieutenant by Kate Greenville, where one of its messages is essentially "unquestioning acceptance of authority has its consequences". My idea for the creative is to somewhat extend on this and discuss the consequences of complete acceptance of authority (as she explores the idea through a bystander of sorts, rather than someone who is totally a part of it). Is this okay, or is it deviating from the task too much?

Also a few more questions (if not too much of a hassle):
- Do you have to explore all ideas of the text? Or do you choose one in particular and go in depth?
- I've read that you should consider audience and purpose. Could this be something like "modern audiences" and "social commentary"?
- I have a second plan which explores another of the text's ideas; which is "self discovery is only successful with risks". If my plan above doesn't work, could I write a creative piece saying "self discovery requires risks", but in a different way to the author?

Thanks for all help 

[HopefulLawStudent]

Hello! Thanks for the reply. The text I'm studying is The Lieutenant by Kate Greenville, where one of its messages is essentially "unquestioning acceptance of authority has its consequences". My idea for the creative is to somewhat extend on this and discuss the consequences of complete acceptance of authority (as she explores the idea through a bystander of sorts, rather than someone who is totally a part of it). Is this okay, or is it deviating from the task too much? Looks okay to me.

Also a few more questions (if not too much of a hassle):absoluely no hassle
- Do you have to explore all ideas of the text? Or do you choose one in particular and go in depth? if you try to cover all ideas you'll end up in a knot. Choose one or two to explore and go into depth.
- I've read that you should consider audience and purpose. Could this be something like "modern audiences" and "social commentary"? think so yeah. Ultimately if your teacher says no tho then its a no cos theyrw the one marking your sac but it looks fine to me.
- I have a second plan which explores another of the text's ideas; which is "self discovery is only successful with risks". If my plan above doesn't work, could I write a creative piece saying "self discovery requires risks", but in a different way to the author? depends by what you mean by different way tbh

Thanks for all help 

Hoped that helped. Feel free to ask if yoi have any other questions.

[uuuu]

Hoped that helped. Feel free to ask if yoi have any other questions.

Thanks for the help! One more question though; do I have to justify why I chose to extend on one of the author's ideas? Can I just say "cos she didn't do it" if so?

[HopefulLawStudent]

Thanks for the help! One more question though; do I have to justify why I chose to extend on one of the author's ideas? Can I just say "cos she didn't do it" if so?

There's some written explanation thing that goes along with the creative I think and with that I think you'd have to justify why; I feel like "cos she didn't do it" might be  considered a bit insufficient at VCE English level (unfortunately).

[Gogo14]

I've been trying to improve my english by posting in the language analysis thread, but the thread is kinda dead
I was wondering if  someone would be kind enough to correct my essays or just give feedback on how to improve
Thanks!!

[FallingStar]

I've been trying to improve my english by posting in the language analysis thread, but the thread is kinda dead
I was wondering if  someone would be kind enough to correct my essays or just give feedback on how to improve
Thanks!!

Hi Gogo14,

The English Language Analysis thread was more or less targeted at the now graduated class of 2016, and some of them have not been acitve since they've finished their exams. I believe that they may be running another Language Analysis club for the class of 2017, more so tailored to new study design currently being introduced.  (Although not sure about it to be honest).

That being said, if you want us to correct your essays, please post them in the English Work Submission and Marking board, in which people can mark you essay there. It is visible to everyone though,

I'm sure HopefulLawStudent won't mind (provided that you ask nicely) marking your essays and I'm pretty happy to do it too. So good luck with you endeavours though.

[Gogo14]

Hi Gogo14,

The English Language Analysis thread was more or less targeted at the now graduated class of 2016, and some of them have not been acitve since they've finished their exams. I believe that they may be running another Language Analysis club for the class of 2017, more so tailored to new study design currently being introduced.  (Although not sure about it to be honest).

That being said, if you want us to correct your essays, please post them in the English Work Submission and Marking board, in which people can mark you essay there. It is visible to everyone though,

I'm sure HopefulLawStudent won't mind (provided that you ask nicely) marking your essays and I'm pretty happy to do it too. So good luck with you endeavours though.

oh ok Thanks so much!I'll check it out

[BlinkieBill]

Hey y'all

Could someone please give me some examples of trigger sentences for Language Analysis introductions THANKS