VCE English Question Thread

[MightyBeh]

Hey All,
So recently I've had a talk with my English and Literature teachers about the quality of my essays.
Their main criticism, along with other teachers who have cross marked my sacs, is that I tend to ramble on in my sentences. ie; it takes a while for me to actually reach my point. I find this occurs in my everyday speech as well; I'm not really an effective communicator unless given time and a pen. When I write my essays, (often in timed conditions), I write whatever is in my mind, so it's not completely coherent and concise as it could be.
My knowledge of the content is good, but my teachers commented that this rambling is what is dividing me from that A+.
How can I improve on my coherence and conciseness in my essays ? My English teacher told me to read high scoring responses but since this is a new study design, there isn't many available apart from those in the text guides.
Thanks !

This is a really good question and I think a problem for a lot of students. I was a serial rambler but managed to get over it (mostly ). There's nothing wrong with writing whatever is in your mind, but it needs filtering to lock your writing together perfectly. By taking ten (or 20) minutes to write out an essay plan in dot points, you could get everything out and only pick the cream of the crop for your essay. You do have to get pretty specific though - I tended to list my ideas, evidence, and the logical conclusions so that writing the essay was less about the thinking and more about just making it cover everything with minimal fluff. Obviously that's not going to magically make you a more concise writer but it's definitely a start.

Try practicing without a time limit - take a few hours if you can spare it and just write slowly. You said you have some trouble in timed conditions so it coulod be helpful for you to start by writing a few 'perfect' essays with no pressure and then incrimentally adding more time restrictions. Just dipping your toe in, so to speak.

Maybe starting your sentences with evidence or a strong point could help too. I'm personally of the opinion that essays don't need a lot of fluff to be good. I don't know many people that actually enjoy reading handwritten english essays so being blunt and less artsy is a positive attribute in my mind; 'masterful inclusion of unique and abstract alliteration' is probably over doing it, for example . Not to say that you can't have fun and show off a bit, but being frugal with your flair can really spice things up a bit.

Heidi wrote a bit about being concise here, she has some other tips that you might find to be worth a read.

Edit because I forgot to mention it: For conciseness, the actual content of the old essays don't matter. I don't know if any of the texts you're studying right now have relevant stuff to look at, but what you're looking for is sentence structure. It's worth printing some (or just reading them on the computer or whatever) and highlighting sentences that sound really, really cool to you. Maybe it's a bit nerdy to think there are cool sounding sentences in essays, but there's some really great ones that come up in examiner's reports and such that I'm pretty sure it's impossible to find any faults with at all. Definitely worth a look at old essays even if you don't know anything about what they'e actually about.

[TheCommando]

Whats a thematic prompt

[Ashjames]

Hey everyone!!

I was just wondering, for English I am rank 2 [there was only 2 points between me and rank 1] and for Unit 3 I got an A [80], what scores would I be looking at for exams?  {unit 4 so far, I got a 35/40]. Can I still get at least a 35, my cohort is moderate strength, like 8 people get good marks for English, the rest absolutely loathe English [I am being sooo serious]

[sonnyangel]

Whats a thematic prompt

A thematic prompt is one based on themes/key concepts in your text.
E.g (for the text Medea)
-Medea is a play about the extremes of emotion. Discuss.
-Medea is more about justice than revenge. Discuss.
-Medea is an examination of the difference between reason and passion. Discuss.

[clarke54321]

Hey everyone!!

I was just wondering, for English I am rank 2 [there was only 2 points between me and rank 1] and for Unit 3 I got an A [80], what scores would I be looking at for exams?  {unit 4 so far, I got a 35/40]. Can I still get at least a 35, my cohort is moderate strength, like 8 people get good marks for English, the rest absolutely loathe English [I am being sooo serious]

Hey!

Unfortunately it is quite difficult to put a number on your potential study score. While a good rank is important, it is more important to refine your skills and ace the final exam. At the end of the day, it is the exam that will standardise your SAC scores and determine your ultimate study score.

Good luck

[Spinxho]

Hi everyone,
I am currently in year 9 and in English, I have been racking up A's across the entire year. I olan to take up Literature in year 10 as one my electives.
Is there a grade average I have to achieve in English/Literature in year 10 to take up 3/4 English/Literature in year 11? If so, what is it.
Many thanks

[Coffee]

Hi everyone,
I am currently in year 9 and in English, I have been racking up A's across the entire year. I olan to take up Literature in year 10 as one my electives.
Is there a grade average I have to achieve in English/Literature in year 10 to take up 3/4 English/Literature in year 11? If so, what is it.
Many thanks

There's no official rule or grade you need to achieve, but your school might have certain restrictions. It's best to speak with a careers counsellor from your school.

Just a word of warning, but you might want to leave English and Literature to Year 12, rather than completing them early, as students tend to perform better with an extra year's practise under their belt, as well as that, your writing tends to just 'mature' in general. It is, of course, up to you. I'd highly recommend completing both English and Literature in Year 12 though if you enjoy them, I did, and Literature was one of my favourite subjects!

[Spinxho]

There's no official rule or grade you need to achieve, but your school might have certain restrictions. It's best to speak with a careers counsellor from your school.

Just a word of warning, but you might want to leave English and Literature to Year 12, rather than completing them early, as students tend to perform better with an extra year's practise under their belt, as well as that, your writing tends to just 'mature' in general. It is, of course, up to you. I'd highly recommend completing both English and Literature in Year 12 though if you enjoy them, I did, and Literature was one of my favourite subjects!

Haha I see. Thank you very much! I have only thought about taking English/Literature in 3/4 early as I am unsure about the other subjects that I am choosing/have chose and their availability to me as a 3/4 subject in Year 11.

[Coffee]

Haha I see. Thank you very much! I have only thought about taking English/Literature in 3/4 early as I am unsure about the other subjects that I am choosing/have chose and their availability to me as a 3/4 subject in Year 11.

No worries, let us know how you get on.

If you're feeling stuck, or unsure about your subject selection, don't be afraid to post in the Victorian Education Discussion forums. There are plenty of people willing to help you out.

[Spinxho]

No worries, let us know how you get on.

If you're feeling stuck, or unsure about your subject selection, don't be afraid to post in the Victorian Education Discussion forums. There are plenty of people willing to help you out.

Of course . Thank you very much for your advice!

[HopefulLawStudent]

To add on to the gr8 answers everyone else has already given:

Hey All,
So recently I've had a talk with my English and Literature teachers about the quality of my essays.
Their main criticism, along with other teachers who have cross marked my sacs, is that I tend to ramble on in my sentences. ie; it takes a while for me to actually reach my point. I find this occurs in my everyday speech as well; I'm not really an effective communicator unless given time and a pen. When I write my essays, (often in timed conditions), I write whatever is in my mind, so it's not completely coherent and concise as it could be.
My knowledge of the content is good, but my teachers commented that this rambling is what is dividing me from that A+.
How can I improve on my coherence and conciseness in my essays ? My English teacher told me to read high scoring responses but since this is a new study design, there isn't many available apart from those in the text guides.
Thanks !

Ways to Avoid Rambling in Writing


1.   Read your own writing.

2.   Avoid super long sentences. If your sentence is more than 2 lines when hand-written out, then consider shortening it.

3.   Ask yourself what the main point of each sentence is. Each sentence should only have one main point. Therefore, if you find that a sentence has more than one main point, divide the sentence accordingly.

4.   If you have heaps of conjunctions in one sentence (and, but, or, nor, because, although, when, for, so), start breaking up that sentence.

Just to clarify, can I include evidence from the post-script of a novel in my essay? Also, if there are photos in the middle, can they be used for analysis?

Thanks in advance 

If it's in your text, you could prob get away with it, but don't do it too much.

For LA, I'm just wondering should there be more of an emphasis on the effect/intended effect on the reader or on the reason why the readers feel a certain way to evidence/words used?

Does it really matter or should I not be viewing these two things as seperate 'steps'? Should these be naturally combined together?

Truth be told, I always conflated them together in my head cos I found that they naturally combined together really well in my head so I never saw them as two separate steps. So long as you're discussing both though, you should be allg.

[TheCommando]

Hey,could someone explain how u would structure a prompt for year of wonders and the crucible
Then prompt can be for eg What do these texts suggest about human behaviour in a crisis?

[HopefulLawStudent]

As in structure an essay?

If so, please check this out: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=172569.0

[chantelle.salisbury]

Hello,
i was just wondering whether i could get some feedback on my introduction on a q on 'Ransom'?
anything would be greatly appreciated

topic-   ‘Ransom’ suggests that revenge is not the answer to grief. Discuss.
Whilst the narrative ‘Ransom’ is based on epic ancient historic stories from ‘The Iliad’, David Malouf discusses the impacts of human reactions and ways which individuals cope with emotions no matter of the time, era or world which we are part of. Malouf exhibits that revenge is a vicious never-ending cycle of destruction, both within persons and within entire groups, and the principle of vengeance is just as relevant today as it was in the 1200 BC. Revenge becomes the exterior of characters, tying them with rage and anger, making them unable to deal with the natural response of intensely personal sorrow and remorse generated by the loss of a loved one.  Part 1 of ‘Ransom’ seeks to establish a platform for the audience to discern a world which is stricken with intense grief, focusing on Achilles’ and his self-serving way to escape and externalise his anger. It is through Achilles that Malouf illustrates the ultimate burden of revenge and the damaging, antagonistic effects it has on one’s own character and those in the vicinity. In contrast, whilst Priam would be somewhat justified to seek revenge on Achilles -for the slaying and treatment of his son Hector- his approach is much more honourable. For Priam revenge is useless; it is unable to overcome the grief or restore the sense of loss, and therefore to bring about the peace for the Trojans’, he and his role ultimately changes. Similarly, the carter Somax finds no benefit in vindictiveness for the death of his children, but learns to cope with grief in an entirely different way; to share it.

[lilyrosee]

Hello,
i was just wondering whether i could get some feedback on my introduction on a q on 'Ransom'?
anything would be greatly appreciated

topic-   ‘Ransom’ suggests that revenge is not the answer to grief. Discuss.
Whilst the narrative ‘Ransom’ is based on epic ancient historic stories from ‘The Iliad’, David Malouf discusses the impacts of human reactions and ways which individuals cope with emotions no matter of the time, era or world which we are part of. Malouf exhibits that revenge is a vicious never-ending cycle of destruction, both within persons and within entire groups, and the principle of vengeance is just as relevant today as it was in the 1200 BC. Revenge becomes the exterior of characters, tying them with rage and anger, making them unable to deal with the natural response of intensely personal sorrow and remorse generated by the loss of a loved one.  Part 1 of ‘Ransom’ seeks to establish a platform for the audience to discern a world which is stricken with intense grief, focusing on Achilles’ and his self-serving way to escape and externalise his anger. It is through Achilles that Malouf illustrates the ultimate burden of revenge and the damaging, antagonistic effects it has on one’s own character and those in the vicinity. In contrast, whilst Priam would be somewhat justified to seek revenge on Achilles -for the slaying and treatment of his son Hector- his approach is much more honourable. For Priam revenge is useless; it is unable to overcome the grief or restore the sense of loss, and therefore to bring about the peace for the Trojans’, he and his role ultimately changes. Similarly, the carter Somax finds no benefit in vindictiveness for the death of his children, but learns to cope with grief in an entirely different way; to share it.

I don't have time to closely go through it but overall the length could be shorter. Try being more clear and concise because introductions are not where the bulk of your marks come from. Also, it is worth noting that for the exam you will have to include both Ransom and Invictus in your introduction so try and keep it short and sweet. Some teachers want you to go a little into the background of the text but others do not mind and just want you to focus on answering the prompt, so you could possibly not go into the wider context e.g. how Malouf based the text on the Illiad - but it does vary from teacher to teacher.

Hope this helps