VCE English Question Thread

[chantelle.salisbury]

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

yup thats awesome .... on reflection it was well long so thanks heaps for that
i have issues where my writing tends to 'ramble' and i can never seem to master succinct writing.. i'll keep pursuing tho
thanks heaps again

[lilyrosee]

yup thats awesome .... on reflection it was well long so thanks heaps for that
i have issues where my writing tends to 'ramble' and i can never seem to master succinct writing.. i'll keep pursuing tho
thanks heaps again

Happy to help.

I am studying Ransom too and I find reading/marking other people's work really helps to develop my understanding of a text.

[TSEtuition]

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.

You certainly know your text! This is a common problem amongst students (I'm a full time English tutor) - you're packing too much into your intro. Many of these points should be in your body paragraphs - remember the intro gives your reader a taste of what you're going to say. I recently posted a video about how to structure an intro (video is on my FB page) but the overall gist is that you should treat it like you're asking someone out on a date - just enough info to keep your reader interested in reading more, but not so much that you'll scare them off. Hope that helps! =)

[chantelle.salisbury]

Happy to help.

I am studying Ransom too and I find reading/marking other people's work really helps to develop my understanding of a text.

yes its a great idea... i like sharing resources!

[chantelle.salisbury]

You certainly know your text! This is a common problem amongst students (I'm a full time English tutor) - you're packing too much into your intro. Many of these points should be in your body paragraphs - remember the intro gives your reader a taste of what you're going to say. I recently posted a video about how to structure an intro (video is on my FB page) but the overall gist is that you should treat it like you're asking someone out on a date - just enough info to keep your reader interested in reading more, but not so much that you'll scare them off. Hope that helps! =)

ok sweet... ill keep that in mind. my intro's have never really been 'short'. and whilst i know there is no word amount count, can i ask, how many words would a good short succinct intro be?
thanks

[brady_price]

ok sweet... ill keep that in mind. my intro's have never really been 'short'. and whilst i know there is no word amount count, can i ask, how many words would a good short succinct intro be?
thanks

Intros should be roughly 10% of your word count. You basically just want to get your contention in there very succinctly, your signposting in, and any contextual information in there as quickly as possible, so only around 4 sentences I would probably recommend, but even then these sentences shouldn't be too lengthy. That said it does depend on your topic and also the type of essay, but this is a general rule to go by

[TheCommando]

As in structure an essay?

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

nah, i read that but im not quite sure what to say or plan exactly for 'What do these texts suggest about human behaviour in a crisis?' for year of wonders and the crucible

[Syndicate]

Hey,

What does it mean by "implications of the topic" in order to achieve a 9/10 for Section A. Can someone please give me any examples.

Thanks,
Syndicate

[clarke54321]

Hey,

What does it mean by "implications of the topic" in order to achieve a 9/10 for Section A. Can someone please give me any examples.

Thanks,
Syndicate

Hey!

'Implications of the topic' basically means, what assumptions or suggestions are being made through the prompt? Markers want you to effectively tease out these ideas. Using skilful evidence, they want you to challenge these assumption and debate them, until you can come to a well justified, coherent and sustained interpretation. So put simply, it is 'read between the lines.'

Example: 'An important theme in a Christmas Carol is that actions have enduring consequences.'

A mid-range essay would probably talk about actions having consequences. But they would ignore the implication/assumption that they have enduring ones. A high-range essay would tease this idea out. Do all actions have enduring consequences? Are there specific types of actions that have enduring consequences? The term 'enduring' is pertinent to this topic and is an example of an implication.

Therefore, the easiest way of determining an implication would be to underline key words and boil the prompt down to a really basic idea. In every-day, English language, what is the prompt saying?

I hope this helps in some way

[HopefulLawStudent]

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 Misused exhibits methinks 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. Relevance to the topic? Revenge becomes the exterior of characters, What do you mean by this? 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. This stuff would be better suited in your body paragraphs than your intro. Your intro should be inherently brief.

ok sweet... ill keep that in mind. my intro's have never really been 'short'. and whilst i know there is no word amount count, can i ask, how many words would a good short succinct intro be?
thanks

3 to 4 sentences for your intro is the general rule.

nah, i read that but im not quite sure what to say or plan exactly for 'What do these texts suggest about human behaviour in a crisis?' for year of wonders and the crucible

Weeeell, what have you got so far by way of a plan/what you're thinking you might say?

Hey,

What does it mean by "implications of the topic" in order to achieve a 9/10 for Section A. Can someone please give me any examples.

Thanks,
Syndicate

To add on to clarke54321's fantastic advice:

Think of implications almost as you asking the question of: If the core of the prompt is true, then what?

You're almost like poking holes at the prompt and considering the extent to which you agree with certain sections of the prompt with relation to the text at hand and the more questions you posit, the more complex your discussion, the less superficial your argument is. Unpacking the implications of the topic is more typical of high range responses so don't stress too much if you're having difficulty with finding implications - just keep working at it.

[dx1sy]

Hi! I was wondering for the comparative topic "Compare and contrast how ‘The Crucible’ and ‘Year of Wonders’ explore how individuals cope in times of crisis." whether it would be better to structure the body paragraphs by focusing on the different crisis that are present in both texts and using those as topic sentences and then explaining how different individuals respond to them within the body paragraphs or whether it would be better to structure the body paragraphs by using the different ways that individuals cope in times of crisis that are present in both texts as topic sentences. 

[clarke54321]

Hi! I was wondering for the comparative topic "Compare and contrast how ‘The Crucible’ and ‘Year of Wonders’ explore how individuals cope in times of crisis." whether it would be better to structure the body paragraphs by focusing on the different crisis that are present in both texts and using those as topic sentences and then explaining how different individuals respond to them within the body paragraphs or whether it would be better to structure the body paragraphs by using the different ways that individuals cope in times of crisis that are present in both texts as topic sentences. 

Hey!

I'd probably be more inclined to base topics sentences around the different ways characters cope with crises. This has a more direct link to the prompt (an exploration of how individuals cope). A focus on different crises is straying too far away from this central notion. I've only studied the Crucible, but I suspect that within both texts, a character's response to a crisis is dependent on the type of crisis. Therefore your two ideas are definitely interrelated.

So to clarify, develop your topic sentences in a way where you can maintain the essence of the prompt!

Hope this helps

[HopefulLawStudent]

Hi! I was wondering for the comparative topic "Compare and contrast how ‘The Crucible’ and ‘Year of Wonders’ explore how individuals cope in times of crisis." whether it would be better to structure the body paragraphs by focusing on the different crisis that are present in both texts and using those as topic sentences and then explaining how different individuals respond to them within the body paragraphs or whether it would be better to structure the body paragraphs by using the different ways that individuals cope in times of crisis that are present in both texts as topic sentences. 

I agree with clarke12345: the similarities and differences in the ways ways characters cope with would prob make for a stronger essay than here a bunch of different crisis you work it out how this relates to the prompt.

[arlynl99]

hello 
currently studying 'Ransom' and 'Invictus'.
my q. is Compare the ways in which ‘Ransom’ and ‘Invictus’ highlight the futility of revenge.
just seeking some help how to spit the paragraphs up. i was thinking one of Invictus and another on Ransom. Just wondering what to do for the other one.
Thanks
Any help is much appreciated 

[chantelle.salisbury]

hello 
currently studying 'Ransom' and 'Invictus'.
my q. is Compare the ways in which ‘Ransom’ and ‘Invictus’ highlight the futility of revenge.
just seeking some help how to spit the paragraphs up. i was thinking one of Invictus and another on Ransom. Just wondering what to do for the other one.
Thanks
Any help is much appreciated 

i think comparison essays are best to compare continually throughout the essay, over against doing separate paragraphs on each. (depending on the teacher of course, as some prefer it that way)

well i would be inclined to suggest;
para1- the uselessness of revenge, whilst revenge is self-serving it isnt satisfying but instead creates more damage, grief, sorrow, remorse within the revengeful character
para 2- the vicious ongoing downward spiral of revenge, it doesnt enhance lives, but rather one individual's actions can cause grief to entire groups/society's. it is fruitless and pointless. revenge only breaks down relationships rather than enhancing them.
para 3- reconciliation and humanity is a much greater, more honourable, respectful answer or response to grief and sorrow
whilst readers may feel Priam and Mandela could be somewhat justified in seeking revenge they show a more honourable approach. and despite reproach (from hecuba/the princes and Mandela's family and security team) the leaders do what is best for their nation/tribe/groups rather than satisfy personal feelings, which ultimately brings them peace, happiness, respect, legacy

just suggestions.. so dont feel like you have to go with that.!