VCE English Question Thread

[a212345]

It depends on what you are arguing. Are you arguing that selling pets in shops should be banned nationally or that everyone should adopt? You can incorporate both into your speech but it is a good idea to have one solid contention to work with.  You do have to look at both sides but you still argue for what your contention is and then rebut an opposing argument.

For example:
Contention: Pet shops should be banned from selling animals.
Introduction
Arguments: Cruelty issues, promotes puppy farming ect..
Rebuttal: You could incorporate the "adopt don't shop" notion here as a solution to an opposing argument that without pet stores people can't choose what pet they want and may then go down the illegal unregistered route, by explaining how adoption centers have a wide range of animals that need to be looked after.
Conclusion

Hope this clears a few things up for you. The key is to work out your contention then use all your other ideas to support that contention.

Thankyou so much for your help !!
 

[OZLexico]

Hi pha0015, I agree with Lilac - you need more than one argument and you definitely should mention the context of the issue.  As Lilac says, you need it in your introduction but you also need it in your Statement of Intention. You possibly need to do a little more research and look for current media discussion of the issue, see whether there are any recent conferences on women's health or any recent parliamentary focus on abortion. 

[ddin]

Hi. I don't know if this is the right place to ask but I have a question about predictions for this years exams:
Since this is just the second year with the comparisons of two texts section, do people think that the prompts will be quite simple like last years? Or are they likely to be significantly more difficult?
Thanks.

[S200]

Well we had a TSSM presentation at our school a couple of weeks ago and they didn't say anything about increased difficulty or anything...

Obviously they aren't VCAA, but they are kinda authorities on the VCE scene...

[Umattty]

Does anyone have any tips on oral presentations?
i am an introvert who hates speaking in front of an audience !
i know this may sound stupid, but would it be easier for me to make eye contact if i didnt wear glasses, so that everyone looks blurry to me. haha 

[PhoenixxFire]

Does anyone have any tips on oral presentations?
i am an introvert who hates speaking in front of an audience !
i know this may sound stupid, but would it be easier for me to make eye contact if i didnt wear glasses, so that everyone looks blurry to me. haha 

I didn’t make eye contact with anyone during my oral speech. It’s only the teachers who are marking you and they can’t tell anyway - so long as you look at peoples faces you don’t need to actually make eye contact.

If you think it’ll be easier if you don’t wear glasses then go for it, make sure you practice your speech without them on though and make sure you can read your cue cards without them and still see well enough to look at people. Preferably do it with them on though, if you can.

General tips:
Practice your speech, not just saying it but practice looking up and around as if you’re looking at people, making hand gestures where appropriate, changing the volume/tone of your voice etc. The more you practice it, the less likely you are to screw up in the moment.

[smamsmo22]

Hi, I feel like I'm asking more for consolation than advice, but nonetheless;
How have past year 12s found their ranking from SACs vs their study score (slash post exam rank I guess) compared/ how much opportunity is there for improvement? After being a top ranked English student for most of my schooling, I've ended up this year with a .. mediocre.. teacher (not blaming them completely, but I think it's made it difficult) and quite a few marks that I'm not happy with at all. Not bad marks, and I'd assume my rank isn't terrible, but just nowhere near what I thought I was capable of at the start of the year. Anyone got any advice/ happy stories about turning their English ranking around for the exam and getting a good study score?? I've tried to put as much effort as possible into English this year but I'm feeling quite discouraged atm and I really want to make the most out of the exam.
Thanks!

[pha0015]

Has anyone watched the movie Into the Wild?

There's often text on the screen and I'm not sure if there's a literary term for it or not.

Also, what are some key cinematography techniques in the film and what do they represent? I often have a hard time recognising camera shots, angles even though they seem to be the most obvious ones. I know nothing about mise en scene except for when McCandless is dying. Then there's the music and background noise which I should be ok with. Even when I recognise techniques, I can't quite explain what they're supposed to convey and had to leech off the google for ideas i.e. aerial shot of natural landscape in which McCandless is but a speck illustrates how big of an adversary mother nature is (if I'm trying hard) or a close up shot of someone's face to emphasise emotion (this isn't enough, is it?).

On a similar note, how would one analyse the structure of Medea, since it's a play? I'm referring to things like pacing, positioning of characters, staging (deux ex machina)...

Thanks in advance

[Maya24]

Are you allowed to refer to the background knowledge of a book when writing a text response? For example using the story about the beginning of the war in Ransom.

[Poet]

Are you allowed to refer to the background knowledge of a book when writing a text response? For example using the story about the beginning of the war in Ransom.

of course, you just have to ensure that it is relevant - don’t just spout the info because you know it - as well as being succinct. Don’t tell the history, because your arguments are meant to be based on the actual text, but you can use outside information as a stepping stone.

[S200]

Are you allowed to refer to the background knowledge of a book when writing a text response? For example using the story about the beginning of the war in Ransom.

Yeah, sure!
Giving historical context to the text is actually encouraged!
For instance, in my intro for the Ransom/Invictus matchup I am saying about how Malouf explores the themes central to his source, The Iliad (i.e Achilles wrath and honour). Although you technically shouldn't reference characters within the introduction, my teacher commended me on it because it is furthering the understanding of the historical context of the text...

[Google123]

Hi all,
I'm sorry if this has already been asked, but how should you structure your Argument Analysis essay with comparing a lot?
I've been writing essays and my teacher tells me I've got too much comparison which isn't really necessary for Section C.

How much should you compare within paragraphs? Could someone please suggest a good structure?

Thank you!

[sdfg]

Hi all,
I'm sorry if this has already been asked, but how should you structure your Argument Analysis essay with comparing a lot?
I've been writing essays and my teacher tells me I've got too much comparison which isn't really necessary for Section C.

How much should you compare within paragraphs? Could someone please suggest a good structure?

Thank you!

Comparing is only required for the argument analysis SAC; for the exam, you can choose whether or not to compare but it's generally advised to analyse the material independently (i.e. no comparison) because it's just easier that way. Personally, only time when I would compare for the exam would be if there's a really significant or interesting point of comparison.

If you want a comparative structure, though, here's what I was taught:     
1) Introduction: provide background, and introduce details (title, author, publication and pub. date) and contentions of all material.
2) For however many paragraphs necessary (rule of thumb: let the spread of your analysis reflect the spread of material), analyse article 1. This usually should be the longest article but if they're all the same length, make a judgement to which one should logically go first. No reference to any other article at this point. 
3) Analyse article 2 and intersperse your analysis with comparisons to article 1. Again, analyse for how many paragraphs necessary and do remember the time constraints.
4) Analyse article 3, with comparisons to 1 and 2.
5) Repeat 4) with any other material, if there's any and as above - analyse it if you were going to do it independently but then make comparisons to the other material you have talked about inbetween.
5) If time provides, a conclusion that ties everything back together. The statement you're making here should be about the differences/similarities between how the different authors argue their argument.

[I\'m Not A Robot]

Hey, so i've got my last SAC for English in about a weeks time (comparative between The Longest Memory and Black Diggers). My teachers tell me that it's much easier to do the quote comparison, rather than the actual prompt/statement given on the day. Only problem is, i've never really even done a comparison of quotes. SO i wanted to do some practice ones before i got started and my teacher gave me a list of practice 'prompts' to try.
One of which was:

"You knew your place old man. I liked you for that."- Sanders JNR (TLM)
And
"Thank god for the uniform and the chance to serve."- Archie (BD)

Could someone please help me create some points for a quote comparison like this. I'm not sure what exactly i'm meant to talk about.
I was thinking of using these very simple points for each paragraph in my essay:
- The slaves and the Indigenous seem to be blindly loyal to those that oppress them in their respective societies.
- Both authors question the value of loyalty in their texts as it generally does not always make the characters better off (still treated unequally, despite sacrifices).
- There are certain characters within both texts that treat the slaves and the Indigenous better than other characters.

These are probably pretty weak points, so i would really appreciate it if some stronger points were suggested as well.

Thanks heaps in advance

[Lear]

Hi,

I just wanted to get some insight from you all on how you believe/your teacher believes paragraphs should be done in text response and comparative essays.
For example one is where you do paragraphs based on ‘ideas’ which support the prompt while another is where you have a logical flow making one big argument answering the prompt.

Any insights are helpful.