ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English & EAL => Topic started by: fridge on April 13, 2013, 05:18:41 pm
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Hey everyone. I feel reasonably comfortable with the different aspects of language analysis (tone, contention, identifying and analysing techniques), but I'm not sure how I should structure my piece. Should I go through the article in order, or find all the instances of a particular technique and discuss each technique/appeal one at a time? I'll be clarifying with my teacher when we get back to school, but just interested in what you guys like to do. Thanks
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Depends on the article.
If it's pretty obvious that there are a couple repeating techniques, then I'll group them.
Other times it's easier and more logical chronologically.
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Thanks for the help. So your school hasn't suggested any particular method? I'm not a natural at English so I like to be as methodical as possible in my approach to writing.
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They've suggested the usual way (chronological) and drummed it into us just in case we blank out during the exam/sac/whatever, but sometimes I do chronological, and lapse into the grouping for 1/2 paragraphs.
I like to be as methodical as possible in my approach to writing.
Maybe try both for the same article and then make your choice?? Or maybe just go with chronological: it does work quite well. :)
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If you want to follow a method, follow
'PEE'. Lol, hard to forget.
Persuasive language (or persuasive language technique)**
Evidence
Effect.
Within your paragraphs, you should have 'PEE' a few times over. Also, don't structure it
P
E
E
P
E
E
P
E
E
Or it will get mega boring. You can mix it up, just change your grammar. EPE. PEE. EEP. EPE. And all of those combined/back to back (PEE-EEP-EPE) etc.
**You will score much higher marks for discussing how language is being used instead of discussing what a rhetorical question does.
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If you want to follow a method, follow
'PEE'. Lol, hard to forget.
+10000000 :)
We learnt FEE: feature, example, effect. But PEE is way, way better.
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Nice acronym...PEE :) When separating my analysis into paragraphs, should I divide them in terms of techniques, overall arguments, or ...?
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Nice acronym...PEE :) When separating my analysis into paragraphs, should I divide them in terms of techniques, overall arguments, or ...?
I tend to separate my paragraphs in terms of articles.
So we receive three articles.
First off, do the intro. I usually just identify the issue and explain it in 3-4 lines, then I say talk about the sides of the issue the people who've written the articles have taken.
1st paragraph, I do it in order, so I start with identifying the author's name, the title, date, etc.
Then I begin analyzing. I always begin with the title.
I just keep working my way through.
If it seems like I've written a lot (20-25 lines for me) and I'm only halfway through analysing that article, I'll start a new paragraph. Then when you're done analysing the article, begin a new paragraph and as before, identify the author, date, title, etc.
Some articles are ridiculously shorter than others, so in some cases, your paragraph for an entire article may be 15 lines.
Be remember to actually compare the articles to each other though! It could be the something like, 'Whereas Smith has used a sarcastic tone to dismiss and ridicule the Premier, Smith has used an aggressive and bitter tone, attacking and mocking the Premier and encouraging others to view him as feeble and easily dismissed.'
And in the conclusion, I usually compare one final thing that the three articles all differ in. E.g. target audience, specific techniques, etc.
But it's all up to you though, some people compare all three articles in all of their paragraphs and separate the paragraphs according to techniques.
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Thanks. Just on that note, has it been common for VCAA to give more than one article in the exam? Our school tends to only give us one article (often with an accompanying image).
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Seems like people have more advanced methods going on here, although going to a few Language Analysis lectures and our school in-class learning, its been made clear that DON'T FOCUS ON THE LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES. You essentially should structure each paragraph around the argument being made. So if you can find 3 points - arguments supporting the author's contention, there's your 3 paragraphs, and then you can identify techniques that would help voice out the author's opinion and encourage the reader to be persuaded.
Hope I helped!
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Thanks Kevin. Just on that note, has it been common for VCAA to give more than one article in the exam? Our school tends to only give us one article (often with an accompanying image).
Are you in year 11?
They always give 3 articles though.
If your school is still giving out one article at this stage, I suggest you begin practicing doing three in your own time.
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Get your bullshit off my board.
VCAA has never given three articles to compare under this study design.
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Get your bullshit off my board.
VCAA has never given three articles to compare under this study design.
But is it possible to have more than one article in an exam situation, and has it happened under the current study design? :/ This is news to me as I always thought that comparative analyses were for the SACs, not exam. :/
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But is it possible to have more than one article in an exam situation, and has it happened under the current study design? :/ This is news to me as I always thought that comparative analyses were for the SACs, not exam. :/
Yeah it's possible. From the exam specifications:
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/english/english-samp-w.pdf
Section C will require students to write an extended piece of prose, analysing the use of written language and visual features in the unseen text(s)
where that (s) implies they can give you more than one text.
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They can give comments (2011) and other like things that are additional to the article, but I personally think it is very unlikely for VCAA to give you two articles straight up. They wouldn't get a bell-curve. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if they provided two very short articles and asked to compare.
So, it is important to learn how to write comparatively, which is why some schools elect to have comparative SACs.
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They can give comments (2011) and other like things that are additional to the article, but I personally think it is very unlikely for VCAA to give you two articles straight up. They wouldn't get a bell-curve. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if they provided two very short articles and asked to compare.
So, it is important to learn how to write comparatively, which is why some schools elect to have comparative SACs.
yeah A+ cutoff would plummet, cause not many people would know how to go about it. i think 1 article is how it will remain IMO, but comparative skills are handy nevertheless
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Get your bullshit off my board.
VCAA has never given three articles to compare under this study design.
Wait what the hell?
Every single language analysis SAC I've done has had 3 articles to compare? Or am I missing something?
I'm really confused at moment
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Wait what the hell?
Every single language analysis SAC I've done has had 3 articles to compare? Or am I missing something?
I'm really confused at moment
In SAC situations your teacher may provide you with three different articles to analyse or two articles and an image, this is purely the faculty of English's decision at your school as of course sac's are internal. However, from my recollection VCAA say they could give anywhere up to 3 articles to compare but I don't think I have seen it on the exam yet. I believe last year's exam was a speech from a librarian accompanied by two images. SAC's are what your teachers want it to be, the exam is up to VCAA and at the end of the day I guess we will find out on October the 30th what they throw at us for language analysis.
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Wait what the hell?
Every single language analysis SAC I've done has had 3 articles to compare? Or am I missing something?
I'm really confused at moment
I think brenden thought you were referring to VCAA when you said "they". If you were referring to schools, yes it is common for them to give a 3-part analysis for their SAC, but there is no rule for this: some schools may find it better to replicate the LA section of the exam.
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In SAC situations your teacher may provide you with three different articles to analyse or two articles and an image, this is purely the faculty of English's decision at your school as of course sac's are internal. However, from my recollection VCAA say they could give anywhere up to 3 articles to compare but I don't think I have seen it on the exam yet. I believe last year's exam was a speech from a librarian accompanied by two images. SAC's are what your teachers want it to be, the exam is up to VCAA and at the end of the day I guess we will find out on October the 30th what they throw at us for language analysis.
Are you serious?
Wow I've actually never had an idea about this what the fuck...
Like I just described to you in my PM that's how I thought it was supposed to be, but my SACs are just entirely different?
Holy fuck you guys actually don't realize how confused I am at the moment.
All through this time I've been doing language analysis, I've received three articles and occasionally, one of the articles with have a visual embedded in it.
You would then have to analyze and compare these three articles...
Holy shit, I am definitely gonna see my English teacher tomorrow.
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When I wrote my LA pieces, I structured them so that I analysed in terms of arguments being presented. And then for each "unit" (each piece of evidence I had), I would write about:
-Description of technique
-Purpose
-Effect on reader
-Connotations that would create the effect
-How this links with the argument
Not necessarily in that order though.
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All through this time I've been doing language analysis, I've received three articles and occasionally, one of the articles with have a visual embedded in it.
You would then have to analyze and compare these three articles...
(From VCAA English study design)
Outcome 3
Analyse the use of language in texts that present a point of view on an issue currently debated in the Australian media, and to construct, orally or in writing, a sustained and reasoned point of view on the selected issue.
Writing which analyses the use of language in three or more persuasive texts that debate a current issue in the Australian media.
The students I tutor come from a wide range of schools and they have always been given at least 2 word texts and a visual... most three, so your school is following the study design.
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To be honest, I thought you were talking about VCAA when you said 'they' and trying to troll whoever was asking for help, making them freak out about the exam. I apologise.
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To be honest, I thought you were talking about VCAA when you said 'they' and trying to troll whoever was asking for help, making them freak out about the exam. I apologise.
Nonoonononononononononoo
I was so happy I decided to post that in the first place and the fact that I received all of those negative votes suggested there was something terribly wrong.
On Monday, I went to see my English teacher and he said that my school always puts 3 articles on our SACs in order to prepare us for the final end of year exam so that it'll be easier for us to analyze just the single article.
I actually never knew that the actual final year exam usually only had one article and an embedded visual and/or a separate visual, as all I've ever been exposed to is multiple written texts.
So yeah, I'm really happy now, but the only downside is that now I know that the end of year article can be extremely looong, so I guess I'll have to start practicing analyzing longer articles.
Thanks and don't apologize, you did nothing wrong.