ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English & EAL => Topic started by: EvangelionZeta on October 28, 2013, 07:05:50 pm
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Hey guys,
Have recently entered uni exams, and remembered English is on in two days. Figured people might still have last minute questions - as such, here is a Q&A thread for the last few days before exams! I will do my best to answer things as promptly as possible.
My credentials:
-Tutored multiple kids to 50 study score in English
-Editor of Connect English guide
-Lectured English for three years
-Three years of uni literature study
Gogogogoogogogogo
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Can you sit my Lit exam for me? Ty
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anyone who doesn't take up this opportunity is crazy.
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Hi Hello!
My context is 'encountering conflict', and I have chosen 'Life of Galileo' as my text.
It is this first year at my school that this text has been chosen so my siblings arent able to help me.
In class we touched on the Julian Assange/Bradley Manning trials as real-world examples of conflict relating to the text.
I've been trying to find more cases of oppression but i cant seem to find any.
What do you suggest? Do you know of any historical examples I can refer to?
Thanks in advance
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would small spelling errors and the omission of the occasional 'the' absolutely devastate my mark?
and also, I have a little trouble (not too much, but a little) writing essays on TR questions that focus on a singular character. Somehow, I cant think of enough points to explore. Do you have any tips as to how to structure it? How would you do this question, for instance?
"Hermione's muggle background serve as a driving force for her character. to what extent does her past life govern her progression?"
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Thank you, Firstly for language analysis, should you try and analyse the whole article in one hour or try and pick out the most important,
for context, should you write 3 body para's or 4, apparently my teacher suggests 4 as their is more discussion but i never have enough time
for text response, should you also write 3 or 4 body paragraphs, im doing twelve angry men and apparently my teacher again says to write 4 body paragraphs, however i did a 3 hour trial exam in the term 3 holidays and only had 15 minutes left to complete the text response section. but lately ive been timing my LA as it is the problem. however ive gotten it down to 1 hour, so i hope in the exam i can finish text response.
what do you recommend?
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(EZ, would you like this thread to be EZ-exclusive, or are we free to contribute $0.02?)
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I need some phrases that can be used instead of labelling techniques? Do you have any in kind please.
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Hey!
I was wondering, in regards to the Text Response (Section A), do Assessors get extremely picky on quotes, in the case you can't remember it and write something completely different yet along the lines if that makes sense?
For e.g. in a practice essay for A Christmas Carol, I wrote: 'the children were jumping around, the fire was lit, and the potatoes were bubbling in the sauce-pan'. The original quote is: "... these young Cratchits danced about the table... he [Master Peter Cratchit] blew the fire, until the slow potatoes bubbling up, knocked loudly at the sauce-pan lid...'
Thanks!
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1. Lang anal. If I run out of time would omitting the conclusion be ok?
2. Re: authorial comment for Ransom. My teacher is a marker and says it's fine to only mention Malouf's intention two or three times in an essay. Would you agree or disagree?
ily EZ
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So for the exam I wish to write an expository essay for my conflict context, although it was previously known to me that an expository essay involves exposing both sides of the prompt and not taking a side, although through reading study guides, online tutorials and lecture notes, it states that I must choose a side and build my arguments for it through my body paragraphs. Wouldn't that simply make it a persuasive piece? Or am I meant to have an opinion throughout but incorporate the other side of the argument much more than you would with a persuasive piece?
Thankyou in advance!
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(EZ, would you like this thread to be EZ-exclusive, or are we free to contribute $0.02?)
I'll take any donations, I'll PM you my bank deets :)
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I am stressing out over context, have not prepared anything tangible and good for half of the major context "areas" of prompts. What should I do in the next 30 or so hours?
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How important or necessary is it to create a plan before writing your text/context piece? and secondly is it bad to incorporate personal anecdotes to a context expository essay (I'm doing Identity and Belonging)?
@r2ndom I feel the same way you do, context is my weakness and it's stressing me out
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This may be on another thread but I didn't know where to find it -
For my text response essays I find that I'm using a lot of "Through ______, (author) shows that _____".
Is there any other ways of writing that? I'm being really repetitive and it sounds bad :(
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I am stressing out over context, have not prepared anything tangible and good for half of the major context "areas" of prompts. What should I do in the next 30 or so hours?
Write a piece and then go to your teacher at school and go through it together so that its perfected. :)
That's your only option at the moment if you really want to do well with Context.
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does anyone know any examples where conflict resulted in something positive?
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Can you sit my Lit exam for me? Ty
Your mum.
Hi Hello!
My context is 'encountering conflict', and I have chosen 'Life of Galileo' as my text.
It is this first year at my school that this text has been chosen so my siblings arent able to help me.
In class we touched on the Julian Assange/Bradley Manning trials as real-world examples of conflict relating to the text.
I've been trying to find more cases of oppression but i cant seem to find any.
What do you suggest? Do you know of any historical examples I can refer to?
Thanks in advance
The Stolen Generations, the Bo Xilai trials in China atm, the Soviet Union in general...I think that's some stuff to get started with! Also look at historical racism/oppression of women/oppression of homosexuals. There's heaps and heaps of stuff on that.
would small spelling errors and the omission of the occasional 'the' absolutely devastate my mark?
and also, I have a little trouble (not too much, but a little) writing essays on TR questions that focus on a singular character. Somehow, I cant think of enough points to explore. Do you have any tips as to how to structure it? How would you do this question, for instance?
"Hermione's muggle background serve as a driving force for her character. to what extent does her past life govern her progression?"
Not absolutely devastate, but it would count against. If you're going to make spelling mistakes and stuff, do it in later paragraphs - the key thing is to make sure your introduction reads really cleanly.
Re: the second, just think about it in terms of beginning, middle, and end. Especially for character questions, they're often interested in character development - as such, going through the text in your essay in that way (but making sure that you are still focusing on IDEAS and ANALYSIS, not just on summarising the plot) is an easy way to go.
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For Encountering Conflict is it better to use examples relating to major conflicts (as opposed to those that are more 'ordinary') as supplmentary texts?
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Thank you, Firstly for language analysis, should you try and analyse the whole article in one hour or try and pick out the most important,
for context, should you write 3 body para's or 4, apparently my teacher suggests 4 as their is more discussion but i never have enough time
for text response, should you also write 3 or 4 body paragraphs, im doing twelve angry men and apparently my teacher again says to write 4 body paragraphs, however i did a 3 hour trial exam in the term 3 holidays and only had 15 minutes left to complete the text response section. but lately ive been timing my LA as it is the problem. however ive gotten it down to 1 hour, so i hope in the exam i can finish text response.
what do you recommend?
Pick out the most important, you will never be able to do EVERYTHING in the one article.
I prefer four, but if you can only get to three just stick to it. You can get 10/10 with three BPs. Ditto with text responses. It's just something nice to do if you can achieve it - if it's too hard, don't bother, and stick to your guns!
I need some phrases that can be used instead of labelling techniques? Do you have any in kind please.
I subscribe to the school of labelling techniques actually, sorry :p
(EZ, would you like this thread to be EZ-exclusive, or are we free to contribute $0.02?)
Feel free! I will probs be a bit slow so don't mind if people pick up my slack!
Hey!
I was wondering, in regards to the Text Response (Section A), do Assessors get extremely picky on quotes, in the case you can't remember it and write something completely different yet along the lines if that makes sense?
For e.g. in a practice essay for A Christmas Carol, I wrote: 'the children were jumping around, the fire was lit, and the potatoes were bubbling in the sauce-pan'. The original quote is: "... these young Cratchits danced about the table... he [Master Peter Cratchit] blew the fire, until the slow potatoes bubbling up, knocked loudly at the sauce-pan lid...'
Thanks!
They aren't SUPER picky but can just get very annoyed. Just try to avoid this (especially when it's as much of a change as in the example), it's pretty easy to just memorise the quotes and not put yourself at risk!
1. Lang anal. If I run out of time would omitting the conclusion be ok?
2. Re: authorial comment for Ransom. My teacher is a marker and says it's fine to only mention Malouf's intention two or three times in an essay. Would you agree or disagree?
ily EZ
1. No. Write at least a sentence or something - some markers are cray cray and will just penalise you pointlessly if you have nothing. Avoid that risk.
2. It's definitely "OK", but mention authorial intention etc. as much as you need to - there's no harm in doing a lot of good analysis on it. I'd also focus more on audience reaction tbh - that's the more interesting stuff in many ways.
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Hey guys!
Can you please give me a few ideas or even analysis for different whose reality prompts. I find it very hard to analyse in depth without talking about the character, therefore making it sound like I am simply retelling the story.
Prompts:
1.Our realities are constantly shifting
2. ‘Shared experience does not mean that people see things the same way.’
3.Sometimes people find themselves living in a world created by other people.
4. ‘We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.’
Thanks!
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Hey EZ
Im doing I and B as my context and Im doing an imaginative piece (similar to a GUAIA short story).
Im just gonna rely on that one sole creative piece and hope it lends itself to the prompt.
However, what should I do if I cant mold it to the prompt?
Should I just write it anyway in hopes that my leet writing skills can get me a decent mark?
Ive also done a few expositorys, though Im not as confident, and havent memorized those yet.
What do do?
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So for the exam I wish to write an expository essay for my conflict context, although it was previously known to me that an expository essay involves exposing both sides of the prompt and not taking a side, although through reading study guides, online tutorials and lecture notes, it states that I must choose a side and build my arguments for it through my body paragraphs. Wouldn't that simply make it a persuasive piece? Or am I meant to have an opinion throughout but incorporate the other side of the argument much more than you would with a persuasive piece?
Thankyou in advance!
The latter of what you explained - you want to EXPLORE the issue, but still probably have some sort of overall guiding perspective.
I am stressing out over context, have not prepared anything tangible and good for half of the major context "areas" of prompts. What should I do in the next 30 or so hours?
Prepare them!!! Gosh, it should only take like 3-5 hours max. Write two essays and do a couple of essay plans. This is definitely something you can comprehensibly still pull off! You'll be fine if you put in the work at this point :)
How important or necessary is it to create a plan before writing your text/context piece? and secondly is it bad to incorporate personal anecdotes to a context expository essay (I'm doing Identity and Belonging)?
@r2ndom I feel the same way you do, context is my weakness and it's stressing me out
1. Not 100% necessary, but I find it just makes you stay closer on topic and means you produce a better essay overall. Just do it!
2. Yes it is, it comes across as lame, suggests laziness (you didn't do research!) and also is just not super convincing (I could make up a personal anecdote if I wanted to justify any random point).
This may be on another thread but I didn't know where to find it -
For my text response essays I find that I'm using a lot of "Through ______, (author) shows that _____".
Is there any other ways of writing that? I'm being really repetitive and it sounds bad :(
The author's *insert verb* of *insert noun* suggests/portrays/exemplifies/reveals/elucidates/etc that _____.
eg. "The author's characterisation of Harry Potter..."
"The author's use of slow sentences in this passage..."
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does anyone know any examples where conflict resulted in something positive?
Look up the philosophy of Nietzsche - he's a massive advocate of conflict leading to positive things, especially with character building, appreciating life, etc.. Also consider how wars often lead to technological advancements, how disagreements in arguments lead to the advancement of knowledge (look up John Stuart Mill's defence of free speech), etc.
For Encountering Conflict is it better to use examples relating to major conflicts (as opposed to those that are more 'ordinary') as supplmentary texts?
I'd say so - stuff that looks more impressive is more likely to persuade examiners.
Hey guys!
Can you please give me a few ideas or even analysis for different whose reality prompts. I find it very hard to analyse in depth without talking about the character, therefore making it sound like I am simply retelling the story.
Prompts:
1.Our realities are constantly shifting
2. ‘Shared experience does not mean that people see things the same way.’
3.Sometimes people find themselves living in a world created by other people.
4. ‘We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.’
Thanks!
First prompt:
P1 - Discuss how our upbringing influences our perception of the present
P2 - Discuss how our biases can also change the reality of the "past" in our memories
P3 - Discuss how this can lead to conflicts between people
P4 - Discuss how nevertheless sometimes there is the possibility of reality being stable
A lot of these points are transferable between prompts.
Hey EZ
Im doing I and B as my context and Im doing an imaginative piece (similar to a GUAIA short story).
Im just gonna rely on that one sole creative piece and hope it lends itself to the prompt.
However, what should I do if I cant mold it to the prompt?
Should I just write it anyway in hopes that my leet writing skills can get me a decent mark?
Ive also done a few expositorys, though Im not as confident, and havent memorized those yet.
What do do?
Write a second or even third backup story!! You still have time, don't be lazy, just make sure you're prepared enough for a variety of situations! You only need three story "skeletons" realistically to cover 99.95% of all prompts.
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Obviously its different for everyone, but what order did you do your sections in? Also, why did you do them in that order? Just curious.
I plan on doing it in this order: C, B, A
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Do you recommend to do any study the night before the exam? Or will that just increase the stress?
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is it difficult to achieve a 8 on language analysis?
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HELP. I know for a text response, you pick a side of the prompt and sort of present your discussion to prove that. However, can you argue against a prompt in context?? I found one of Whose Reality? "It is often tempting, but is aways dangerous to seek to avoid reality" where I've found and developed ideas that even with facing reality, it's dangerous because of critique and conflicting opinions (mine's about Michael Leunig's The Lot and how the public responds to these). Anyway, back to where I started, do I have to agree with the context prompt, or can I argue or set out conditions for it to be valid and argue my point? Every other prompt has worked and I've been like awww yeah this is good, then I got this one and I'm thinking, no that's not how I think it should be and I was thinking can I argue against a context prompt???
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I'm having some issues with timing. I tried to do an exam today, and failed miserably :(
I mean I've done heaps of essay's in the past under timed conditions and went decent on my trial exam in school but for some reason I just can't get myself to write a good essay right now. I don't know if its because I'm at home, or I don't have enough adrenaline but I can't concentrate right now. What should I do?
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I'm having some issues with timing. I tried to do an exam today, and failed miserably :(
I mean I've done heaps of essay's in the past under timed conditions and went decent on my trial exam in school but for some reason I just can't get myself to write a good essay right now. I don't know if its because I'm at home, or I don't have enough adrenaline but I can't concentrate right now. What should I do?
Just dont worry about it, we all suffer from mind blanks. Just lightly skim through your notes until the exam, don't do anything too strenuous. On the day of the exam just do your best. As other people have said, when the paper is in front of you the adrenalin kicks in, and you know it's for real.
Nothing much you can do
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*Just answering things I think are worth extra reinforcement or I think I can add something to. When there are new questions I'll answer them as they come and see how far incorrect EZeta thinks I am ;)
Thank you, Firstly for language analysis, should you try and analyse the whole article in one hour or try and pick out the most important,
for context, should you write 3 body para's or 4, apparently my teacher suggests 4 as their is more discussion but i never have enough time
for text response, should you also write 3 or 4 body paragraphs, im doing twelve angry men and apparently my teacher again says to write 4 body paragraphs, however i did a 3 hour trial exam in the term 3 holidays and only had 15 minutes left to complete the text response section. but lately ive been timing my LA as it is the problem. however ive gotten it down to 1 hour, so i hope in the exam i can finish text response.
what do you recommend?
As EZ said, definitely pick out the most important.
I always wrote three body paragraphs for Text and that's how I teach it. I also did Twelve Angry Men for three body paragraphs (950ish words total) for full marks :). As said, very possible to score very well with three bodies, so don't let it stress you out :)
I need some phrases that can be used instead of labelling techniques? Do you have any in kind please.
I think for the most part techniques should be avoided, I think people really substitute it for proper analysis. That said, I don't think it should be entirely missing. I mixed it in lightly, so its okay if you feel like "oh no, I am going to have to identify a technique". It doesn't matter so long as you demonstrate a perceptive analysis of language.
Changing grammar around will help. Instead of "the author utilises negative connotations" you can easily say "<language>" connotes <x>
Or even "In saying '"x", the author... <language works in xyz way>"
"Through "<language>"...
Or "<language>" aims to instill ....
"<author> directly targets the younger fact of the audience, "harry potter" appealing to the secondary school students in the forum because xyz"
It's just a matter of writing what you want to say grammatically and showing the language you're about to deconstruct. Again, don't stress too much, if your teacher has been like ''YOU CAN'T SCORE WELL IF YOU DON'T LABEL TECHNIQUES'' - they're full of shit. Doesn't quite matter what you do. My teacher advocated labelling but I disagree. It's the demonstration of your skills that matter.
How important or necessary is it to create a plan before writing your text/context piece?
I agree with EZ re: the anecdotes.
The quotes question is ultimately a question for your to answer. Necessary relative to what? High marks? Your ability to write? Only you or a tutor/teacher can answer after examining your style and how much you benefit from plans. My text response plan consisted of:
- jury system
-3rd and 10th (these are characters)
-8th should be used (8th Juror as an example of how power should be used)
And that was enough for me to write a high quality piece. My context plan was non-existent. However, a student of mine doesn't struggle with timing, but can sometimes make his essay an illogical progression of ideas. For him, I recommended spending 5-10 minutes of his allocated 70 minute text-response just thinking about the structure of his paragraphs and the logical progression of ideas. Ultimately, this is going to benefit him far more than the sacrificed writing time. Do what's best for you.
(And, as stated by EZ, I think at least a very quick plan is pretty useful almost always just as a visual representation of your essay/ a reminder)
Obviously its different for everyone, but what order did you do your sections in? Also, why did you do them in that order? Just curious.
I plan on doing it in this order: C, B, A
I did it in C, A, B, because I knew in an emergency situation I would be able to scrape something for context in a very short amount of time (saved me in the exam lelel). Like, I would most prefer to run over time and sacrifice my context, so that's why it was last.
My student has two plans: If, in reading time, he sees that the context prompt lends very heavily to one of his prepared 'outlines', then he does Section B first, because he can put out some of the more prepared things in 40-45 minutes. Thus, he does it second so that he has two finished pieces going into his text response with extra time. If he looks and the prompt is a curveball and he will have to write extremely off the cuff, he does Secion B last, so that he doesn't get bogged down and spend a longer time on Section B than he can afford. Putting it last in the second scenario enables him to do LA and Text response in 60ish minutes and forces a time limit on him for Sec B.
Regardless of the student, obviously Section C goes first.
Do you recommend to do any study the night before the exam? Or will that just increase the stress?
I recommend stopping and just chilling out after 2 or 3pm (for the day before any exam, unless you're in uni and cramming), play some games our something. Between 8am-3pm, some light revision, reading some old essays, reading some example essays, leafing lazily through your text and brainstorming some questions. That would be most ideal. If one were particularly underprepared, it might be worth extending the brainstorming/reading (or whatever will get them prepped most efficiently) later on in the day.
is it difficult to achieve a 8 on language analysis?
This is insanely subjective. For a student who is not particularly talented with the language or the subject in general, an 8 might be quite hard. For an elite student, an 8 (I'm assuming 16/20) might be relatively simple.
Whatever you're looking for out of the answer to this question, don't worry about it. Your success doesn't depend on the 'ease' of getting an eight; it depends on the prep you've done and the faith you have in your own learning. I understand this might be dissatisfying, so for the purpose of your question my answer is "somewhat difficult but accessible". Just have confidence in yourself and let VCAA spit the number.
I'm having some issues with timing. I tried to do an exam today, and failed miserably :(
I mean I've done heaps of essay's in the past under timed conditions and went decent on my trial exam in school but for some reason I just can't get myself to write a good essay right now. I don't know if its because I'm at home, or I don't have enough adrenaline but I can't concentrate right now. What should I do?
Well, if you've done heaps in the past under timed conditions, I'm assuming you're very capable of writing under time (unless the last time you successfully wrote a timed piece was in 2012, which I'm assuming is false). If last week in your school's trial exam you put out three pieces, well, you should have every confidence in yourself that you can do it again. Prep as if you normally would, leaf through old essays etc etc. Don't stress yourself out thinking "omg i have to write a paragraph in 15 minutes and if I can't I'm so fucked for tomorrow". You're okay, you'll do great :). Just have the wholehearted belief that you can write it in the time and do your best tomorrow. Don't let the exam beat you in Birmingham.
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In terms of reading time, how deep do you recommend we develop our plans for text response and context? And how long should we roughly be spending planning these sections before reading LA? Thank you :)
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In terms of reading time, how deep do you recommend we develop our plans for text response and context? And how long should we roughly be spending planning these sections before reading LA? Thank you :)
Again, that depends on your exam strategy. I was extremely "yolo" for context, so allocated about 30 seconds to checking that prompt and hoping a story idea came to me, and I am a relatively quick reader, so in reading time I spent maybe four minutes on text response and pretty much all of the remaining time on LA. The breakdown my student and I decided upon was 1 minute for context - enough to suss out which prepared idea he'll best be able to explore the prompt with, 3 minutes for text response, enough to decide on the prompt have have some ideas etc, with the rest on the LA because he's a bit of a slower reader.
So yeah, pretty hard to recommend on a universal bassi, but in general the majority of time should be spent on the LA. However much time you think you need for the LA, subtract that from 15 and divide the remaining time between the other two in whatever way best suits your needs.
For you, simba, I don't recommend a deep text response plan. Your ideas are very good and progress logically, write down your three points and perhaps any juicy quotes you don't want to forget in the heat of the moment. No need to go super deep.
In general, I think a quick, efficient, minimalistic plan is most suitable, but others might disagree.
For context, I can't comment.
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If there is a quote in the text response prompt how should we go about contextualising it in the essay?
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For context I am writing an expository essay. Is it frowned upon or a disadvantage for me if I include examples from both of my texts in the essay (L.O.G and Paradise Road)???/
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Stupid question, but is it compulsory to underline the text title or will inverted commas do. So would i bring in a ruler? ::)
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If there is a quote in the text response prompt how should we go about contextualising it in the essay?
Err, I don't feel like I'm an expert on this because VCAA hasn't exactly confirmed my approach by giving me a good mark, but in my practice pieces last year I treated a quoted prompt similar to a normal prompt but usually analysed the quote provided.
Eg:
"Facts can be coloured by the personalities of the people that present them". To what extent is this true in Twelve Angry Men?
Obviously my whole essay would be devoted to the nature of facts, I might have one paragraph that it is in fact the jury system itself that colours the 'facts', and one on how they can be coloured by bias people and another on how they can be objectively presented by rational people or something along those lines. Which would apply perfectly to the same prompt with the same words but the quotation marks removed. The essay would essentially just be a discussion on to what extent the quote is true, with an analysis on the author's views/values on the actual prompt.
So, not really too different, the same as any other essay but I'd address the quote. Honestly, what matters is that you show a strong textual knowledge, a good understanding of the prompt and a good analysis. Perhaps there are essay conventions to do with quoted prompts that I'm unaware of, but I don't think the conventions of any essay are as important as hitting the criteria.
**Should EZ disagree, definitely defer to his answer.
Stupid question, but is it compulsory to underline the text title or will inverted commas do. So would i bring in a ruler? ::)
Nothing is really "compulsory" other than hitting the criteria. I'm a bit of a pedant and insist my students underline the title (or italicise it in electronics), but I don't see the examiner looking at a brilliant essay and then saying "they used inverted commas! I'm deducting a mark!!!!"
I just think it looks more impressive to underline, as this is standard the current stylistic practice. It's also a lot more clear than inverted commas.
I mean, picture you were writing on Ransom or something and you wanted to say "x character holds y character for ransom" or you wanted to say "Thus, in Twelve Angry Men, Rose's characters are just twelve angry men"... inverted commas can get lost amongst cursive writing or not noticed or something. There's a guarantee they'll notice the underline so the text title is very clearly obvious.
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if i was to mention techniques in LA would i make it sound clumsy?
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if i was to mention techniques in LA would i make it sound clumsy?
If you label techniques? Yes, you would lose marks.
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You won't lose marks for labelling techniques :), just don't ALWAYS label them and try to refrain from the generic ones that everyone uses. You shouldn't have a piece with no labelled techniques at all - you learnt them from year 7 for a reason.. In saying that, don't just label everything
EDIT: This is what I got told by an assessor btw, not just making up random nonsense :P
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I guess thats true. Just as long as you talk about the implications of the phrases/terms/words and most importantly explain its effect on the reader! :)
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I am going to respond in more depth later when I get to a comp but I absolutely disagree with people saying avoid labeling techniques. You need to balance it - label techniques explicitly and ALSO analyze the way the language works. Better to have both.
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My teacher really adovocates labelling techniques that why i wanted feed back from experienced students.
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is it important to consider the other side of the argument in context and text response? i mean agree with the prompt but also consider the other side to give a more rounded approach? so only do this for context or also for text response?
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I am going to respond in more depth later when I get to a comp but I absolutely disagree with people saying avoid labeling techniques. You need to balance it - label techniques explicitly and ALSO analyze the way the language works. Better to have both.
Yes - I agree with this, balance is important. Only Siths deal in absolutes.
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Just wanted to ask how to make more prompt connection when doing a creative story for conflict and is it better to start with an outright definition in relation to the prompt?
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Just wanted to ask how to make more prompt connection when doing a creative story for conflict and is it better to start with an outright definition in relation to the prompt?
With a creative piece, when connecting it to the prompt, you just have to change a few words in your key topic sentences that you present in your ideas so that they match the prompt.
If your writing a creative story, you wouldn't need to include any definitions. You would only do that in an expository or analytical piece, not a creative. =/
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Obviously its different for everyone, but what order did you do your sections in? Also, why did you do them in that order? Just curious.
I plan on doing it in this order: C, B, A
I did CAB, but yes, it's mostly preferential (although I'd say doing C first is logical - right after reading time!)
Do you recommend to do any study the night before the exam? Or will that just increase the stress?
Read over notes the night before, but relax!
is it difficult to achieve a 8 on language analysis?
If you put in the hard work, yes, but not excessively so. I'd say most students can achieve an 8.
HELP. I know for a text response, you pick a side of the prompt and sort of present your discussion to prove that. However, can you argue against a prompt in context?? I found one of Whose Reality? "It is often tempting, but is aways dangerous to seek to avoid reality" where I've found and developed ideas that even with facing reality, it's dangerous because of critique and conflicting opinions (mine's about Michael Leunig's The Lot and how the public responds to these). Anyway, back to where I started, do I have to agree with the context prompt, or can I argue or set out conditions for it to be valid and argue my point? Every other prompt has worked and I've been like awww yeah this is good, then I got this one and I'm thinking, no that's not how I think it should be and I was thinking can I argue against a context prompt???
I'd say it's best to generally stick in favour of it if at all possible. If you're utterly desperate though I'm sure examiners would also accept an antithetical view.
I'm having some issues with timing. I tried to do an exam today, and failed miserably :(
I mean I've done heaps of essay's in the past under timed conditions and went decent on my trial exam in school but for some reason I just can't get myself to write a good essay right now. I don't know if its because I'm at home, or I don't have enough adrenaline but I can't concentrate right now. What should I do?
It's just adrenaline. Chill, it'll be okay - this is something a lot of students I've taught encountered. It'll be all good in the exam tomorrow, just revise notes for now and make sure you're really on top of concepts :)
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I think for the most part techniques should be avoided, I think people really substitute it for proper analysis. That said, I don't think it should be entirely missing. I mixed it in lightly, so its okay if you feel like "oh no, I am going to have to identify a technique". It doesn't matter so long as you demonstrate a perceptive analysis of language.
Changing grammar around will help. Instead of "the author utilises negative connotations" you can easily say "<language>" connotes <x>
Or even "In saying '"x", the author... <language works in xyz way>"
"Through "<language>"...
Or "<language>" aims to instill ....
"<author> directly targets the younger fact of the audience, "harry potter" appealing to the secondary school students in the forum because xyz"
It's just a matter of writing what you want to say grammatically and showing the language you're about to deconstruct. Again, don't stress too much, if your teacher has been like ''YOU CAN'T SCORE WELL IF YOU DON'T LABEL TECHNIQUES'' - they're full of shit. Doesn't quite matter what you do. My teacher advocated labelling but I disagree. It's the demonstration of your skills that matter.
See I just completely disagree with this. For instance:
"In saying '"x", the author... <language works in xyz way>"
"Through "<language>"...
Or "<language>" aims to instill ...."
All of these come across as assertive to me unless you can ground them in a specific strategy (technique) that the author is using to CREATE those effects. It's not really analysis, because you're not really telling me what it is about those phrases that elicits those effects, you're just saying that those phrases create an effect.
My ideal form for language analysis is:
1. Label a technique
2. Explain the immediate effect of the technique (what is it doing in a vacuum? What is the purpose?)
3. Explain how it positions the audience
eg. "The writer's use of statistics, as in *QUOTE*, grounds the argument in scientific rationality, granting the audience more incentive to perceive the rise of global warming as a valid, realistic threat"
You need all three bits. Only having part 3 will get you to a point, but I think that getting a 10/10 is about making sure you engage with EVERYTHING (and yes, some examiners might be okay if you miss technique labeling, but equally some will immediately dismiss you - you have to cater for all)
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In terms of reading time, how deep do you recommend we develop our plans for text response and context? And how long should we roughly be spending planning these sections before reading LA? Thank you :)
I'd say 5 minutes max for each of the plans. You need at least five minutes of reading for LA!
If there is a quote in the text response prompt how should we go about contextualising it in the essay?
I'd usually just link it into the introduction somewhere - something like "At the middle of the novel ****, X says Y, reflecting blahblahblah" - it's not actually absolutely essential to use the quote, although you may as well!
For context I am writing an expository essay. Is it frowned upon or a disadvantage for me if I include examples from both of my texts in the essay (L.O.G and Paradise Road)???/
Not at all - my school taught us to do this and got heaps of 50s every year.
Stupid question, but is it compulsory to underline the text title or will inverted commas do. So would i bring in a ruler? ::)
Not compulsory, but you will look dumb if you don't. Just underline it, it's painless!
if i was to mention techniques in LA would i make it sound clumsy?
NO. Just mention what the techniques position the audience to feel too.
is it important to consider the other side of the argument in context and text response? i mean agree with the prompt but also consider the other side to give a more rounded approach? so only do this for context or also for text response?
More for text response, I'd say actually. In text response a nuanced understanding of the text almost necessarily needs both sides. DO IT! :D
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Just wanted to ask how to make more prompt connection when doing a creative story for conflict and is it better to start with an outright definition in relation to the prompt?
My suggestion is think of three ideas about the prompt, and then make sure you have three scenes/characters who explicitly illustrate said idea. And I'm not sure what the latter means!
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For an expos. essay for Context, better to explore one side in depth or have a 'but' idea which sorta contradicts and undermines your contention?
Thanks!
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Hi hello!!
For a context expository piece, would it be okay to draw on the studied text only once and have two points from current/historical events ?
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Heyy! Will you ever be penalised if you write too much for language analysis ie. analysis most of the techniques and write about 6 pages? Because for my end of year trial exam, it took me about 65 to write a 6 page LA (my writing is very small) and I got a 7, with very strong analysis but it was way to verbose!! So im worried that if i write too much it will come back to get me. Should i just minimise my analysis to make it more coherent, short and succinct? :-\
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See I just completely disagree with this. For instance:
"In saying '"x", the author... <language works in xyz way>"
"Through "<language>"...
Or "<language>" aims to instill ...."
All of these come across as assertive to me unless you can ground them in a specific strategy (technique) that the author is using to CREATE those effects. It's not really analysis, because you're not really telling me what it is about those phrases that elicits those effects, you're just saying that those phrases create an effect.
I should just note - these are sentence starters. Of course, one would go on to analyse what it is about the phrases. We're coming at it from the same perspective, I think. I have the same problem with you in reference to technique labeling, more often than not it leads to "In saying "the money will go away", the author appeals to the hip-pocket nerve of the audience", which isn't really analysis. I do think it is worth labeling techniques to cater for all, but I think a series of labels can often be counterproductive.
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Heyy! Will you ever be penalised if you write too much for language analysis ie. analysis most of the techniques and write about 6 pages? Because for my end of year trial exam, it took me about 65 to write a 6 page LA (my writing is very small) and I got a 7, with very strong analysis but it was way to verbose!! So im worried that if i write too much it will come back to get me. Should i just minimise my analysis to make it more coherent, short and succinct? :-\
When you say "Analysis of most techniques", I'm assuming you talked a lot about various techniques. Try and pick up on the most important implications of phrases and discuss them in detail.
Find less to analyse, but do more analysis of what you find (if that makes sense). :)
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If we're looking to talk about recent issues in our context piece, such as the ongoing conflict in Syria or the recent government shutdown in the US, do we need to include specific quotes about the issue?
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Thanks Heaps!! And btw, would you recommend opening your conflict essay for section B with a general conflict quote from a famous figure, such as Abraham Lincoln?
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Thanks Heaps!! And btw, would you recommend opening your conflict essay for section B with a general conflict quote from a famous figure, such as Abraham Lincoln?
I don't do Encountering Conflict, but personally, I wouldn't open my piece with a quote. I'd probably use it as evidence for a topic sentence in my body paragraphs.
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What is the best way to study for text response in the next 5 hours?
I have 4 essays written up but I can't seem to memorise them.
I don't want to memorise word for word because it will take too long and I'll be screwed if I forget something in the exam.
Thanks!
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What is the best way to study for text response in the next 5 hours?
I have 4 essays written up but I can't seem to memorise them.
I don't want to memorise word for word because it will take too long and I'll be screwed if I forget something in the exam.
Thanks!
I would strongly suggest that you don't 'memorise' anything for the exam, not because you will forget something, but because you're more likely to write a generic essay that doesn't respond to the topic. Therefore, I think you can spend the next few hours to read over notes aloud, plan a few topics, jot down the examples you'd use, know your metalanguage examples inside out, and also practise intro's and topic sentences.
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I would strongly suggest that you don't 'memorise' anything for the exam, not because you will forget something, but because you're more likely to write a generic essay that doesn't respond to the topic. Therefore, I think you can spend the next few hours to read over notes aloud, plan a few topics, jot down the examples you'd use, know your metalanguage examples inside out, and also practise intro's and topic sentences.
Thanks for the advice!
What do you mean by metalanguage examples?
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is it true that people memorize essays and change prompt get good marks on their i went to lecture that said was possible?
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metalanguage is persuasive techniques, you try to memorize some of effects
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is it true that people memorize essays and change prompt get good marks on their i went to lecture that said was possible?
Yes.
If you have a prepared piece and you are lucky to get a similar topic all you have to do is slot in the information you already know. You also must know how to adapt your pre-prepared piece to the prompt that is being given.
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should we underline titles in context and language analysis as well or use quotation marks?
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1. What/how much do you include in the introduction when talking about the visual or image that is included in the language analysis? Is it just stating that it accompanies the piece, or also explaining what is occurring in the image?
2. How would you talk about comments that are included in the piece(Lang analysis)? If there were more than 2 would u go about using one whole paragraph for it? And how would u go about contrasting it with the major piece?
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should we underline titles in context and language analysis as well or use quotation marks?
Underline the names of texts and companies. :)
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Since EZ replies irrespective whether someone else has, I'll chip in too
should we underline titles in context and language analysis as well or use quotation marks?
Yes. Quotation marks or underlining is fine, but in VCE underlining for titles is the convention
1. What/how much do you include in the introduction when talking about the visual or image that is included in the language analysis? Is it just stating that it accompanies the piece, or also explaining what is occurring in the image?
2. How would you talk about comments that are included in the piece(Lang analysis)? If there were more than 2 would u go about using one whole paragraph for it? And how would u go about contrasting it with the major piece?
1. Stylistic imho. Personally, I give it a half sentence or oneliner in the intro just to prove to the examiner I'm not blind (nor are my eyes thattttt small/squinty) and I saw the pretty pic they put in
2. This is an interesting question because there are several schools of thought. Even though the marking criteria doesn't specify for it, personally I make one or two comparative statements
eg in the intro:
In article X writer Y asserts that <pigs can fly> which is supported by the first comment A but ridiculed by the second comment B. etc etc
Then in the bp for the comment A,
Though A agrees with Y in condoning the <quote: attachment of wings to pigs to help them fly> A does so in a <frivolous> manner. Then I analyse the comment in a separate body paragraph
The other school of thought is to intersperse the analysis comments in analysis of the major article, eg:
Writer Y rhetorically questions readers as to <quote: whether they believe pigs can fly>. Etc etc <explain purpose + effect> In his comment, commenter B mockingly answers this question with <quote: wth you think im retarded?>. This gives the reader the <etc etc etc>
Hope it helps + good luck for tomorrow :)
EDIT: to clear things up, the bits in < > are just my made up examples :P
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Is it alright to completely refute a context prompt?
E.g. prompt: 'turtles are nefarious demons from hell who crave world domination'
my piece's contention: 'turtles aren't satanic creatures from the abyss, but reptilian shelled organisms who are both marine and terrestrial'
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Is it alright to completely refute a context prompt?
E.g. prompt: 'turtles are nefarious demons from hell who crave world domination'
my piece's contention: 'turtles aren't satanic creatures from the abyss, but reptilian shelled organisms who are both marine and terrestrial'
Hmm, personally I wouldn't completely disagree as often looking at both sides of the prompt, or from multiple perspectives gives a more complex response. But then again I write creative so what am I supposed to know :P
But I think EZ answered this question before somewhere in this thread
EDIT: FOUND IT =D
I'd say it's best to generally stick in favour of it if at all possible. If you're utterly desperate though I'm sure examiners would also accept an antithetical view.
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What section is recommend to begin with in the exam?
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What section is recommend to begin with in the exam?
Depends on your own personal strengths and weaknesses. Most people recommend C because you've just read the piece, then text then context. Personally, I love context so I do context then text because I write context faster thus not as rushed for text
HOWEVER, some people find they spend too long on LA, upwards of 70min and for them they chose to put language analysis last so they feel rushed for A and B having spent so long on C.
It's a personal thing, but if you're confident with your Language Analysis and can do it in around an hour I recommend it first :)
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Depends on your own personal strengths and weaknesses. Most people recommend C because you've just read the piece, then text then context. Personally, I love context so I do context then text because I write context faster thus not as rushed for text
HOWEVER, some people find they spend too long on LA, upwards of 70min and for them they chose to put language analysis last so they feel rushed for A and B having spent so long on C.
It's a personal thing, but if you're confident with your Language Analysis and can do it in around an hour I recommend it first :)
In regards to writing context first (I also do creative, and am confident with it), I was planning to do it last, as I could spend my pressured time on the essay and analysis, where then I calm down knowing the prompt inside out and end up writing a well composed story towards the end? Does that work as well?
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In regards to writing context first (I also do creative, and am confident with it), I was planning to do it last, as I could spend my pressured time on the essay and analysis, where then I calm down knowing the prompt inside out and end up writing a well composed story towards the end? Does that work as well?
I think you should always go with your Strengths first, and get them out of the way. Otherwise if you do your Strengths last, you may be rushed for time, and *may* not do it the way you wanted to. Touch wood this doesn't happen, but its possible.
If Context is your strength, I'd go with finishing that first. :)
Good Luck!
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What are some creative ways to start a context piece? to catch the examiners attention
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What are some creative ways to start a context piece? to catch the examiners attention
Write a creative piece.
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My friend just asked me something that I'm unsure of.
He wants to know if he can do a biography style piece for Context (Identity and Belonging)?
Any confirmation/thoughts on that?
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If the quote is:
"going to my house"
and I was writing going to his house
would I write...
and the person was "going to my[his] house"
OR
and the person was "going to his[my] house"
OR
should I just do any?
really confusing sorry
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For Text Response, are we allowed to refer to 'the reader'? Like the reader, being us, reading the novel? Are we allowed to use 'us' and 'we'?
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For Text Response, are we allowed to refer to 'the reader'? Like the reader, being us, reading the novel? Are we allowed to use 'us' and 'we'?
You can refer to the term 'reader', though you can't say we or us, as you're the literary critique, and are analysing the themes, ideas etc. of the text. There's no need for the intended effect and whatnot (like analysis) to be a part of the essay.
That's my opinion, which could be wrong though, so wait on one of the experienced past students to have a say on that.
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Hey guys! Good lock for your exam tomorrow
What are some good quotes for Cosi and Paradise Road?
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My friend just asked me something that I'm unsure of.
He wants to know if he can do a biography style piece for Context (Identity and Belonging)?
Any confirmation/thoughts on that?
Well technically you are allowed to pick whatever style you wish to. But if he wants to do a biography, he probably should have made it yesterday or earlier today. I would say that he needs to get feedback on it from his teacher, otherwise it could be a disaster. Especially with the exam starting in 14 hours, I wouldn't take the risk.
He should stick with what he's already got. Thats just my opinion. :)
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For Text Response, are we allowed to refer to 'the reader'? Like the reader, being us, reading the novel? Are we allowed to use 'us' and 'we'?
You technically can say 'the reader', 'us' and 'we', but I would keep this to an absolute minimum. Try to avoid it at all costs if you can. Otherwise the essay will sound like a language analysis which you definitely don't want!
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If the quote is:
"going to my house"
and I was writing going to his house
would I write...
and the person was "going to my[his] house"
OR
and the person was "going to his[my] house"
OR
should I just do any?
really confusing sorry
"Going to [his] house"
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For Text Response, are we allowed to refer to 'the reader'? Like the reader, being us, reading the novel? Are we allowed to use 'us' and 'we'?
If the question has implications about the readers/audience, then you can refer to them as "the readers". But as shootersid said, if the topic doesn't have anything to do with the readers, then I probably wouldn't talk about that. It may also sound like an LA if you're constantly stating it.
EDIT: Beaten by werdna about the bit on LA. :P
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If the quote is:
"going to my house"
and I was writing going to his house
would I write...
and the person was "going to my[his] house"
OR
and the person was "going to his[my] house"
OR
should I just do any?
really confusing sorry
No and no. Your word in square bracket essentially replaces the word.
So, it would become:
'going to [his] house'
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Thanks guys! Mostly for something like:
Despite the violence in 'Ransom' the reader is left with a sense of optimism. Discuss.
When discussing authorial intent, it feels a bit like LA sometimes with effect on reader =\
Also, any nice ideas for world examples for whose reality?
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for language analysis do we have to write about how effective the article is? does it go in the conclusion? otherwise what does go in the conclusion?
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ok thanks polo and werdna. Embarrassing because I've been using my[his] all year ::)
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Thanks guys! Mostly for something like:
Despite the violence in 'Ransom' the reader is left with a sense of optimism. Discuss.
When discussing authorial intent, it feels a bit like LA sometimes with effect on reader =\
Also, any nice ideas for world examples for whose reality?
1. Authorial intend, I often use the phrase "characters X, Y, Z is the author's comment on society/humanity and their actions / realisations / epiphanies are tinged with A, B, C" then explain, give examples, etc etc
Or, if I feel a structure bp is needed, then "by using <blah blah blah structual techniques> the author gives a sense of <something>
But I agree, sometimes it does sound a bit like an LA to me too, so I try to talk about deeper themes, character changes and structure
btw I found this for you :) http://www.vcestudyguides.com/guides/text_response/ransom
2. You know I write creative so I'll let someone else answer this :) Of the top of my head... very little you probs dunno already
This one is kind of useful too :) http://www.vcestudyguides.com/guides/context/whose-reality/additional-reading
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What should you do for text response, if you don't have a relevant quote for the idea you need to talk about in an argument?
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Help!!!
In LA, should I analyses the visual by itself in its own BP, or should i incorporate when i am analysing key ideas of the text?
:) :)
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Can you introduce the supporting visual in the introduction, through stating something like, through the supporting visual depicting xxx, thus intends to support the notion/contention.??
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Help!!!
In LA, should I analyses the visual by itself in its own BP, or should i incorporate when i am analysing key ideas of the text?
:) :)
Should always try and link it to the Article(s).
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thanks damoz, how many quotes do you think we should use max in section B?
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thanks damoz, how many quotes do you think we should use max in section B?
It depends on how effectively you explain them in your piece.
Do you mean quotes from your text or from people in the external world? Or both?
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i mean quotes about conflict from famous people to use to support my abstract writing
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For my text essay I am doing The War Poems by Wilfren Owen. Is it possible that they will ask me a question specifically about a poem? Or am I safe to just memorise quotes from 3-4 random poems?
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Any tips on how to do LA faster? I normally take 10 mins at the start just to annotate everything..
Cheers
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For an expos. essay for Context, better to explore one side in depth or have a 'but' idea which sorta contradicts and undermines your contention?
Thanks!
Yep!
Hi hello!!
For a context expository piece, would it be okay to draw on the studied text only once and have two points from current/historical events ?
Defs!
If we're looking to talk about recent issues in our context piece, such as the ongoing conflict in Syria or the recent government shutdown in the US, do we need to include specific quotes about the issue?
Nope, you can discuss it generally.
Thanks Heaps!! And btw, would you recommend opening your conflict essay for section B with a general conflict quote from a famous figure, such as Abraham Lincoln?
It's up to you - do it if you want!What is the best way to study for text response in the next 5 hours?
I have 4 essays written up but I can't seem to memorise them.
I don't want to memorise word for word because it will take too long and I'll be screwed if I forget something in the exam.
Thanks!
Reread plans, think about the text, look at quotes! Sleep!
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For my text essay I am doing The War Poems by Wilfren Owen. Is it possible that they will ask me a question specifically about a poem? Or am I safe to just memorise quotes from 3-4 random poems?
Probably not - do a few poems!
Any tips on how to do LA faster? I normally take 10 mins at the start just to annotate everything..
Cheers
Just write! Get right into it - even if your response is shorter though, as long as the analysis is good, you'll be fine :)
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Hi, EvangelionZeta
Can you please give my some advice about how to preparing for yr 12?(esp.English) I will be in yr 12 next year. Thanks