ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English Language => Topic started by: Butler on November 04, 2008, 07:40:40 pm

Title: Good luck!
Post by: Butler on November 04, 2008, 07:40:40 pm
Wishing all the '08 Eng. Language students the best of luck for tomorrow. With all the resources we have here, there's no reason why we all can't kill this exam.
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: AppleThief on November 04, 2008, 07:46:51 pm
Go Team EL08!

The essay section is the bit I'm slightly worried about. I wish they'd include a topic on Australian English, however this is unlikely as it's the easiest topic (y/n?).
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: nickalaz on November 04, 2008, 07:51:32 pm
just fingers crossed its not totally obscure, and requires 3 paragraphs on one specific aspect, that wouldn't be nice.

with only 2 essay topics this year, you could say that theres a higher chance they will be reasonable.
but yeah

who knows lol
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: wallah11 on November 04, 2008, 07:52:17 pm
I want one on weasel words and such
pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :tickedoff:

and you know there is apparently going to be only 2 essay topics
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: wallah11 on November 04, 2008, 07:53:29 pm
i think the exam writers are 'out of touch'
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: Butler on November 04, 2008, 07:54:25 pm
Yeah, the essay is going to be where I struggle, but I think I know enough to be able to bullshit my way through. :)
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 04, 2008, 08:01:13 pm
Good luck everyone!
Worst case scenario is that they have one essay question on pidgins and the other on creoles >.<
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: wallah11 on November 04, 2008, 08:07:56 pm
i think everyone would be going crazy then :uglystupid2:
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: wallah11 on November 04, 2008, 09:02:26 pm
the speech writing one wasn't to bad, thinking about it now you could have written alot but in 3 hours maybe  :laugh:
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: JL_91 on November 04, 2008, 10:05:01 pm
Good luck to all!

I'm definitely going to struggle on the essay. I can write great ones when I'm 'in the zone', but NEVER in the time I realistically have to do one :( I'm also hoping for an Australian English one..they did give one of those in recent years, but not for the last 2 years I think. So hopefully it's about time...
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 04, 2008, 10:06:19 pm
Australian English topics are so hard. I just want the functions of English or something simple. :(
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: JL_91 on November 04, 2008, 10:40:11 pm
Functions of English would be lovely too XD
Language change over time..language and culture...most things are okay..but it's really Australian English (past/recent influences) I'm desperately hoping for
actually I've come to realise the only areas I HATE writing about are Standard Language and all that crap about gender/ethnicity/age (involves too much stereotyping for my liking).
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: wallah11 on November 04, 2008, 10:45:48 pm
im going to weseal my way through essay i think :-\
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: JL_91 on November 04, 2008, 10:52:02 pm
haha yeah same here. I'm doing some last minute revision for it now :( ugh at least we still have 1/2 a day tomorrow...
I haven't memorised enough good quotes. If they don't give me a topic which fits the ones i've memorised then I'm sc-REWED!
what's everyone going to be doing in that half day before the exam?
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 04, 2008, 11:13:01 pm
I'm gonna be doing the Kirsten Fox book. Awesome book with good questions. And I'm somewhat improving on short answer questions! :D Haven't written an essay for ages though :(
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: JL_91 on November 04, 2008, 11:19:00 pm
I've done most of that book's short answers..I'll really be focusing on getting coherence/cohesion straight in my head, and CRAMCRAMCRAMMING for the essay :( Haha don't worry most of us are in the same boat...I wrote my first essay in ages today! I nearly always disappoint myself with the essays I write under exam conditions :( I've written many full-markers (or close to) outside a true exam situation in both mainstream and Eng Lang, only to massively screw up the real one that counts the most. Ugh. I'm hoping for a complete fluke tomorrow! And I'm just hoping for 41/42 scaled, no sky-high expectations because I feel so underprepared.
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 04, 2008, 11:24:13 pm
>.< I always get confused with coherence and cohesion. All i want for this subject is a 35. Is that too much to ask?!!! :(:(:(:(
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: JL_91 on November 04, 2008, 11:27:07 pm
No, never! I'm sure you'd probably exceed your expectations anyway. I doubt it would be as hard to get a 35+, 40+ etc. in a subject like this, as compared to a subject like Methods or Spesh. I think even if you drop no more than 13-15 marks on the exam you'd be in the running for a 40+ provided your SACs were decent.
It has taken me a whole year to half understand coherence and cohesion. I made my tutor give me a crash course on it on Monday, so now I 3/4 understand it...great! >_>
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: Butler on November 04, 2008, 11:31:21 pm
No, never! I'm sure you'd probably exceed your expectations anyway. I doubt it would be as hard to get a 35+, 40+ etc. in a subject like this, as compared to a subject like Methods or Spesh. I think even if you drop no more than 13-15 marks on the exam you'd be in the running for a 40+ provided your SACs were decent.
It has taken me a whole year to half understand coherence and cohesion. I made my tutor give me a crash course on it on Monday, so now I 3/4 understand it...great! >_>

I didn't have the best teacher, and it wasn't until going to the VATE lectures that I actually realised there was a big difference between coherance and cohesion. :|
I'm hoping for early 40's ss as well, I've averaged 95% for the sacs so hopefully the exam doesn't let me down.
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 04, 2008, 11:33:46 pm
Does coherence include metaphors, alliteration, puns etc? The solutions to VATE 2007 really confused me. I'd always thought metaphors were under cohesion. =S
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: JL_91 on November 04, 2008, 11:38:50 pm
Lol try doing it by Distance Ed - no teacher unless you make an effort to contact her! I hired a tutor who I saw once a week. And I didn't go to the VATE lectures but a nice person stole the notes and copied them for me :) But yeah coherence/cohesion...I'm stuffed if they try to make us write definitions for those..or for that matter, most terms. To ed: those things you mentioned come under cohesion.

I have no idea exactly what I got on the SACs, because it's Distance Ed's policy not to disclose the exact marks - they only give you a range. I know that I probably aced all the Unit 3 SACs, because my work came back with no comments whatsoever, but I know I sort of screwed up my first Unit 4 SAC...I'm hoping that doesn't let me down. I know the exam will though haha. I'd be happy if I could JUST squeeze into the A+ range...and if I succeed I'm probably going to do it by minimising the marks I drop in the first two sections, which leaves room for me to drop about 13 marks on the essay :D
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 04, 2008, 11:41:00 pm
\rant I knew the VATE solutions were screwed!!!Argh
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: AppleThief on November 05, 2008, 08:54:50 am
For anyone who wants clearing up

COHERENCE
- logical ordering: chronology, adverbials of time, dot points, sub-headings
- inference
- consistency: topic, lexical choice, degree of formality, same point of view

COHESION
- lexical cohesion: repetition, hyponym, hypernym, synonyms/near-synonyms, same semantic field
- reference: anaphoric, cataphoric, deixis
- ellipsis
- substitution
- connecting adverbials and conjunctions

- also: information flow, patterning
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ElephantStew on November 05, 2008, 09:02:08 am
good luck ppl!!!!! i'm also kinda worried about the essay :S
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: Mao on November 05, 2008, 11:19:50 am
good luck people =]
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: AppleThief on November 05, 2008, 11:37:44 am
3 hours and 23 minutes to go!

I'm getting anxious...but mainly because this is my first exam (apart from my solo performance).
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: gta007 on November 05, 2008, 11:49:39 am
Please be an easy essay question!
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ElephantStew on November 05, 2008, 11:54:43 am
just a quick question people, i cant find my glossary that i made, what is front focus!!!!? gah
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ed_saifa on November 05, 2008, 11:59:48 am
just a quick question people, i cant find my glossary that i made, what is front focus!!!!? gah
I dunno if this will help but my notes say front focus is new info then given info =S
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: AppleThief on November 05, 2008, 12:00:49 pm
just a quick question people, i cant find my glossary that i made, what is front focus!!!!? gah
When information that would usually be presented at the end of a sentence is presented at the start for emphatic effect/to give it prominence.

It gains audience attention, because it is an odd way of structuring information.

The examples Macmillan gives are:
"Honey, I love!" (end-focus/usual way would be "I love honey")
"To me, honey is nice. To you, it appears bland"

Also, it is a feature of written language moreso than speech...time to plan, etc.

Hope that helped.
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: ElephantStew on November 05, 2008, 12:13:59 pm
yeah it does...cheers! :D
Title: Re: Good luck!
Post by: cobby on November 06, 2008, 01:55:55 pm
Good luck to everyone sitting the lit exam at 3 today =]