ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English & EAL => Topic started by: Erstwhile on August 02, 2018, 08:31:22 pm
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Hi guys, I'm currently stressing out about how to actually improve my grades in English. I'm averaging a B right now (73%~ doing year 11 English and Lit) and I'm really worried about getting my essays to A+ standard by mid next year. Do I still have enough time? I've been reading over a few model essays and have been comparing them to mine; I've noticed a gigantic skill gap in many aspects. Fluency, meaning, analysis, coherency, expression... everything. Honestly the gap is so big that I don't even know whether it's possible to write at that level after just 1 year of practice. I'm aiming for a 45+ but to me that looks impossible now... Is it? If it is, what do I need to do? What are the most important aspects of a really successful essay? How much practice do I need? What type of practice do I need to do?
There's so many questions I want to ask, so many things I'm not sure about. I've lost hope. But deep down I know this isn't the end. I know I can improve if I really set my mind to it. So guys please help me, how do I work my way to VCE English success at the level that I'm at right now?
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I’m not really the right person to give you advice on how to improve because I’m not particularly good at English myself, so I’ll leave that for someone else but I will say this:
It absolutely is possible for you to get 45+ There is absolutely nothing that has happened so far that will prevent it. You might like to read this article about a student who did badly in year 11 but went on to get 48.
I've been reading over a few model essays and have been comparing them to mine; I've noticed a gigantic skill gap in many aspects. Fluency, meaning, analysis, coherency, expression... everything. Honestly the gap is so big that I don't even know whether it's possible to write at that level after just 1 year of practice
Chances are these essays you’ve been reading were not written under exam conditions. No one is going to write as well under exam conditions as they would when they have infinite time to write it.
You have more than a year until your English exam. More than a year to learn how to write 800-1000 words.
The most important thing you can do to practice is to keep writing. Don’t be scared off by thinking it’s hopeless and there’s no point. If you don’t feel up to writing a whole essay then just write a paragraph. Ask your current English teacher if they’re willing to give you feedback on them, otherwise post them in the marking section on here and someone will have a look at them.
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Thanks for the kind reassurance, I'll try my best. However English isn't exactly my forte, and I get super focused on one specific paragraph and completely forget about the coherency of the rest of my essay. Does anyone know a way to fix this, any writing drills I could do? Something other than "focus on your whole essay" would be really helpful. Thanks again PhoenixxFire ;D
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Coherency of your essay starts with looking at the bigger picture. This is why planning is so important! If you start planning your essays, you already know what ideas belong to which paragraph, and whether they all link together.
I think many students don’t realise that a lot of the hard work is actually done before writing an essay because this is where you:
* Breakdown your essay topic
* Brainstorm arguments/contention
* Come up with your contention and main arguments
* Ensure that your contention and main arguments link
* Ensure that your main arguments back up your contention
Once you know exactly what you’re doing, the writing part should come easier because the ideas are clearly outlined in your head (of course, it’s not just that simple since you still have to deal with expression, idea development etc. but say if you go into an 18th birthday speech without having any ideas of what you’re going to say, it’ll probably come out more jumbled than if you have an outline).
P.S - Honestly, don't stress about your study score. Just use this precious time to actually focus on your weaknesses and do the hard work to get there. The more people spend worrying about their ATAR, calculating their ATAR etc, the more time that's taken away from you actually studying and improving.
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I think you've definitely got heaps of time to improve up until next year. The most important thing is that you keep in mind, that the amount of time and hard work you put in will definitely show in the exam (and this is especially true for English!). Don't underestimate the power of perseverance cause it can go a long way. I remember sitting around a B average at the start of Year 12 and feeling so lost, but my teacher really drilled home that I needed to work hard and that no matter what setbacks you have, overcoming them will make you so much of a better person for it.
In terms of actually improving your analysis/ written expression, I recommend, reading in your spare time if you can. This doesn't have to be a tedious task but reading the writing of good writers will show you cool and new ways of starting sentences and structuring them that you never would of thought of. Echoing some of the other commenters, a lot of the work really has happened before you start the essay. Planning is the most underrated 10 mins that will determine the outcome of an essay pree much. Spend time practising planning a variety of essay topics so that once you do get to the exam, you can straight away pick out some of your previous ideas that are relevant to the topic already.