How do I prepare for Yr10,Yr11 and 12 English?

[The Usual Student]

Whilst English is not my best subject it certainly is my favourite. I am enthusiastic when it comes to English lessons and I wan't to know how I can prepare for English in the future? I am in year ten next year and I don't have an English tutor yet............ So what do I do?  I am not even sure what Yr10, Yr 11 and Yr 12 English covers. By the way, I am an avid writer.

[indkel]

I'm gonna skip ahead to preparing for year 12 by saying that the best thing you can do is to really enjoy yr 10 and 11 English. If you already love English you're half way there, but by getting enthusiastic about the things you'll cover next year in class (presumably language analysis, context and text response) you'll set yourself up really well for a great year in year 12 English.
Having a good attitude towards this subject and all of its components is key to success in the exam (mind you.. could be speaking too soon, don't get my study score until the 16th).
I'm not sure what texts will be on the list when you hit VCE but if you're REALLLLY motivated you could read a year 12 text and then read a study guide or a sample A+ response for that text (you can find these on the VCAA website) over the summer holidays. This would give you a great insight into the kind of in-depth analysis you are working towards over the next two years and is bound to give you a bit of a head start, whether you study that text in year 12 or not. That said, there's no real need for this. It's likely that your analytical skills will grow a lot just by paying attention in class. You got this!
Good luck!!

[Stick]

Whilst English is not my best subject it certainly is my favourite. I am enthusiastic when it comes to English lessons and I wan't to know how I can prepare for English in the future? I am in year ten next year and I don't have an English tutor yet............ So what do I do?  I am not even sure what Yr10, Yr 11 and Yr 12 English covers. By the way, I am an avid writer.

I don't think you'll need to do too much to set yourself a good foundation for Year 12. Just make sure you pay attention in class, ask questions, seek extra help if necessary, do your homework etc just as you normally should. One thing which I may suggest, however, is that you write any essays you do by hand. I found in Year 11 in particular that my typed essays were way better than the ones I did by hand (say, in an actual SAC that is marked). I wrote every single essay I did in Year 12 by hand and I found the disparity between the two significantly decreased, to a point where any difference would largely be negligible. When you write by hand, you don't have the luxuries of cut, copy and paste, and you have to have a very "linear" (for want of a better word) train of thought. It's better to get used to this earlier rather than later. Additionally, your hand will be more ready for writing as well.

[brenden]

I agree with writing by hand.

Honestly, the things that are going to prepare you for Year 12 English probably aren't going to be Year 10 or 11 English . Of course, do your homework and whatever else but, the best things you can do to prepare for English are as follows:

- Get an exercise book and call it your vocabulary book. Every time you hear or read a word you don't know of, look it up and put the word in here. Use the word in a funny sentence, maybe read over the book every so often.
- Read as much books as you can. Not just random fantasy/sci-fi books like I am Number Four (good series though), challenge yourself a bit, too. When I was at the end of Year 9 I was heavily into S. King books and they were pretty decent. If you aren't being challenged by anything you find, come back here and ask for some appropriately challenging books.
- Keep writing as much as you can . Start a blog and write in it every fortnight or week or something (or more, if you have more to say). Do whatever you want with it, but pretend as if five hundred people are going to judge you for shitty writing and write as clearly as you can . When you read over your old blogs every so often, you'll start to judge your own writing and improve even more anyway.
- Be a cynic and hate the media.

[The Usual Student]

I agree with writing by hand.

Honestly, the things that are going to prepare you for Year 12 English probably aren't going to be Year 10 or 11 English . Of course, do your homework and whatever else but, the best things you can do to prepare for English are as follows:

- Get an exercise book and call it your vocabulary book. Every time you hear or read a word you don't know of, look it up and put the word in here. Use the word in a funny sentence, maybe read over the book every so often.
- Read as much books as you can. Not just random fantasy/sci-fi books like I am Number Four (good series though), challenge yourself a bit, too. When I was at the end of Year 9 I was heavily into S. King books and they were pretty decent. If you aren't being challenged by anything you find, come back here and ask for some appropriately challenging books.
- Keep writing as much as you can . Start a blog and write in it every fortnight or week or something (or more, if you have more to say). Do whatever you want with it, but pretend as if five hundred people are going to judge you for shitty writing and write as clearly as you can . When you read over your old blogs every so often, you'll start to judge your own writing and improve even more anyway.
- Be a cynic and hate the media.

1: Ok good Idea
2: Already doing that
3: I do that on Devaint Art
4: YES ! I HATE WHAT MASS MEDIA HAS DONE!


Thanks for the advice !

[brenden]

Now start hating on the words they use to manipulate

[mackintosh]

Great advice already been given. Just wanted to add, probably the most useful skill for year 12 that can be developed in years 10-11 English, is how to dissect a text. Learning how to draw out ideas, substantiate an argument, thinking critically about topics, interpret events and put it all together in a digestible fashion is something that takes a while to master. It doesn't really matter what text you are doing, these are transferable skills that will serve you well in year 12. Also don't stress out! Many people who do well in year 12 haven't necessarily been crash hot in years 10/11, in merely thinking about it you are light years ahead of others.