Literature dilemma

[goku69]

Hello everyone,
I am currently in year 11 and will be in year 12 in 2015.I am in a tough situation at the moment and I have an equally tough decision to make. From year 7-10, I have done literally no work, until the end of year 10 I decided I wanted to go to uni so i tried super hard at school and achieved very high scores for most of my subjects. I decided to do Chem, Bio , eng, methods and adv general maths in yr 11. Chem, bio and methods are my strong subjects but eng and adv gen maths are my weaker subjects. I decided to not do specialist maths in year 12 because I did not enjoy it and found it pointless. However, even though english is not my strongest subject (C average)  I want to replace specialist with literature 3/4. My logic for this is that I want to do Bachelor of Arts majoring either philosophy, english or ancient history and all of these require good essay and analytical skills and so literature will help me in uni. I asked my english teacher whether I am capable and she said she does not know because I only recently moved to that school in semester 2 2014 and have not done enough work to demonstrate my abilities.

My question is do you guys think that I should do lit 3/4 as it will help me in the long run and cost me a few atar scores, or do something like further maths just to get an atar score that is good and not need it? If I do decide to do lit, do you guys think that if I try very hard in the 2 months holiday leading up to year 12, would I be able to be good a lit and eng ? By trying hard I mean one or more essays a day for 2 months straight and by good I mean from Ds to A or A+. I am from Melbourne but I want to attend the Univ of Sydney 's Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science course which is 83.25 ATAR. With that in mind do you think it'll be possible to get that score if I accel in chem, bio and methods and eng and lit is decent or average or below? What should I do to better prepare myself for lit 3/4 during the holidays?

Thank very much for spending your time to read this long question and I appreciate your advice.

[Auralee]

I strongly advise against pursuing Literature 3/4 without having completed units 1/2. As a strong English student myself, I made the tough decision with deciding to drop Literature at the end of this year because personally I found the transition from English to Literature too difficult. People might disagree with me, however in my own experience the two subjects can hardly be drawn with any comparisons. The manner in which you analyse and write your essays in Literature is a whole other ball game to how you write and analyse in mainstream English.

I really enjoyed Literature, don't get me wrong! I had an awesome teacher and had a lot of fun in my classes. However, don't be fooled because this subject is considered the specialist mathematics of English. It requires a lot of work and is one of those subjects which I would wrap caution tape right around if you have not attempted the 1/2.

You really need to try it to see if you like it!

[walkec]

I really want you to make the best decision, so I'm going to be honest here. If you're at about a C average mark for English now, it's already going to be difficult, but not impossible to improve your grades throughout next year in English. However, I do think if English isn't a naturally stronger subject that it is not a good idea to take Literature.

Like Auraleee said, Literature is like the Spesh of English. I think many people underestimate Literature and think you can just bullshit your way through an essay, but this is never the case for an average mark. Literature looks at the smaller details of language, which can be difficult enough to get your head around even when you are a strong English student. Going from Ds to As is a massive improvement, and one that will be quite difficult to achieve (although not impossible).

So overall, I'd advise against taking Literature!

[literally lauren]

Whilst I can't speak for the workload in other subjects, having done both English and Lit...

don't be fooled because this subject is considered the specialist mathematics of English.

^this.

Lit isn't impossible to do well in, but it is a lot more competitive in English. Only one of the SACs throughout the year is geared towards the exam, so you have to develop multiple skillsets concurrently which can get messy.

However, even though english is not my strongest subject (C average)  I want to replace specialist with literature 3/4. My logic for this is that I want to do Bachelor of Arts majoring either philosophy, english or ancient history and all of these require good essay and analytical skills and so literature will help me in uni.

I can verify that Lit is a lot more helpful at uni than English, but it isn't a prereq for anything as far as I know (certainly not any general BAs) so you should always prioritise subjects you enjoy now over ones you think will be helpful later. Because what you want to do later might end up changing, and at least if you've done something enjoyable in VCE, that'll give you some foundation to build upon.

My question is do you guys think that I should do lit 3/4 as it will help me in the long run and cost me a few atar scores, or do something like further maths just to get an atar score that is good and not need it?

Most Arts courses don't stray too far above a 90 ATAR. If you think that's manageable for you, then do whatever you feel like. However, if you're prioritising a high ATAR, then it might pay to be a little more pragmatic about subject choices. English isn't conceptually difficult; once you understand the tasks and are able to finetune your work, it's pretty easy to score well. Lit (whilst most would argue is more fun) is a lot more fickle, and it's harder to know where you stand. Marks can fluctuate rapidly, texts can annoy to no end, and a shitty teacher can be the death of you.

If I do decide to do lit, do you guys think that if I try very hard in the 2 months holiday leading up to year 12, would I be able to be good a lit and eng ? By trying hard I mean one or more essays a day for 2 months straight and by good I mean from Ds to A or A+.

Improvement is always possible, but it won't happen just because you want it to. As I'm sure you'll see all around the forums: study smart, not hard. Writing one or more essays a day isn't really a sustainable option. It won't guarantee an improvement in marks either, but it will guarantee you burning out. Lit in particular is very much an acquired skillset, not something you drill out over and over until you get it 'right.'

However...
Though there are some very valid reasons why Lit may not be your best option, I still maintain it's the best subject VCAA offers. If you enjoy reading and writing (and thinking) then Lit will give you a great opportunity to flourish. Often the people who do best in Lit have put aside issues of scaling or competition and are just enjoying their texts. There is a far greater allowance for creativity, thoughtfulness, and freedom of interpretation. If this sounds appealing, then Lit might be for you, but be warned, it's not for the faint of heart (a.k.a. those who believe 'aah, I can just churn out a couple of essays and rote-learn 'em during SWOT-VAC')