ESSAYS in the exam

[hyperblade01]

Use of examples:
I know that everyone says not to use examples from the textbook, but what about examples from essays in the assesors report?

Pre-prepared essays:
I've read it from various places not to use pre-prepared essays but what do they exactly mean?
I've also read that on the day you should pick the topic that you've prepared, researched and studied - so does that mean you can copy/regurgitate statements here and there?

[/0]

Any examples that are out-dated or that 'have been'/'are being' used by many people should be avoided, unless you can add something unique and relevant to them. Textbooks will often have generic examples which are boring and people will have used those in essays a lot. As for examples in the examiner's report, many of them could be outdated by now, and other people will also have read the examiner's reports, so I would be wary of those. Two topics people will be talking about alot are Ruddspeak and the bushfires - these are relevant examples, which is good, but they will be used by many people, so you must ensure that your exposition and analysis is unique, perhaps including a few interesting quotes or commentary by linguists such as Don Watson.

You can't really pre-prepare essays since you can be sure the examiners will not repeat a question they have asked previously, and if the pre-prepared essay does not capture the essence of the question, it will look off-topic or irrelevant. The stimulus material will also need to be worked into your essay, and in fact it can serve as a guide when you write your paragraphs, since the stimulus material can often encapsulate several facets of an essay question.

Having said that, if a pre-prepared example or even paragraph fits perfectly into the essay question, by all means, regurgitate.

[hyperblade01]

Thanks for your opinion/input/feedback/response!

I shoulda really cleared this up sooner >.>

[Gloamglozer]

...including a few interesting quotes or commentary by linguists such as Don Watson.

You mean Don Watson as in the Australian public speaker who was Keating's speech writer?

[appianway]

It's the same guy. He's also a social commentator on language change, and he's written a number of books about the state of language in Australia.

[ngRISING]

that scrap book would have been good. luckily i did one last month