yeah, you can definitely improve. especially with the transcript analysis. the more you do, the better you'll get. englang is very different to normal english. if you put in the time, you will likely get a decent score. unlike with regular english where it largely comes down to getting lucky with essay topics.
it's much easier to prepare for englang essays than regular english essays, as the topics are pretty concrete and can be easily prepared for.
i.e. make sure you can write good esays on:
-standard english
-varieties of australian english including aboriginal and ethnolects
-language and identity (individual/social/cultural)
-euphemism, doublespeak, political language and PC
-jargon + slang
-PoA, politeness and taboo's
-history of english/australian english
-language + power
-language and the media
if you can write high quality essays on any of these topics, then the essay component of the exam should be fairly straight forward, as I don't believe that there is that much more which they could ask you.
anything that I missed?
edit: vexx, do all the VCAA ones right back to when the subject began. they have transcripts, and the questions are pretty similar.