Text Response Text

[remo14]

Should I stick with Twelve Angry Men that we have already studied in class or should I study my own text being The War poems by Wilfred Owen. We are also going to study On the Waterfront in class but I don't enjoy analyzing movies. Recommending any other texts would be appreciated, specifically for text response.

[charmanderp]

I'm planning to prepare OtW for school as well as A Christmas Carol for the exam (which we aren't doing at school but I've read 54354535 times and it's one of my favourite books ever). And then choose after seeing the prompts. Probably a waste of time but yeah.

[remo14]

what is that book about?

[pi]

I would strongly recommend doing texts that you have studied with a teacher in school.

[remo14]

I know but we are doing the most popular two texts for the text response section.I heard doing the texts that are less popular are easier to score high on especially in their first year as the response would be seen as more unique.

[pi]

I know but we are doing the most popular two texts for the text response section.I heard doing the texts that are less popular are easier to score high on especially in their first year as the response would be seen as more unique.

Hmmm, this is partially true.

Doing a common text does indeed mean that is is more competitive, however, most of the schools that do these texts aren't too great in terms of state rankings, so that does lower the standard of the competition. Whilst doing a text that is uncommon (eg. Ransom) might mean you are up against Mac.Rob, MHS, UHS, etc.

Doing a text in it's first year is definitely a good thing, that's true. They do get marked slightly easier in the sense that examiners aren't sure what to expect as an average standard, so it can be easier to get a higher mark. However, in order to get that higher mark, you really need to think outside the box, and if your school isn't doing that text and if you aren't getting help with it from a tutor or someone, it would be pretty difficult to get those unique ideas needed for a 8+/10 text response.

In the end, it's up to you, but if I was in your place, I'd go with what the school is doing.

[remo14]

I sent my English teacher an email as well regarding this issue. Reply would determine whether I stick with 12 angry men or not. Thanks for the help it clarified the pros and the cons.

Here is a sample of one of the poems for whoever is curious:


Asleep

Under his helmet, up against his pack,
After so many days of work and waking,
Sleep took him by the brow and laid him back.

There, in the happy no-time of his sleeping,
Death took him by the heart. There heaved a quaking
Of the aborted life within him leaping,
Then chest and sleepy arms once more fell slack.

And soon the slow, stray blood came creeping
From the intruding lead, like ants on track.

Whether his deeper sleep lie shaded by the shaking
Of great wings, and the thoughts that hung the stars,
High-pillowed on calm pillows of God's making,
Above these clouds, these rains, these sleets of lead,
And these winds' scimitars,
-Or whether yet his thin and sodden head
Confuses more and more with the low mould,
His hair being one with the grey grass
Of finished fields, and wire-scrags rusty-old,
Who knows? Who hopes? Who troubles? Let it pass!
He sleeps. He sleeps less tremulous, less cold,
Than we who wake, and waking say Alas!

Wilfred Owen

[Surgeon]

Unless you have a tutor that can help you to develop a very deep and meaningful understanding of a text that you're not studying at school - I really wouldn't recommend writing on it in the exam.

In my opinion, if you can't write a piece on a more "common" text (having studied it at school) that is going to differentiate you from the rest of the state and get you in the 8+/10 range, then you probably won't be able to study a book yourself and produce a piece that will get you into the same 8+/10 range.

This is completely dependent upon the individual, though. I don't think it would be a good idea because I don't think I could write to the same high standard on a text that I've studied by myself as opposed to one that I've studied at school. I don't have a tutor for English.

[charmanderp]

In the end if you write a high level piece it doesn't matter if it's a popular text or not, you'll get a high level grade. If you can't write a piece that will get you a high level grade then writing on a less popular text isn't going to change that.

[remo14]

Having studied literature last year and having read both texts 3 times - Stasiland and Hamlet (especially for Hamlet going into fine details) and writing numerous amounts of essays I realize that real problem that has been preventing my message from coming across. Bad handwriting. Anyone have ideas how to improve it as you have convinced me to stay with the school text for text response. Also is 1000-1100 words an hour efficient or is 1400 works required for 10s??

[charmanderp]

Having studied literature last year and having read both texts 3 times - Stasiland and Hamlet (especially for Hamlet going into fine details) and writing numerous amounts of essays I realize that real problem that has been preventing my message from coming across. Bad handwriting. Anyone have ideas how to improve it as you have convinced me to stay with the school text for text response. Also is 1000-1100 words an hour efficient or is 1400 works required for 10s?

I wrote well over 2600 words (over two essays) for Lit last year and got a really low A+ (probably just made the cutoff) so it doesn't really matter, seeing as my first essay, which was longer, probably got me 7-8 out of 10. I've seen 800 word essays get perfect scores in that subject and 1000-1200 is probably ideal for English.

Although my handwriting is also woeful ahaha. Maybe try double-spacing? I used a fountain pen for the exam and that definitely helped as well.

I wrote well over 2600 words (over two essays) for Lit last year and got a really low A+ (probably just made the cutoff) so it doesn't really matter, seeing as my first essay, which was longer, probably got me 7-8 out of 10. I've seen 800 word essays get perfect scores in that subject and 1000-1200 is probably ideal for English.

Although my handwriting is also woeful ahaha. Maybe try double-spacing? I used a fountain pen for the exam and that definitely helped as well.

[remo14]

I already do double spacing.  Can't worry about it anywhere holidays have started must finish unit 4 bio,chem and spesh and write lots of essays!!!.

[pi]

I already do double spacing.  Can't worry about it anywhere holidays have started must finish unit 4 bio,chem and spesh and write lots of essays!!!.

Haha, you don't need t do that much work in the holidays to do alright in VCE! I definitely didn't do that much (to take an example)!

Remember to relax a bit, the term 3 holidays is where the studying should get a little intense

[remo14]

oh wait forgot about the umat as well. 11 more trial exams total would be 24 here i come. So lucky med entry restarted the severs. Can re do the exams 

[charmanderp]

Dude I did like 50 trial exams for chem and still messed up the actual thing. Slow down, be practical about how much work you do. Instead of accelerating Unit 4 science subjects which you haven't done in class you should focus on English seeing as you can actually prepare for that now. You're just going to end up redoing all of the bio, chem and spesh stuff at school.

And writing practice essays isn't necessarily the best method of preparation for the English exam.