2012 ENGLISH EXAM HELP - Interpreter, The Old Man, Growing Up Asian & General Qs

[werdna]

GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN EVERYONE! LAST DAY BEFORE THE EXAM..

[melisamg]

do we mention the stories we are going to discuss in the introduction for interpreter of maladies?

[werdna]

do we mention the stories we are going to discuss in the introduction for interpreter of maladies?

You can, it's up to you - BUT whichever approach you take, try to develop complex and broad thematic arguments rather than just based on story-by-story. Good luck!

[werdna]

LAST MINUTE TIPS AND ADVICE:

All of your preparation and work over the past 10 months comes down to your 3 hour exam tomorrow - remember to put as much effort into it as possible! Here is a list of last minute things to keep in mind for each section.

LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
- Specific effect on specific audience
- Specific analysis - look at the connotations and implications of individual words
- TEPE for every technique
- Vary sentence structures and starters, avoid sounding formulaic
- Headline and visual analysis - link back to article where appropriate
- Analyse tone and tonal change - TEE
- Compare and contrast if there is more than 1 article
- Bring at least 4 colour highlighters to the exam so that you can colour highlight the lines you want to analyse. Eg. blue = headline/visuals = 1st para. green = first 3 techniques = 2nd para. This will help you create a visual plan so you know what each paragraph focuses on.

CONTEXT
- Remember to THINK ABOUT the form, language, audience, purpose, ideas when writing your piece
- You DO NOT need to write a statement of intention
- Quality ideas AND quality writing
- Use your text either directly or indirectly - depends on your writing style/form
- Remember to use variety of real life examples and text examples for expository
- Break down expository in terms of causes or types - you can have a 'however' argument if you want
- Remember to develop a strong and complex plot for creative

TEXT RESPONSE
- Focus on how the author or director constructs meaning - keep referring back to them (but don't overdo it!)
- Your examples should be based on METALANGUAGE - is it a symbol, a camera shot, a linguistic feature, an example of setting?
- Be specific!!!
- Pay attention to detail and expand on your ideas and points
- Nominalise - eg don't say 'Mrs Sen is unable to...' but change this to 'Mrs Sen's inability to...' ---> will force you to analyse instead of retell the story
- DO NOT retell the plot - you need to assume that the examiner KNOWS the text well. Only provide a brief overview
- Base your paragraphs on thematic ideas, characters or structures depending on the topic!!!
- Have a 'however' argument - you can disagree or agree with the topic, but your last point should be a 'however' where you look at the other side
- Topic sentence and linking sentence need to be broad! Refer to author/director in them

In tomorrow's exam, do not stress - think logically and methodically, use reading time wisely and read the article at least twice, go over the text response and context prompts and also make sure that you watch timing. Remember all the criterias and all the little tips/tricks you chuck into every essay to make it stand out. Stick to a timeline for each essay, eg 5 mins intro, 15 mins x 3 for body para and 5 for conclusion, leaving 5 for proofreading. In the exam, do whatever you need to do in order to walk out of the exam room happy and satisfied with your work.

GOOD LUCK!

[mals22]

Just a quick question i know it is extremely late.
Im just doing some planning of prompts:
It is difficult to possess a sense of belonging when we are unsure of our own identity.
Could you please give me some examples from GUA or perhaps real life?

Please and Thankyou!

[werdna]

Just a quick question i know it is extremely late.
Im just doing some planning of prompts:
It is difficult to possess a sense of belonging when we are unsure of our own identity.
Could you please give me some examples from GUA or perhaps real life?

Please and Thankyou!

You should really know all your examples by now... no excuses about the collection of stories.

For real-life examples, you could use social identity theory, different songs (google them), TV shows, films etc. Good luck!

[werdna]

LAST MINUTE TIPS AND ADVICE:

All of your preparation and work over the past 10 months comes down to your 3 hour exam tomorrow - remember to put as much effort into it as possible! Here is a list of last minute things to keep in mind for each section.

LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
- Specific effect on specific audience
- Specific analysis - look at the connotations and implications of individual words
- TEPE for every technique
- Vary sentence structures and starters, avoid sounding formulaic
- Headline and visual analysis - link back to article where appropriate
- Analyse tone and tonal change - TEE
- Compare and contrast if there is more than 1 article
- Bring at least 4 colour highlighters to the exam so that you can colour highlight the lines you want to analyse. Eg. blue = headline/visuals = 1st para. green = first 3 techniques = 2nd para. This will help you create a visual plan so you know what each paragraph focuses on.

CONTEXT
- Remember to THINK ABOUT the form, language, audience, purpose, ideas when writing your piece
- You DO NOT need to write a statement of intention
- Quality ideas AND quality writing
- Use your text either directly or indirectly - depends on your writing style/form
- Remember to use variety of real life examples and text examples for expository
- Break down expository in terms of causes or types - you can have a 'however' argument if you want
- Remember to develop a strong and complex plot for creative

TEXT RESPONSE
- Focus on how the author or director constructs meaning - keep referring back to them (but don't overdo it!)
- Your examples should be based on METALANGUAGE - is it a symbol, a camera shot, a linguistic feature, an example of setting?
- Be specific!!!
- Pay attention to detail and expand on your ideas and points
- Nominalise - eg don't say 'Mrs Sen is unable to...' but change this to 'Mrs Sen's inability to...' ---> will force you to analyse instead of retell the story
- DO NOT retell the plot - you need to assume that the examiner KNOWS the text well. Only provide a brief overview
- Base your paragraphs on thematic ideas, characters or structures depending on the topic!!!
- Have a 'however' argument - you can disagree or agree with the topic, but your last point should be a 'however' where you look at the other side
- Topic sentence and linking sentence need to be broad! Refer to author/director in them

In tomorrow's exam, do not stress - think logically and methodically, use reading time wisely and read the article at least twice, go over the text response and context prompts and also make sure that you watch timing. Remember all the criterias and all the little tips/tricks you chuck into every essay to make it stand out. Stick to a timeline for each essay, eg 5 mins intro, 15 mins x 3 for body para and 5 for conclusion, leaving 5 for proofreading. In the exam, do whatever you need to do in order to walk out of the exam room happy and satisfied with your work.

GOOD LUCK!

By the way, to build on this:

- DO NOT forget to read the background information for the analysis article!!! You will look like a complete idiot (pardon language) if you get the form of the piece wrong...
- Don't worry about re-using lines and examples and quotes from practice essays or SACs in tomorrow's exam - the examiners will only see 1 essay of each section from you, whereas your teachers and tutors have been reading stuff that has been repeated over and over. So don't worry if something you write tomorrow sounds too similar to your SAC or practice pieces, and don't worry if you don't think it is 'original' enough - examiners will not be reading any of your previous work!

[cbf]

Thanks for the last minute advice. Just wondering if I write an expository essay can I get away with a bit of informality? Mainly for the introduction because I dont really have a set format for the intro, something like this:

Differing perceptions of reality can cause conflict and suffering
Seemingly everyday we all engage in, to some degree, disputes due to a difference of opinion. For most of the time, such disputes are trivial, it might just be over which flavour ice-cream is the best. The point I’m trying to make here is that we all have differing perceptions of the world, our subjective realities will always diverge from one another; and that’s okay it is apart of this infinitely complex and all-encompassing idea of the human condition. At times conflict and suffering will arise from our differing views, after all none of us like to be wrong. But it is our differing perceptions that are a defining feature of human beings, imagine if we all agreed and adhered to the status quo – little to no progress would be made.

[werdna]

Hmmm remember that the context is considered your 'performance piece' - you want to show off your essay writing skills after 13 years of the subject, it would obviously be a lot better if you could find a more complex way of saying 'the point I'm trying to make..' etc.

But it is entirely up to you, if this style matches the rest of the essay, then definitely stick at it. Good luck!