How to write a 20/20 Section B Creating and Presenting Context Piece

[BlueSky_3]

In balance, given that you wrote in this style and did well in it, I assume a lot of teachers also approve.  Cool beans.

A bit pedantic but you can't really assume "a lot" of teachers approve, since his exam piece would've been marked by two, obviously both the markers would've given him 10, but still 2 isn't a lot.

But yeah I can understand with what your saying in that, giving examples in intro almost always encourages a simple listing of more examples and not a thorough exploration of ideas, which is what such a philosophical piece is essentially all about 

Just quietly...

I was under the impression that it gets marked by no less than 5 people.

That's right but that's for the entire exam, since each piece gets marked by two assessors. 

[werdna]

To add to what EZ has said, I would also warn against naming any books/authors/examples in the introduction - I wouldn't even name them in the topic sentences. I've only gone as far as saying something like 'Social parallels and literary works such as Carson McCullers' 'Member of the Wedding' delve deeply into these ideals...' towards the end of the introduction, and even then my teacher told me to avoid naming the book just to be safe.

In terms of getting a 20/20 for a context piece, I definitely didn't have the top-tier writing prowess or skill like Viva or EZ - I wrote a straight, formal expository essay that included an external example then a book example in each paragraph. Basically what I did to make the essay stand out was to look deeper and further than just saying that '____ shapes our identity' and '____ leads to belonging' but coming up with ideas that are much more complex than the words of the context (which is a huge trap for identity and belonging). Also little things like comparing/linking characters'/people's experiences throughout the essay, even if they're not from the same book or example etc, to demonstrate how the ideas can be applied universally. And overall, examiners want to see complex ideas over complex language - explain complex ideas using simple language (but try to embellish with a few 'big' words here and there), not the other way round... It is rare to see an essay with complex ideas AND complex language that is done extremely well, eg. the likes of EZ.

I'm not saying there is a right or wrong answer to context essays, this is just my approach to getting a perfect score in it... All in all, it's about having a pool of strong ideas and examples that you can easily delve into!

[VivaTequila]

I definitely didn't have the top-tier writing prowess or skill like Viva or EZ

I'm flattered but unfortunately not spoken for - EZ is a like the James Joyce of the 21st Century.

My life is however complete - I was just compared to a mythical God.

Adding a note on the OP that there's plenty of good discussion on page 2, which really should be read by people who read the OP too.

[thushan]

This is seriously good. Very good quality. Makes me glad that I didn't do English in Year 12 - my writing is nothing short of vapid compared to these masterpieces

[charmanderp]

This is seriously good. Very good quality. Makes me glad that I didn't do English in Year 12 - my writing is nothing short of vapid compared to these masterpieces

I'm sure you would have done just fine, Thushan There's really quite an overemphasis on how flamboyant your writing has to be in mainstream English - as long as it's reasonably sophisticated, a really high intellectual level of discussion is all you need to get full marks, unlike Lit where it's a lot of verbose sesquipadalian jargon.

[ANILBALA]

hey I was just wondering how well do creative pieces fare at the end of the year, I heard they're a bit risky but my teacher said it shouldn't be a problem as long as they link to the prompt. But do you need to make the links as explicit as expository response to a context prompt or can use the prompt as a springboard for your ideas

[pi]

I've always been told that creative pieces are usually either top of the range, or at the very bottom. Hence the risk, either they "click" or they don't. Hence, a lot of people (such as myself) choose to write a creative/expos hybrid instead to add that safety net.

But if you're confident that you can write creative for a wide range of prompts, go for it!

(also, loving the username Anil )

[Unknown_one]

Can I Inquire what texts that could be read for Identity and Belonging in order to draw links from them?

[VivaTequila]

Can I Inquire what texts that could be read for Identity and Belonging in order to draw links from them?

It really just goes by what books you can go for that you've already read. If you work with what you already know, then it will work better for you because you're discussing content matter which you're familiar with.

[Unknown_one]

Any complex ones?
The books that I read are sort of just physics journals and some other older books that have very little relevance when explaining some aspects of identity, rather more of the identity change in an environment which can be done with pretty much any book.
Is there a list of books that contains many expansive identity and belonging ideas?
Thanks

[nisha]

You don't even have to learn it from books. Just think about in general, people's situations...people that you see everyday.

[charmanderp]

http://education.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=136&intversion=272

This is very good. Unfortunately the Identity and Belonging one not so much: http://education.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=136&intversion=284

[dgoldstein17]

Brilliant.

Doing very well in Text and Language Analysis, but lagging at a 7.5-8/10 on Context.

Doing 'Encountering Conflict' - had better spend the evening rethinking my idea.

[charmanderp]

Brilliant.

Doing very well in Text and Language Analysis, but lagging at a 7.5-8/10 on Context.

Doing 'Encountering Conflict' - had better spend the evening rethinking my idea.

Carn Dees.

[VivaTequila]

Restickying this as we are close to the exam and I think people can benefit from a read. Will edit main post etc accordingly to indicate that the sample essay provided is no longer on the text list, but it still gives a good indicator of how to go about writing context essays.