"I'm shit at writing"

[brenden]

A common theme on the English Submissions board is "I'm shit at writing but please mark". I do see this elsewhere on the forums "I'm shit at English, I hate it."
The former is perhaps a defense mechanism to lower people's expectations but certainly applies to this thread anyway. Evidently, I only took English 3/4 in VCE however this is relevant to all three studies (and perhaps just VCE in general!)

I done got me some news for you boys and girls - once upon a time, everyone is shit at writing. Once upon a time, everyone is shit at anything they ever did. No one starts off as the best. Once upon a time, Michael Phelps didn't know how to swim. Below is a paragraph devoted to a Macbeth essay - written by, you guessed it, the one and only Brendinkles. I wrote this nearing the end of 2011 so it is perhaps the best example of my writing prior to when I decided I was going to try really hard for my final year. I absolutely /promise/ you this is exactly what I wrote. This is my third and last paragraph of the essay. The prompt was something to do with Macbeth being a tyrant or a hero or something something.

In a needless act of revenge on the 'traitor' Macduff, that ultimately triggers his downfall, Macbeth orders Macduff's family - a wife and child - killed. Shakespeare uses this - the murder of a woman and child - as symbol of how truly wicked Macbeth has become, and how far from grace a murder causes you to fall. Shakespeare also uses the scene to set up Macbeth's killing at the hand of Macduff.

That's all, folks. I'm sure you don't need a high score in English to see that this paragraph would qualify someone to say: "I'm shit at writing." Obviously, it makes grammatical sense, but it's a three sentence long paragraph, because I didn't know what else I'd even write.
Point of story is - if you're shit at writing - get better at it. Fail at it. Fail and keep failing until a time in which you are successful. EVERYONE starts off somewhere. No matter where you are right now, if you work hard... well, what you achieve is up to you. I went from writing the above paragraph to being one of the better English students in the state (go figure, right?). So you can't blame my score on natural genius, a rich private school, or anything else like that. I wrote/failed/wrote/failed more times than some of you could imagine lol, and it got me to where I am. So, if you're shit at writing and want to score well in VCE, it seems there is only one thing left to do - get really good at writing.

Please, stop discouraging yourselves and thinking about how low you could potentially score (or how high you could potentially score) and just work your guts out! Most of you will be approaching your first writing SAC soon, I'd say, so how hard are you willing to work between now and that first SAC in order to get the score you want? How hard are you willing to work between now and the exam to get the score you want?

I dare you to fail - Eric Thomas.

[Jeggz]

your inspiration just overflows brendinkles
THANKS A HEAP FOR THIS!

[REBORN]

I agree.

I started off with a B in LA!

Work hard and you'll be fine in English!

[pi]

It's all to do with the modesty of AN, a disease people have on here

[brenden]

It's all to do with the modesty of AN, a disease people have on here

I think it's more people intimidated by the huge scores, which people definitely have on here hahaha.


Edit.

your inspiration just overflows brendinkles
THANKS A HEAP FOR THIS!

You're always welcome!

[Jayward]

this is amazing respect. and everything here is very true. I hate it when people say 'I dont think I'll get about 40' even before the year has truly begun. IMO, everyone should aim for 50, cause anybody can get it, so long as the required work prescriptions are met

[abeybaby]

I was getting straight D+'s for English in year 9

[FlorianK]

I wrote this this essay Essay in April for a SAC. We were allowed to write this SAC at home and hand it in to our teacher twice so she gave us feedback twice as well. This is my 2nd redraft and hence my final version. The last line of the body paragraph is of particular jocularity.
NOTE: it is NOT a troll essay, I was trying to do my best and score as high as possible.

As an excerpt, my last of four body paragraphs:
Joining a group and being open to changes can give you many benefits. For example when you join a weight loss group they’ll motivate you to lose weight. By belonging to that certain group your opinions on food will change and you’ll see certain foods in a different ways. By helping you to lose weight you’d literally be shaped by that particular group.

In the end of the year, I've put in effort and improved my alot writing essays in the 9+ range and full-marking Section A.

Everyone can do good in English. It is one of the subjects where you just need to ask other people for help. Let multiple people mark your essays  and always do your work step-by-step. Start off writing your essay completly structured and when you're comfitable with that do your own style, don't try to develop your personal style first. Also use a thesaurus and put in words that make your essay flow, they might not be the correct words to use. However, your English Teacher or Tutor will help you using them correctly.

[thushan]

A common theme on the English Submissions board is "I'm shit at writing but please mark". I do see this elsewhere on the forums "I'm shit at English, I hate it."
The former is perhaps a defense mechanism to lower people's expectations but certainly applies to this thread anyway. Evidently, I only took English 3/4 in VCE however this is relevant to all three studies (and perhaps just VCE in general!)

I done got me some news for you boys and girls - once upon a time, everyone is shit at writing. Once upon a time, everyone is shit at anything they ever did. No one starts off as the best. Once upon a time, Michael Phelps didn't know how to swim. Below is a paragraph devoted to a Macbeth essay - written by, you guessed it, the one and only Brendinkles. I wrote this nearing the end of 2011 so it is perhaps the best example of my writing prior to when I decided I was going to try really hard for my final year. I absolutely /promise/ you this is exactly what I wrote. This is my third and last paragraph of the essay. The prompt was something to do with Macbeth being a tyrant or a hero or something something.

In a needless act of revenge on the 'traitor' Macduff, that ultimately triggers his downfall, Macbeth orders Macduff's family - a wife and child - killed. Shakespeare uses this - the murder of a woman and child - as symbol of how truly wicked Macbeth has become, and how far from grace a murder causes you to fall. Shakespeare also uses the scene to set up Macbeth's killing at the hand of Macduff.

That's all, folks. I'm sure you don't need a high score in English to see that this paragraph would qualify someone to say: "I'm shit at writing."
Point of story is - if you're shit at writing - get better at it. Fail at it. Fail and keep failing until a time in which you are successful. EVERYONE starts off somewhere. No matter where you are right now, if you work hard... well, what you achieve is up to you. I went from writing the above paragraph to being one of the better English students in the state (go figure, right?). So you can't blame my score on natural genius, a rich private school, or anything else like that. I wrote/failed/wrote/failed more times than some of you could imagine lol, and it got me to where I am. So, if you're shit at writing and want to score well in VCE, it seems there is only one thing left to do - get really good at writing.

Please, stop discouraging yourselves and thinking about how low you could potentially score (or how high you could potentially score) and just work your guts out! Most of you will be approaching your first writing SAC soon, I'd say, so how hard are you willing to work between now and that first SAC in order to get the score you want? How hard are you willing to work between now and the exam to get the score you want?

I dare you to fail - Eric Thomas.

I was like that. I took that one step further though...I actually quit English altogether (and did English Language). I somewhat regret it, because from what I see here, it'd have given me a really badly needed set of skills and character traits.

[brenden]

Different experiences for different people develop different things, Thush. And that's okay. Besides, you might be a slightly different person - and who you are right now is fantastic! The only trait I'd change... Well, you could be a little less hard on yourself :p

[Lolly]

May I add to this?

When I started Lit in year 10 I desperately wanted to do well - so so so so badly- like, you can't even imagine how much it meant to me. I suppose was a combination of being younger than everybody else and wanting to prove myself and finally finding something I really loved.

But in my first Lit exam, I got a C.  Not even joking. I was shattered.

However, my teacher kept encouraging me, and I think his sustained belief in me was what fuelled my determination.  I don't think I  would have got very far without that encouragement.
So I worked at it, and my progress was steady. By the end of that year I managed to reach an A. I was ecstatic - but I knew I hadn't hit the ceiling yet. Throughout those summer holidays I read all of my texts, wrote notes like a crazy person and came back to school feeling hopeful ( and also nervous as hell.)

Somehow in the first SAC last year, I reached A plus, and the rest of the year was successful beyond any previous expectations I'd had of myself.
But it wasn't so long ago that I had been scraping Bs and Cs.

So Brenden's right. Don't think that you're shitty at something until you've really tried, because trust me: if there's anything I learnt last year, it's that anything is possible if you really, really try.

[brenden]

Damn right.

[Dedicated]

Agreed. Hard work overrides raw talent. Belief is vital as well as for many VCE becomes a psychological test. Without the inner drive and motivation no one succeed and plus it feels much better getting a what you wanted after so much effort being put in.

[lala1911]

In year 10 I didn't even know how to write an essay. I scored a UG for the SAC and exam. I had no clue at all. In year 11, my essay SAC scores in order were 56%, 74%, 78%, 78% and 68%. Right now in year 12 I feel as if I cam continue progressing and score some A's.

[Hancock]

As an excerpt, my last of four body paragraphs:
Joining a group and being open to changes can give you many benefits. For example when you join a weight loss group they’ll motivate you to lose weight. By belonging to that certain group your opinions on food will change and you’ll see certain foods in a different ways. By helping you to lose weight you’d literally be shaped by that particular group.

...literally be shaped...

This is the greatest sentence I've ever read in an I&B essay.