50 in English - Feel free to ask questions.

[Yang Li]

Hey xenial,

Whose reality is a difficult context to grasp. It is also the one with the most variance in what you can expect to tackle in the exam. My pointer would be to read up on ideas relating to subject and objective realities; how they differ, how they relate to each other, and in what situations they can be applied in. This is a somewhat philosophical question regarding whether our perception of the world can justify its existence. There is also a social theory element based on the fact that we humans tend to agree on a "common perception of truth" and therefore regard all those who do not subscribe to these facts as insane. Historical examples such as Leonardo Da Vinci exemplifies the maxim - consensus does not equal truth.

Hey not-you,

Congrats on doing quite well in your SACs. If you are on top of your game, an average of 9 out of 10 across your essays should put you above 40. However, it also comes down to the overall quality of your cohort. An algorithm adjusts your SAC marks according to how well you and your classmates perform in the exam. Then it combines that mark with your exam mark, then places you on a normal distribution of the whole state, thereby creating your score.

All the best to you both,

Yang

[scandin9]

Hi Yang,
What is a good way to improve sophistication in text responses?

[Yang Li]

Hey scandin9,

That is a hard question to answer. Start by reading as much on the material as you can to build ideas. Write as many paragraphs as you can and get feedback on them in order to improve your linguistic ability.

There are however, a multitude of things that will "improve sophistication" and so the best thing to do is to ask someone to give you some pointers after they've read some of your writing.

All the best,

Yang

[1001]

hi there, I just got told that English will not be in your primary 4 subjects next year.
Does anyone know if this true?

[Yang Li]

Hey there,

As far as I know, any one of the English subjects  (English, EAL, Lit or Eng. Lang.) have to be in your top four.

All the best,

Yang

[scandin9]

What is your opinion about 'preparing' essays that were marked to a high standard by your english teacher?

[Yang Li]

Hey scandin9,

I'm not as against "preparing" exams as I used to be. I could see how a student with a somewhat tenuous grasp of English can benefit from refining their own writing and remembering some of that.

However, I strongly suggest that students do not memorise whole essays to be regurgitated in the exam. It is too rigid a method and does not work in the exam. Make sure you answer the actual prompt that is given in the exam. A much better thing to do is to memorise ideas so that you can regurgitate topic sentences that are relevant to the prompt given.

All the best,

Yang

[09Ti08]

Hi Yang Li,

1/ For text response, if I am given a character-based topic, do you think that I should discuss the themes of the text even though I am not fully convinced that it is relevant to the topic? For example, I am doing "A Christmas Carol", and if the topic is: "Does Scrooge change due to guilt or compassion? Discuss" , then should I include the bit about how Scrooge represents English society back in Victorian era and how Dickens uses Scrooge to change the society?

2/ Also, when you refer to the author of a text and his purpose of writing it, do you use present tense or past tense?

3/ Do you think that the length of an essay is an essential factor in determining study score? I have always been told by my teacher that I am expected to write 3 pages for each essay...

Thank you very much!

[Yang Li]

Hey 09Ti08

For character based topics, usually any theme is relevant to the central character. You can certainly talk about English society during the Industrial Revolution. However, I'm sure you can include that as a minor point under another theme. The important skill to have here is to plan well so that you have enough flexibility to substantiate your body paragraphs without talking about another topic entirely.

The best idea is to use the present tense. Use the simple present through most of your essay and the continuous present to describe past events.

Top grade essays should be at least 1000-1200 words.

All the best,

Yang




Sorry I've been away for a while guys. I've been busy preparing the coming seminar at the end of August. PM me for details.

[Smiley_]

did you prepare for one or both of your english texts for the exam?

[Yang Li]

Hey fishandchips,

I "prepared" for neither of them. Because I knew both texts quite well, I was free to choose between four prompts in the exam.

All the best,

Yang

[Yang Li]

Hey all

The seminar will run on 2pm this Saturday for FREE.

I have refunded all students who have paid. Thanks to the guys and girls who paid and showed interest!

The new revised seminar will run for an hour and cover how to write a context essay, with worked examples. Everyone is welcome to join us online. We will endeavour to keep bringing out these seminars, concentrating on each context / text and the language analysis in isolation.

Please PM or email me at [email protected] to receive an invitation with a link. You will receive the email at 2:00pm on Saturday taking you to the live stream.

Feel free to share the link with your friends and peers.

See you all online

Yang

[akeergar]

Hey Yang,

I've read through some of the post on this thread and you've already been heaps of help.

This probably sounds concerning but I feel like I haven't improved this year. My SAC's tell me that I'm doing well (I've lost 4 marks thus far and I think I'm 1st/2nd ranking) but I feel like my SAC''s are not a measure of how I will go on the exams.

I know that I need to practice to improve my writing but every time I go to write an essay I just get stuck, I'm so unmotivated.

Any tips?
Thanks!

[SÏ3ИИã]

How did you manage to get 50 in such a subjective subject ?? Did you drop any marks on your sacs? What about if you drop 1 or 2 marks - can you still get a 50 ? Did you do a creative at all?

[Yang Li]

Hey akeergar,

If you're in the top 10% of your cohort, I wouldn't be too worried about where you are at the moment. Your exams are more important given they can alter your SAC marks.

I suggest practising writing paragraphs and timing them. You should aim to be able to write a full body paragraph in the text response and the context essay in less than 15mins by the time exams come. Aim to write paragraphs that are more than half a page long.

The only other advice I have is to get used to planning your essays quickly. That way, you never get stuck in an exam.




Hey guy with impossible name,

I've posted on this subject already. You can definitely drop SAC marks and still do well and get 50. I enjoy writing creative pieces, but they are too subjective in my opinion for an exam.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Just another reminder that the seminar covering how to write a context essay (with worked examples) will run on 2pm this Saturday for FREE. Please PM or email me at [email protected] to receive an invitation with a link. You will receive the email at 2:00pm on Saturday taking you to the live stream. Feel free to share the link with your friends and peers.

All the best guys,

Yang