50 in English - Feel free to ask questions.

[brenden]

The Quiet American is an incredible book.

[Yang Li]

I quite like both Int. of Maladies and The Quiet American. I have a particular fondness for Ransom due to it's nod of the head to the Iliad.

The easiest texts (out of those listed) to study are A Christmas Carol and The Quiet American. They are easily understood and there is an abundance of resources available for them.

Personally, the ones I enjoyed reading the most are A Farewell to Arms, 1984 and Richard III (not on list anymore).

Cosi and Edgar Allan Poe shorts are the hardest to grasp.

Great seeing so many enthusiasts 

Yang

[jeanweasley]

Just a question, when should I practise doing English exams? And how does one build consistency in this subject?
I feel like improving in this subject is such a hard thing to do. What is A+ for English?

[Dayman]

I quite like both Int. of Maladies and The Quiet American. I have a particular fondness for Ransom due to it's nod of the head to the Iliad.

The easiest texts (out of those listed) to study are A Christmas Carol and The Quiet American. They are easily understood and there is an abundance of resources available for them.

Personally, the ones I enjoyed reading the most are A Farewell to Arms, 1984 and Richard III (not on list anymore).

Cosi and Edgar Allan Poe shorts are the hardest to grasp.

Great seeing so many enthusiasts 

Yang

What's your opinion on 12 angry men?

And furthemore what's the criteria in choosing which text to do at the end of the year?

for example:

-Difficulty

-passion

-popularity?..

[Lolly]

I quite like both Int. of Maladies and The Quiet American. I have a particular fondness for Ransom due to it's nod of the head to the Iliad.

The easiest texts (out of those listed) to study are A Christmas Carol and The Quiet American. They are easily understood and there is an abundance of resources available for them.

Personally, the ones I enjoyed reading the most are A Farewell to Arms, 1984 and Richard III (not on list anymore).

Cosi and Edgar Allan Poe shorts are the hardest to grasp.

Great seeing so many enthusiasts 

Yang

I've heard a lot about the Iliad. I thought about reading the ending but...never got round to it.

I don't think that the Quiet American is an easy text.  I found the plot itself to be quite complex, with all of its flashbacks and flash forwards and change in setting and conspiracies and so forth. In terms of concepts for essays ( which I haven't written yet), there's a lot to mine out. For a short book, it's really quite dense. It's taken me a while to pull apart the layers.

 Florian, I really do love Interpreter of Maladies, but after some thought, I honestly prefer The Quiet American. The messages and ideas and the questions raised in TQA seem far more pertinent and powerful. Of course, that's just my opinion.

[Yang Li]

Hey all,

Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with 12 Angry Men. It is fairly new on the syllabus and from what I've heard is not too challenging.

For the text you choose at the end of the year, ideally, you have a choice between two texts if you know both quite well. However, most students tend to concentrate on one text a bit more. Whatever the case, answer the prompt you are most familiar with. Practice does produce consistency. It is important to choose a prompt that you feel you have, at least to some extent, explored before.

You should practice writing full essays / exam papers when you feel that you a solid grasp of what is expected in each essay type. Sure it doesn't hurt to keep practising full essays from day 1, but you can get the same level of feedback by writing paragraphs. I would suggest being able to pump out solid full essays by the time term 4 comes around.

The Quiet American is one of those great texts in English where average students will have a substantial amount to write about, and exceptional students can really show off on. Therefore, I agree that it can be both simple and complex, depending on the level of comprehension a student is aiming towards. I love the text.

All the best

Yang

[Yang Li]

Hey FlorianK,

Building vocab is one of those things that needs to be done over time. For year 12 students (especially EAL) who struggle with it, I suggest application based vocab building, where a student is expected to use the vocab needed for the essay topic they are working on.

They should acquire it (via reading good essays/resources etc.), apply it (by using it in your essay); and then augment their abilities by first correcting any incorrect use, then finding more ways to use the particular word or phrase.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way around this. It comes down to either natural curiosity or discipline.

All the best,

Yang

[abcdqdxD]

Hi Yang,

Any tips for analysing effect on reader in an LA? Struggling with this a bit.

Thanks

[Yang Li]

Hey abcdqdxD,

Did you PM me about this?

Please post my reply to you on this forum if you have it. I think you asked a great question and it'll help other students who may be asking similar questions.

Cheers,

Yang

[abcdqdxD]

The easiest way for me to put this is this:

You need two main things in your body paragraphs:
1) What the writer/speaker is trying to do
2) How the reader/audience reacts

Do not mix up what the writer is trying do to with his/her contention! It is what he is trying to do in order to persuade someone to his contention.

The reader never has these reactions (these are too vague):
1) pays attention
2) believes contention
3) is concerned (about what?)
4) feel contempt (towards who?)

The best thing to do is see how it is put into practice. We have covered that in our classes at http://www.aimandachieve.com.au. You're welcome to check us out; or, find a tutor/teacher who can take you through the process of writing that body paragraph for LA.

All the best,

Yang


Question: Isn't what the author is trying to do the same as the way the readers react?

[brenden]

Hm, I'm perhaps getting into semantics, but I disagree that prompts should be chosen based on familiarity. I think prompts should be chosen based on how well they will let you show off your knowledge and skills, which for many will be the prompt that is familiar.

Also, I agree with Lolly- TQA is so rich and a wonderful text. Humanity well captured.

[Yang Li]

Hey Brenbreezy,

I''m not fussed. I think your take on familiarity stands. For me, the two are the same.



Hey abcdqdx,

"The writer induces fear in the reader by using emotive words such as...."

The first half of that sentence is the effect, the second half is what the writer does.

All the best,

Yang

[jono88]

What are some ways of incorporating tonal shift into a language analysis piece?

[Brytz]

In a context essay, what would be the most effective way of integrating quotes with an example please?

Are quotes useful? Are they necessary?

[koby]

HAVE TO SAY, LOVE THIS TRHEAD, THANK YOU, THANK YOU,

just wondering..

with expository essay ; since its based on discussion on the topic, what is the best way of structuring your paragraphs
eg ; should you write your first paragraph on agreeing with the topic, and the second one 'disagreeing', or could you mix
it up in one paragraph

with text response  my teacher has taught us this way
ASSUME I AGREE WITH THE TOPIC MOSTLY
p1 - agree
P2 - agree
p3- agree
p4- show the opposite,

could you do the same with context  (expository essays )

THANKS IN ADVANCE.