50 in English - Feel free to ask questions.

[Yang Li]

Hey all,

Let me address the questions one by one.

On tonal shifts in LA - you should simply state the instance(s) that a writer change their tone in any dramatic manner. Often, writers become more emotional as they write; or they calm down. Therefore, the shift is often from logical, rational and calm, to emotive, bombastic and scathing (just examples) and vice versa. Make sure you identify the change from one tone to another.

On quotes, they are definitely necessary. I have a few rules on quotes that really need to be explained with examples in class, but here they are:
1) Try to keep it under 5 words.
2) Integrate it into your point; don't write it and then explain it in another sentence.
3) Only use quotes if they are relevant. Extreme example - quoting "and" doesn't do you any good.
4) Quotes prove you understand the text/film only. They are not points in and of themselves.

On the issue of structure, I think the one given by your teacher is a great one to start with Koby. However, once you become more advanced, you may get bored of the same structure; and will find that often another structure better serves the purpose of any particular prompt you are writing on. I teach my students to write 3 body paragraphs (anywhere between 3 and 5 is fine). I feel that this way, you can fully argue any contention you have brought up in a topic sentence. The full body of what I teach in this area is in the lesson for brainstorming and planning that I have just covered with my class. I applaud your teacher for teaching you to also acknowledge the other side of the argument.

All the best,

Yang

[iwanta90sobad]

Hi Yang,

I was wondering, I haven't been doing to well in my SACS:

Speech: 16/20

Paradise Road Sac: 24/30

Language Analysis Sac: 17/20

If I keep getting around these scores on my SACS, does it look like above 40 is possible for me?


(I believe I have a strong cohort, with many of my peers looking at 45+)

[Edward21]

Hi Yang, I have a question with the expository style in context. At the same time that I'm expressing my own contention, I have to equally expose both sides of what I'm presenting...how exactly do I do this? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, thanks.

 

[abcdqdxD]

Hi Yang,

I was wondering, I haven't been doing to well in my SACS:

Speech: 16/20

Paradise Road Sac: 24/30

Language Analysis Sac: 17/20

If I keep getting around these scores on my SACS, does it look like above 40 is possible for me?


(I believe I have a strong cohort, with many of my peers looking at 45+)

They are good scores. 40 is definitely possible

[Yang Li]

Hey guys,

I agree with abcdqdxD. You should be able to get 40 or above but you will need to perform well in the exam. Make sure you are well prepared for all three essays in the exam and can pump out 9 or 10 out of 10 essays consistently by the time exams come around the corner

On the issue of arguing both sides, the same theory applies to both context essays and text responses. Let's say A is a contention and B is the opposite contention (for simplicity). "I believe A" is a one sided argument. "I believe A but B can also be true/valid" makes it more interesting. "I believe A but B is also valid under certain conditions. However, A is still more true than B because..." - this is the best argument; you should aim for this in any essay.

All the best,

Yang

N.B. I might be slow to respond for a while. Exams are around the corner for me and I'm also working on some other things. You lucky bunch are the first year not to have to do mid-years haha. Keep writing, and you won't freak out when exams come

[jeanweasley]

Repost because my post was not replied to.

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?

[Yang Li]

Hey jeanweaseley,

Sorry, I must have missed it.

My suggestion for students is to keep writing paragraphs (there are nine types - intro, body and conclusion for all three essays). Get feedback on those essays (try to do at least 3 to 4 a week) and keep improving them. Once you get in the groove, time yourself so you can produce the same amount and quality of work that you do under pressure (each paragraph should be 10mins or so by exam time). Once you have those things under your belt, chew on some prompts that you have already written plans for and write full essays. Come term 4, start writing essays under exam conditions.

As for what an A+ essay is, the rubric for English essays under the VCAA website is a good guide; although English can be quite subjective. In essence, you get marked for depth of thought/argument, and your writing prowess.

All the best,

Yang

[Will Sparks]

I apologize if you've already answered these questions but I cannot be bothered going through the past few pages and reading every response, haha.

Whenever you walked into an exam, did you have things you knew you were going to talk about?
So for example, if you were studying conflict, did you have external sources ready in your mind (e.g. notable wars, anecdotal evidence, etc.) to use in your essay? If so, how many did you have whenever you walked into a SAC/exam, and did you research about it on the internet and develop the ideas in your spare time in order to put it into your essay?

And before every essay (in SACs and the exam), did you always do a plan?
If so, how long did it take you (time wise) and would you mind giving me an example of what your plan would usually consist of?

Thank you in advance.

[kaitlync]

Hey Yi,
I have a few questions about context essays, could you please post your email address?

[no steez]

Hey Yi,
I have a few questions about context essays, could you please post your email address?

I think he'd prefer to keep questions on this forum, if you want additional help, try his tutoring.
It will help you out specifically and help him pay the bills!

[Yang Li]

Hey guys,

Firstly, my name is Yang, not Yi (although I know a Yi). I do not qualify very well as an Asian haha. I loved English, Lit and Music at school and found Maths to be a bore. My lowest score was in Physics, for which I got a 40. My highest was in English, which I got 50 in. At school I was heavily involved in music, debating and athletics, among other things. I actually spent only a modest amount of time studying in year 12 because I had completed two 3/4 subjects in year 11.

If you have any questions, please do the following:
1) Have a quick read and see if it already has been answered - if you see anyone ask a question that has been answered, feel free to quote me in order to answer it.
2) Post any questions you have in the thread. If you have real issues with certain elements that need real work, reading a forum post will not help much anyway. The best thing to do is to find yourself a good tutor, or ask your school teacher for some one-on-one time.
3) Please keep your questions as simple and precise as possible. "How do you write a good essay?" for example is a useless question.

Now onto the answers.

Hi Will,

In my English exam I did not spend any time on planning, nor did I prepare intensely beforehand. However, this was because I was already very familiar with the brainstorming and planning process for each essay section. I teach these processes to my students. If you practice enough, you will be able to do most of the planning in your head, and work off a few words on the page. I do encourage students who are not yet that confident to take 5-10mins to plan their essay in the exam.

As for ideas related to particular contexts, the best thing to do is to read. Know your current affairs and read up on some history. Also read up on some good philosophers. This shouldn't be a rote-learning process. When you come into contact with the materials, and are also familiar with the context, you will be able to come up with them naturally in any given context essay.

Hi Kaitlyn,

Post your questions on the thread (thx friedbacon). Let's see how I can help

All the best,

Yang

[Lolly]

Hey guys,

Firstly, my name is Yang, not Yi (although I know a Yi). I do not qualify very well as an Asian haha. I loved English, Lit and Music at school and found Maths to be a bore. My lowest score was in Physics, for which I got a 40. My highest was in English, which I got 50 in. At school I was heavily involved in music, debating and athletics, among other things. I actually spent only a modest amount of time studying in year 12 because I had completed two 3/4 subjects in year 11.

Did you prefer Lit or English? 

[Yang Li]

Hi Lollymatron,

I have to say I enjoyed Lit more than English. I put much more work into Lit, but unfortunately I didn't perform as well as I would have liked in the exam.

A Lit enthusiast yourself?

All the best,

Yang

[Lolly]

Hi Lollymatron,

I have to say I enjoyed Lit more than English. I put much more work into Lit, but unfortunately I didn't perform as well as I would have liked in the exam.

A Lit enthusiast yourself?

All the best,

Yang

Hahahahaha yes you could say that...

 Did you incorporate literary style analysis in your text response? To what extent is this appropriate?

[Will Sparks]

Hey Yang,

I'm just wondering if you ever studied Year Of Wonders?

I'm struggling to improve my writing in my responses to prompts relating to this text, would you happen to know any good sample essays I could read in order to improve?

Thanks