50 in English - Feel free to ask questions.

[Yang Li]

Hey scandin9,

I can't give you any specific advice on your questions without reading your writing; so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Usually, the more concise your language, the more points you are able to make per hour in any essay; therefore, the more marks you get in an exam. That is not to say however, that some embellishment will not be rewarded in the exam.

I normally advocate a 1200 word long, 3 body paragraph essay. I am also a proponent of the multiple idea paragraph. However, I also understand that, if done incorrectly, such a paragraph can come out as disjointed and verbose.

The best thing to do is to get someone to read your writing and give you some real feedback on how to solve your verbosity, if it does indeed exist. Often, it comes down to control of language.

To give you an idea of how it can work out in the exam, I wrote an average of 2.75 pages for each English essay in VCE and scored 50. A friend wrote an average of 4 pages each and scored 42. They were both respectable scores, but it also illustrates the importance of having control over your language and expression.

All the best,

Yang

[Smiley_]

Hey scandin9,

I can't give you any specific advice on your questions without reading your writing; so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Usually, the more concise your language, the more points you are able to make per hour in any essay; therefore, the more marks you get in an exam. That is not to say however, that some embellishment will not be rewarded in the exam.

I normally advocate a 1200 word long, 3 body paragraph essay. I am also a proponent of the multiple idea paragraph. However, I also understand that, if done incorrectly, such a paragraph can come out as disjointed and verbose.

The best thing to do is to get someone to read your writing and give you some real feedback on how to solve your verbosity, if it does indeed exist. Often, it comes down to control of language.

To give you an idea of how it can work out in the exam, I wrote an average of 2.75 pages for each English essay in VCE and scored 50. A friend wrote an average of 4 pages each and scored 42. They were both respectable scores, but it also illustrates the importance of having control over your language and expression.

All the best,

Yang

is that 2.75 of the english booklet pages because how many words are they different from normal writing paper?

[Yang Li]

Hey fishandchips,

Yes it's the exam script; I'd say it boils down to about 1200 to 1500 words. It depends on the size of your writing.

All the best,

Yang

[pi]

is that 2.75 of the english booklet pages because how many words are they different from normal writing paper?

Sorry to interrupt here Yang, but fishandchips have a look at this (worth writing a practice on this if you're really keen) http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/english/Englishanswerbook-samp.pdf

[Smiley_]

Sorry to interrupt here Yang, but fishandchips have a look at this (worth writing a practice on this if you're really keen) http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/english/Englishanswerbook-samp.pdf

I have done this but just wanted to see someone elses opinion

[Yang Li]

Haha - the script books looks a lot better than it did in my day.

[NoticeMeSenpai]

Hello Yang Li

I have a question about the context section.

I plan to write an expository, and have been practising it, however my teacher says that my essays are too "formulaic". She says I won't be able to score a 9 or a 10 because I follow the intro-body1-body2-body3-conclusion   (my body paragraphs follow the TEEL structure, which is topic sentence --> explanation --> evidence --> link). So my question is: do hybrid essays generally score better? I wrote one expository-creative hybrid essay which was given an 8/10, while the majority of my expository essays score a 7.

Thank you.

[charmanderp]

Hello Yang Li

I have a question about the context section.

I plan to write an expository, and have been practising it, however my teacher says that my essays are too "formulaic". She says I won't be able to score a 9 or a 10 because I follow the intro-body1-body2-body3-conclusion   (my body paragraphs follow the TEEL structure, which is topic sentence --> explanation --> evidence --> link). So my question is: do hybrid essays generally score better? I wrote one expository-creative hybrid essay which was given an 8/10, while the majority of my expository essays score a 7.

Thank you.

If I can interject; I wrote a couple of expository essays during the year which netted me 10s. During the exam I wrote a hybrid expository-creative essay and scored a 6.5 which was the first time I dropped marks all year!

My purpose here isn't to brag but to enforce the point that expository essays don't have to lack creativity. You can write an expository essay in a creative way by changing the authorial voice that you use, or altering your paragraph structure, etc. Remember that with context you are the one that makes the rules! Expository essays don't have to be written homogeneously - there are a host of creative liberties you can take to avoid a formulaic response. In the exam I wrote what I thought was an inspired creative piece which was obviously not tolerated by the examiner, most likely because my contention was skewered by my effort to not write an all-expository essay.

Moral is, play around with how you're writing your expository essays. Mix up the different pieces and juggle around with conventions of form and you'll find that you can maintain the integrity of your ideas without being formulaic.

[Yang Li]

Hi NMS,

I agree with Charmanderp on that. Perhaps you can find some balance between the absolute and uncompromising TEEL form, and the flexible but volatile hybrid/creative form.

All of my students are encouraged to write the expository, but write it well. You can see examples of that being done on my online video (see previous posts for link).

It is generally accepted that expository essays score higher on average; and the best score highest; while the marks given for creative/hybrids are more subjective and inconsistent.

All the best,

Yang

[charmanderp]

I love TEEL! Because I was a rebellious idiot last year I totally rejected it in my romantic attempt to escape the constraints of typical English teachers but once you get into uni you realise just how fantastic it is in presenting structured and cohesive arguments.

[academicbulimia]

Hey Yang,
Just wanted to hear you thoughts on pre-prepared pieces for the English exam, specifically for the context section.

Thanks 

[Yang Li]

Hey a.b,

I used to be opposed to the pre-prepared essay. It comes with many issues, such as getting the wrong prompt etc. However, my mind has changed somewhat on the matter, especially for context essays.

It is a good exercise to prepare multiple essays for each of the main prompts you will face in the exam. For the context essay, as is written in my guide, each context has four main prompts whereby any exam prompt will be some variation of the same theme.

In essence, it is not the rote learning that should be taking your time, but the preparation of ideas and the logical flow of your contentions. If you "memorise" such things, you'll never get stuck in the exam.

All the best,

Yang

[liam4]

Hi Yang Li,

I have a question about Section A,

Do you think it is better to study both texts or study one text more extensively? With that in mind, would doing the latter limit you in the exam?

Thanks

[dpagan]

Hi,

 "each context has four main prompts whereby any exam prompt will be some variation of the same theme."

What are these four main prompts?

Thanks

[Damoz.G]

Hi,

 "each context has four main prompts whereby any exam prompt will be some variation of the same theme."

What are these four main prompts?

Thanks

Where is that mentioned?