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English vs Literature for a higher study score?

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spectroscopy:
alright thanks guys im leaning more towards lit now probably
any other advice is welcome ;D

mackintosh:
I agree to some extent with all of the positions represented on this thread. It is important, as has been pointed out to investigate both courses and to find out which of the two you would feel most enthusiastic about. If as you said, this is neither here nor there at this stage, then I would suggest that for a more predictable score English is the way to go. I feel that the whole English examination gives you more scope to show your knowledge and distinguish yourself clearly, and while English and Lit are ultimately subjective, the marking process in English is far more rigorous and arguably less prone to shock scores (actual double marking and having at least six examiners see your paper). This is primarily because English can be broken down into the three styles of writing that have already been mentioned, and worked at to a high standard, whereas Literature uses one style of writing that will be immediately judged by a marker- in English, you have three chances as it were. This is not to say that you cannot achieve fantastic scores in Literature off the back of hard work- as in English, especially since most students will find Literature so much more engaging in terms of the SACs during the year and the format of the final examination. If you love writing and want to push yourself to 'wow' an examiner maybe Lit is for you, if you want a stabler foundation for your ATAR where you may have to put in a bit more effort, then I would suggest that you strongly consider English. Hope this helps!

kandinsky:

--- Quote from: genji on November 26, 2013, 05:32:20 pm ---Hi there, i did lit unit 2 this year and it was awesome and super fun, i like how you can have your own interpretation of something and as long as you can pull out evidence of it and analysis from the passage then passage analysis is so fun and easy, thought it requires alot of work to get to that level of understanding. i am however between lit and english. i know lit is thought to be hard, and i am aiming high in all of my subjects next year (except chem LOL), and i think english would be easy, but apparently at the top end its SUPER competitive,

basically what im asking is, to get a high score (47 or greater), am i better off doing english or lit?

In english you have to keep up with the news and stuff, and you might not get a good prompt for your exam or sacs etc. whereas in lit, though the eloquence of the competitors is arguably superior, you can prepare for lit really well without as many surprises (or so it seems)

what do you guys think i should do,
all replies are appreciated and im aware there are similiar threads for this but they are more from a "which is more fun" or "which is more workload" standpoint, im more curious about the top end achievability, thanks !

--- End quote ---


If you want to be challenged,  or want to have highly original/creative ideas and beautiful prose rewarded, then do Literature. It is a subject which rewards the striving of an individual to find meaning in a work of Literature. It is a subject which refuses to easily accept the opinions of critics/hundreds of years of scholarship on certain texts. I found Literature to be a very personally rewarding subject. For example, it is nice to know that my individual interpretations were appreciated, even though my teacher thought 2 of them were extremely risky! And I don't really understand why people think that Literature is not as good for developing writing skills. It seemed to me that it encouraged a much higher level of prosody/perfect grammar than English (apparently making any grammar/spelling mistake costs you a mark), whereas English encouraged a more subdued, succinct (boring) style.

To be honest, I think both courses are worth doing. Lit was for me much more fun and exciting both in class and with the work. In English you really learn to write what critics say about books. And the person in the exam who writes the most clear version of what almost all 45+ scores write gets 50. It's still a tough exam, but doesn't encourage that sort of individual, private thinking which makes Lit so enjoyable.

Also, fewer people get higher grades in Lit because fewer people do it in the first place. In relative terms, you should get the same rewards for the amount of work put in.

charmanderp:
From my experience if you're aiming really high and you're a student with strong writing/analytical skills you're equally likely to do well in either subject. The standard of writing expected is probably higher for Literature, but that being said the preparation is also more complex and thorough. In terms of usefulness and interest Literature far exceeds English (in my opinion).

VivaTequila:
You sound like someone who would benefit more from picking Literature than English. However, I did both, and I don't regret it for a minute. I did Lit 1/2 and only picked up English in 3/4 (alongside Lit 3/4) and did much better in English, which was a saving grace for my ATAR.

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