Anyone doing EAL?

[devilsadvocate]

Hey ATARNotes!

Thought it might be a good idea to start an EAL-specific thread, since there are some bits exclusive to EAL that mostly go unmentioned here. Most obvious example would be Part C (the note-form summary and "piece of prose" for language analysis). I see some people who are not quite clear about this task and I can say I have a solid understanding of what's needed for this section, so I'm happy to discuss it

On a side note, I have absolutely no idea how "good" my writing needs to be, both in terms of fluency and content, if I want to score 40+ (or even 45+; lol one can dream). I'm one of the only two people taking EAL at my school so I basically have no one to compare my performance to. Is anyone else feeling lost, or struggling to tell where they might land on the bell curve because they have no clue what the cohort is like? (pls tell me I'm not the only one) And in my opinion, VCAA examiner reports have never been a great indicator of how good the students actually are.

Idk, I guess I'm just really lonely and want some EAL friends. Where are you EAL people? :c

[BigAl]

I was an esl (known as EAL now) student. A few tricks:
Keep your language simple and coherent.
For part A, know the text very well..(ideas, quotes etc) As long as you express your ideas very clearly, it doesn't matter how simple your language is.
Learn a few big words and learn how to use them at specific points...don't exaggerate this though.

If you have any questions, PM me
Ps. You might freak out if you read the sample essays on VCAA's website. My essays were no where near them and I still got a 39

[nhmn0301]

Hi there!!
I made a post a while ago asking some EAL questions too but hardly anyone can answer me (so hard to find EAL ppl on AN ). I have quite a few number of people doing EAL at my school so I manage to compare my work with them. But tbh, we have a fairly weak cohort and I don't know about how others school perform neither.

[hwilome]

 And the standards between Normal English and EAL are quite different...

[nhmn0301]

And the standards between Normal English and EAL are quite different...

Can you explain this point a bit further? Except from Exam structure in LA, what's the difference?

[hwilome]

Sorry nhmn0301, i meant in LA

[KLDboy]

I am kind of in the same situation here, doing EAL in a class of 5 people.
Devilsadvocate, you said you have a good understanding of section C, can you let me know what is the best approach for it? Because both are worth 10 marks I think, but obviously the analysis will take a lot longer. And in terms of assessment for the analysis, is it a lot different than how it is assessed in normal English?

[mikehepro]

I am kind of in the same situation here, doing EAL in a class of 5 people.
Devilsadvocate, you said you have a good understanding of section C, can you let me know what is the best approach for it? Because both are worth 10 marks I think, but obviously the analysis will take a lot longer. And in terms of assessment for the analysis, is it a lot different than how it is assessed in normal English?

Same dude, a class of 4 here. From what I know they are equally weighted, however, the note taking should take you less than 15 mins, and the format is very important. One thing about the actual analysis, you don't need and intro or conclusion; however, an opening paragraph is recommended. For the actual assessment should be really similar.

Hey ATARNotes!

Thought it might be a good idea to start an EAL-specific thread, since there are some bits exclusive to EAL that mostly go unmentioned here. Most obvious example would be Part C (the note-form summary and "piece of prose" for language analysis). I see some people who are not quite clear about this task and I can say I have a solid understanding of what's needed for this section, so I'm happy to discuss it

On a side note, I have absolutely no idea how "good" my writing needs to be, both in terms of fluency and content, if I want to score 40+ (or even 45+; lol one can dream). I'm one of the only two people taking EAL at my school so I basically have no one to compare my performance to. Is anyone else feeling lost, or struggling to tell where they might land on the bell curve because they have no clue what the cohort is like? (pls tell me I'm not the only one) And in my opinion, VCAA examiner reports have never been a great indicator of how good the students actually are.

Idk, I guess I'm just really lonely and want some EAL friends. Where are you EAL people? :c

 I will be your friend :3, I'm really surprised Mac.rob only have two ppl doing EAL?? What??
 I believe your cohort is strong, consider your English cohort is strong. EAL should be similar to English, regardless of the amount of people in the class.

[nhmn0301]

hey guys, does anyone know the general word limit for LA? I just read the Examiner's report and see the essays are around ~600 ish. Is this too short or normal? Given that we also have to do a note form summary, is that all they require? Thanks guys !

[mikehepro]

hey guys, does anyone know the general word limit for LA? I just read the Examiner's report and see the essays are around ~600 ish. Is this too short or normal? Given that we also have to do a note form summary, is that all they require? Thanks guys !

I'd say that is correct, as note taking takes around 15 mins, if you allocate 60 mins to LA, the mainstream students need around 800 words. Since we really only have 45 mins for it, so 600 would be enough (200 words per argument), consider we don't need a intro nor conclusion. (Well you kinda need a intro anyway)
But 800 words is the safest, given if you have time.

[devilsadvocate]

Devilsadvocate, you said you have a good understanding of section C, can you let me know what is the best approach for it? Because both are worth 10 marks I think, but obviously the analysis will take a lot longer. And in terms of assessment for the analysis, is it a lot different than how it is assessed in normal English?

Sorry for the late reply (I kinda forgot about the existence of this thread haha).

My teacher always emphasises that no matter what, you will end up with 5 main points of argument in your note-form summary. Try to group different points into logical arguments. I find that it helps to think of a cause-and-effect relationship, or create a flow chart that goes something like issue -> consequences -> solution. But it should be an easy 10 marks if you spend the 15-mins reading time to really digest the material.

As mikehepro has said, the written component for EAL doesn't require an intro/conclusion as it's meant to be a "prose" not an "essay". You need 3 paragraphs for 3 different points of argument, each outlining how certain persuasive techniques have been used to persuade that point. Basically pick your best 3 out of the 5 arguments in your note-form summary. It's also a very good idea to write a short "intro" of 1-2 sentences, outlining the contention and the audience. This helps you get back on track whenever you get lost in your analysis. Another thing I do is, I ask myself "so...?" whenever I finish a sentence, to ensure that my analysis is fully in-depth.

I will be your friend :3, I'm really surprised Mac.rob only have two ppl doing EAL?? What??
 I believe your cohort is strong, consider your English cohort is strong. EAL should be similar to English, regardless of the amount of people in the class.

Yayay! Yeah, plenty of Asians but barely any "fobs", haha.

hey guys, does anyone know the general word limit for LA?

Around 600 is enough.

[mikehepro]

Sorry for the late reply (I kinda forgot about the existence of this thread haha).

My teacher always emphasises that no matter what, you will end up with 5 main points of argument in your note-form summary. Try to group different points into logical arguments. I find that it helps to think of a cause-and-effect relationship, or create a flow chart that goes something like issue -> consequences -> solution. But it should be an easy 10 marks if you spend the 15-mins reading time to really digest the material.

As mikehepro has said, the written component for EAL doesn't require an intro/conclusion as it's meant to be a "prose" not an "essay". You need 3 paragraphs for 3 different points of argument, each outlining how certain persuasive techniques have been used to persuade that point. Basically pick your best 3 out of the 5 arguments in your note-form summary. It's also a very good idea to write a short "intro" of 1-2 sentences, outlining the contention and the audience. This helps you get back on track whenever you get lost in your analysis. Another thing I do is, I ask myself "so...?" whenever I finish a sentence, to ensure that my analysis is fully in-depth.


Yayay! Yeah, plenty of Asians but barely any "fobs", haha.

Around 600 is enough.

GG so you call your self a fob? I will be competing with strong students like you..... I cnat even engrish m8...

[BigAl]

hey guys, does anyone know the general word limit for LA? I just read the Examiner's report and see the essays are around ~600 ish. Is this too short or normal? Given that we also have to do a note form summary, is that all they require? Thanks guys !

I wrote only 3 pages including a page of dot points  and got an A for section C in 2012