[50 & Premier’s Award for Literature] Offering Advice and Answering Questions!

[kandinsky]

Hi Kandinsky,
I know sac marks will affect the study scores you receive, but around what mark for both lit essays would you need to get to get a 35?!

Hi Rosiee,

Unfortunately it's difficult for me to answer your question because marks often depend on how the whole state goes and how easy/hard the exam is. Also the link between SAC marks and the final study score isn't as clear in Literature - I think this is because across the state schools mark SACs VERY differently, so the exam has to be the thing that really separates everyone.

However, there are some things I can say just relating to my own experience. My teacher was quite a harsh marker during Year 12. It was very difficult to get a mark of 18/20 on practice exam essays. People who did manage to get 18s at my school on the whole got 45 or above. Getting 19 or 20 was an entirely different matter. I feel like this is similar to the way the exam is marked. With this in mind, getting a 35 probably means getting 10-14/20, depending on how hard your school marks your SACs and how well you do relative to the state.

But I dislike advising you on what marks may or may not get. One thing to keep in mind is that the exam is THE MOST IMPORTANT assessment of the year. So you have to put in a huge effort for it whatever mark you are hoping to get - because you can never really be assured of getting x mark in Literature. Sometimes examiners can do weird stuff, too - like I know someone who really should have got a higher Study Score based on their SAC marks and the quality of their exam  - but that's out of anyone's control and so not worth worrying about.

kandinsky

[kandinsky]

Hi Kandinsky,

I am studying Adrienne Rich poetry for one of my exam texts. We haven't really focused that much on poetry techniques. Like I know a few basic  poetic techniques, but not really anything that would separate me from the pack so to speak. I've noticed that higher scoring pieces on poetry in the examiner's reports over the years have quite a few poetic techniques and I'm starting to wonder whether that's the difference between me getting say a 16/20 and an 18/20.

So I was wondering, to what extent do we need to know and be able to use poetic techniques in a passage analysis for Rich? I don't want my essay sounding like a language analysis.

You need to use language discussion to the extent that your interpretations/ideas emerge logically from your language devices etc. How much you do depends on how concise you are and how much you want to say...there is no definite answer unfortunately.

Thanks 

These might help a bit. They're from Latin but are really useful.

Yes, language discussion is a big factor is determining your mark. Although it's more important to be able to link language to your interpretations than it is to use lang device terminology. Ideally, describe language in your own words - e.g. describe types of verbs, adjectives etc..

[rosieee]

Thanks for the reply Kandinsky! Hopefully a 10-14 will get me a 35!!
Also I was wondering if you have any tips when writing under timed conditions.
I struggle a lot with my expression and that results in me being able to express my thoughts clearly nor be able to write continually! I end up crossing out a lot!

[kandinsky]

Thanks for the reply Kandinsky! Hopefully a 10-14 will get me a 35!!
Also I was wondering if you have any tips when writing under timed conditions.
I struggle a lot with my expression and that results in me being able to express my thoughts clearly nor be able to write continually! I end up crossing out a lot!

No worries. Ye I checked again today on the Examiner's Report - the average mark per essay is about 9-11/20 - so that would probably get low 30s. Maybe aim for anything over 12/20, even if you're struggling. But always aim to do better than this, and try hard to do better than this. There's no worse disappointment than aiming for a low standard and getting a mark even lower than you wanted.

I really believe the Lit exam isn't as hard as people make it out to be. One of the problems is the way it is taught. As soon as people learn the basic creed that 1) there should be no repetition of ideas 2) the essay should be a number of different interpretations rather than one long interpretation and 3) you need to make extensive links between all passages in each paragraph, their marks seem to skyrocket.

[walkec]

I'm still a bit confused as to what you mean by the whole "different interpretations thing"

Does this mean your essay is constantly analysing how different people could interpret aspects of the passages in different ways?

[kandinsky]

I'm still a bit confused as to what you mean by the whole "different interpretations thing"

Does this mean your essay is constantly analysing how different people could interpret aspects of the passages in different ways?

No, don't do that. That's not what I mean.

I had to start calling them interpretations because calling them ideas seems to make people think that one paragraph should only focus on one small thing. I see an interpretation as an extension of an idea carried through from the detail of the passages to the broader conception of the text.

I feel like I should just post an essay here to demonstrate what I mean.

The problem is that in a single body paragraph you might discuss a few separate ideas when analysing the language (e.g. about a character/setting/particular verb) , but then use these to lead into a bigger interpretation of the text. These separate ideas do not necessarily need to be similar TO EACH OTHER, but they must be linked TO THE OVERALL INTERPRETATION contained in the paragraph.

[walkec]

No, don't do that. That's not what I mean.

I had to start calling them interpretations because calling them ideas seems to make people think that one paragraph should only focus on one small thing. I see an interpretation as an extension of an idea carried through from the detail of the passages to the broader conception of the text.

I feel like I should just post an essay here to demonstrate what I mean.

The problem is that in a single body paragraph you might discuss a few separate ideas when analysing the language (e.g. about a character/setting/particular verb) , but then use these to lead into a bigger interpretation of the text. These separate ideas do not necessarily need to be similar TO EACH OTHER, but they must be linked TO THE OVERALL INTERPRETATION contained in the paragraph.

So you're sort of taking smaller ideas and linking them together to make profound judgements about the text?

[kandinsky]

So you're sort of taking smaller ideas and linking them together to make profound judgements about the text?

Yes !!

That's the key.

[24bauer12]

For the six paragraph passage analysis is it okay to have a conclusion at the end which juxtaposes the six interpretations in order to add sophistication?Can your 6-8 interpretations be based on elements of philosophy?Also, my teacher says one of my interpretations is very risky; do you believe that I should avoid this interpretation?

[EvangelionZeta]

Loving the old MGS essay structure in the OP :p

[kandinsky]

For the six paragraph passage analysis is it okay to have a conclusion at the end which juxtaposes the six interpretations in order to add sophistication?Can your 6-8 interpretations be based on elements of philosophy?Also, my teacher says one of my interpretations is very risky; do you believe that I should avoid this interpretation?

Personally, I think it works best if you put your most amazing interpretation at the end. Literature is not like English - the final paragraph should not be a 'conclusion'. It should just be a really profound idea about the text. Repeating previous ideas would mean, obviously, repetition - and that reduces your originality mark.

Yes of course they can be based on elements of philosophy. I've heard that a student two years ago who got 48 or something even mentioned Nietzsche - I think all the interpretations should be philosophical in some way.

Depends in what way it is risky. I had an interpretation that my teacher said would  make my make either 30 or 50...so it worked well in the end! Literature involves a bit of risk - it asks you to be bold about your ideas. If you think an interpretation is extra-risky, make an extra effort to substantiate it with quotes/passages references. As long as it can be fully supported in the text, you should be fine. Of course I would have to see the paragraph to be able to say anything more.

[unicornglass]

Hi, could you please explain what are you supposed to write about by using language? Are we supposed to focus on what the language reveals in general about the characters, the writer's beliefs, themes, ideas, etc.? Also do you have any advice on finding more ideas/interpretations in passages? Usually I can only find 3-4 main ones to base my paragraphs on.

[kandinsky]

Hi, could you please explain what are you supposed to write about by using language? Are we supposed to focus on what the language reveals in general about the characters, the writer's beliefs, themes, ideas, etc.? Also do you have any advice on finding more ideas/interpretations in passages? Usually I can only find 3-4 main ones to base my paragraphs on.

You can write about all the things you listed, as long as you base what you say on the language you analyse. You can talk about ANYTHING in the passage, as long as you can link it logically to your ideas. For instance, imagery of the sun/moon could be tied easily to a 'fate' reading, even if the connection does not appear immediately obvious in the passage. I think you should look first at what the language reveals specifically, and then try to tie that specific meaning to a larger interpretation of the text at the end of each paragraph. Language engagement is the BULK of the Literature essay - the essay should end up being 80% language analysis of the passages and 20% your own ideas that you will (hopefully) already know really well.

Advice on finding more ideas: look through your class notes/anything your teacher has given you. Look for ANY ideas that came up in discussion. Collect them all in one document and try to get them into your head for the exam. You should probably aim for 6 different ideas per essay.

[unicornglass]

You can write about all the things you listed, as long as you base what you say on the language you analyse. You can talk about ANYTHING in the passage, as long as you can link it logically to your ideas. For instance, imagery of the sun/moon could be tied easily to a 'fate' reading, even if the connection does not appear immediately obvious in the passage. I think you should look first at what the language reveals specifically, and then try to tie that specific meaning to a larger interpretation of the text at the end of each paragraph. Language engagement is the BULK of the Literature essay - the essay should end up being 80% language analysis of the passages and 20% your own ideas that you will (hopefully) already know really well.

How would I link the analysis of language about small things to my greater idea? I often have difficulty doing this so only end up analysing language to do with the ideas itself.

[kandinsky]

How would I link the analysis of language about small things to my greater idea? I often have difficulty doing this so only end up analysing language to do with the ideas itself.

Well, as I said, there is no single 'way' to do it and it depends a lot on how well you write.

But let's say you have two passages from Jane Eyre in which Jane is in the countryside/running away from people/at school and one passage from the end where she has returned to Rochester, whom she loves. The small things to discuss would be: Jane's rejection of stability in favour of her own subjective 'good', her independent agency, her religiously guided reason, and how her geographical removal from society  brings her inner clarity/understanding. These you could discuss by simply drawing conclusions from the language. The big final thing to discuss would be something tying these together - what you think Bronte is saying about independence or agency of individuality or will or religion (the list goes on). So you tie the small moments together to create an interpretation of the WHOLE text; that is, your understanding of what Bronte is trying to reveal in the passages.