Length of text response?

[xXNovaxX]

Just wondering,
In year 9 and 10 i was told to rote FIVE "points"/"paragraphs (excluding intro and conclusion)
Year 11 and 12- THREE paragraphs, sometimes even 2 was acceptable

However i always traditionally go for 3-4,, only once did i do 5, however because of tight time, i can onl y manage 3-4

I know its QUALITY, not quantity, but im worried that in the exam if they say 3 points, it would make me lose marks

Sometimes to, no matter how much i understand the text, i can really only think of 3-4 points, because i take soooooo long to PLAN and think, and obviously i don't have that luxury in the exam, where i have 60 mins each essay

thanks for any advice, and maybe some examples of people who have written only 3-4 paragraphs, and got awesome in the EXAM.

[shinny]

What do you mean 'only 3-4'. I'd say 3 is about the average, and 4 is what you should be aiming for and will tend to get you around the 1000 word mark. 5 body paragraphs is in most cases overkill, and will lack depth, unless your writing is as fast as Usain Bolt paired with the endurance of a Kenyan. I'm pretty sure most people that did 'awesome' on the exam wrote 4, and some possibly even 3. As for planning, this should be done in the reading time.

[xXNovaxX]

thanks Shinny. I completely agree with you, even though i said "only 3-4", it was only because i didnt understand the STANDARD expected, that is, i was going from year 10 to VCE, and being told to write LESS paragraphs, but yes, thanks for the advice , now exam doesn't seem so much daunting .

[mystikal]

some of the high scoring text reponses are around 800 words. Go check the assessors reports and do a word count on a handful of text reponses some of them(or maybe a lot of them) are under the 1000 word limit. Ive only worded counted like 4 or 5 pieces and they are around 800-950 words there was one that was like low 1000 like 1030 i think but thats about it.

[methodsboy]

what is a good word range for a text response in the exam? (Part A)

[nerd]

I'd say around 700-1000. You probably wouldn't have time to do a lot more than that and any less would suggest that there may not be enough depth in your essay. The thing to remember is that it's not always about quantity, but quality. If you only manage to write 500 words but they're an INCREDIBLE, deep, thoughtful and intriguing 500 words, then thats probably fine. But writing 1500 words of shit is definitely not going to be you marks.

[kurrymuncher]

I'd say around 700-1000. You probably wouldn't have time to do a lot more than that and any less would suggest that there may not be enough depth in your essay. The thing to remember is that it's not always about quantity, but quality. If you only manage to write 500 words but they're an INCREDIBLE, deep, thoughtful and intriguing 500 words, then thats probably fine. But writing 1500 words of shit is definitely not going to be you marks.

700-1000

[nerd]

I'd say around 700-1000. You probably wouldn't have time to do a lot more than that and any less would suggest that there may not be enough depth in your essay. The thing to remember is that it's not always about quantity, but quality. If you only manage to write 500 words but they're an INCREDIBLE, deep, thoughtful and intriguing 500 words, then thats probably fine. But writing 1500 words of shit is definitely not going to be you marks.

700-1000

Do you think its too long or too short?!

[kurrymuncher]

I'd say around 700-1000. You probably wouldn't have time to do a lot more than that and any less would suggest that there may not be enough depth in your essay. The thing to remember is that it's not always about quantity, but quality. If you only manage to write 500 words but they're an INCREDIBLE, deep, thoughtful and intriguing 500 words, then thats probably fine. But writing 1500 words of shit is definitely not going to be you marks.

700-1000

Do you think its too long or too short?!

Long for me, because I suck at english

[methodsboy]

^i thought a reasonable amount for the exam was 600-800 words per piece

[xXNovaxX]

^i thought a reasonable amount for the exam was 600-800 words per piece

i think so too.

[shinny]

^i thought a reasonable amount for the exam was 600-800 words per piece

i think so too.

I doubt you can fit enough breadth and depth in 600 words. 800 is possible with 3 body paragraphs, and 1000 makes it 4.

[dior1]

so just to clarify, exam responses are 600-800? not 800-1000?

[Craxe]

Honestly, I don't understand why people worry so much about length. Write as much as you feel comfortable about a topic. Write as much as you know - as much as you can explore the different layers of the topic, without becoming repetitive or rambling.

If you can only manage 700 - then so be it. If you can do 900 - great. Again and again we are told that it is not how many words - but the meaning the words portray which ultimately matters. Again and again, we ignore it. Don't.

[xXNovaxX]

Honestly, I don't understand why people worry so much about length. Write as much as you feel comfortable about a topic. Write as much as you know - as much as you can explore the different layers of the topic, without becoming repetitive or rambling.

If you can only manage 700 - then so be it. If you can do 900 - great. Again and again we are told that it is not how many words - but the meaning the words portray which ultimately matters. Again and again, we ignore it. Don't.

You are god. =)