How should I prep for 1/2 English next year?

[chelonianlover]

Hi all,

Sorry for barging in...

So.. English isn't one of my best subjects (probably one of my worst), and I really want to do well in it over the next two years.

How should I prep for mainstream 1/2 eng?

The holidays are coming soon, and the study design is changing. Can anyone give me tips on what to do in the holidays to prep for English? I mean not just: study your texts - by making character maps, and plot maps, and reading your text, writing quotes - and interpretations for them, and all that but the saying "study your texts inside out" - How do we do that? what are some strategies that everyone has to do that? And aside from text response (or text comparison), what else is there to do? 

Thanks heaps, all!!

[99.90 pls]

Hi all,

Sorry for barging in...

So.. English isn't one of my best subjects (probably one of my worst), and I really want to do well in it over the next two years.

How should I prep for mainstream 1/2 eng?

The holidays are coming soon, and the study design is changing. Can anyone give me tips on what to do in the holidays to prep for English? I mean not just: study your texts - by making character maps, and plot maps, and reading your text, writing quotes - and interpretations for them, and all that but the saying "study your texts inside out" - How do we do that? what are some strategies that everyone has to do that? And aside from text response (or text comparison), what else is there to do? 

Thanks heaps, all!!

Hi!

In terms of studying your texts, you don't have to start off by writing plots maps/quotes banks etc - a really easy way to get into your texts on the holidays is just to read the text once or twice, or have it played to you by an audiobook, watch film/play adaptations and read critical commentary/literary essays and critiques on your text. Not much writing involved, so it shouldn't be hard to do, and you will start developing your own very unique and nuanced interpretation of the text as you do this. Someone who's read a few commentaries (these are usually like 5-20 pages each) and watched a film adaptation or two will have a far deeper understanding of their text than someone who's just rote-learned themes off Sparknotes for ten hours. Case in point, in preparation for my King Henry IV SAC, I didn't write a single practice essay, but I read three critical commentaries and remembered some key quotes. My mate, on the other hand, rote-learned essays for hours. I got an A+ while he ended up with a B+.

Another thing you can do is watch the news, read the newspaper or read news online, and start thinking in your head why the writer's used certain words, phrases or tones and what ulterior motives they might have. Think about any images they've attached, and what their purpose is. Again, you don't have to write anything - it's very easy to do, and over time, it will become second nature. This is crucial for Language Analysis, which is a SAC and exam component in Units 3/4. It's good to start early.

Other than that, yes, writing quote banks and plot maps and summaries will also help you gain a deeper understanding of your text, so if you're motivated, don't forgo all that as well.

If you're interested, I'll be tutoring English from the end of November onward, so chuck me a message if you'd like a head-start to a 50

[chelonianlover]

Hi!

In terms of studying your texts, you don't have to start off by writing plots maps/quotes banks etc - a really easy way to get into your texts on the holidays is just to read the text once or twice, or have it played to you by an audiobook, watch film/play adaptations and read critical commentary/literary essays and critiques on your text. Not much writing involved, so it shouldn't be hard to do, and you will start developing your own very unique and nuanced interpretation of the text as you do this. Someone who's read a few commentaries (these are usually like 5-20 pages each) and watched a film adaptation or two will have a far deeper understanding of their text than someone who's just rote-learned themes off Sparknotes for ten hours. Case in point, in preparation for my King Henry IV SAC, I didn't write a single practice essay, but I read three critical commentaries and remembered some key quotes. My mate, on the other hand, rote-learned essays for hours. I got an A+ while he ended up with a B+.

Another thing you can do is watch the news, read the newspaper or read news online, and start thinking in your head why the writer's used certain words, phrases or tones and what ulterior motives they might have. Think about any images they've attached, and what their purpose is. Again, you don't have to write anything - it's very easy to do, and over time, it will become second nature. This is crucial for Language Analysis, which is a SAC and exam component in Units 3/4. It's good to start early.

Other than that, yes, writing quote banks and plot maps and summaries will also help you gain a deeper understanding of your text, so if you're motivated, don't forgo all that as well.

If you're interested, I'll be tutoring English from the end of November onward, so chuck me a message if you'd like a head-start to a 50

Oh that doesn't sound like a lot if work!! Thank you so much 99.90 pls!!!

Thank you, but I already have a tutor :/ and we might do a bigger focus on English next year :/ sorry ... But you can always hit up vce discussion space - heaps of keenbean year 10s going into yr 11 are on it 😂😂

[appleandbee]

If you're interested, I'll be tutoring English from the end of November onward, so chuck me a message if you'd like a head-start to a 50

Shameless self-promotion

[KEAEducation]

Read as much as possible and find a writing style that suits you and that resonates with you.

Year 11 is essentially THE prep year for Year 12, so treat it like you were in Year 12. Have the same work ethic; ie, read your texts twice, write character/theme notes, start increasing the amount of essays you write for your tutor and English teacher.
As long as you constantly expose yourself to English, short-stories, other student's essays, your texts and so on, you are creating the mind-set to go and achieve what you set out to achieve.

[jammin]

Oh that doesn't sound like a lot if work!! Thank you so much 99.90 pls!!!

Thank you, but I already have a tutor :/ and we might do a bigger focus on English next year :/ sorry ... But you can always hit up vce discussion space - heaps of keenbean year 10s going into yr 11 are on it 😂😂

Just out of curiosity but shouldn't your tutor have already mapped out what you need to do over the holidays? O.O

[chelonianlover]

Just out of curiosity but shouldn't your tutor have already mapped out what you need to do over the holidays? O.O

Aha, we're just focusing on one subject right now (not English), next year we might do a bigger focus on English, but right now I'm just grabbing advice from teachers, Atarnotes, and my tutor on what to do over the holidays. Good to get advice from a variety of experts, you feel?

Read as much as possible and find a writing style that suits you and that resonates with you.

Year 11 is essentially THE prep year for Year 12, so treat it like you were in Year 12. Have the same work ethic; ie, read your texts twice, write character/theme notes, start increasing the amount of essays you write for your tutor and English teacher.
As long as you constantly expose yourself to English, short-stories, other student's essays, your texts and so on, you are creating the mind-set to go and achieve what you set out to achieve.

Thank you so much (that was such a good summary on everything). Cheers KAEducation

[KEAEducation]

Reading.

It is as simple as that. Try to increase the amount you read.
Reading will improve your vocabulary, it will improve your phrasing and sentence structure, it will add to your ability to channel your voice in your own writing and it will stir your passion for your own writing interests. My writing style was heavily influenced, both stylistically and structurally, by the books that I read.

Getting a tutor would also be useful if you have high goals for yourself!

[Adequace]

Reading.

It is as simple as that. Try to increase the amount you read.
Reading will improve your vocabulary, it will improve your phrasing and sentence structure, it will add to your ability to channel your voice in your own writing and it will stir your passion for your own writing interests. My writing style was heavily influenced, both stylistically and structurally, by the books that I read.

Getting a tutor would also be useful if you have high goals for yourself!

Do they have to be books? I find myself reading Bloomberg and news/editorials quite a lot but can't find the effort to read books for fun anymore.

[chelonianlover]

Reading.

It is as simple as that. Try to increase the amount you read.
Reading will improve your vocabulary, it will improve your phrasing and sentence structure, it will add to your ability to channel your voice in your own writing and it will stir your passion for your own writing interests. My writing style was heavily influenced, both stylistically and structurally, by the books that I read.
Getting a tutor would also be useful if you have high goals for yourself!

Oh thanks! Yeah I hope fictional books count? Tbh, everyone says that. But I don't feel like my vocab increases from reading. I mean, I have phases. Either I read a lot, or I don't read for 5 months straight. Over the last week, I finished a series (uh... Let's keep unarmed), and I've read a book yesterday. Legit, I just read, and avoided all work. And today I'm reading the second book of that series. Like, I don't see my vocab increasing. Maybe I should just write a list of new words I come across?

Yeah, lucky for me I have a med student as a tutor, who scored a 46 ss in English, and graduated from Mac.Rob.

[MightyBeh]

Maybe I should just write a list of new words I come across?

This is it. Don't just write them though, look them up as you run into them and you'll find you understand and appreciate the word choice and the text better.

If you don't like having to wait for your new words, you can brute force it (I did at the start of this year ) by grabbing a dictionary and flipping around to find words you don't know and learn them. Not the best approach for english standard because generally concise language seems to be the way to go, but it was 100% worth it for lit where you can fluff and show off all your fancy words. 

[chelonianlover]

This is it. Don't just write them though, look them up as you run into them and you'll find you understand and appreciate the word choice and the text better.

If you don't like having to wait for your new words, you can brute force it (I did at the start of this year ) by grabbing a dictionary and flipping around to find words you don't know and learn them. Not the best approach for english standard because generally concise language seems to be the way to go, but it was 100% worth it for lit where you can fluff and show off all your fancy words. 

This is it. Don't just write them though, look them up as you run into them and you'll find you understand and appreciate the word choice and the text better.

If you don't like having to wait for your new words, you can brute force it (I did at the start of this year ) by grabbing a dictionary and flipping around to find words you don't know and learn them. Not the best approach for english standard because generally concise language seems to be the way to go, but it was 100% worth it for lit where you can fluff and show off all your fancy words. 

Yeah, write them. And after finishing reading - get the list and define each word, and learn... Okay that makes sense cheers BehEducation! I'll go over the book I finished reading a few hours ago 😂😂 cheers again

This is so helpful omg

[MightyBeh]

BehEducation!

Behducation? I see this on textbooks in ten years 

Yeah I hope fictional books count?

Forgot to mention this before - you're less likely to run into unfamiliar words in contemporary/YA fiction but it's still super beneficial to read anything regularly. You'll probably find the most in older books and non-fiction texts. Personally, I'm a pretty big culture/history buff so I wholeheartedly recommend some of the old American stuff, Like Poe's work (specifically Hop-Frog, my favourite) because most of it's not mind-numbingly boring, which is nice.

On top of reading and expanding your vocabulary, don't forget to write stuff. It's great to be able to understand what you're reading but it's another thing entirely to be able to write (well) on it. Even if it's not essays or whatever, I'd nearly argue that writing is better than reading because it's practice on what you are actually going to be assessed on. Obviously it's ideal to do both, however. 

[chelonianlover]

Behducation? I see this on textbooks in ten years

On top of reading and expanding your vocabulary, don't forget to write stuff.

I do to, actually

Yeah - I agree, except my vocal isn't so big, so I do find words I haven't heard.

Like I thought 'fiend' was a typo for 'friend'. Who knew it was a real word? Yeah... that's how bad I am

But okay! Writing (text response comparison essays, and language analysis essays) and improving vocab! Seems good...

[danielvang]

Just chill out holmes, read your books and do your hw. The real deal is unit 3/4!!