English Advanced Question Thread

[owidjaja]

hello
I have a pretty dumb question but here goes nothing.
every person I asked who done the hsc or is doing the hsc says to study for English you write paragraphs and memorise quotes and your arguments and stuff. so my question is HOWWWWWWW?!!!! you don't know the essay question on the day, so how do you pick your quotes and your analysis and your arguments if you don't know the question.

Hey there,
Your arguments should be based on themes. Depending on the module, these themes should be very malleable (with the exception of Mod A and possibly Mod B), which is why you should organise your notes based on themes and have quotes for each theme. Know these themes! These themes will turn into topic sentences for your essays, but always give yourself some room to fit these themes with the question, especially questions that specify a theme.

The same with your quotes and analysis. Know your quotes and its analysis but always give your analysis some room for reshaping for the exam, as long as you don't force meaning onto a quote. This is why it's important for you to select your evidence carefully. When you look at each textual evidence, ask yourself: does this quote summarise what I'm trying to say? I'm not sure about you, but sometimes I have a really good quote but then I throw in more quotes to reinforce what I'm saying there but then I end up increasing my word count and then wasting time. You just need to be careful not to mix up your quotes with other themes (which is what I did in my Mod B Trials).

Essentially, your arguments should be malleable to a certain extent. Know your themes and come up with at least 4 different themes to give yourself some room. Then have at least 4 pieces of textual evidence per text for each theme and know them off by heart. Have a few extra quotes just to give yourself some room for flexibility (the type of quotes that are there to reinforce your previous point).

Hope this helps!

[3.14159265359]

Hey there,
Your arguments should be based on themes. Depending on the module, these themes should be very malleable (with the exception of Mod A and possibly Mod B), which is why you should organise your notes based on themes and have quotes for each theme. Know these themes! These themes will turn into topic sentences for your essays, but always give yourself some room to fit these themes with the question, especially questions that specify a theme.

The same with your quotes and analysis. Know your quotes and its analysis but always give your analysis some room for reshaping for the exam, as long as you don't force meaning onto a quote. This is why it's important for you to select your evidence carefully. When you look at each textual evidence, ask yourself: does this quote summarise what I'm trying to say? I'm not sure about you, but sometimes I have a really good quote but then I throw in more quotes to reinforce what I'm saying there but then I end up increasing my word count and then wasting time. You just need to be careful not to mix up your quotes with other themes (which is what I did in my Mod B Trials).

Essentially, your arguments should be malleable to a certain extent. Know your themes and come up with at least 4 different themes to give yourself some room. Then have at least 4 pieces of textual evidence per text for each theme and know them off by heart. Have a few extra quotes just to give yourself some room for flexibility (the type of quotes that are there to reinforce your previous point).

Hope this helps!

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I THINK IM FINALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT IM SUPPOSED TO DO!! THANKS YOU SOO MUCH OWIDJAJA XXX!!!!!





but I have one more tiny question. for modb I'm doing speeches, does that mean I have to memorise 4quotes for each theme in all 7 speeches? and 4 quotes for each theme in all 7 poems for modc?


ANDDD, for discovery, do you do themes as well? I'm doing tempest but I heard for AOS you don't write about themes? is that true?

[owidjaja]

but I have one more tiny question. for modb I'm doing speeches, does that mean I have to memorise 4quotes for each theme in all 7 speeches? and 4 quotes for each theme in all 7 poems for modc?

ANDDD, for discovery, do you do themes as well? I'm doing tempest but I heard for AOS you don't write about themes? is that true?

For Mod B, unfortunately you're gonna have to know at least 4 quotes for each theme in all speeches because they can specify which speech to use, unlike Mod C where they can't specify a poem.

As for Mod C, because the question is so broad and they only ask one question, I don't think knowing all 7 poems is necessary. I mean, know the poems but have at least 3 you know really well and as for the other 4 poems, know some quotes but not as in depth as the 3 poems.

For Discovery, I kinda use rubric points for my topic sentences instead of themes- apologies, I didn't address this in my previous post! For my topic sentences, it's a mix of my thesis and another rubric point and how it links to the question. For example, one paragraph could be talking about how discoveries are dependent on an individual's curiosity which facilitates a transformative journey (rubric point: discoveries can be planned or evoked by curiosity) and then another paragraph could be talking about how the transformative nature of discovery is reflected in the change in values (rubric point: discoveries can result in new worlds and values).

Hope this helps!

[3.14159265359]

For Discovery, I kinda use rubric points for my topic sentences instead of themes- apologies, I didn't address this in my previous post! For my topic sentences, it's a mix of my thesis and another rubric point and how it links to the question. For example, one paragraph could be talking about how discoveries are dependent on an individual's curiosity which facilitates a transformative journey (rubric point: discoveries can be planned or evoked by curiosity) and then another paragraph could be talking about how the transformative nature of discovery is reflected in the change in values (rubric point: discoveries can result in new worlds and values).

Hope this helps!

okay so then I chose quotes based on the rubric point I want to talk about in my essay rather than quotes of themes, correct?

but then the rubric is ssoooooooo long so does that mean I have to write ABOUT EVERY SINGLE RUBRIC POINT??? 

[owidjaja]

okay so then I chose quotes based on the rubric point I want to talk about in my essay rather than quotes of themes, correct?

but then the rubric is ssoooooooo long so does that mean I have to write ABOUT EVERY SINGLE RUBRIC POINT??? 

Yes you choose quotes based on rubric points. But that doesn't mean you do this for every single rubric point! Choose at least 4 rubric points you know really well and as for the other rubric points, know them but you don't need to do much preparation for them. As long as you can link your 4 main rubric points to other rubric points then it should be fine!

For example if you get a question on discoveries can be confronting and provocative, your thesis and points can be something along the lines of: the transformative nature of discovery is reflected how discoveries can confront and challenge an individual's perceptions of themselves, others and society. In  this sentence, I've combined the rubric points: the impact of discoveries can be transformative and far-reaching, discoveries can offer new understandings, and discoveries can be confronting and provocative (aka the question). And then my essay will be structured on how discoveries impact an individual's perceptions of themselves (paragraph 1), others (paragraph 2) and society (paragraph 3).

Hope this helps!

[3.14159265359]

Yes you choose quotes based on rubric points. But that doesn't mean you do this for every single rubric point! Choose at least 4 rubric points you know really well and as for the other rubric points, know them but you don't need to do much preparation for them. As long as you can link your 4 main rubric points to other rubric points then it should be fine!

For example if you get a question on discoveries can be confronting and provocative, your thesis and points can be something along the lines of: the transformative nature of discovery is reflected how discoveries can confront and challenge an individual's perceptions of themselves, others and society. In  this sentence, I've combined the rubric points: the impact of discoveries can be transformative and far-reaching, discoveries can offer new understandings, and discoveries can be confronting and provocative (aka the question). And then my essay will be structured on how discoveries impact an individual's perceptions of themselves (paragraph 1), others (paragraph 2) and society (paragraph 3).

Hope this helps!

oooooh okay yes that makes sense! thank you so much once again and apologies for the many questions I asked.

[3.14159265359]

sorry I'm back but I have another question
how about writing the Essay as a process of discovery?
so it would be:
intro
p1: prescribed on catalyst
p2: related on catalyst
p3; discovery itself whether its physical/emotional on prescribed
p4: "" on related
p5: effect of discovery on prescribed
p6: """ on related
conclusion

[owidjaja]

sorry I'm back but I have another question
how about writing the Essay as a process of discovery?
so it would be:
intro
p1: prescribed on catalyst
p2: related on catalyst
p3; discovery itself whether its physical/emotional on prescribed
p4: "" on related
p5: effect of discovery on prescribed
p6: """ on related
conclusion

Hey there,
No need to apologise! Your essay structure looks fine

[3.14159265359]

Hey there,
No need to apologise! Your essay structure looks fine

sweet! thanks!

I'm doing tempest should I just focus on one character (say prosper as he undergoes the major discovery) or should I talk about more characters?

[owidjaja]

sweet! thanks!

I'm doing tempest should I just focus on one character (say prosper as he undergoes the major discovery) or should I talk about more characters?

Personally, I talk about more than one character- for Trials, two of my paragraphs were on Miranda and my final paragraph was on Prospero. I think it would look better if you discuss more than one characters to show that you have a holistic understanding of the text.

[3.14159265359]

Personally, I talk about more than one character- for Trials, two of my paragraphs were on Miranda and my final paragraph was on Prospero. I think it would look better if you discuss more than one characters to show that you have a holistic understanding of the text.

if you don't mind me asking, how did you structure your AOS essay for trials?

[owidjaja]

if you don't mind me asking, how did you structure your AOS essay for trials?

I talked about how an individual's curiosity facilitates in enhancing in individual's perceptivity (Miranda), the challenging of beliefs can result in new values (Miranda) and the meaningful nature of discovery is reflected in how individuals apply these values to everyday life (Prospero)- I'm paraphrasing/listing off the top of my head so these aren't my exact topic sentences.

[3.14159265359]

I talked about how an individual's curiosity facilitates in enhancing in individual's perceptivity (Miranda), the challenging of beliefs can result in new values (Miranda) and the meaningful nature of discovery is reflected in how individuals apply these values to everyday life (Prospero)- I'm paraphrasing/listing off the top of my head so these aren't my exact topic sentences.

that sounds great! you will smash it! thank you so much again for everything! xxx

[amelia20181]

Is it possible to go from 30 % to 70

[Lumenoria]

Is it possible to go from 30 % to 70

Generally yes, as it is much easier to increase your mark from 30 to 70, than 70 to 90. In the context of the HSC at large though, if you're getting an internal mark of 30 (which I'm assuming means your ranking is substandard), you will need to work quite hard to achieve a 70, which essentially means you need to ace your externals to offset the impact of a mediocre internal performance. Definitely possible, but you will need to work harder than the average person.