English Advanced Question Thread

[gracehayes]

Hi,
Just a general question I probably should've asked my English teacher but, if a question gives you a statement or quote, do you integrated it or mention it in the introduction?
For example a question like:
“Competing political perspectives impact on individuals and broader society in ways that bring about change for better or worse.”
To what extent is this statement represented in your prescribed text... etc

Would your introduction start:
It is to a significant extent that "competing political perspectives....etc" is represented in both Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog and...
OR
It is to a significant extent that the statement is represented in both Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog and..

Any help would be useful,
Thanks

[caitliensmith]

Hi!
I'm doing speeches for Module B, and I was a bit stumped on criticism statements for my essays. Do they have to speak directly on the speech, or can they speak on the topic addressed?

For Margaret Atwood's "Spotty Handed Villainesses", I wanted to use a quote from "The Australian Literary Review" which says
“Bad women reinvigorate the literary palette. They create holes in narrative expectations that have become stale and predictable.”

Would this be useful if the essay question was maybe about challenging preconceived notions or previous ideas?
Thanks in advance!!

[kauac]

Hi!
I'm doing speeches for Module B, and I was a bit stumped on criticism statements for my essays. Do they have to speak directly on the speech, or can they speak on the topic addressed?

For Margaret Atwood's "Spotty Handed Villainesses", I wanted to use a quote from "The Australian Literary Review" which says
“Bad women reinvigorate the literary palette. They create holes in narrative expectations that have become stale and predictable.”

Would this be useful if the essay question was maybe about challenging preconceived notions or previous ideas?
Thanks in advance!!

Hi,

The Mod B rubric says this about critic responses:

"Students research others' perspectives of the text and test these against their own understanding and interpretations of the texts."

So it is definitely wise to include criticism statements that discuss the speech and/or speaker. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with including the above quote in your essay as well, as it could potentially add some further depth to your arguments. I think it would work well with "challenging preconceived notions or previous ideas".

If you need some more direct quotes on Atwood or her speech, here's some resources that I have used.
-  Messing with Atwood: Power, Reception and Writing Politics (accessible online)
-  A review by Australian author, Dorothy Johnston
-  A newspaper review of the collection that Spotty-Handed Villainesses is from: Curious Pursuits

Hope this helps. 

[zanibalh]

heyy guys,

“...the greatest single peacetime loss of young Australians outside our own country”

is this ethos?

thankyou!!!also,

what technique can i use for these quotes?

- “Anyone’s death diminishes us all because we are all involved in mankind”. - inclusive language?
- “we used to reject you. We had our reasons and our claims, yes… still do not, exchange greetings, yes…” -antistrophe?

Mod Edit: Post merge

[zanibalh]

also,

what technique can i use for these quotes?

- “Anyone’s death diminishes us all because we are all involved in mankind”. - inclusive language?
- “we used to reject you. We had our reasons and our claims, yes… still do not, exchange greetings, yes…” -antistrophe?

[ninamatani]

Hey! I had a question for people studying The Prince by Machiavelli for Mod A (with Julius Caesar - Shakespeare). I have a good understanding of The Prince but what techniques/textual features can I use with a quote from the text? My teacher also advised me to talk about the fact that it's a non-fiction text compared to Caesar but I don't know how to bring that up coherently.

A few of the quotes from The Prince that I'm using are: (if there are any technique suggestions)

"All men want glory and wealth, but they set out to achieve those goals in different ways"
"should take on the traits of the fox and the lion"
“believe that the world is run by God and by fortune”
“stop being good, at least when the occasion demands”

Thanks!!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hello

I was just wondering how you guys are preparing for Module B and how specific the questions can be? I'm doing a novel and I'm not sure how to be prepping for it, I've prepped for all possible form techniques but is it necessary to have quotes for all characters? (Theres a lot... of characters... and no "main character") What are your thoughts?

Thank you
theyam

Hey yam! I think Module B is tricky because they can be quite specific in the questions. I don't think you need a quote for every character and every chapter, but I do think the more spread you have, the better equipped you'll be to deal with curveballs. They'll never ask a question that will totally lock you out without one specific bit of knowledge, but you might have to work harder to answer it

Hi,
Just a general question I probably should've asked my English teacher but, if a question gives you a statement or quote, do you integrated it or mention it in the introduction?

Hey! No worries, it's what we're here for integration tends to work a lot better than just going "the statement," because it means the essay can be read and interpreted without knowing the question. It flows better! I always integrated

[jamonwindeyer]

“...the greatest single peacetime loss of young Australians outside our own country”

Hey! Ethos is character development, I personally don't see how this exemplifies that, but I could be wrong!

also,

what technique can i use for these quotes?

- “Anyone’s death diminishes us all because we are all involved in mankind”. - inclusive language?
- “we used to reject you. We had our reasons and our claims, yes… still do not, exchange greetings, yes…” -antistrophe?

First one - Yep, inclusive language, also alliteration and repetition. And yep, antistrophe works for the second one, as does inclusive language

[Fergus6748]

Heya, I'll do my best

"should take on the traits of the fox and the lion"

I would go for imagery, since hes talking about the traits of these animals, the image of the fox is associated with being cunning and sly, and the lion is associated with being brave or confident. In this context the lion is about being more strong in your actions, meaning that you carry out your actions with purpose.

"All men want glory and wealth, but they set out to achieve those goals in different ways"

You could say its commentary. This is Machiavelli's expression of his opinion as plain as day. He's commenting on human nature, saying we are inherently greedy and we seek out accomplishment, while also talking about our uniqueness in how we all set about achieving goals in different ways.

“believe that the world is run by God and by fortune”

Antithesis? maybe? He is talking essentially about fate vs. free will. which is a key concept within the text, you could say he is presenting two contrasting ideas within the same sentence. Im not sure if that would fit in the context of the paragraph.

"stop being good, at least when the occasion demands”

Irony maybe? You could say that you cannot act in a good way, as by definition if you are acting good, then your intentions are not good. You could link it to the discussion of are humans inherently good or evil.

Hope that helps. Just a few thoughts that popped up. Good luck in exams!!

[horse9996]

Tips on module B study? I'm doing Hamlet

[theyam]

Tips on module B study? I'm doing Hamlet

lol i need tips too but I had a past student tell me that if you've got all the form techniques down, 3-4 characters, a critic and contemporary event you're allg apparently

[horse9996]

lol i need tips too but I had a past student tell me that if you've got all the form techniques down, 3-4 characters, a critic and contemporary event you're allg apparently

I'm fine with questions where they give you a view and say to what extent, but i tried the 2014 q yesterday and struggled

[horse9996]

For Donne and W;t, do I need to make sure I know all the poems (ie can they ask about specific ones) or can I get away with knowing most of them?

[loz0829]

Hi,
I've read that we should be including critics in our mod b essay. Just wondering if anyone is doing non-fiction speeches and has any recommendations for critics that could be referenced?

[kauac]

Hi,
I've read that we should be including critics in our mod b essay. Just wondering if anyone is doing non-fiction speeches and has any recommendations for critics that could be referenced?

Hi...
Critic quotes are not essential in mod b, but definitely add strength and depth to your arguments. Sometimes an essay question may even ask you include critics - in this case, you will definitely need to include some quotes to maximise your marks.   

Here are some that I have used for Atwood to get you started:
-  Messing with Atwood: Power, Reception and Writing Politics (accessible online)
-  A review by Australian author, Dorothy Johnston
-  A newspaper review of the collection that Spotty-Handed Villainesses is from: Curious Pursuits.

For the other speeches, a quick google search should help you find some online articles and literary reviews about each of them. Feel free to ask back if there are some in particular you having trouble finding quotes for, as I have do have a few for each of the speeches. But it is always best to pick quotes that you can easily work with: whether it be agree with, or challenge, in your essays.