English Advanced Question Thread

[jamonwindeyer]

Thank you for this!! I get to the point of the discovery and I essentially quit because I don't know what to do 
P.S the harry potter references were very swift but you're going to be very surprised to know that I haven't actually read/seen harry potter But they were still helpful references nonetheless 

Daaaayuuum, well you have a job for post HSC then  I'm glad! Truth be told Elyse is the creative extraordinary, so hopefully she'll have some even more useful advice for you 

[jamonwindeyer]

HELLO. So, I have my English Trial this monday right.
Wrote up my essay plan and everything for discovery, tried to memorise it, thought I was all G and try do do a practice essay and spend over 20 minutes trying to think of how to structure my essay. I feel hopeless.

What's the extent to which you must absolutely ADHERE to the question...like is it totally okay to go against what the question is stating or asking?
For example, the question I got was 'unexpected discoveries may emerge from a process of planning. Explore this statement in terms of your set text and a text of your own choosing'.
I find it much easier to talk about unexpected discoveries NOT emerging from a process of planning (which even makes sense logically, right? No plan = everything is unexpected).
What i'm trying to ask is...how do you know when it's okay to not agree with the question? Or is it a general rule to assume the question is stating something universally true we all need to blindly support. thanks

Hey! Don't stress! You are all sweet, I got you 

You can absolutely disagree with the statement! You just need to be sure you are doing it in a way that still connects to the question. For example, your intro would be something like: "While many composers seek to portray discoveries as a result of careful planning, it is far more appropriate to consider them as sporadic affairs." Essentially, make sure you disagree with the question in a way that makes it obvious you are disagreeing, and not just going off track entirely 

But you are all sweet! The question says "Explore," nowhere does it say you need to agree! Just be very very careful with how you approach it not to go off track with that disagreement. In my opinion, it is simpler to agree, but disagreeing can be really powerful (I believe Jake did this fairly often) 

[conic curve]

Because (unlike the school written papers) they are a paid product, schools pay for the papers for their students 

The CSSA is strict about things like when marks can be released and such, purely because so many students sit it. Schools all have to agree to abide by the rules because if questions get out, exams are completed late, etc, it can offer unfair advantage/disadvantage. There are strict policies in place to ensure everyone gets a fair go, just because many many schools are sitting those papers (the most of any of the Trial Papers) 

What's the need to do that for?

Oh makes sense now

Anyways in a 40 minute essay composing time do you think this would be strategic- 7 minutes thinking and planning, 25 minutes writing and 8 minutes editing?

How can you do it all in a limited time frame though?

[jamonwindeyer]

What's the need to do that for?

Because writing Trial papers takes time and money! 

Anyways in a 40 minute essay composing time do you think this would be strategic- 7 minutes thinking and planning, 25 minutes writing and 8 minutes editing?
How can you do it all in a limited time frame though?

You'll definitely need to be writing for more than 25 minutes to get the required depth! However, I do think taking a bit of time to plan is beneficial. I'd go with something like 2-3 minutes planning, 37 minutes writing! Definitely no edits, in the HSC Exams you won't have the time unfortunately 

Of course, much of the planning process can be done in reading time too, so even this could be too generous! Idealistically, you really do want to be writing for as close to the full 40 minutes as possible 

[conic curve]

Because writing Trial papers takes time and money! 

You'll definitely need to be writing for more than 25 minutes to get the required depth! However, I do think taking a bit of time to plan is beneficial. I'd go with something like 2-3 minutes planning, 37 minutes writing! Definitely no edits, in the HSC Exams you won't have the time unfortunately 

Of course, much of the planning process can be done in reading time too, so even this could be too generous! Idealistically, you really do want to be writing for as close to the full 40 minutes as possible 

What if you're the type of person who makes errors every now and then in the english paper and need to go over work again to edit it to gain full marks? In this case how would you write flawlessly (I don't think practice is enough)

[jamonwindeyer]

What if you're the type of person who makes errors every now and then in the english paper and need to go over work again to edit it to gain full marks? In this case how would you write flawlessly (I don't think practice is enough)

Keep in mind that little spelling and syntax errors aren't going to cost you marks in an exam scenario, unless they make your ideas less clear to the marker 

If you absolutely must take some time to edit, then absolutely take a couple of minutes to do so! But you need to be writing for as long as possible, unfortunately, extensive edits are not something the HSC accommodates nicely. Remember, the marker knows you are in exam conditions, they will overlook the occasional spelling/grammmar error, I even left out words entirely on occasion and had no dramas 

[Sahar8642]

Hey!
I was just wondering; what is the best way to split the time for the different sections in Paper 1?
Thanks

[Sahar8642]

Also,
I have a Module C assessment coming up this Thursday
40min writing and 5 min reading
And i am stuck on whether i should perfect and learn the essay i have already written and go through the poems briefly OR go through all the poems in depth
Thanks!
WHat do yo

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey!
I was just wondering; what is the best way to split the time for the different sections in Paper 1?
Thanks

Hey Sahar! I normally steal some time from Creative and give it to the essay, I'd do something like this:

Section 1 - 40 Minutes
Section 2 - 35 Minutes
Section 3 - 45 Minutes

This is just a rough guide, completely up to you to make this work for your strengths and weaknesses!

Also,
I have a Module C assessment coming up this Thursday
40min writing and 5 min reading
And i am stuck on whether i should perfect and learn the essay i have already written and go through the poems briefly OR go through all the poems in depth
Thanks!

I think having knowledge of all the poems would be the most beneficial plan of action, just so you can prepare yourself for anything! Of course there are benefits to both plans, but whatever you do, definitely know all your poems at least reasonably well 

[wesadora]

jAMON HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT ENGLISH AND SO COMFORTING AND EXPLAIN EVERYTHING SO WELL you are my idol

also- I hear you are not a fan of memorising essays. What did you do preparation wise instead? For example for AOS, making sure you address EVERY aspect of the rubric and every possible thing they could ask? This seems like the safest way to go about it, but memorising 30 different quotes seems a bit out there for me ._.

[jamonwindeyer]

jAMON HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT ENGLISH AND SO COMFORTING AND EXPLAIN EVERYTHING SO WELL you are my idol

also- I hear you are not a fan of memorising essays. What did you do preparation wise instead? For example for AOS, making sure you address EVERY aspect of the rubric and every possible thing they could ask? This seems like the safest way to go about it, but memorising 30 different quotes seems a bit out there for me ._.

Ahaha I make the fact that I'm not a fan pretty obvious I reckon 

I focused on memorising quotes, conceptualising ways to use them (these would become paragraph topics), and most importantly, practice!! Practice makes perfect 

I did take quite a few quotes into my exam. For AoS it was actually somewhere between 30 and 40, which baffles me now that I look back on it 

The trick is to pick powerful quotes that work for various areas, that you can talk about in relation to multiple ideas! Having a single quote that has multiple techniques helps as well 

[Sahar8642]

Hey Sahar! I normally steal some time from Creative and give it to the essay, I'd do something like this:

Section 1 - 40 Minutes
Section 2 - 35 Minutes
Section 3 - 45 Minutes

This is just a rough guide, completely up to you to make this work for your strengths and weaknesses!

I think having knowledge of all the poems would be the most beneficial plan of action, just so you can prepare yourself for anything! Of course there are benefits to both plans, but whatever you do, definitely know all your poems at least reasonably well 

Thanks!

[specclee]

Hey there!! Happy to do it 

Thesis statement is great! No comment, looks awesome, you could keep exploring with expression but the idea is spot on and addresses the stimulus really well 

First topic sentence has some expression issues primarily, I think that could be why you are iffy? It definitely needs to be more succinct, try making some better word choices. The essence of that topic is that individuals may reject discoveries because they don't recognise the benefits. Bring it back to bare bones, the idea is great, but its expression is a bit too much ramble for my taste 

Second one is much better because it was shorter! You have a better clarity in this one, and it shows, because you need less words convey the point.

Essentially what is happening with that topic sentence in the middle is that you are unsure, so you use more words. It's kind of like stumbling over giving an answer in class, you keep talking to hope you get there. Take a step back, look at your concept, and just be a little more succinct with your expression, the idea is great 

Thank you so much! I feel a lot better now, my teacher wasn't able to give feedback due to "unforeseen consequences" so I was really worried.
For the first topic sentence, do you think this is any better?:
An individual’s apprehension towards abandoning the familiar, as established by their personal context, must be conquered in order to truly realise meaningful discoveries about themselves, others and the world.
Thanks!

[jamonwindeyer]

Thank you so much! I feel a lot better now, my teacher wasn't able to give feedback due to "unforeseen consequences" so I was really worried.
For the first topic sentence, do you think this is any better?:
An individual’s apprehension towards abandoning the familiar, as established by their personal context, must be conquered in order to truly realise meaningful discoveries about themselves, others and the world.
Thanks!

Muuuuch better, definitely more powerful now!! I think you have a great setup, awesome work! 

[Elenaa]

Hellooo !

So i was just wondering for the module A essay (Mines Richard III) should the comparisons between the two texts be around the same length? or should you write more about one than the other. Because most of my comparative paragraphs are around the same length but the ones that focus on the play, shakespeare, i only have 1 quote and i don't know if thats enough.

Thankyou so much !!