English Advanced Question Thread

[Taylah Jensen]

I couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks for coming around!!
I think the first part of having a personal voice in a discovery essay is making sure that you are being unique and not just regurgitating the question - that's step number one. Emphatic language can work to your favour too, by putting emphasis on the sections that you deem most original.

Your introduction is the best place to set the emphatic tone on your discovery perspective.
I follow a structure like this:

First sentence: Concept statement
Second sentence: Response to the question
Third: Introduce prescribed text and what it says about discovery.
Fourth: Introduce related text and what it says about discovery.
Fifth sentence: Short usually, reiterate it all

What do you think? Does this follow a similar structure to your intentions?

Yeah thats pretty much exactly the structure I use, so thats encouraging! I think I'll work on my concept statement though. Would it be okay to have some set points ready that  could add into a thesis to support the way I tackle a question? For instance my prescribed text is Robert Gray's poetry, which has a lot of rediscovery, physical discoveries and confronting discoveries? If I were to weave one of those into my statement I might be able to make it more original but I'm not sure if that would be putting my own spin on it or avoiding the question, thats the only thing I worry about.

Thank you for your help by the way!
 

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey, just need some last minute help: how long should the creative be? (minimum word length)

Welcome to the forums Arthur! It totally depends on the person, but most people need 600-700 words or more to access high range marks, just to get the required depth I've seen great creatives with less though!

[Arthur Read]

Welcome to the forums Arthur! It totally depends on the person, but most people need 600-700 words or more to access high range marks, just to get the required depth I've seen great creatives with less though!

Alright thank you

Also how do you make the discovery more visible in the creative without directly saying "the character discovered..."? In the past creatives, the discovery wasn't noticed by the teacher marking it.

Moderator Edit: Posts merged, use the 'Modify' button on the top-right instead of double posting

[jamonwindeyer]

Alright thank you

Also how do you make the discovery more visible in the creative without directly saying "the character discovered..."? In the past creatives, the discovery wasn't noticed by the teacher marking it.

This is a tricky thing, there are a few things you can do. Embedding synonyms for Discovery through the creative in key areas is one. But the best way really is to show that your character has discovered something. Show a change in them, show their views have been altered, that sort of stuff. There is no easy way to do this, but that should always be your focus

There is no huge harm in putting words like Discovery in your text if you really want to make sure you accentuate the idea; just don't go overboard

[annika.stanton]

Hi!
Just a last minute question.. For the unseen section in Paper 1, how many sentences are we expected to write for the 2 mark, 3 mark and the 5 mark questions? I'm not too sure how much I should be writing in order to get full marks.

Any help would be great! 

[elysepopplewell]

Hi!
Just a last minute question.. For the unseen section in Paper 1, how many sentences are we expected to write for the 2 mark, 3 mark and the 5 mark questions? I'm not too sure how much I should be writing in order to get full marks.

Any help would be great! 

I'd be looking at something like,

2 marks = 2 maybe three sentences.
3 marks = 3 maybe four sentences.
5 marks = up to a page. It does go for a big jump with the 5 mark because the verb in the question usually asks more of you.

Now, I'm saying all this not knowing what the question will be. Some questions demand more, even for a small amount of marks, based on what the question gives you (are they identifying a technique to work with - or are they making you locate a technique as well). It jumps dramatically when it comes to the last question. So, play it by ear, and more than anything: use the lines on the exam paper as a guide if you're looking for one! They make those lines with the questions in mind (Admittedly, I never quite met the lines perfectly)

[Hua Fei]

So, play it by ear, and more than anything: use the lines on the exam paper as a guide if you're looking for one! They make those lines with the questions in mind (Admittedly, I never quite met the lines perfectly)

this might be a stupid question but I don't understand what you mean by "lines on the exam paper"...do they make the lines that you're meant to write on bigger/smaller according to the question? Do they change the width of the lines in the writing booklet?

[jamonwindeyer]

this might be a stupid question but I don't understand what you mean by "lines on the exam paper"...do they make the lines that you're meant to write on bigger/smaller according to the question? Do they change the width of the lines in the writing booklet?

Hey Hua! Hmm, I'm actually not sure what Elyse meant by that! I didn't think they did this either, unless there's been a change to the format of Section 1 since I sat it?

Oh, actually, you are given a booklet for that section of the exam with a set number of pages for those questions. So I'd wager Elyse meant that by the end of all the questions, you should be roughly at the end of that section of the booklet (it's 6 booklet pages)!

[Hua Fei]

Hey Hua! Hmm, I'm actually not sure what Elyse meant by that! I didn't think they did this either, unless there's been a change to the format of Section 1 since I sat it?

Oh, actually, you are given a booklet for that section of the exam with a set number of pages for those questions. So I'd wager Elyse meant that by the end of all the questions, you should be roughly at the end of that section of the booklet (it's 6 booklet pages)!

Oh wow, I didn't know there was a separate booklet for that - I get it now!
Thank you Jamon!

[jamonwindeyer]

Oh wow, I didn't know there was a separate booklet for that - I get it now!
Thank you Jamon!

No worries! It's not a separate booklet I don't think, just set pages in one big booklet (not that it matters)

[lysscass]

AOS specified one ORT (yay!) but does this mean that I should prepare to be asked for two in module C? I've only prepared one and I'm starting to panic

[ssarahj]

AOS specified one ORT (yay!) but does this mean that I should prepare to be asked for two in module C? I've only prepared one and I'm starting to panic

Now's not the time to panic!! Similar to AOS its highly unlikely that they will ask for two related texts. Worst case scenario you could drop a couple of quotes from your AOS related text and bullshit from there 

[jakesilove]

AOS specified one ORT (yay!) but does this mean that I should prepare to be asked for two in module C? I've only prepared one and I'm starting to panic

Like Sarah said, it's seriously unlikely, and definitely not something to stress about right now!!

[Taylah Jensen]

Was the syllabus for Modules also recently changed?? Either way, how likely are we to be asked a question like this haha

Two people who value your prescribed text in different ways and for different reasons are having a conversation.
Compose their conversation which should include consideration of the structure, language and ideas of the text. - 2002

[jakesilove]

Was the syllabus for Modules also recently changed?? Either way, how likely are we to be asked a question like this haha

Two people who value your prescribed text in different ways and for different reasons are having a conversation.
Compose their conversation which should include consideration of the structure, language and ideas of the text. - 2002

Yeah, some of the old questions were seriously weird! They haven't done anything like that recently, so I wouldn't specifically plan for it. However, if they do throw you a curveball, just remember that everyone else is as thrown as you are, and you can DEFINITELY answer the question. Stay calm, think about the best type of response, and go from there! To reiterate, though, it is IMPOSSIBLY UNLIKELY that they do anything weird like that.