English Advanced Question Thread

[sudodds]

Hey, I'm confused about how you would answer Mod A questions which ask you to 'make detailed reference' to a quote, like this one from last year's HSC. Is it substantial to use the provided quote once, or do you have to constantly refer to it throughout your essay?

Hey kiwiberry

To add a little bit to what elyse said, when I had to answer this question last year I looked at the different themes and issues that the quote presented, and shaped my essay around those, each one forming a paragraph. I was pretty lucky that the paragraphs and themes that I had already prepared worked perfectly (not that I expected any less as they were pretty universal/adaptable)!

So my structure looked like this;
Para 1 - Role of Class (in relation to women)
I linked this to the second quote: "it takes great courage and persistence to swim against the stream of communal ideas," with the specific communal ideas being those in regards to the strict social cues and structure of Regency society.

Para 2 - Role of Marriage (in relation to women)
I linked this to the second quote, in regards to the ways in which people traditionally perceived the role of marriage to be during the time - a way of solidifying the social hierarchy. However I also linked this idea to the second quote, in that the social hierarchy can also be subverted through marriage if those of a higher class fall in love with someone of a lower social rank (love being the key theme here as Austen implores the reader to look at a love based marriage as superior to a class-maintaining/convenience/survival based one).

Para 3 - Rebellious Characters
Pretty clearly goes well with both quotes, really drawing upon that aspect of Elizabeth being "so unlike them".

Hope this helps!

[Kle123]

Hi! sorry this question has probably been asked many times, but I don't want to scroll through the hundred pages of questions in the forums to find it.
For AOS Discovery essay, how do we write a good thesis/what constitutes a good thesis? Are the body paragraph's topic sentences just regurgitating the thesis?
Lastly, could you give me an all encompassing question that i can practice on? (as said in the atar note's complete notes course, it's better to write practice essays on this rather than specific ones)
Thank yoouuuuu

[julies]

Hi there!
In a Mod A essay, if the question does not mention context, would you still have to explicitly mention the influence of context in reshaping the values of a composer?

My texts are 1984 and Metropolis and I'm also concerned about getting a question about textual form...
eg. "It is not only a comparison of ideas but also textual form that develops our understanding of how context shapes the composer's perspective."
I'm not sure how to answer the textual form aspect of the question. I'd probably include the German expressionist vs dystopian novel, but I can't say much beyond that.

Thanks in advance!!

[elysepopplewell]

Hi! sorry this question has probably been asked many times, but I don't want to scroll through the hundred pages of questions in the forums to find it.
For AOS Discovery essay, how do we write a good thesis/what constitutes a good thesis? Are the body paragraph's topic sentences just regurgitating the thesis?
Lastly, could you give me an all encompassing question that i can practice on? (as said in the atar note's complete notes course, it's better to write practice essays on this rather than specific ones)
Thank yoouuuuu

Heya! Have a look at this guide I wrote on thesis statements for AOS first of all, it might answer some questions

The body paragraphs should present something new to the original thesis - it could be a contrasting idea that is related back to the original idea, or it could be just a small branch off the original idea that presents a slightly new aspect to explore! We also have a thesis statement feedback thread if you'd like to get some feedback

For discovery, I think the best one that I can think of as an overarching question is:

"Discoveries often have transformative ramifications."
How does this statement align with your prescribed text and one other related text?

This way, you can bring in anything you want that leads to the discovery, you can dictate what the level of transformation, what dictates the level of transformation, what the transformation is, what gave rise to it, did it transform individuals, communities, perspectives...etc. I worked around this statement when I was studying for my AOS essay

[Wales]

Hey Wales, you're on the right track! That's exactly what you should do. But instead of just arguing the different textual forms the whole way, you need to give it some texture to cling to. So, I'd be talking about different themes as something to bounce off, and the way those themes are treated differently in each form! So, you could bring the idea of "power" into the essay even though it isn't specified, and then talk about the treatment of power according to the different forms. My own Module A essay is linked here for you to download, I wrote a section specifically on form, it might be helpful for you to look at!

Sweet. As long as I'm on the right track I should be able to finish it

Step ahead of you ;^) Been reading it for the last 2 hours. Really helpful resource as always.

Regards, Wales

[elysepopplewell]

Hi there!
In a Mod A essay, if the question does not mention context, would you still have to explicitly mention the influence of context in reshaping the values of a composer?

My texts are 1984 and Metropolis and I'm also concerned about getting a question about textual form...
eg. "It is not only a comparison of ideas but also textual form that develops our understanding of how context shapes the composer's perspective."
I'm not sure how to answer the textual form aspect of the question. I'd probably include the German expressionist vs dystopian novel, but I can't say much beyond that.

Thanks in advance!!

Hey! For Module A, context is always a good idea in my opinion. In order for you to grasp the way that the textual ideas manifest in different ways, context is always going to play in on that.

In all of your modules, not just Module A, tackling textual form can really boost your analysis! Students often shy from it, understandably, but I really think it has a lot to offer essays (particularly in poetry). Textual form isn't just the genre - it's about the tone, formality, language, structure, chapters, narration, etc...All of these things are "form" Do you feel more comfortable approaching it when you include these in the equation?

Sweet. As long as I'm on the right track I should be able to finish it

Step ahead of you ;^) Been reading it for the last 2 hours. Really helpful resource as always.

Regards, Wales

Super stoked to hear this

[julies]

Hey! For Module A, context is always a good idea in my opinion. In order for you to grasp the way that the textual ideas manifest in different ways, context is always going to play in on that.

In all of your modules, not just Module A, tackling textual form can really boost your analysis! Students often shy from it, understandably, but I really think it has a lot to offer essays (particularly in poetry). Textual form isn't just the genre - it's about the tone, formality, language, structure, chapters, narration, etc...All of these things are "form" Do you feel more comfortable approaching it when you include these in the equation?


Super stoked to hear this

Thanks for such a quick response!
Do you mean that the varying techniques makes up textual form as a whole?
How would you frame your argument around how the textual form shapes the composers perspective? My interpretation is that textual form provides a means of conveying a message, but i dont see how the form should influence the underlying ideas...
Sorry for the influx of questions btw 

[elysepopplewell]

Thanks for such a quick response!
Do you mean that the varying techniques makes up textual form as a whole?
How would you frame your argument around how the textual form shapes the composers perspective? My interpretation is that textual form provides a means of conveying a message, but i dont see how the form should influence the underlying ideas...
Sorry for the influx of questions btw 

Don't apologise!
So, chapters aren't a language technique, they are a structural technique. There are some things that could be considered both, like tone, formality, etc. I class them as structural techniques because they permeate the form, the delivery. Whereas alliteration is just used in one instance, I would say it's a language technique. I don't think textual form shapes the composer's perspective, actually. I think textual form shapes the audience's perspective! But not the composer. I think the composer shapes the textual form (put it in reverse!).

Form doesn't always influence the underlying ideas, it often just makes the ideas accessible. So, if we looked at a film on Shakespeare now that was humorous, educational, and used modern tastes, we would be able to access the key ideas.

But, sometimes structural techniques can add to the way a message is perceived...but that's still slightly different from "form" as in media/genre.

[kiwiberry]

Hey kiwiberry

To add a little bit to what elyse said, when I had to answer this question last year I looked at the different themes and issues that the quote presented, and shaped my essay around those, each one forming a paragraph. I was pretty lucky that the paragraphs and themes that I had already prepared worked perfectly (not that I expected any less as they were pretty universal/adaptable)!

So my structure looked like this;
Para 1 - Role of Class (in relation to women)
I linked this to the second quote: "it takes great courage and persistence to swim against the stream of communal ideas," with the specific communal ideas being those in regards to the strict social cues and structure of Regency society.

Para 2 - Role of Marriage (in relation to women)
I linked this to the second quote, in regards to the ways in which people traditionally perceived the role of marriage to be during the time - a way of solidifying the social hierarchy. However I also linked this idea to the second quote, in that the social hierarchy can also be subverted through marriage if those of a higher class fall in love with someone of a lower social rank (love being the key theme here as Austen implores the reader to look at a love based marriage as superior to a class-maintaining/convenience/survival based one).

Para 3 - Rebellious Characters
Pretty clearly goes well with both quotes, really drawing upon that aspect of Elizabeth being "so unlike them".

Hope this helps!

Hey! I cannot give you a definitive answer for this because it's not as though you need to spend a certain amount of words on it to reach a quota for the marker obviously, but I can suggest the way I would tackle it. I think it's important that you don't just quote it and leave it - the quote needs to be a significant aspect of your analysis. Perhaps it is the establishing example you give of a theme you wish to explore throughout. Because this is a quote from the text, it's different than if a quote were given to you as an essay statement like, "All texts have an expiry date." It specifically requests detailed reference, so it's important that is what you give it: details. It's not a type of question we've seen before, so it's great you're inspecting it. I wouldn't say you need to constantly refer to it, like you would if it was a statement that wasn't from the text itself. I think perhaps you could analyse it fully once, and then reference it throughout for it's themes or defining ability.

Not knowing your texts well, it's difficult for me to give an example of how to use them because I don't know the quotes context. But essentially: it needs detailed analysis once, and then referencing throughout should be used judiciously, rather than frequently, as a way of working cohesion into the essay.

Does this make sense? I'm sorry I can't use the exact quote as an example, my explanation would be far less waffly if I could!

Thanks so much guys that was really helpful!!

[Claudiaa]

Hey, I have to write a formal letter. What are key characteristics that will differentiate the letter from an essay and from an informal letter that I must remember to include? ( I am writing this assesment as an essay first, then I will convert it into the structure of an essay)

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey, I have to write a formal letter. What are key characteristics that will differentiate the letter from an essay and from an informal letter that I must remember to include? ( I am writing this assesment as an essay first, then I will convert it into the structure of an essay)

Hey Claudia! Structurally, your letter should have "Dear ______" at the top, along with the date of writing. It should be written in 1st person, and since it is formal, language should match how you'd speak to the Prime Minister if you met them! Paragraphs are normally reasonably short, and there isn't a typical MATES or PEEL structure - Very much just a free flow of thought. Finish your letter with "Kind Regards" or similar, then your name and signature!

The only real difference between a formal and informal letter is your language choice, and the fact that an informal letter will probably not have the date at the top! Think, receiving a letter from your friend, versus receiving a letter from your school - That's the difference!

I hope this helped!

[bananna]

hi!
if an essay question includes a quote, how do we go about answering it?
like a famous quote followed by a question

thank you!

[grace.estelle]

Hi, I was just wondering if all english essays should have a critic's voice or is it just Mod B since it is a critical study? I remember my teacher reminding us twice to put critics in our discovery essay but is it necessary?

[ssarahj]

hi!
if an essay question includes a quote, how do we go about answering it?
like a famous quote followed by a question

thank you!

Hey! Start off by treating it like any other question, you've got to figure out what it's talking about and how to fit your arguments around that. Take this for example:
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes."
Then the question might ask something to do with perspectives of discovery...

So you can already deduce that the quote is pushing you to talk more about individual/emotional/internal/spiritual discoveries as opposed to physical journeys etc.

Then I would usually incorporate the quote throughout my whole essay, just to make sure the marker didn't miss it  😉 Definitely in your introduction and conclusion, perhaps sprinkle it through your body paragraphs as well. If its on the longer side you can break it up and use different chunks of it within your sentences, for example "seeing with new eyes" and "real voyage of discovery".

Make sure you practise some of these leading up to Trials and beyond, they're quite a popular question style. Hopefully this helps a little bit 😃

[ssarahj]

Hi, I was just wondering if all english essays should have a critic's voice or is it just Mod B since it is a critical study? I remember my teacher reminding us twice to put critics in our discovery essay but is it necessary?

Hey! To put it plainly, none of your essays have to have a critic's voice. In the past it was compulsory for Module B, however now it not. So there's no direct advantage or disadvantage to including or not including them. I didn't include them in any of mine. However I did read a truck load of academic writing and critical analysis for all my texts, and this came through in a paraphrased kind of way through my ideas, especially in Module B because its a critical study of texts.

Confirm with your teacher if they want you to include specific critic references/quotes for your mid-years and trials, since they'll be marking your essay. But for the HSC its not necessary.