English Advanced Question Thread

[grace.estelle]

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. 

Thank you heaps! So for your reading of academic writings, did you paraphrase them into your topic sentences, thesis etc or in the links back to the question? 

[Claudiaa]

Would American Beauty (the film) be a good related text for the AOS of Belonging?

[f_tan]

Can anyone clarify if Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway (1925) is modernist/post-modernist?

Thank you!

[ssarahj]

Thank you heaps! So for your reading of academic writings, did you paraphrase them into your topic sentences, thesis etc or in the links back to the question? 

For me, the academic papers were more of a subtle influence on my essay. I already had my topic sentences/paragraphs figured out by the time I started reading, so it basically just gave me a deeper understanding of the text and "levelled up" some of my ideas and language. So if I had to say, it was probably paraphrased within my paragraphs, not my actual thesis or topic sentences. 😃

Would American Beauty (the film) be a good related text for the AOS of Belonging?

Hey! Sure thing! If you can see connections between your prescribed text and American Beauty in terms of belonging then go for it! Using a film in your preliminary year is great practise since you'll have experience when it comes time to choose more related texts for the HSC. 😃

Can anyone clarify if Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway (1925) is modernist/post-modernist?

Thank you!

As far as I know its modernist 😃

[f_tan]

Is there a technique I can mention for the sentence “But he would wait till the very last moment. He did not want to die.”? :/
Thanks!

[ajajaj]

Hey guys, what are the discoveries that Gonzalo makes in The Tempest (particularly in the end)??

[sudodds]

Hey guys, what are the discoveries that Gonzalo makes in The Tempest (particularly in the end)??

Hmmm as a character Gonzalo isn't that rich in regards to discovery (at least in my opinion). The only way I ever really spoke about him (which I rarely ever did) was just to contrast his attitude towards discovery - which was really positive in comparison to the other individuals on the island. He viewed the Tempest and subsequent shipwrecking as a blessing as it gave him the opportunity to discover the island, thus he was clearly open to the concept of discovery. Yeah apart from that I'm not 100% sure tbh, hopefully someone else will maybe be able to give you a bit more direction Is there a particular reason why you need to mention him?

[elysepopplewell]

Is there a technique I can mention for the sentence “But he would wait till the very last moment. He did not want to die.”? :/
Thanks!

It's a tricky one - but you could talk about the second sentence being a short, simple sentence. And for the first sentence, you can talk about it starting with a proposition, which isn't correct syntax but is often used to colloquialise something (emulate speech usually). But, this depends on what you want to get out of the quote

[elysepopplewell]

Richard III is showing at the Sydney Opera House!

I can't recommend watching a live play enough for when you're studying plays! I haven't watched this exact production but I definitely think it's worth at least checking out online and considering if this is your Module A text!

Link here.

[sophiemacpherso]

I'm struggling so much with finding a Discovery creative idea... Do you have any tips on how to formulate a concept? 

[ajajaj]

Hmmm as a character Gonzalo isn't that rich in regards to discovery (at least in my opinion). The only way I ever really spoke about him (which I rarely ever did) was just to contrast his attitude towards discovery - which was really positive in comparison to the other individuals on the island. He viewed the Tempest and subsequent shipwrecking as a blessing as it gave him the opportunity to discover the island, thus he was clearly open to the concept of discovery. Yeah apart from that I'm not 100% sure tbh, hopefully someone else will maybe be able to give you a bit more direction Is there a particular reason why you need to mention him?

Thank you so much! I wanted to know because in one of my paragraphs I'm explaining how the first scene of the play explores how disorder leads to discovery, and I'm planning to use how the juxtaposition of Gonzalo (positive) and Sebastian's (negative) speech foreshadows their discoveries. From there I wanted to briefly mention what they discovered / didn't discover.
I'm not 100% sure if this is the best extract to support my thesis as the scene is quite short. If you have any suggestions / alternatives please let me know!

[sudodds]

Thank you so much! I wanted to know because in one of my paragraphs I'm explaining how the first scene of the play explores how disorder leads to discovery, and I'm planning to use how the juxtaposition of Gonzalo (positive) and Sebastian's (negative) speech foreshadows their discoveries. From there I wanted to briefly mention what they discovered / didn't discover.
I'm not 100% sure if this is the best extract to support my thesis as the scene is quite short. If you have any suggestions / alternatives please let me know!

Ah okay! Now I understand. Definitely an interesting thesis I formulated a similar one in a couple of essays last year, however instead of contrasting him to Sebastian I contrasted him to a individual in my related text.

I can't remember the scene that well so I can't really say for certain how strong it is, however from what you are describing I can defs see how it could work However, a scene that I do know that is really strong to discuss in regards to disorder and chaos leading to discovery is the actual Tempest scene (is this the one you were already looking at, but from another angle?), where Prospero conjures up the storm. During the scene, social order and status is flipped, and Boatswain, who is comparatively lower class than the Kings and Dukes on board, suddenly is ordering them around, telling them "what cares these roarers for the name of King?". It is within this scene that the characters are confronted with the fragility and superficial nature of their place within the social order, which is only further established throughout the rest of the play. 

Hope this helps!

[ajajaj]

Ah okay! Now I understand. Definitely an interesting thesis I formulated a similar one in a couple of essays last year, however instead of contrasting him to Sebastian I contrasted him to a individual in my related text.

I can't remember the scene that well so I can't really say for certain how strong it is, however from what you are describing I can defs see how it could work However, a scene that I do know that is really strong to discuss in regards to disorder and chaos leading to discovery is the actual Tempest scene (is this the one you were already looking at, but from another angle?), where Prospero conjures up the storm. During the scene, social order and status is flipped, and Boatswain, who is comparatively lower class than the Kings and Dukes on board, suddenly is ordering them around, telling them "what cares these roarers for the name of King?". It is within this scene that the characters are confronted with the fragility and superficial nature of their place within the social order, which is only further established throughout the rest of the play. 

Hope this helps!

Yeah!! That's the scene I was referring to Thanks heaps!

Can you please clarify what you meant when you said this??
" It is within this scene that the characters are confronted with the fragility and superficial nature of their place within the social order, which is only further established throughout the rest of the play"

[jamonwindeyer]

I'm struggling so much with finding a Discovery creative idea... Do you have any tips on how to formulate a concept? 

Elyse wrote an awesome guide on this right here!

[ellipse]

Hey guys, I'm just wondering, is a conclusion of around 50 words enough? or is it too short?