English Advanced Question Thread

[seventeenboi]

Hi,
For my Module C, I'm doing Henry Reynolds' Why Weren't We Told and a documentary on climate change as my related text. A piece of criticism from the marker was that I lacked macro-techniques for both texts - in particular the film. I understand that micro techniques are small things like similes, cross cutting, panning shots, mise en scene etc... but then what would fit under macro techniques for a documentary?? especially since it's a non-fiction text, there really arent any forms of narrative core (i.e. masque or the actual tempest for pathetic fallacy in The Tempest) to be used as an appropriate macro technique.. help!!  

Thanks c:

[beau77bro]

should we do themes/notes based on the overarching ideas or the rubric?

so for brave new world mod C i could have my notes as
- motivations, actions, consequences and representation
or
- characterisation
- dehumanisation, science (true and false), death, and possibly like human tendencies/conflicts


OR SHOULD I DO BOTH
connecting the themes to the motivation, actions, consequences and representation
connecting the characterisation to the motivation, actions, consequences and representation as well
(but this might take a while)

and i need to get quotes for everything

[bowiemily]

Hi,
For my Module C, I'm doing Henry Reynolds' Why Weren't We Told and a documentary on climate change as my related text. A piece of criticism from the marker was that I lacked macro-techniques for both texts - in particular the film. I understand that micro techniques are small things like similes, cross cutting, panning shots, mise en scene etc... but then what would fit under macro techniques for a documentary?? especially since it's a non-fiction text, there really arent any forms of narrative core (i.e. masque or the actual tempest for pathetic fallacy in The Tempest) to be used as an appropriate macro technique.. help!!  

Thanks c:

Hey there!

A macro technique that I can think off (without knowing your film) is motif. Is there an image or idea that is continually repeated throughout the film? How does it change or evolve to show the different ideas that the composer is seeking to convey? Motifs are big things that are not limited to film, but, I think they would be equally important. They can be achieved through things such as metaphor and symbolism.
Hope this helps!

[bowiemily]

should we do themes/notes based on the overarching ideas or the rubric?

so for brave new world mod C i could have my notes as
- motivations, actions, consequences and representation
or
- characterisation
- dehumanisation, science (true and false), death, and possibly like human tendencies/conflicts


OR SHOULD I DO BOTH
connecting the themes to the motivation, actions, consequences and representation
connecting the characterisation to the motivation, actions, consequences and representation as well
(but this might take a while)

and i need to get quotes for everything

Hey!
The way I did it was to firstly, find my quotes by looking for things that lined up with the rubric. Once all parts of the rubric are covered with quotes, I then figure out what key themes these quotes could fit into. That way, you're ensuring that you're covering all of the most important parts of the study efficiently and effectively. So the same themes and syllabus dot points that you gave us in your post can be covered and used for your study

[DonQ]

It was a great presentation for English Advanced by Emily. I was wondering when the power point will be up?

[bowiemily]

It was a great presentation for English Advanced by Emily. I was wondering when the power point will be up?

Thanks for the feedback DonQ, I'm glad you really enjoyed it! The powerpoint slides will be sent out to you, *fingers crossed*, by the end of this week. Endeavouring to get them to you as soon as possible

[elysepopplewell]

Hello, what are some sophisticated related texts for AOS Discovery along with the prescribed text, The Tempest? Is it better to have 2 ORTs or is that a waste of time? Thank you.

Hey magnesium! Welcome to the forums
First of all - have a look at this related text guide here that has a bunch of suggestions. Some of them I've provided extra resources for so you should find it helpful! As for the two related texts - not necessary in my opinion. I mean, I never want to say "don't go to the extra mile" if you have the capacity to do so. But, I didn't study two related texts so I'd be hypocritical to say you should. I don't recommend studying two texts for your related because it's a lot of effort for no guaranteed reward!

[elysepopplewell]

Hey, it's me again. So sorry for so many questions, I'm just in the process of finalising my notes :/
a) For those who have done Richard III/LFR, I was wondering how to answer a question about how the texts address the transient nature of power.
I was thinking a paragraph about how those disempowered throughout the play usually are in opposition to the dominant values of the composers' time (e.g. Richard's demise confirmed the didactisms of the Elizabethan audience) and another about how by struggling for power, the characters lose more of their humanity?
b) What do the markers mean by individual recognition (a HSC question for Mod A a couple of years back)? Is it the individual's ability to control their  own doings vs Providential actions pre-destining one's choices? Or is it more about how the characters acknowledge their own identity (e.g. Richard's "I am determined to prove a villain")

Thank you so much!

Hey justwannawish

1. I did Richard! Well, transient means only lasting for not a long time. So in terms of the nature of power, I'll throw some ideas out here: Perhaps power is only transient because the ideal of power is more desirable than the pressures of maintaining power. Or, perhaps power is transient because people are so caught up in the chase that they haven't carefully considered maintaining it. However, looking at your response, I think your definitely on point with your argument. I'm thinking that's a really strong and impressive argument - I genuinely truly believe you should follow this through. I especially am impressed with the first one, but also impressed with the second one.

2. I think it's more to do with the second part of what you've suggested, although it is definitely open to interpretation! So, I interpret it as individual recognition of the character and identity. So if someone is in pursuit of individual recognition, they want the acclaim, they want the "fame." They want to be individually recognised by others. With the first part of your suggestion about the individual's ability to control...I'm not making the link but that just could be because you haven't proved it to me yet. So I'm not saying it's a weak point, but I'd like to know more!

[elysepopplewell]

I have had an English Question I wanted to ask. When preparing for trials, I tend to write a lot of essays in practice to improve, however, every time I complete an essay, I have no idea what mark I am around or what I am getting. How would you know if something is well written, because I may fall into the trap of continually practising terrible essays?

Hey DonQ! I guess the number one thing I can suggest is getting feedback from a third party! You could get feedback from your peers, your teacher, or here on AN. Also, you can be checking your essays against any exemplars you come across to see if you're following similar styles or patterns, if your vocabulary is of a similar level, or if your ideas are of a similar level of conceptual integrity. Also, look closely at the marking guidelines available on the NESA website. If you are critical enough, surely you'll be able to find a few places to improve. But if you're at a loss - I can't recommend getting feedback from someone high enough!

[elysepopplewell]

Hey I was just wondering how to go about it (and if its a good idea) to use a TV show as a related text for Mod C (House of Cards for BNW). Some people said it was a good idea to just use a few episodes. What do you think?

Thanks!

Hey Gabe! So, unfortunately, regrettably, I haven't watched House of Cards. However, there is no reason why a TV series wouldn't be a good idea as far as I'm concerned! I've seen lots of people use TV series, and my Discovery prescribed text was a TV series! So I definitely think it's not a half bad idea

[winstondarmawan]

Just wanted to ask some questions about time management for the AOS paper.
What is the recommended order of completion of the 3 tasks?
Is it recommended to finish certain tasks faster (in less than 40mins) to have more time for the essay? I have heard people being able to do their creative and comprehension very quickly but I want to know if it is recommended to do so.
TIA

[studybuddy7777]

Just wanted to ask some questions about time management for the AOS paper.
What is the recommended order of completion of the 3 tasks?
Is it recommended to finish certain tasks faster (in less than 40mins) to have more time for the essay? I have heard people being able to do their creative and comprehension very quickly but I want to know if it is recommended to do so.
TIA

My 2 cents.

Do the paper front to back. This is the only paper I recommend doing this for and the reason is that there is a subtle running theme through the whole paper. Secondly, it is the first exam. Warm up with the short answers and finish strong with the creative and essay.

Time wise: If you can complete the Short Answers in less than 30 mins, you are rushing. Try for 35.
Creative should also be around 35 minutes long, plan for 5 write for 30. Or spit out your creative and pray that it might fit the stimulus.
Essay should be around 40 minutes. Plan for 10 and write for 30.

Finally this gives you 5 minutes to do a quick skim and scan and an "Oh Crap I completely forgot to answer that short answer question" - hopefully this just is just making sure everything makes sense and checking for general mistakes.

[elysepopplewell]

Just wanted to ask some questions about time management for the AOS paper.
What is the recommended order of completion of the 3 tasks?
Is it recommended to finish certain tasks faster (in less than 40mins) to have more time for the essay? I have heard people being able to do their creative and comprehension very quickly but I want to know if it is recommended to do so.
TIA

Excellent question! The main advice I give is to be aware of your weaknesses and strengths. So for me, I was aware that my creative was my strength because I knew it very well, was very comfortable adapting it quickly in an exam situation, so I knew I'd be able to save myself a little time there. In the exam, perhaps it was only about 5 minutes I saved, but it was five minutes I really wanted to dedicate to writing the essay instead, because I did struggle with adapting my essay usually. So I can't say, "Best practice is to always only spend 30 minutes on the unseen texts, and give yourself an extra five minutes for the other sections," because that's not accounting for your strengths and weaknesses. If you think you're of equal strength for each section, then I'd approach it with the 40 minutes for each. But because I knew that if I needed to perform under pressure with less time than 40 minutes for one section, I'd feel most comfortable with it being the creative - I knew it well enough to be able to decide what to cull if I was pressed for time!

[Townley10]

Hey!  I have always just gone into exams with a list of quotes and analysis memorised and constructed my essay in the exam room.  But, almost everyone I talk to seems to think memorising an essay, at least to some extent, is basically essential.  I was wondering what the best way to prepare for essays is, especially since we have to be able to write so many essays in such little time.

Thanks heaps!

[saskiahauck]

Hey i was wondering if you had the link or a pdf copy of the english advanced syllabus. i cant seem to find it anywhere. Thankyou!!!