English Advanced Question Thread

[Mymy409]

Hey, I don't know whether this will help but I have attached my Life of Pi and Lord of the Flies intertextualised essay I did in Year 9, hopefully it might sparks some ideas (discusses in reference to LOTF the discovery of the loss of innocence, which is where I would go if I was you)
In terms of BNW, I have heard Freedom from fear by Aung San Suu Kyi is a good one you might want to check out although it may be a bit difficult but it's a nice sophisticated take on Representing People and Politics, the key idea obviously being on fear - that oppressors are motivated by fear, and from fear they are able to rise to power and achieve control. But again, don't know if you are looking for something simple in which case 1984, Animal Farm etc. are easy suggestions but my teacher scorns upon those texts just due to the fact that they are overused and cliched.

But anyway,
Hope that helps!

Thanks a lot, dancing phalanges!!

[katie,rinos]

Hey,
My trials start on Monday and I was wondering how you found a really good list of quotes to memorise for paper 2. How many quotes did you memorise for each module? Did you focus on getting quotes for the main themes of each text? I'm a bit concerned because I know that some of the questions, especially mod B can be a bit specific.
I am doing:
Mod A-Metropolis/1984
Mod B-Hamlet
Mod C-Art of Travel
Do you have any good quotes I should use or themes that I should have quotes for in my texts?
Thanks heaps

[anotherworld2b]

At school we were asked to identify issues in the book thief but I'm having trouble identifying them.
I was wondering if what I have so far would be considered issues
- Fear can dictate how victims think and do
- Words have great power but many people can not read
- Blind faith without exercising critical thinking

[katie,rinos]

At school we were asked to identify issues in the book thief but I'm having trouble identifying them.
I was wondering if what I have so far would be considered issues
- Fear can dictate how victims think and do
- Words have great power but many people can not read
- Blind faith without exercising critical thinking

Hey, i'm doing the book thief as one of my related texts so I may be able to help a bit
I think that you do have issues that are in the novel.
Some others that you might be able to include are:
- dehumanisation of the Jewish people (e.g their marches across the streets)
- To go against the government/cultural norm may end in punishment. (e.g when Liesel's papa tried to help give the Jewish man bread.)
- Conscription/compulsory drafting into the army (both Liesel's papa and Rudy's father)
- Stealing (both the books and the food)
- Death due to the consequences of war.
Hope this helps

[anotherworld2b]

Those are some great issues you've suggested 
Thank you very much for your help I really appreciate it

Hey, i'm doing the book thief as one of my related texts so I may be able to help a bit
I think that you do have issues that are in the novel.
Some others that you might be able to include are:
- dehumanisation of the Jewish people (e.g their marches across the streets)
- To go against the government/cultural norm may end in punishment. (e.g when Liesel's papa tried to help give the Jewish man bread.)
- Conscription/compulsory drafting into the army (both Liesel's papa and Rudy's father)
- Stealing (both the books and the food)
- Death due to the consequences of war.
Hope this helps

[justwannawish]

Just a few last minute qs before trials haha

1. What does it mean by human frailty (for KR3/LFR mainly, but also in general)?
2. How would you address the way composers create national identity?

[beau77bro]

difference between textual form and media of production?

[bsdfjnlkasn]

Just a few last minute qs before trials haha

1. What does it mean by human frailty (for KR3/LFR mainly, but also in general)?
2. How would you address the way composers create national identity?

Hey there,

I don't study either of those texts, but i'll give your first question a shot - human frailty refers to the vulnerability but also importance of people and their experiences. Like preserving human nature because it is unique and valuable. That's how I take it, just reading a little bit further than the literal connotations of frailty and delving more into what all texts seek to decipher - the human condition.

Hope that helped

[bsdfjnlkasn]

difference between textual form and media of production?

Hey there!

Here is my understanding, hopefully it helps

Medium of production: What the broad text type is, whether it's a novel, film, play etc..

Form: The specific features of the medium which make the text distinctively a novel, film ... These are the things that make the text unique so, for example, you could look at a play and see how the stage directions are used, how tension is built up through the different acts etc. Obviously the form of each text changes because of the composer's deliberate choices (often a consequence of their purpose). This is particularly relevant for Mod C, but a good way to add sophistication to your Paper 2 is trying to discuss form, medium and purpose in all your essays

Let me know what medium your text is and what features you think might fall under form - this is a great place to clarify and hopefully get more ideas (i'll try my best to help out )

[beau77bro]

Hey there!

Here is my understanding, hopefully it helps

Medium of production: What the broad text type is, whether it's a novel, film, play etc..

Form: The specific features of the medium which make the text distinctively a novel, film ... These are the things that make the text unique so, for example, you could look at a play and see how the stage directions are used, how tension is built up through the different acts etc. Obviously the form of each text changes because of the composer's deliberate choices (often a consequence of their purpose). This is particularly relevant for Mod C, but a good way to add sophistication to your Paper 2 is trying to discuss form, medium and purpose in all your essays

Let me know what medium your text is and what features you think might fall under form - this is a great place to clarify and hopefully get more ideas (i'll try my best to help out )

my text is brave new world - so a novel
form/features:
- satirical text - separates us from our own values, farcical and almost funny, parodies biblical sayings, hyperbole, comments on contemporary political issues
- book of ideas - easy like structure, limited character and narrative development, uses parentheses to condense ideas and move them along quickly,

idk what else i would say?

[anotherworld2b]

I was wondering if only would anyone could help me identify assumptions that are present in the book thief
- one assumption I have identified is that a woman's life revolves around her child

[katie,rinos]

I was wondering if only would anyone could help me identify assumptions that are present in the book thief
- one assumption I have identified is that a woman's life revolves around her child

Hey, not sure if this is right but I think that you might be able to link this to some of the issues we were talking about.
So some might be:
- The assumption that all people can read (when Liesel can't read in class it's a big deal).
- The assumption that the Jewish people are evil
- That those who help Jews deserve to be punished
- The assumption that going to war to fight for your country is a good/honorable thing (however, we learn that this war ends up with a lot of innocent deaths)
Hope this helps

[katie,rinos]

Hey guys,
For my creative in my half yearly I received the comment that I was slipping into a recount style. How do I fix this? How do I know that a creative I'm trying to write is not in a recount style?
Also, do you guys have tips for memorising quotes for the modules? How many quotes did you memorise?
Thanks

[bsdfjnlkasn]

Hey guys,
For my creative in my half yearly I received the comment that I was slipping into a recount style. How do I fix this? How do I know that a creative I'm trying to write is not in a recount style?
Also, do you guys have tips for memorising quotes for the modules? How many quotes did you memorise?
Thanks

Hey there,

You can avoid recount by including some description which moves the reader's focus just from the action and into the surroundings. This will help you evidence your flair for language as well as balance the story out so that the reader doesn't feel like you're just forcing a stale discovery story on them (this is how my teacher put it to me lol). Also, consider the perspective you choose. If it's first person then try not to stay in it for too long as the sentence structures available are all really similar, meaning that you'll be limiting how much you can impress your marker. Play with form, add fragments and give different perspectives so that you can capture the whole breadth of discovery

For the modules, I remembered themes and a bunch of quotes for them - I always make up analysis on the day so that it clearly fits the question. As a rule of thumb, try not to be too rigid with the analysis you do learn (that is, if you choose to) as you'll just lock yourself away from a Band 6 if the marker thinks you're not answering the question enough. Also, it's quality not quantity Pick quotes that have a lot in them so that way you can use the quote across multiple themes and still have something insightful to say about them.

Hopefully this was helpful, let me know if you want more clarified

[bsdfjnlkasn]

my text is brave new world - so a novel
form/features:
- satirical text - separates us from our own values, farcical and almost funny, parodies biblical sayings, hyperbole, comments on contemporary political issues
- book of ideas - easy like structure, limited character and narrative development, uses parentheses to condense ideas and move them along quickly,

idk what else i would say?

Hey, all of those seem excellent for form

In addition, maybe you could look at how the text is structured
Are there chapters? Moments where the author comes in (authorial intrusions)?

You seem to have plenty and I think that's definitely enough to cover in an essay (plus I think you'll have a little left over, which is what you want). If you wanted to clarify more features of textual form then post them up and i'm sure we can confirm those for you. But overall, you seem to have a pretty solid grasp on it now!