English Advanced Question Thread

[jamonwindeyer]

Agree with above - There is virtually no chance of them specifying for Discovery because it is one question for every text and every student that said, still good to know all your poems to at least a basic level!

[mjorfian]

Hi, I'm not a mod but I've discussed this with my teachers before so I thought I'd reply
There's never been a requirement for all 6 Frost poems yet in the question, but my teachers said that it's better to have a general understanding of all 6. In the case of advanced I think for Yeats they have specified which poems to use before, but I don't think it's likely for discovery. My teachers said it's likely that if they specify the poems they'll give you extracts, so at least you have something to start off with.  I'd say knowing 3 poems extensively is already safer than knowing 2.

alright! i think I'm gonna do another one in depth so i have four prepared and ill read over the other two and get a couple of quotes incase they decide to be cruel and specify for some unknown reason. thanks for replying!

Agree with above - There is virtually no chance of them specifying for Discovery because it is one question for every text and every student that said, still good to know all your poems to at least a basic level!

alright great! thanks for your responses, guys! I think I'll just do that to be safe then, just incase the question doesn't fit with the poems i've picked or whatnot

[Opengangs]

Hey there,

My teacher said to contextualise my quotes by providing a brief synopsis. How do I do so without falling into retell?

Thanks!

[elysepopplewell]

Hey there,

My teacher said to contextualise my quotes by providing a brief synopsis. How do I do so without falling into retell?

Thanks!

Sometimes the briefest contextualising can make a big difference to the way the quote is received.

It might be as simple as, "In the opening sequence..." because it's important to know that the quote is relevant BEFORE someone kills someone later on. Or, it might be, "Anne's vitriolic imagery when describing Richard is particularly pertinent as it is a reflection of the diabolic nature of the actions of the protagonist, soon after he killed such and such."

So you're incorporating it when it's necessary in order to help the audience understand the point you are pulling it from, particularly if the effect of the quote is relevant to the context in the story

[theblackswan]

When writing an essay, is it better to say 'an individual's perceptions blah' or 'our perceptions blah'?

[liamwindeyer]

When writing an essay, is it better to say 'an individual's perceptions blah' or 'our perceptions blah'?

Me thinks it's fine to say either; although 'an individual's perception' does sound a tad more sophisticated. I personally think the second statement is best paired with acknowledging that you are part of the audience -  so it would be 'our perceptions as responders blah', which jazzes it up a bit and refers a bit more directly to the syllabus

However, if you're writing about good ideas and concepts in the essay, I don't think they'll mind too much about that sort of wording. Just depends how polished you want your writing to be I suppose

But again, those are just my personal thoughts

[Lachlan Morley]

Hi all,

In my english essays I seem to unintentially  go into explanation mode and seem to waffle around the point im trying to make. Instead of explicity saying the point im trying to make, i tend to explain that simple points in 3 sentences. This makes my essays really convoluted and lacking flow

Does anyone have any tips on how I can stop doing this and really hit the point with my essays?

[justwannawish]

Hi all,

In my english essays I seem to unintentially  go into explanation mode and seem to waffle around the point im trying to make. Instead of explicity saying the point im trying to make, i tend to explain that simple points in 3 sentences. This makes my essays really convoluted and lacking flow

Does anyone have any tips on how I can stop doing this and really hit the point with my essays?

This link might help you: https://atarnotes.com/hsc-essay-cordial-structure/
 I think perhaps just writing some English essays and looking through it afterwards might help you.  Highlight the sections that you think are unnecessary and work on your expression for that section, maybe it's a general trend that whenever you write Shakespeare, you explain his entire life story (a lot of people, including me, go into prepared analysis bc they've studied it so hard).  because at the very least you'll be able to see the places you waffle around with and with practice, you'll get smoother in your linkage. Also, make sure you have the question in mind and link as much of your analysis to it, which makes it less likely for you to explain simple concepts too much as it'll all have to fit to the q.

Hope that helped

[elysepopplewell]

To quote Elyse, your essa
This link might help you: https://atarnotes.com/hsc-essay-cordial-structure/
 I think perhaps just writing some English essays and looking through it afterwards might help you.  Highlight the sections that you think are unnecessary and work on your expression for that section, maybe it's a general trend that whenever you write Shakespeare, you explain his entire life story (a lot of people, including me, go into prepared analysis bc they've studied it so hard).  because at the very least you'll be able to see the places you waffle around with and with practice, you'll get smoother in your linkage. Also, make sure you have the question in mind and link as much of your analysis to it, which makes it less likely for you to explain simple concepts too much as it'll all have to fit to the q.

Hope that helped

Love the cordial trick! <3

Thanks for your SUPER response!

[justwannawish]

Love the cordial trick! <3

Thanks for your SUPER response!

Glad to help and repay the great advice I've gotten this year XD

[maria1999]

hey guys!
I was wondering if someone could read over my intro for this Module C essay on the "Art of Travel"
 The question is
"Experiences of landscape may be diverse, but the influence on identity is always profound"



There is a reciprocal relationship between an individual’s identity and their landscape. Irrespective of one’s experience of landscape, the ability of a landscape to shape interpretations of past, present and future experiences renders its influence to be profound on one’s identity. Alain De Botton’s multimodal text The Art of Travel is illustrative of this as De Botton delineates his own experiences whilst utilising the gaze of the travel guides to emphasise the ability of landscape to influence an individual’s subjectivity. In doing this, he explores how these landscapes have the ability to affect an individual’s ability to engage with their landscape whether real, imagined or remembered. Moreover, he explores how one’s identity alter’s their ability to fully engage with their landscapes. This is further explored within Sean Penn’s film Into the Wild which is emblematic of how an “experience of landscape” is inextricably linked to one’s own identity.

[LaraAlexander]

Hi! I was wondering, am I able to have some responses to Section 1 of English Paper 1 looked at or critiqued? I really suck at this section and would love to improve drastically for the HSC

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi! I was wondering, am I able to have some responses to Section 1 of English Paper 1 looked at or critiqued? I really suck at this section and would love to improve drastically for the HSC

Sure thing! Feel free to share a paragraph here or there and we'd be happy to give some pointers

If you wanted a whole section looked at and marked in depth you can upload the whole section in our essay marking thread! There is a post exchange policy in place for that, you can read about it here

[anotherworld2b]

Hi I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to quickly identify a tone and voice that is presented in a text. It takes me a long time (time I don't really have) to identify a appropriate tone and voice under exam conditions. Are there key things I should look for? I was also wondering what would be the best way to explain how a voice is constructed? When I write I seem to babble on and on. Is there a way to be succinct and to the point when explaining how a voice is constructed?

[Sukakadonkadonk]

Hey Guys,

Any tips on how to prepare for Module B if I am doing Yeats.
Is it best to have some answers prepared for each poem?
Thanks.