English Advanced Question Thread

[justwannawish]

Hey justwannawish

They could ask you to talk about female characters specifically in Module A - because the questions are tailored to the text for this module, it is quite possible, even likely. They haven't asked this before for Richard, and they've been doing Richard for many years, so it is possible. I'd be talking about the relationships between the characters and their linguistic portrayal, as well as their place in the plot. Are they pawns, well-sought after, esteemed, undermined?

Could your rephrase your question on speeches? Sorry I didn't study speeches so if you can give me a little more info I'm sure I can help

If you're dealing with the texts AND themes/ideas in isolation then I think now is a really good time to change that, by making links between themes and ideas even if you are just leaving a text per paragraph. The reason being - the notes from the marking centre each year are asking for a more blended response. So it doesn't have to be dealing with two texts concurrently, but I think addressing the thematic overlaps is important to showing your confidence with the module

There was a question and it was just like "how has considering different interpretations of speeches helped your understanding of them"
i think they were talking about how different people could value different parts of them, apply different readings etc

[tracytruong]

Hi! I have prepared my Module A & C analysis and was wondering if you could please provide me with some feedback. I didn't do so well for this in my trial exam and was wondering how i could improve it.
Thank you!

[zemilyx]

hey
 for Mod C: people and landscapes, if the question does not specify to discuss a particular landscape (real, remembered or imagined) but rather just says 'landscapes' do we have to talk about all three? or could we just pick maybe 2 in our introduction to talk about. I've got conflicting information on this from teachers so i'm really confused
thanks,

[armtistic]

For Mod C People and Politics I'm doing Brave New World and the film snowpiercer.

The rubric asks us to talk about how the medium of the text affects meaning but how exactly would I do that in my essay?

How does the fact that BNW is a novel or that Snowpiercer is a film add/affect the meaning?

[jenna.ridgway]

Hi there,
For AOS,
I mainly focus on one rubric point in my thesis, but bring in some others in the beginning of each topic sentence for my body paragraphs. Do you recommend I add another reference to a rubric point in my thesis to create greater depth, or is just the one okay?
My intro is: "By changing one’s attitude, individuals have the power to change the future. Thus, the transformative impact of discovery is evident through an individual’s willingness to speculate on their previously held values and beliefs. In William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, Shakespeare highlights the importance of the feminine voice, challenging his audience to consider how values of compassion, empathy and forgiveness are crucial in creating a more optimistic future. Likewise, in her speech Attitude, Margaret Atwood empowers her audience to recognise the ability they have to change the world for the better, thus creating more dimensional self-perceptions. ((I'll add an ending sentence that links to the question))"

[Potatohater]

hey
 for Mod C: people and landscapes, if the question does not specify to discuss a particular landscape (real, remembered or imagined) but rather just says 'landscapes' do we have to talk about all three? or could we just pick maybe 2 in our introduction to talk about. I've got conflicting information on this from teachers so i'm really confused
thanks,

I thought we just had to talk about which ever landscape was applicable to the argument we are tying to make so if we are talking about the influence of landscapes on our identities and only the real ones in your texts do that then jut talk about those. That's what I thought anyway, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

[av-angie-er]

hey
 for Mod C: people and landscapes, if the question does not specify to discuss a particular landscape (real, remembered or imagined) but rather just says 'landscapes' do we have to talk about all three? or could we just pick maybe 2 in our introduction to talk about. I've got conflicting information on this from teachers so i'm really confused
thanks,

I thought we just had to talk about which ever landscape was applicable to the argument we are tying to make so if we are talking about the influence of landscapes on our identities and only the real ones in your texts do that then jut talk about those. That's what I thought anyway, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hey guys I just wanted to mention that I've been told specifically by my teacher and tutor that you won't be marked down for not addressing all three types of landscapes if a question doesn't specify which to talk about. If a question only asks for you to address 'landscapes' then you should be safe by simply mentioning the all-encompassing concept of 'landscapes' in your thesis - e.g. 'The experience of landscapes is unique to each individual' rather than having to be specific and say 'the experience of physical, remembered and imagined landscapes is unique to each individual'. You can definitely use some of the different types of landscapes to explore exclusively in different paragraphs, but that doesn't mean you need one paragraph on each (that would be pretty intense!). I hope this makes sense!

[av-angie-er]

Okay so, I’ve heard that in terms of ranking, whoever ranks 1st for example; their internal mark will become the highest mark of their cohort externally… But what if their internal mark is higher than the highest HSC exam mark? E.g Say Sarah got 93 internally but the highest HSC exam mark was only 88, does her internal mark get taken down to an 88?

I'm definitely not an expert, so I recommend that you check out the ATAR/Scaling Questions thread: https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=165005.0
BUT, I believe that her scaled mark would be an average of her internal and HSC marks, so around 90/91, and it's also tweaked to fit the performance band. The official NESA explanation of scaling goes:

- take an average of each student's examination mark and assessment mark after alignment to performance bands, each to one decimal place
- take an average of each student's examination mark and assessment mark before alignment to performance bands, each to two decimal places
- if an extension course, use the marks awarded for other courses in the subject area.

I hope this makes sense, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong

[av-angie-er]

Hello! I have a quick question on integrated paragraphs- would it benefit to use this scaffold on a Mod C essay as well as a Mod A one? Thanks in advance!

I think that integrated paragraphs are probably the more 'skilful' way to structure your argument if you can do it well, and they'd be beneficial to help draw clearer links between your prescribed/related texts. I personally opt for differentiated paragraphs because it's easier for me to focus on analysing one text at a time, but in the end it just comes down to which structure you're more comfortable with! There are definitely benefits to both, but if you're keen on thematically linking your texts as clearly as you can and you're comfortable with jumping back and forth between them, then an integrated approach might be best for you Hope this helps!

[mohanedibrahim1]

Hi there, how do you effectively keep your stimulus flowing your creative writing thank you.

[katnisschung]

This is one of my points from my mod c essay on this text https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2017/05/trump-russia-neverending-beatup/
ultimately this module is about representation correct? My teacher thinks I should focus more on politicians rather than the media because of they way the question is worded (but I want to link more to the module and not just to the question....A big mistake I made in Mod A  )
 

The question
How do composers represent the impact of people’s political motivations and actions on individual lives and the broader society?

Mainstream media's desire for power through manipulating the public’s political opinions has led to a lack of factual based evidence, and consequently, the public’s right to transparency. The composer repetitively references the lack of “evidence”, an emphatic tone of “not a scintilla of evidence found” to emphasise this lack of accountability by journalists, evading the public’s democratic rights to undoctored information. Smith also manipulates syntax, use of negation “not”, preceding the metaphorical phrase to emphasise that even any insignificant evidence has not been found. Smith also alludes to Orwell's 1984 authoritarian regime through use of “comrade” enabling him to draw comparisons between the controlling political systems to mainstream media. The additional connotation of 'comrade' as referencing Communist ideals is further extended upon with Smith alluding to Stalin through use of direct quote “show me the man and I’ll find you the crime.” Constant allusions to references symbolic of Communism evoke fear from the responder, causing a perception that their democratic way of life of threatened as journalists are not held accountable for manipulating the election process through altering public perceptions of politicians. However, ultimately, despite Smith’s misguided arguments in the lack of accountability by only mainstream journalists to have become the norm, his purpose is for responders to become more critical in responding to political reports.

also i'm going into the exam with these 2 ideas/theses (not perfect....going to adapt according to the question)
how the media communicates a certain idea about politics which may be untrue or superficial
or
how political representations of events are manipulated by politicians to alter the public's perceptions as they are driven by a constant pursuit to maintain or gain greater power. The media is used as a vehicle to achieve this.....

[taylorlucy]

Hi! This is probably a silly question but if we are given an extract to analyse/refer to, should we directly to it in a more self-aware manner? ie. "In the given extract, it can be seen that..." or write as if we were not asked to specifically reference it, ie "from the quote [insert quite here] it can be see that...
Sorry if that's confusing, thanks!

[Shadowfox42]

Hi! This is probably a silly question but if we are given an extract to analyse/refer to, should we directly to it in a more self-aware manner? ie. "In the given extract, it can be seen that..." or write as if we were not asked to specifically reference it, ie "from the quote [insert quite here] it can be see that...
Sorry if that's confusing, thanks!

I'm also confused as to how we would best integrate the extract into the essays, so I would also appreciate some help!
Just going a bit further, is it necessary to mention the extracts in each paragraph, or would it be sufficient to extract the themes in the introduction and then just analyse those themes throughout the body paragraphs.

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi,
For AOS my prescribed text is The Tempest and I have a quote in which I want to use but can't find a technique for it.
"Your tale, sir, could cure deafness"
Context wise the character Miranda is listening to Prospero and he keeps asking her if she is listening which she replies "Sir, most heedfully." then again "o good sir I do" then ending with her final reply "Your tale, sir, could cure deafness".
Could I say its a motif? I'm not sure.

Thanks!!

Hey! You've got alliteration in 'could cure,' and the statement is also a metaphor (it couldn't actually cure death). It's also a bit of an oxymoron, the combination of "cure" and "death" which are normally two mutually exclusive terms!

hi for module b, speeches, is it okay to write 3 body paragraphs on 3 different speeches?

Definitely okay, as above, provided you've got solid analysis of the three (and three would be the max)

Hello! I have a quick question on integrated paragraphs- would it benefit to use this scaffold on a Mod C essay as well as a Mod A one? Thanks in advance!

Definitely! Integrated works well for any module

hey I feel stuck with how to answer this question on module C for brave new world  (with related text as brave new world )
"Divide and rule, a sound motto. Unite and lead, a better one" To what extent is this statement evident in the texts you have studied?
Thanks!!

So I suppose it's a bit of an interpretative one - BNW is a text heavily based on ideas of unity (soma, orgy porgy, etc.), but also division (the caste system). Try and think, what does Huxley want to say about these things? About unity and division in the context of politics? And explore how he does that by using techniques

Okay so, I’ve heard that in terms of ranking, whoever ranks 1st for example; their internal mark will become the highest mark of their cohort externally… But what if their internal mark is higher than the highest HSC exam mark? E.g Say Sarah got 93 internally but the highest HSC exam mark was only 88, does her internal mark get taken down to an 88?

Yep - The full guide is here

[diesxel]

Hi!

I just wanted to ask what are the chances that they'll specify a poem for module c? (I'm doing people and politics and auden's poetry, 7 poems!)

I'm aware that until now they've only asked one general question for the whole module in the hsc...but is there a chance they'll specify?

Also, what is the chance they'll ask for 2 related texts for module c?

Just wanted to make sure!! Thanks for any help