1st in Advanced English 2016 - Ask Me Anything!

[RuiAce]

Hey!

So first of all, at the lecture, you said that you got 75% on your first English assessment task. And all the assessment tasks you do in Year 12 are counted towards your final HSC mark. So in order to get a 100%, I believe that you'll need to achieve a 100% in all the tasks you do. Am I wrong? Secondly, I asked my English Extention 2 teacher if it's possible to get a 100% in English, and she confidently and clearly explained to me that it's in fact very rare for a student to achieve a full mark and if someone did actually get a 100%, she would be aware of it. Tbh, I have to believe her because she's been teaching English Advanced and Extention for more than 25 years.

So my question is, are you being honest about the 100% in English? 

Also, not here to criticise; I'm just passionately curious :') (s/o Einstein)

Um yeah what Jake said. No lie, she got the maximum mark

[jenjen_wang]

Hi bowie!
I've heard some people say that it is better to write your creatives in third person than in first person. Do you think that is true? What voice did you write most of your creatives in? And also what are some specific things that you should include and avoid in your creative if you want maximum marks? I know about the obvious, such as avoiding endings like 'then I woke up and it was all a dream', but I have also heard other people say to avoid anything to do with teenagers as it can make stories sound cliche, and to tell it from the perspective of a child or adult. Is there anything else?
Thank you and congratulations on the awesome result!

[Rainbowhippocampus]

Hi Emily!  Congrats on all your achievements they're amazing!  I think you were the person selling lecture books in the holidays too when i kept coming back after trying and failing to find the ATM machine 
I have a couple of questions in regards to a couple of different subjects so here it goes:
1) how do you memorise a text for english so thoroughly that you remember everything that needs to be remembered plus whatever might be handy for the question that pops up?  is there a certain technique to use for different forms of text?  also if I don't like a text or don't understand it at all, what do you advise doing to encourage me to actually do the work I'm supposed to do?
2) What techniques do you advise when reading a novel or play to gain an understanding of it?  do you advise sticky notes, pencil marks, tee tables?
3) How on earth do you come up with ideas for creative writing that are interesting and actually grab the reader/marker?  I've been told mine are too lengthy and get boring after a while.
4) What study methods do you recommend for earth and environmental science?  Were diagrams and charts helpful or should i just stick to dot points with some tables and colours splashed throughout?  Also do past papers for earth really help?
5)  Also just wondering if there are any study tips that you'd advise on for english and earth and environmental science?
6) Also with english and related texts, how do you know if you have a good related text for the text you have?  For instance i have the 'tempest' as my main shakespeare and chose 'As I Grew Older' by Langston Hughes, is this an ideal choice for a shakespearean?  should i have picked a different form of text?
Thanks Emily for everything (sorry for the tonnes of questions) 

[bowiemily]

Hi, btw congrats for ur mark and the lecture was very good.
I just have a few questions:
1) How did u manage ur time in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 for each of the three sections because i find it extremely hard to do responses in 40 mins.
2) Just like u, i am doing Richard III for Module A and WB Yeats for Module B. Is there anything i have to consider with those two particular texts since u did those last year and u know a lot about them.
3) What ORTs do u recommend for me to use in Area of Study (Prescribed: Motorcycle Diaries) and Module C (Prescribed: Brave New World). Its very hard to select one.

Paper One time allocation went something like this: 20 mins short answers, 30 mins creative, the rest discovery
Paper Two: Write your hand off and recover over the weekend before your next exams. Do not spend more than 40 mins on any of the essays, they all deserve equal attention

For Yeats and Richard, I would try and relate their central themes to what is happening around us today. Example A: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/opinion/sunday/shakespeare-explains-the-2016-election.html?_r=0

Area of study is a tricky one, as I've never studied that text. I also completed people and landscapes, so I'm not much help there either. However, I really do love Goodbye Lennin the film, perhaps look into this for Mod C?

[bowiemily]

Hi Emily! Congratulations on your achievements!

I've heard the advice of 'integrate the stimulus as a motif' and 'write from personal experiences' many times over, but I was wondering what I should do if personal experiences are hard to write about in such a way that it can be interesting in a short story. Revelations rarely happen in life in such a short span of time!

Also, what would you recommend in regards to developing a narrative voice? -- Personally mine is always sarcastic and overly rational (like myself), which doesn't make for a good read especially in emotional creatives...

Thanks!!

Who says sarcasm doesn't make a great creative? And I'm not being sarcastic. I know for a fact that English teachers are the most sarcastic creatures to ever roam the earth. Maybe your voice doesn't sound authentic at the moment because you're trying to hide your actual voice. Perhaps you could write a feature article that degrades the concept of discovery at the beginning, only to come to the conclusion that its not that its futile, its that you haven't experienced it yet. Then, you're working in your actual experience.

[bowiemily]

Hey Emily!
I was just wondering if you had a specific formula that you used for short answers (particularly the mini essay!), and any tips for keeping them concise but in depth enough to gain full marks?

Hey there Suzie! I went through this extensively in my Head Start Lectures. You can find these here: http://atarnotes.com/note/atar-notes-english-advanced-head-start-lecture-january-2017/

[bowiemily]

Hey,

1. Should one memorise essays.
2. How did you prepare for the language task in paper 1 of the HSC.
3. How do you think of good creative writing ideas.

Thanks

1. No, understand the themes in a text
2. Practice practice practice
3. Keep a journal, write your thoughts. If you stumble across something interesting, you can explore it through a creative!

[theteresala]

Hey I'm Teresa and I just had a number of questions I would like to ask:
1. How do I keep a flow while writing essays whilst not repeating the same exact things multiple times as I tend to do so under pressure?
2. How do I cope under pressure in exam time periods?
3. Do you recommend to cram all of our studies everyday?
4. How did you prepare all your notes before the hsc?
5. Do u recommend to study by reading or writing?
6. And in general any tips or advice for doing well in Advanced English?

thank you

[Sassy Cassy]

Hi congrats on your atar. What would you say would be the best way to maximise your marks and what were your methods to receive such a high mark
Thank you so much

[bowiemily]

Hi,
I was wondering how long it should take me to find related texts / critical studies because I take forever choosing the right ones since I'm so picky!!
Also, is it a good idea to use texts recommended by hsc based websites?? My main concern is if I do the same text as many other people and they'll do better than me with it.

You should find a text that you understand and appreciate. If this happens to be on a HSC website, so be it! As long as you can write about it confidently. Also, you don't want to be spend a majority of your time looking for texts. Instead, you should have your ORT at least two weeks before an assessment task

[bowiemily]

Hello, Im having trouble finding techniques for Feed MT Anderson can you help me??

I don't know that text at all, I'm sorry. Check out our notes available on the notes pages, perhaps there will be a resource of assistance there!

[oreillya]

Hey emily!! I loved your lecture at UTS! I thought it was very insightful!!

1. I am struggling to find a good related text for my AOS. We are doing the motorcycle diaries by che guevara and our teacher recommended a text that shows strong political discovery?

2. How did you study for english? Did you do multiple creatives and then perfect them throughout the year? I have my midcourse exams coming up in a few weeks and it entails a reading paper, essay on motorcycle diaries and creative. Any tips on how to ace it?

[lvsarose]

Hey

1. What are some tips do you have for someone who cannot write 1000 words in 40min?
- I have bad handwriting + speed

2. Do you believe in quantity over quality? Can someone get a band 6 with only 3 or 4 paragraphs? (comparative text)

thank you!
and congrats on your high mark!

[bowiemily]

Hey few more questions just popped up in my head!

I have a speech on mod a (1984/metro) and the question has something to do with how they both present similar warnings regarding control. What themes should i use? I am thinking about power and powerless and technological advancements and link them to manipulation. Also just a general thing about mod a, am i meant to link to context for every quote or just most of them.

For mod b im doing yeats and am asking for how do you prepare? I was thinking about writing 1 essay and have 5 paragraphs for the rest of the poems in case they ask for a specific poem

And mod c i am doing art of travel, any suggestions for related?

ty

Those sound like fantastic themes!

The best way to find out if these studying techniques work for you is to try them out. I know it seems like theres a lot at stake if they don't work, but its better finding out now than after the HSC. I rewrote my Yeats notes after trials for this reason. So don't be afraid to try, jump in and give it a go. If your marks don't turn out as well as you'd hoped, maybe then you should try another study technique

I studied AoT and used Personal Helicon by Seamus Heaney as my ORT

[elysepopplewell]

What do you think of W B Yeats?