Emily - Ask a State Ranker! (Q+A Closed)

[wendy weng]

Hi, Emily! Actually I am a international student so I learn ESL. I am wondering that like in the rubric it says 'Discovery can lead us to new world'. Do I write how the discovery lead me to new world or how the discovery leads the protagonist to new world. I know it is a stupid question but coz I don't think my teacher state clearly enough to me. Thanks.

[bowiemily]

Hey Emily, this is probably the only earth-related question
Just wondering if you know anywhere to find information on the types of faults, structures and igneous rocks at all the different plate boundaries? It always seems to come up in multiple choice (even though it's not a really big part of the syllabus) and because so few people do earth, we can't find good notes or even a website that explains it all. Just wondering if there was a site or a set of notes hiding somewhere that helped you?

Thanks so much for your time!

Hello fellow Earth-er!!

There's not a cohesive set of notes out there (yet), but Keep It Simple Science (KISS) do a pretty good job of it. You can also type the different types of faults and plate structures in youtube, and there are usually some really useful explanations on there

[bowiemily]

How do you remember all your quotes for Paper 2?

Write, write, write!! The more practice papers, the better!

[elisedrum]

Hi Emily
I was hoping you could give me some direction in preparing for English exams. What did you find the most effective strategy was in adapting to different questions for essays? (Particularly with the modules)
Thanks very much 

[bowiemily]

Hi Emily,
What are your tips for Unseen text? How should I structure responses and how much detail should I provide for 2,3 and 4 markers?
Also, if you did any of the following texts do you have any tips/ advice on main themes, ideas etc.
AOS: The tempest
Mod A: Donne and W;t
Mod B: Speeches
Mod C: Brave New World

Hey there! Unfortunately, I didn't do any of those texts. But for unseen, you should generally follow this rule:
2 marks: one quote
3 marks: one really good quote or two mediocre quotes
4 marks: two quotes
5 marks: mini essay (ie. two paragraphs with two quotes each in them)

PS. When i refer to 'quotes', I mean quote + technique + analysis

[TheMC]

Hey,
I've been a total creeper on the forum for a bit now, and wanted to ask, would you recommend writing your quotes for the AOS essay in the booklet then going back to the short answer?

And for creative, which I suck majorly at, would you write a plan for it in the booklet, or just go gungho at it? And do you have any tips or tricks for writing it?

I've got my quotes and analysis and links on flashcards and am feeling a tad stressed cause I got everything down but creative 

Thank you!

[bowiemily]

Hi Emily,
Could you please explain Yeats poems - Among School Children and Easter 1916 to me, because if they ask me to write an essay on it, im definitely not prepared :///
Also, what is the best way to study for Module B, Its the essay that I feel most unprepared for, I have no idea what to do and I feel as though my knowledge is not comprehensive enough and there is not much time left....
I went to the lecture in the holidays, but I couldnt find any readings that appealed to me. Is that okay?

E16:
This is about the Rebellion of 1916. Yeats questions whether it was worth people dying, and indeed, whether it was worth even immortalising the event within poetry. He says that dying for a political cause is hardly dying for a cause at all

ASC:
Yeats laments on his life. He questions whether anyone will read his poems once he is dead, or whether their meaning will be so obscure that both his actual identity and his working will lose its importance. He ultimately comes to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter if anyone else reads them, because he has found himself through his poetry.

I prepared quotes from each Yeats poem, and practiced writing about different poems in conjunction with eachother. Perhaps the best way for you to study now is to draw up a big mind up of ideas/themes that are common between his poems, and show how they are represented through his texts. This way, you are consolidating your knowledge of every poem, whilst also practicing your quotes

[RoJoHo]

Hey there!
I prepared for Year 12 in Year 11 by being a bum and hardly studying. Because of this, I did not get the marks I wanted and was sorely disappointed. This gave me even more drive to not let myself down in Year 12. I also met my current boyfriend in Year 11 (shout out to Aidan), who was an instrumental support during my HSC year. It just goes to show that you absolutely need to surround yourself with people that genuinely care about you during Year 12, in order to be emotionally healthy and happy.

Analysis wise, my voice was still really jumbled up in Year 11. I was still trying to figure out how to use vocab correctly, and what parts of a text to narrow in on in order to form sophisticated analysis. All of this was trial and error. So fail, and fail badly in year 11! That way you have lots of mistakes to learn from for year 12

Ahh I see! thats really encouraging!
So how did you go on about fixing/creating your voice and improving sophistication in analysis during year 12? like what kind of practice would you do to improve at English and kind of 'unjumble' yourself xD? any tips? Im about to go into year 12 and I've been dreading English as I've never been good at it nor understood it but I need to start improving now. Thanks so much for your time!

[Vinnnnnnyyyyyy]

Hi Emily! What's the main difference between an integrated essay and an essay with the typical four body paragraphs? I don't understand how it's different besides pressing the 'enter' key in between the two texts of an integrated paragraph. Surely there's something I'm missing.

[bowiemily]

Hi Emily...

My trials start tomorrow and I was wondering what your thoughts are on bringing prepared essays into the exam?

Thanks very much!! 

If that's what you've been preparing to do for the past week, then don't change your plans now. That will only make you nervous. Go in with a planned essay tomorrow if you're ready to do so. Then, after trial, I would suggest practicing on the spot essays.

[bowiemily]

Hi Emily,

I have another question for you. I heard that they could ask for a feature article format for the creative writing section and was wondering what tips you have for approaching this. Thank you. (:

Hey Heather,
They are very unlikely to do this. Rather, you can chose to write in a feature article format if your strength is not creative writing

[ca052267]

Hi Emily,
Just a couple of questions for Advanced English:
1. For AOS my prescribed text is The Motorcycle Diaries. Is it ok to use The Help (film, not novel) as my related text?
2. Can Dr Seuss books be used for related texts i.e. The Lorax for Mod C - People and Landscapes -  with the prescribed text poetry of judith wright?
3. What is the best way to prepare for trials the day before the exam?
4. Is it okay if my themes in my essays interrelate?
5. How would I analyse a picture book that has no colour and instead is illustrated with braille? It is called The Black Book of Colours by Menina Cottin. I wanted to use it for Mod C but I wasn't sure how to analyse it so I turned to the Lorax, but im not sure if that's a good idea or not.
6. Any tips on preparing for the exams (trials and HSC)

Thanks in advance

Charbella

[MelanieA00]

Hey Emily!!
Thanks for doing this!
QQ...how many words was ur creative writing generally?
And also, would you always plan your essays before you began writing, during the actual exam?

[celia_li0914]

Hi Emily,
    Although I am doing English as a second language can I still ask you a general question about English? I am considering after I finish my introduction in essay then I jump to the conclusion on a new booklet and them fill all the bodies in. (If I don't completely finish my third or fourth body I can still have a conclusion) Do you think this is ok? Thanks.

[bowiemily]

Hi Emily!
Trials start tomorrow for me and I've got a few questions I was wondering you could clarify for me

1. Just with Mod B and C, I'm still not too sure what I should be targeting in my essays? If mod A mostly focuses on how context shapes values, is mod B how the composer's language and form contributes to its enduring value, and for mod C how representations affect the composer's agenda?
2. For Mod C, I need to be analysing more on the text's form but the only thing I can think of is the form of my texts, which is a historical memoir and opinion piece. Are there any other techniques under form I can analyse? I'm also a bit confused with the structure of my paragraphs - should I base the first two on how people are represented and the last two paras on how politics are represented?
3. I get a lot of feedback from my teacher to "push analysis further" but I'm not sure what that means. For example, the comment was given to this part of my essay - As Prospero gradually learns about the suffering he has caused others, it is Ariel's use of emotive language in "brim full of sorrow" and empathy depicted in "mine would sir, were I human" that is the ultimate catalyst for Prospero's discovery of Mercy as Ariel's capability to convey human emotions despite being a spirit challenges Prospero to rethink his moral values." - I'm not sure what else I could add to this or how I could rephrase.
4. Do you have any tips on how to be concise in your essays? I always find that there's so many things to address, like analysing the technique, then saying what it conveys, then linking it to the composer's purpose, then linking it back to the question - i just feel like there's too many things to talk about that I spend too long trying to unpack all my evidence, yet if I dont do that, I'll get feedback that says I need to analyse my evidence more. Is there a structure that you follow - e.g. Is it enough to just link back to the Q at the end of each para?

Thanks so much!!

1. All sounds perfect there except for Module C. C is about how a composer is representing the relationship between people and politics or people and landscapes through their text.
2. Think about the techniques that your composers can use that are specific to form. For example, a historical memoir may use the journal entry form to gain greater insight into the experience of people confronted by bleak political realities.
3. You can chose to structure your response as you suggested, but I would more likely talk about the relationship between people and politics within every paragraph.
4. They way you just explained sounds perfect. Its for that reason that you should only have three textual references/quotes within one paragraph. Overloading your paragraph means that you won't have time to build your argument through the quotes,  as you won't be able to explain them in enough depth