How do people not read their texts and still do well in English?

[snowisawesome]

I keep hearing people say that they haven't read their texts and they still do well in English. How is that possible?

[EEEEEEP]

I keep hearing people say that they haven't read their texts and they still do well in English. How is that possible?

You find quotes , (hint hint sparknotes) and literary techniques and then memorise it.

English is all about expressing things well and critically analysing pieces. You sorta do this by reading chapter summaries, past quotes and about themes of a novel.

[appleandbee]

I keep hearing people say that they haven't read their texts and they still do well in English. How is that possible?

What study score do you mean by doing "well"? In my opinion, it's almost impossible to get high scores (8/10  or 16/20+) in text responses without reading the actual texts and relying on study guides (unless they are doing a film). You need to read text to grasp the technical details (language, symbolism, text structure, imagery etc.) and relate those things to the overall meaning of the text, which is the depth required to get a high score in the section. In the old VCE English curriculum (pre-2017), there was a section known as 'context', where it wasn't necessary to read the texts to score highly in the section, as 'context' assessed your ability to write a piece on a particular theme (eg. Identity and belonging) and the prescribed texts only made up a small component of the assessment (the main requirement was to relate the general ideas of the text to the theme rather than analysing the finer grains). It was possible to only read the books for the text response section and still score highly in the old format, given that the current English curriculum is more text analysis focused, it's difficult to rely on study guides, as they mainly give you a general to detailed outline/synopsis of the text (which is useful as a taster or if you have difficulty understanding the text) but do not go into the technical/aesthetic details of the books.

Hope that this helps

[snowisawesome]

I'm really bad at English. I'm aiming for a 30 raw. Is this possible without reading any of my texts next year for year 12?
 

[blasonduo]

I'm really bad at English. I'm aiming for a 30 raw. Is this possible without reading any of my texts next year for year 12?
 

If you're bad at English, don't disadvantage yourself any further! You'll have plenty of time to read your texts, so I highly suggest reading them, it really helps when you get a question that could be very specific

[appleandbee]

I'm really bad at English. I'm aiming for a 30 raw. Is this possible without reading any of my texts next year for year 12?
 

Given that you have over a year ahead of you, reading the texts is worth the effort regardless of the score you are aiming for. Reading books isn't too too onerous since you have a lot of time, if possible try to read the books over the long break (or at least the text for your first assessment). If you find reading books difficult (which is ok, I have difficulty concentrating and being engaged in books many times as well), try to see if there are any audiobooks for the texts you are studying or perhaps film adaptations (or even tv shows or other films that explores relevant theme and events) to give you a general idea of the story line. If you have any difficulties understanding the text after reading the book for the first time, find study guides which will give you a general to detailed synopsis. It also helps to ask yourself ''Why did VCAA choose this book?'' and "How does this book relate to issues or important themes in the current age?". Researching the historical/social context that the book is written in, may help you become more engaged in the book. I also found analysing literary and structural features of the novel (storyline structure/composition, the form of the novel (biography, historical fiction etc.), imagery, symbolism, word play etc.) and trying to relate those things to the message and story that the author is trying to convey (and annotating the book or writing notes on it), gives a deeper meaning to the book beyond a potentially bland storyline.

Finally, please don't go into the year with a defeated attitude towards English. I felt a similar way towards the end of year 11, and while I do not miss English and am happy to indulge in Gossip Girl rather than reading a book (the books I am planning to read next are Gossip Girl novels), during year 12 I was very engrossed in my texts (and slightly obsessed with English to the point it had a bit of effect on my other subjects), trying to find a deeper meaning in them, and it paid off for the most part.

[TheCommando]

You find quotes , (hint hint sparknotes) and literary techniques and then memorise it.

English is all about expressing things well and critically analysing pieces. You sorta do this by reading chapter summaries, past quotes and about themes of a novel.

What are literacy techniques

[LifeisaConstantStruggle]

http://study.com/academy/lesson/literary-devices-definition-examples-quiz.html

Literary techniques are the typical structures used by writers to convey a certain meaning/elicit a certain emotion. Here's a list of the basic ones but there are much more different literary techniques (analysing and taking note of literary techniques can enhance the quality of your essay as you are directly referring to the language used by the author).

[2352300]

To be quite honest it's not possible. These people rely heavily on study guides, so in the end the amount of time wasted on reading study guides could've been spent doing something more beneficial to their English grade--ie: reading the text. Through relying on study guides you absorb a very generic interpretation of the text that might not cut it in the exam because it would be hard to mold to any prompts you haven't prepared for. I've seen people who don't read their texts for SACs still do well (ie: high 30s region) but they ended up reading their texts eventually before the exam. Everyone I know who has hit the 40+ region has read their texts for both SACs and exams, and the girl who got a 50 raw last year read her texts 5 times each before the exam. You're just going to have to slug through the texts is you're hoping for a 40+, but if you're cool with an SS of 30-36 you could get away with not reading the texts if all SAC and exam conditions go according to plan--which they rarely do unfortunately.

Tldr: normal English texts are dry as fuck but the people who do end up reading them reap the rewards, whereas the people who don't at least once before the exam have a very hard time hitting 40s.

[Savas_P]

wow you sound so innocent, I would get on to spark notes. I have tried reading my texts multiple times but I struggle with comprehension.

[Sine]

Re: study guides

Pretty sure previous assesors report (2015) has specifically said  something along the lines of - students rely too heavily on study guides.

[2352300]

Re: study guides

Pretty sure previous assesors report (2015) has specifically said  something along the lines of - students rely too heavily on study guides.

Exactly. "Personal interpretation" > generic interpretation. I mean, imagine you're an examiner marking 2000 English essays and you have to read your 1999th essay based on the same generic interpretation regurgitated from a study guide that half the state of Victoria has read.

 I would either:

a) off myself at that point or
b) just give that 1999th student a 4/10.

Don't be that 1999th student and please just read your texts.

[TooLazy]

Exactly. "Personal interpretation" > generic interpretation. I mean, imagine you're an examiner marking 2000 English essays and you have to read your 1999th essay based on the same generic interpretation regurgitated from a study guide that half the state of Victoria has read.

 I would either:

a) off myself at that point or
b) just give that 1999th student a 4/10.

Don't be that 1999th student and please just read your texts.

ceebs only got like 20 days til the exam, not enough time

[Sine]

you can still do well just using study guides (people have pulled extremely high scores just memorising essays) ahaha I used many study guides and a lot of previous students notes/essays on my texts and did alright

[2352300]

you can still do well just using study guides (people have pulled extremely high scores just memorising essays) ahaha I used many study guides and a lot of previous students notes/essays on my texts and did alright

Hey dude that's great as. I don't want anyone to do badly, I just want people to know that your experience is an anomaly. Some people may fluke English and still smash it based on the old study design, whereby entire essays could be memorised for the context prompt. But I think VCAA realised this and has made the new English study design to actively discourage such behaviour. This new study design requires students to engage more closely with the text. So to the former students who fluked English with the old study design I applaud you, and to the current students hoping to do the same thing with the new one I hope you pull it off.