Is it better to follow the "formula" when writing English essays?

[brightsky]

Would it be wise to write something out of the ordinary? The examiners read through thousands of essays, and to score highly, mustn't we write something different from the "mob"?

[Trent]

You are meant to write something that stands out in the exam, seeing as like you said the examiners read a lot of essays. However, You don't write something that makes little sense, the criteria states it must be plausible (or something along those lines I think), and the "formula" in regards to structure must not be something that is all over the shop.

[kyzoo]

Structure isn't the only thing that can make you stand out "from the mob." There's also content, expression, and vocab.

[brightsky]

Ahh, good point. But what I was getting at was, like my teacher said, some of the higher scoring essays in the context section were students who adapted a more creative style, in lieu of the conventional expository/formal Intro-Para-Ending.

[amirite?]

You can also select the prompt that will most likely be used the least. If 10% of the people choose prompt 1, 45% write about prompt B and 45% select prompt C, then theres a slight advantage in writing a good essay on prompt 1. This is what the examiners I know have all said. They like to read something different.

[dekoyl]

I think sticking to the "formula" style of writing got me through the exam. Also, I'm an avid surfer of the interwebs and I had picked up a quote that wasn't well known a few days prior to the exam. I thought it was quite powerful so I (fortunately) was able to integrate it into my context essay.

[EvangelionZeta]

I personally utilise a structure fairly similar to the "formula", with the exception that I tend to go either four or five body paragraphs instead of three.  I find that it helps a lot to have some kind of skeleton built-in for you in your writing; it would probably also help the examiners, who end up struggling less in trying to comprehend your prose.

[kyzoo]

Ahh, good point. But what I was getting at was, like my teacher said, some of the higher scoring essays in the context section were students who adapted a more creative style, in lieu of the conventional expository/formal Intro-Para-Ending.

That a hybrid of an imaginative and a expository, or an imaginative and a persuasive. There's an example of one in a thread somewhere in the English forum.

[natty]

For my text response, the structure was formulaic, but the content was slightly different to the usual arguments/quotes. My context piece was a persuasive, and it had the basic opinion piece structure, however the content was also not formulaic, as with the text response.
As for the comment that creative are higher scoring, although that may sometimes be the case, it's quite risky. It is so much harder to bring in the text when adopting a creative response, and if the examiner does not see the links, your marks will drop. It's also much harder to develop a creative piece in the ~hour in the exam, whereas persuasive and expository tend to be easier as you can 're-use' paragraphs from practise essays and adjust them to the prompt.

[spontaneouscombustion]

It's always good to follow a formula in your text response, as high scoring responses generally do follow a formula and are well structured.
However if you go over the top with the formula and stick 100% to it, it may limit your response and capacity to develop your ideas....and most of all the examiners won't like it.

During year 12 what I've listed as important for english essays is:
1. Structure
2. Quality of ideas
3. Expression (the way you convey your ideas, vocab, flair etc)
4. Resistance to question (may not be applicable for every question though)

 

[brightsky]

It's always good to follow a formula in your text response, as high scoring responses generally do follow a formula and are well structured.
However if you go over the top with the formula and stick 100% to it, it may limit your response and capacity to develop your ideas....and most of all the examiners won't like it.

During year 12 what I've listed as important for english essays is:
1. Structure
2. Quality of ideas
3. Expression (the way you convey your ideas, vocab, flair etc)
4. Resistance to question (may not be applicable for every question though)

 

Can you elaborate on "resistance to question"?

[kyzoo]

I think it means consideration and rebuttal of the opposition's arguments.

[spontaneouscombustion]

Sometimes a text response question will give you an opinion, eg 'Home is more than a compelling story; it is a political statement. Discuss.' and 80% of students will just try to find quotes and evidence in the text to support that opinion. However the high scoring responses generally take the: "this is true, however..." approach.

[kenhung123]

What does the SACs for english consist of?
There is 1 oral, x text response, x context and x language analysis?

[Cataclysmic]

1 oral, 2 text response, 2 context, 1 language analysis ( thats how it was for me)