What are the most popular text response texts?

[EvangelionZeta]

This may seem like a dumb question, but would it be more beneficial for a public school to choose English texts that private/selective schools aren't doing?

Not really - either way, a good essay is a good essay.

[azngirl456]

This may seem like a dumb question, but would it be more beneficial for a public school to choose English texts that private/selective schools aren't doing?

well, if you go to a selective school, teachers tell you that they picked __________ (insert name of book/film) because it's more challenging than other books/films, and there probably wont be as much study guides written for them. I guess they do this to suit the competitiveness of the cohort and to differentiate the between the strongest English students.

so to answer your question, no i dont think it would be increasingly beneficial for public schools to pick books that private/selective schools arent using (hang on, isn't that the case atm hmmm...) but i think its good for teachers to pick books that they think students in the cohort will enjoy most and study well in, in order to confidently write essays

[azngirl456]

A Christmas Carol is up instead, my schools doing it. Not really sure how they will go on that one, it's not a private school/selective and most students have poor english/literary backgrounds.

My school was going to do that book but after all the english teachers read it they said that there isn't really much to discuss about so they went for Ransom.

But i hear a christmas carol is a good read because its apparently a fairy tale story? (not sure about this)

[kiraxxx]

I find LBW rather easy to write on since there are many topics and issues to discuss and each character has their own problems to deal with which form simple essay topics...

[iffets12345]

A Christmas Carol is up instead, my schools doing it. Not really sure how they will go on that one, it's not a private school/selective and most students have poor english/literary backgrounds.

My school was going to do that book but after all the english teachers read it they said that there isn't really much to discuss about so they went for Ransom.

But i hear a christmas carol is a good read because its apparently a fairy tale story? (not sure about this)

I know.....
IO wish I had been given the oppurtunity to do it but I can't complain.

[adelaide.emily10]

A Christmas Carol is up instead, my schools doing it. Not really sure how they will go on that one, it's not a private school/selective and most students have poor english/literary backgrounds.

My school was going to do that book but after all the english teachers read it they said that there isn't really much to discuss about so they went for Ransom.

But i hear a christmas carol is a good read because its apparently a fairy tale story? (not sure about this)

I know.....
IO wish I had been given the oppurtunity to do it but I can't complain.

my school is doing a christmas carol and maestro
i heard that a christmas carol is very difficult to talk about even though there is so much in it.
first time i read it, i couldn't stand some of the old english phrases, but then after watching the movie and then reading the book again it was much easier to analyse

i don't think it really matters about what school you go to, i go to a private school and i'm on a scholarship, but there are heaps of students at my school who have really rich parents and that's the only reason they are coming to a private school, and they really aren't very good at english (mainly because they put no effort in, which really annoys me). it is true that if u do a text that selective school is doing then you may have stronger competion, e.g. macrob or mhs, but if you put the work in and use the VN marking scheme you will probably find that your just as good as any other student who goes to a selctive school.

[eeps]

but i think its good for teachers to pick books that they think students in the cohort will enjoy most and study well in, in order to confidently write essays

Agreed.

As what adelaide.emily10 said, it comes back to putting the work in. It's a matter of approach and attitude. Obviously if a public school does the same texts as say MHS or Mac.Rob, it's harder to get the high scores. That's not to say it can't happen - it can and does. Just because selective/private schools are doing certain texts, doesn't mean that public schools can't choose to do the same.

IMO Richard III and Years of Wonders are probably the most popular text response texts (I'm doing both).

[lexitu]

How do you mean "it's harder to get the high scores"?

[adelaide.emily10]

How do you mean "it's harder to get the high scores"?

i think what EPL.11.4ever is saying is that it's harder because selective schools such as macrob consist of some of the most academically strong students in victoria, and thus if they do a text the same as just say a public school, it's harder because your up against a larger amount of high scoring students. but if you were doing the same text as other public schools, chances are the cohorts are to some extent similar and you may possibly have a higher chance of being against similar to competition to that of your school. that being said i'm sure there are plenty of students from non selective schools who have done better than some selective school students.

[lexitu]

Okay, then I understood well Thankfully, it doesn't work out that way because the cohort for English consists of all English students and each piece is marked on its own merits. You can see that some texts have a higher average essay score; they don't all have to have a similar average. The main check used to keep things consistent and fair is ensuring that English assessors are not marking too harshly or too leniently overall (each assessor has to stay around average or they will be scolded). What book a student chooses makes no difference at all, a good response is a good response.

[eeps]

Students going to public schools are directly competing against schools who are based on academic abilities, that makes it harder - i.e. A public school does the same texts as MHS - students at MHS generally would do better having greater resources and whatnot, available to them. You're competing against selective schools in the same category - in that aspect, it's all the more harder to achieve the "higher" scores. Having said that, it does happen (that students from various public schools do just as well).

What adelaide.emily10 said is what I meant.

That's all I have to say, I don't want this thread to go off-topic and get locked for nothing. :p

EDIT: Glad to see we're on the same page.

[shinny]

I don't agree with the previous few posts. If it were true, then the averages should be roughly the same between texts, but I've found that the more complex texts generally top the rankings, so obviously the students within these cohorts aren't killing each other off. And to quote what EZ said:

Not really - either way, a good essay is a good essay.

To explain further, the score out of 10 is not a ranked mark. It doesn't matter how others write within that text; if the markers are following the criteria properly, the competition within a text should not affect one's mark. A good essay is simply a good essay. That being said though, to explain why public schools generally choose simpler texts and selective/private schools choose complex ones, it's because generally I find that simple texts can yield decent marks without too much study, while complex ones require some effort on part of the student. However, the complex ones are complex because there's things that you'll find once you put effort in, and after finding these things in preparation for the exam, often you can use them in the exam to provide an easy way to impress the examiner. Basically, complex texts often reward preparation, whereas the distinction between those that prepare for a simple text and those that don't is far more marginal and thus slackers have less of a disadvantage.

Also, complex texts are generally thematic based with various social/political messages whereas simple texts are often largely character and drama based. Given that the issues at hand with complex texts are obviously much larger, it's harder to just walk in and crap on about them. On the other hand, drama between characters is obviously much easier to rant on about having just read the book or seen the movie just once.

[Aden]

I don't see why anyone should be discouraging (and to some extent limiting) themselves with this 'I am doing the same text as Melb High or MacRob and therefore it is harder for me to attain a high score' sort of mentality. An examiner will see a well written and comprehensive essay with complex ideas as exactly what it is, irrespective of what he/she has read previous to it. As Lexitu said, if there is genuinely a pool of better students doing a certain text, then they will achieve higher marks with an overall higher average score for that given text.

I think what is happening here is the beginnings of another Private + Selective Schools vs. Public Schools debate which should be avoided.

[iffets12345]

I don't see why anyone should be discouraging (and to some extent limiting) themselves with this 'I am doing the same text as Melb High or MacRob and therefore it is harder for me to attain a high score' sort of mentality.

Uhh, some schools do need it. Coming from a lower socio-economic school I can say that some students need a kick so they don't get complacent and need to understand how much deeper other people have gone into their texts.

[LOVEPHYSICS]

An examiner will see a well written and comprehensive essay with complex ideas as exactly what it is, irrespective of what he/she has read previous to it.

Even judges form their own preconceived ideas before giving a verdict, what makes you think that examiners wouldn't? Even though most of them would try to mark the piece based on whats presented, and not by other factors such as what he/she had read before, reality of being 'that fair' is slim. Examiners are humans, they can be just as biased as we can, though its fair dinkum to think that most of them are not doing it purposely. Its similar to the 'dazzle them in the introduction' concept and you will be on the right track...First impression does count...