Is a tutor necessary for advanced english (bad teacher) (1 Viewer)

zocdae

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
34
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2017
So I have this bad english teacher that wastes so much class time and if she does decide to teach it is just going over homework or some really unhelpful stuff. I still managed to get a 94 (1st) for assignment one but am thinking about getting tutoring for english for help on my creative writing, essay structure, short answer and improved text analysis. Do you think this can all be accessed through my teacher (who is willing to help, i'll give her that) and the internet, or will a tutor be the best option? Thanks.
 

oliverh

New Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
2
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
I went for around 1/3rd of Y12 with no tutoring and was only getting low band 5s for assessments. I had a family friend (99.9 ATAR) tutor me once a week for English ADV and EXT which was great because it meant I was able to be constantly getting feedback on essays and creatives, as well as getting a seriously developed and original input on conceptual analysis that you WON'T get from a sub-par teacher.

However, tutors are less useful for creatives. You will often have conflicting ideas and memorising creatives is far easier when you wrote them yourself.

I ended up with a 90 in ADV and 44/50 in EXT.
 

strawberrye

Premium Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2012
Messages
3,292
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
Uni Grad
2018
I think it depends on how much you want to excel in English and what your school is currently ranked, getting a very good tutor might give you a perspective of what you really are up against-particularly if you get a HSC marker you will know how they mark in HSC (because your school might not be marking at HSC level and so always getting 90s doesn't mean you will get 90s in the actual HSC). It really depends on how far you want to go in English or you are happy with where you are going now.
 

eyeseeyou

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Messages
4,125
Location
Space
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
tbh if u wanna do well in english u need to read your texts (highly recommended and just in case the essay question is based on specific quotes or scenes), write practice essays (and get feedback on them from either teachers or band 6 english students) and get feedback on necessary stuff in knowing what you did wrong and where to improve
 

jazz519

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
1,956
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Uni Grad
2021
tbh if u wanna do well in english u need to read your texts (highly recommended and just in case the essay question is based on specific quotes or scenes), write practice essays (and get feedback on them from either teachers or band 6 english students) and get feedback on necessary stuff in knowing what you did wrong and where to improve
lol I didn't read any of my texts hahaha, but yeah lol read them
 

jazz519

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
1,956
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Uni Grad
2021
Yeah lol legit. I probs read like 20 pages max of each text. It's useful and helpful to read it I guess to understand what you are writing about, which I just read summaries of what happens on google, but when it comes to writing actual essays you only end up using like 15 quotes per essay which you can easily find by looking online. I think the most important thing however in hsc english is to know how to analyse texts and address stuff in the rubric, rather than just spending ages and ages reading a text which doesn't guarantee that you will write an essay that is of high quality.
 
Last edited:

jazz519

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
1,956
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Uni Grad
2021
But to answer the question of the original guy, I think it would be beneficial to get a tutor, but be careful who you get i.e. don't just go to someone because it is 10 dollars cheaper. You should try source someone who has got a very high english mark or a teacher that is a hsc marker.
 

littlespartan

New Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
11
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Yeah lol legit. I probs read like 20 pages max of each text. It's useful and helpful to read it I guess to understand what you are writing about, which I just read summaries of what happens on google, but when it comes to writing actual essays you only end up using like 15 quotes per essay which you can easily find by looking online. I think the most important thing however in hsc english is to know how to analyse texts and address stuff in the rubric, rather than just spending ages and ages reading a text which doesn't guarantee that you will write an essay that is of high quality.
Even 1984? WTF
 

BLIT2014

The pessimistic optimist.
Moderator
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
11,592
Location
l'appel du vide
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2014
Uni Grad
2018
If she is an HSC marker, and provides detailed feedback on any essays/short answers etc that you hand in, then I doubt you require a tutor.
 

jazz519

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
1,956
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Uni Grad
2021
How did u answer the Mod A essay question this yr then
I did looking for Richard and king Richard III, I had a knowledge of what the texts were about, but even if you read the text which I doubt anyone really does for a Shakespeare play, there's no way you would be able to remember that quote from the play. Regardless however I essentially used the skills that I had obtained from short answers in English, in being able to analyse unseen passages on the spot with appropriate selection of quotes and techniques that would suit and further add to my arguments in my essay already, which I made sure to continually do throughout my essay. I think I referenced the stimulus quotes provided like 8 times in my essay.

Honestly though I said I didn't read the text which is true, but that doesn't mean I don't know what the texts are about which I achieved through the use of reading summaries.
 
Last edited:

eyeseeyou

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Messages
4,125
Location
Space
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
I did looking for Richard and king Richard III, I had a knowledge of what the texts were about, but even if you read the text which I doubt anyone really does for a Shakespeare play, there's no way you would be able to remember that quote from the play. Regardless however I essentially used the skills that I had obtained from short answers in English, in being able to analyse unseen passages on the spot with appropriate selection of quotes and techniques that would suit and further add to my arguments in my essay already, which I made sure to continually do throughout my essay. I think I referenced the stimulus quotes provided like 8 times in my essay.

Honestly though I said I didn't read the text which is true, but that doesn't mean I don't know what the texts are about which I achieved through the use of reading summaries.
Wait I'll PM u this
 

zocdae

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
34
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2017
Thanks for the advice all, I think I will get tutoring after all. Could really use a wake up call as I know for a fact that my school does not mark as harshly as the HSC. Does anyone know any really good adv english tutors around padstow heights area?
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top