strawberrye
Premium Member
Introduction:
After the Bomb explores the enduring social ramifications as a result of the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945, which not only signalled the conclusion of WWII, but also transformed the global, geo-political landscape in terms of revolutionising economic, scientific, philosophical and religious ways of thinking. It is a fascinating module because of the significant humanistic insights gained from a close study of the texts, but it also holds many challenges, including as a result of being one of the less popular modules for Extension English, there isn’t much direct educational resources online or offline. However, this shortcoming can be more than supplemented by knowing where to research and what to research about. In compiling this guide, I hope to give HSC students some assistance on how to approach and succeed in this module. In turn, I truly hope that you, the reader, can come to enjoy and excel in After the Bomb.
Feel free to comment below to supplement anything I have missed to improve this guide
General study tips for this module:
1) Make sure you deconstruct the syllabus for this module sentence by sentence, word by word-use a mind-map if it helps, to truly understand what the course requirements for After the Bomb are, it is only by thoroughly understanding this source where all HSC questions will be inspired by that will assist you in creating compositions that meets the demands of the markers and get good marks.
2) Remember to ask questions about any concepts you don’t understand within this module-whether it was a concept taught by your teacher or one that you independently investigated. Ask your teacher, ask on BOS, and ask your tutor-make sure you have a thorough understanding of everything you learnt about this module at school and extend this understanding through independent research. Some good starting points to research more about post WWII paradigms, for example, is through google scholar, google books, state library, school library etc. Make sure you listen in class to the teacher’s insights and other student’s opinions-these can help you formulate a unique, personalised response-which is essential for getting top marks.
3) Keep in mind that this module is focusing on how ways of thinking have changed due to the amoral atrocities and moral profanity of atomic warfare utilised in WWII, hence it is paramount you don’t only focus your efforts in researching the post-war ways of thinking-but that you also research about what were the WAYS OF THINKING PRE-WWII, without doing both, you can’t adequate discuss the TRANSFORMATION in social ways of thinking that has occurred at the conclusion of WWII.
4) To achieve a deep analysis of your prescribed texts and related texts, and indeed, develop a PERSONALISED understanding of the module, it is vital that you read and re-read over your texts at least 3-4 times in a constructive manner. Essentially, what this means is the first time you read-you understand the plot and consider how it relates to the module, the second time you try to seek out specific paradigms-note down quotes, techniques and do your personal analysis. The preceding reading(s) can be done specifically focusing on IMPORTANT parts of the book or nearer to the trials where you might have forgotten the specifics of the text and need to refresh your memory. Remember, don’t SKIM READ.
5) Write legibly in the exam. Teachers simply cannot mark what they cannot read. Losing marks simply because of illegibility of writing is avoidable and legibility of writing is absolutely a priority to writing more. Remember, it is quality over quantity.
How to select good related texts:
You would need a minimum of 2 good related texts in writing your essays. To know if your selected related text(s) is suitable, check it against the following criteria-the best related texts adheres to all of the following points. Often, you will need to read/watch a lot of potential related texts before you can pick the best ones-this process is vital as in this selection, even the unsuccessful related texts can teach you more about the era and you can gain ideas for expression, structure, character development for the creative writing piece.
1). Your related text(s) must be composed/produced in the prescribed era, which is from 1945-1991.
2). One related text should be a DIFFERENT form to your prescribed texts. For example, if your prescribed texts were novels and a play, then one related text can be a novel, but the second one should be a movie/poem/picture/speech. If your second text is also a play-you would be displaying limited knowledge in deconstructing DIFFERENT types of text.
3) You should be able to make good conceptual links related to the AFTER THE Bomb between your prescribed and related texts. Ideally, your related text should explore most, if not all, identifiable post WWII paradigms such as scientific, philosophical, economic and religious. Make sure that both of your related texts covers ALL of the paradigms together (i.e. minimum requirement is that one explores two main paradigms, and the other text explores the two remaining paradigms).
4)OPTIONAL-it is a good idea if you also ask your Extension One English teacher whether your related texts are suitable for this module-getting a professional external opinion is always beneficial.
After the Bomb explores the enduring social ramifications as a result of the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945, which not only signalled the conclusion of WWII, but also transformed the global, geo-political landscape in terms of revolutionising economic, scientific, philosophical and religious ways of thinking. It is a fascinating module because of the significant humanistic insights gained from a close study of the texts, but it also holds many challenges, including as a result of being one of the less popular modules for Extension English, there isn’t much direct educational resources online or offline. However, this shortcoming can be more than supplemented by knowing where to research and what to research about. In compiling this guide, I hope to give HSC students some assistance on how to approach and succeed in this module. In turn, I truly hope that you, the reader, can come to enjoy and excel in After the Bomb.
Feel free to comment below to supplement anything I have missed to improve this guide
General study tips for this module:
1) Make sure you deconstruct the syllabus for this module sentence by sentence, word by word-use a mind-map if it helps, to truly understand what the course requirements for After the Bomb are, it is only by thoroughly understanding this source where all HSC questions will be inspired by that will assist you in creating compositions that meets the demands of the markers and get good marks.
2) Remember to ask questions about any concepts you don’t understand within this module-whether it was a concept taught by your teacher or one that you independently investigated. Ask your teacher, ask on BOS, and ask your tutor-make sure you have a thorough understanding of everything you learnt about this module at school and extend this understanding through independent research. Some good starting points to research more about post WWII paradigms, for example, is through google scholar, google books, state library, school library etc. Make sure you listen in class to the teacher’s insights and other student’s opinions-these can help you formulate a unique, personalised response-which is essential for getting top marks.
3) Keep in mind that this module is focusing on how ways of thinking have changed due to the amoral atrocities and moral profanity of atomic warfare utilised in WWII, hence it is paramount you don’t only focus your efforts in researching the post-war ways of thinking-but that you also research about what were the WAYS OF THINKING PRE-WWII, without doing both, you can’t adequate discuss the TRANSFORMATION in social ways of thinking that has occurred at the conclusion of WWII.
4) To achieve a deep analysis of your prescribed texts and related texts, and indeed, develop a PERSONALISED understanding of the module, it is vital that you read and re-read over your texts at least 3-4 times in a constructive manner. Essentially, what this means is the first time you read-you understand the plot and consider how it relates to the module, the second time you try to seek out specific paradigms-note down quotes, techniques and do your personal analysis. The preceding reading(s) can be done specifically focusing on IMPORTANT parts of the book or nearer to the trials where you might have forgotten the specifics of the text and need to refresh your memory. Remember, don’t SKIM READ.
5) Write legibly in the exam. Teachers simply cannot mark what they cannot read. Losing marks simply because of illegibility of writing is avoidable and legibility of writing is absolutely a priority to writing more. Remember, it is quality over quantity.
How to select good related texts:
You would need a minimum of 2 good related texts in writing your essays. To know if your selected related text(s) is suitable, check it against the following criteria-the best related texts adheres to all of the following points. Often, you will need to read/watch a lot of potential related texts before you can pick the best ones-this process is vital as in this selection, even the unsuccessful related texts can teach you more about the era and you can gain ideas for expression, structure, character development for the creative writing piece.
1). Your related text(s) must be composed/produced in the prescribed era, which is from 1945-1991.
2). One related text should be a DIFFERENT form to your prescribed texts. For example, if your prescribed texts were novels and a play, then one related text can be a novel, but the second one should be a movie/poem/picture/speech. If your second text is also a play-you would be displaying limited knowledge in deconstructing DIFFERENT types of text.
3) You should be able to make good conceptual links related to the AFTER THE Bomb between your prescribed and related texts. Ideally, your related text should explore most, if not all, identifiable post WWII paradigms such as scientific, philosophical, economic and religious. Make sure that both of your related texts covers ALL of the paradigms together (i.e. minimum requirement is that one explores two main paradigms, and the other text explores the two remaining paradigms).
4)OPTIONAL-it is a good idea if you also ask your Extension One English teacher whether your related texts are suitable for this module-getting a professional external opinion is always beneficial.
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