Yeah, for you to officially accelerate, a discussion with your Principal and the subject's Head Teacher is in order. It's really a pain getting everything organised - well I found it really irritating because they were exaggerating everything and attempted to get out of it. Even so, an individual program must be made with different assessments to prevent unfair advantages etc, finding teachers who can help you, because supposedly self-teaching is not allowed. But ultimately, if the department allows you to go through with acceleration, by all means, you have nothing to lose in my opinion.
Well, I'm not like the
best in English but I managed to come 1st in my year and 1st in the School Certificate Examination within my cohort. I'm not perfect and I'm still learning however my greatest tip for students who want to do well in English is understand the topic your doing. For instance, we were doing women in Shakespeare, and more specifically feminism, and the majority of my cohort couldn't define feminism and its purpose let alone comprehending to the rest of the topic. My other word of advice is when ever you do an assessment, get as much feedback as possible, because criticism really helps. Most of my friends fear criticism and what the teachers may think about them and their abilities.
Similarly, over this past year, I've learnt that a large vocabulary is a minor aspect of the English course. I wont deny you this fact - a large vocabulary helps only to an extent, but what differentiates the top students within English and the bottom students are the ideas that they raise within their essays or creative writing pieces. A large vocabulary is the ornamental decoration of your assessment, however the ideas and ultimately your thesis you emphasise is the key to a successful mark. The transition from Year 9 to 10, my teacher saw me growing in terms of my abilities in vocabulary and degree in sophisitication. I never really realised, but I got into reading - it doesn't necessarily mean you have to read Jane Austen or Dan Brown, I just read Wikipedia. I came across very sophisticated and intricate words and I looked them up. The one thing I learnt is that when you read and don't understand it -
look it up! Never guess in context, unless you have to, for instance in an exam.
Also, one thing I'm going to emphasise before I end this post is that
start your assessments as early as possible! Research your texts, familiarise yourself with the themes and ultimately the topic whether it may be journeys or alienation. My best friend and I are the
only students who start our assessment on the day or the second day and as a result I came 1st and he came 3rd. Forget what people think and really tackle down the assessment as soon as possible.
Notwithstanding, when you are doing the English Course, do not expect to jump from 60% to 90% overnight. It takes time! I went from 60 to 70 to 80 then back down to 60, and slowly increased back up to 90 then 100. It takes time and you must be patient, you cannot be upset with a small leap in terms of marks. With hard work and dedication, and with careful observation of your competition, you'll reach a satisfying mark!
Sorry for the long post, I hope this helps
