advice from a graduated student on how to excel ATB (general tips/ related texts) (1 Viewer)

strawberrye

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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.
 
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strawberrye

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If you have any general questions about related texts or about after the bomb, please feel free to reply to this post and I will answer your question as promptly as I can.
 

LooseyGoosey

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Hey,
Just had a read of this, EXTREMELY helpful, thanks heaps.
just wondering about related texts. We have done Hiroshima and i used JFK's inaugural speech as a related text for that, now we just finished the spy who came in from the cold and i am struggling to find a good related text, any suggestions?
thanks.
 

strawberrye

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Hey,
Just had a read of this, EXTREMELY helpful, thanks heaps.
just wondering about related texts. We have done Hiroshima and i used JFK's inaugural speech as a related text for that, now we just finished the spy who came in from the cold and i am struggling to find a good related text, any suggestions?
thanks.
Unfortunately, I am not the best person to ask about finding a good related text for the spy who came in from the cold since I personally didn't have it as a prescribed text when I studied After the Bomb, you should ask your teacher for suggestions or consider deeply the issues and paradigms examined in the novel, and view a range of texts composed during this era to choose the best related text. Be sure to check out my other two threads on creative writing and essay writing in After the Bomb-both stickied threads on this sub-forum if you need any help in these two areas:)
 

jessdub96

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Hey Strawberrye,
Thanks so much for all of this, it is immensely helpful!!
I don't know if you remember your half yearlies but is it normal to feel a bit lost about this topic early in the year? I do understand it and as a history student absolutely love the strong historical element of this topic however I just feel like there's so much more I have to learn and I just feel like I haven't had the opportunity to go as deep into the topic as I feel I need to! We have exams in the next couple of weeks and I just do not feel as prepared as I should at all!
 

strawberrye

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Hey Strawberrye,
Thanks so much for all of this, it is immensely helpful!!
I don't know if you remember your half yearlies but is it normal to feel a bit lost about this topic early in the year? I do understand it and as a history student absolutely love the strong historical element of this topic however I just feel like there's so much more I have to learn and I just feel like I haven't had the opportunity to go as deep into the topic as I feel I need to! We have exams in the next couple of weeks and I just do not feel as prepared as I should at all!
Glad to know you found it helpful-I didn't really have half yearlies for this topic but I remember I was pretty apprehensive about the first assessment task I did, wasn't sure how I should structure things and whether I am going off into a tangent, don't worry, it takes time, over time you will develop a much deeper understanding into all aspects of this module-best wishes for this year:)
 

strawberrye

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If you have any questions, please feel free to ask :)- Bump for the 2016er's :)
 

Kolmias

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Strawberrye: you are a legend. Seeing as you are a moderator, why don't you sticky this thread?
 

strawberrye

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Strawberrye: you are a legend. Seeing as you are a moderator, why don't you sticky this thread?
Lol thanks. Awkward moment when this thread had been stickied for more than a year :) Hope you enjoyed your Christmas break :)
 

fruitymango1

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hey so im doing after the bomb and i am clueless on good related texts...any suggestions (for both prelim which im doing now and hsc next year)?

prescribed prelim: barefoot gen/hadashi no gen, atonement, bertolt brecht poetry

prescribed hsc: waiting for godot, good night and good luck, The Spy Who Came in from the cold

(also youre a legend strawberrye for all the tips thankyou :D )
 

cookie_dough

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hey so im doing after the bomb and i am clueless on good related texts...any suggestions (for both prelim which im doing now and hsc next year)?

prescribed prelim: barefoot gen/hadashi no gen, atonement, bertolt brecht poetry

prescribed hsc: waiting for godot, good night and good luck, The Spy Who Came in from the cold

(also youre a legend strawberrye for all the tips thankyou :D )
yes i really need help with relateds for after the bomb as well
 

strawberrye

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hey so im doing after the bomb and i am clueless on good related texts...any suggestions (for both prelim which im doing now and hsc next year)?

prescribed prelim: barefoot gen/hadashi no gen, atonement, bertolt brecht poetry

prescribed hsc: waiting for godot, good night and good luck, The Spy Who Came in from the cold

(also youre a legend strawberrye for all the tips thankyou :D )
http://www.sydgram.nsw.edu.au/files/TextLists/2015/After_the_bomb_2015.pdf perhaps this will help to give you some ideas, I haven't read any of your prelim texts so I can't give you precise ideas, but for year 12, I did Slaughterhouse Five and Dr Strangelove-and yes, your first instinct is likely to be-aren't those really popular related texts, but in a module with limited texts to choose from and even more importantly, limited time to analyse it, you don't need to spend days trying to find a very obscure related text, because you are differentiating yourself in the depth and relevance of your analysis. All my best wishes for your senior studies:)
 

bos273

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Hi strawberrye. Thanks for this relevant information! Will be really helpful!

Just wondered since you did Dr Stangelove for your sup text, how did you link this with your other main texts? and what were those main texts?

Thanks in advance :D
 

strawberrye

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Hi strawberrye. Thanks for this relevant information! Will be really helpful!

Just wondered since you did Dr Stangelove for your sup text, how did you link this with your other main texts? and what were those main texts?

Thanks in advance :D
I wish I can remember lol after three years later how I linked my texts together.
My other main texts were Catch-22 (fascinating novel but not in the syllabus anymore) and waiting for Godot, we also did one other text but I wasn't really passionate about it (can't remember which one). I think if you analyse it through scientific paradigms potentially-the former there was that nuclear apocalypse aspect and for the latter, there is also political paradigm in there if you analyse it carefully enough (particularly the bipolarised geo-political landscape by the ideological battle of Cold War). Hope that helps a bit.
 

fisa0227

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Hey,
I'm doing Hiroshima as my related but there aren't many resources online, is anyone willing to share haha?
 

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