2014 English Thread! (1 Viewer)

enoilgam

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
11,904
Location
Mare Crisium
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
No worries - this year, was for my yearly.

There wasn't really much feedback besides - 'well integrated response, nicely integrated quotes and techniques, question was answered very well. 18/20.'

School marks very harshly though - we tend to get about top 40-50 getting a band 6 in English, and a person coming 40th would have gotten about 13-14/20 on the essay.
For what it's worth (I never was very good with english), I really liked that essay. I think its a good example of how to balance sophistication with clarity. The ideas are sophisticated but the way in which they are conveyed (i.e. the language) is very simple and clear.
 

Demento1

Philosopher.
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
866
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
No worries - this year, was for my yearly.

There wasn't really much feedback besides - 'well integrated response, nicely integrated quotes and techniques, question was answered very well. 18/20.'

School marks very harshly though - we tend to get about top 40-50 getting a band 6 in English, and a person coming 40th would have gotten about 13-14/20 on the essay.
You didn't get told for why you lost the marks? I personally found it a pretty good read.
 

theind1996

Active Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,256
Location
Menai
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
For what it's worth (I never was very good with english), I really liked that essay. I think its a good example of how to balance sophistication with clarity. The ideas are sophisticated but the way in which they are conveyed (i.e. the language) is very simple and clear.
Cheers haha, I much prefer Economics or another humanity to English too, but English isn't too bad in my opinion.

I tried not to overload it with verbose language - I learnt it the hard way after my first Yr 11 assessment.

To future year 10's: With English, it's okay to use synonyms once in a while, but if you're constantly doing it, you're focusing on the artificial sophistication of words as opposed to the sophistication of ideas/quality of the content of your essays. The content is always more important than the language.
 

theind1996

Active Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,256
Location
Menai
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
You didn't get told for why you lost the marks? I personally found it a pretty good read.
Basically the school doesn't give 20's unless they think it's a cracker.

And my related text analysis was too crap for a 19 in my opinion, the related text was a massive rush job.
 

alphabetafeta96

I swear im not a cat lady
Joined
Jul 12, 2012
Messages
207
Gender
Female
HSC
2014
Uni Grad
2017
Hi everyone can i please get some comments/advice for my speech
the statement is " Texts from different cultures enlighten us'
and my book is the kite runner
thanks

Salam, Good Afternoon Dr _____ and Class
Has anyone been to Afghanistan?....well It does seem like an unlikely tourist destination! Have you seen their culture first hand or perhaps read about it? You've probably seen on the news all about the conflict and the heard the Taliban’s name 1000 times over. But I’m here to enlighten you about the real Afghan culture before the country was at war before it was ravaged before it was taken over all from one inspiring novel.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini follows the journey and life of a young man, starting in his childhood then eventually his quest for redemption. Initially set in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970’s it expresses to us the changing Afghan culture through the Russian invasion and the Taliban through the perception of a young man struggling to reconcile his wrongs. Hosseini also enlightens the reader with a unique perspective of the identity of Afghan culture in a foreign land.

Through the form of a bildungsroman and the use of features such as symbolic references and Irony we begin to see our knowledge of Afghan culture evolve and unravel to us. The 2 major cultural lessons that I am going to talk to you about today are about the Hazaras and the Pashtuns and honour and pride.

Hosseini demonstrates the adversities faced by the two main ethnic groups with the symbolic friendship of Amir (a Pashtun) and Hassan (a Hazara).Throughout the novel Amir is being told by his culture to accept the simple fact that Hassan is just a lowly “flat nosed” Hazara servant to his household. Amir struggles to balance cultural expectations and regrets of his childhood which ultimately leads to self-forgiveness and repayment. This social hierarchy doesn’t demonstrate a foreign notion to us, the alienation and oppression of the Hazaras in Kabul could be contrasted in regards to our treatment of our own marginalized groups. By reading about the oppressed groups within Afghan culture it could enlighten us on how we should treat our own.

The Kite runner also explores the importance of image and honor in Afghan culture through the hardships Amir’s wife Soraya. Soraya expresses the role and the expectations of a woman, double standards between genders and the concept of not marrying for love but name. When she ran away with a boy “everyone was talking nang and namoos” or honour and pride comparatively she boldly states that ironically males can “go out to nightclubs looking for meat”. Additionally her father must approve of her khastegar or suitor which any Motaram or respected girl would not have asked her father about .Soraya educates us about a woman’s perspective on traditional beliefs and customs and provides the foreign idea of how hard it is for some women in the world to be restrained by their culture.

In conclusion the Kite Runner demonstrates and expresses Afghan culture in an engaging and thought provoking read. It enlightens us about a culture that too long has been overshadowed by wars and terrorism. Through its form and features it communicates a fictional journey that strikes real life lessons in each and every one of us. Whether you remembered about Pastuns or Namoos the Afghan culture that is embedded in the Kite Runner’s pages illustrates what makes all cultures special: diversity.
Thank You
 
Last edited:

eclifox

GGNoRe
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
27
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
An essay of mine, not much of an English person though.

Question was: Compare and contrast how the representation of war in texts has changed over time.
Texts were: The Solder (Rupert Brooke), All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque) and Eulogy of the Unknown Soldier (Paul Keating)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/irrvnskclcr98wn/Representations of War [Edited].pdf

Criticism is welcomed XD
Friendly note, Not too big of a deal but its "The Soldier" ^_^
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?e5lkf8n1c2pb7np here's a list of techniques 2014s! COME AT US HSC 2014!
OMG wow thanks soo much!Very helpful!
 

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

Top