hschelper01
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2020
- Messages
- 168
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2019
“By the end of term 2, where should I be up to and how complete should my major work be?”
At this point in the year, you should have finished most of your piece. I would recommend having a first draft completed by July so I could spend the last couple of weeks editing and perfecting my writing. I found the editing process to be one of the hardest and the most time-consuming so it’s best not to leave this till the night before it’s due (bad idea). By now you should also have a fair few notes from which to base your reflection statement as this will make the writing process so much easier. Try and allocate your time effectively and don’t procrastinate.
“What are some tips to help you get big chunks of your major work done now?”
1. The major work itself
This isn’t groundbreaking but it worked for me: just sit down and write.
I found it incredibly hard to motivate myself to work - I would always pulled up my draft on my laptop, typed a few sentences, and then told myself that the major work wasn’t due until August, so I’d do it later. Then, all of a sudden, it was July, and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be.
So, if you’re in the same predicament I suggest that you do some soul-searching and find when writing feels most natural to you – is it on the bus home from school, early in the morning before anyone else is awake, late on Sunday night with a cup of tea? I found it completely useless to force myself to write in my Ext 2 classes – it was too cold, too quiet, and too early in the morning, so, I dedicated those class times to researching and editing, and set aside a few hours each Saturday evening to write. Find what works for you, and allocate yourself a sizeable chunk of time each week to focus. If you need to play some music to get those creative juices flowing, then go for it. If you need to work outside, then do that. What it all boils down to, is finding an atmosphere that helps you write, and sticking to it.
2. The reflection statement
It’s super easy to leave the reflection statement to the last minute and to spend all your time on the major work – while I wouldn’t recommend writing the reflection statement too early if you haven’t written enough of the piece you’re actually reflecting on, planning is so important at this stage in the game.
If you haven’t got one already, find an empty exercise book, and start jotting down your goals, thoughts, challenges, concerns, inspirations – all that good stuff! Pull out the marking criteria for the reflection statement and start writing some preliminary notes. Even if you’re not sure of your response, jot it down! When you do finally start writing your final reflection, it’s a lot easier to be able to refer to notes from the time of writing, rather than trying to remember what you were thinking and feeling a few months back.
“How do you balance doing your major work and studying for exams?”
English Extension 2 allows you to finish a unit ahead of time – so, get it done efficiently and from the day you hand it in, dedicate your time to your other exam-based subjects. So, the key here is, again, to just sit down and get it done. My major work was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about during trials, so I approached this situation by getting as much of my piece done as I could before trials (while also studying for my other subjects), pushing English Ext 2 completely to the side during exams, and then picking up right where I left off afterwards. Of course, this all depends on the timing of your trials. My trials were quite early, so I was able to dedicate four or five solid weeks to Ext English after exams, which proved to be super beneficial.
FINAL TIPS
DO NOT leave editing to the last minute!
Choosing which parts to cut and which to keep is a difficult task, but editing can also be emotionally challenging. I mean, you’ve spent months labouring over this piece, and now you’re cutting out sentences that you rearranged hundreds of times, paragraphs you spent hours perfecting – it’s tough work! But it’s here that you have to take a step back, drop that emotional connection to your piece, and ask yourself if every sentence has a purpose and every paragraph adds meaning. If it doesn’t it goes. Be ruthless.
I did Ext2 English last year so I know how hard it can be to find information and services that offer comprehensive editing/feedback - I offer editing so feel free to PM Me!
At this point in the year, you should have finished most of your piece. I would recommend having a first draft completed by July so I could spend the last couple of weeks editing and perfecting my writing. I found the editing process to be one of the hardest and the most time-consuming so it’s best not to leave this till the night before it’s due (bad idea). By now you should also have a fair few notes from which to base your reflection statement as this will make the writing process so much easier. Try and allocate your time effectively and don’t procrastinate.
“What are some tips to help you get big chunks of your major work done now?”
1. The major work itself
This isn’t groundbreaking but it worked for me: just sit down and write.
I found it incredibly hard to motivate myself to work - I would always pulled up my draft on my laptop, typed a few sentences, and then told myself that the major work wasn’t due until August, so I’d do it later. Then, all of a sudden, it was July, and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be.
So, if you’re in the same predicament I suggest that you do some soul-searching and find when writing feels most natural to you – is it on the bus home from school, early in the morning before anyone else is awake, late on Sunday night with a cup of tea? I found it completely useless to force myself to write in my Ext 2 classes – it was too cold, too quiet, and too early in the morning, so, I dedicated those class times to researching and editing, and set aside a few hours each Saturday evening to write. Find what works for you, and allocate yourself a sizeable chunk of time each week to focus. If you need to play some music to get those creative juices flowing, then go for it. If you need to work outside, then do that. What it all boils down to, is finding an atmosphere that helps you write, and sticking to it.
2. The reflection statement
It’s super easy to leave the reflection statement to the last minute and to spend all your time on the major work – while I wouldn’t recommend writing the reflection statement too early if you haven’t written enough of the piece you’re actually reflecting on, planning is so important at this stage in the game.
If you haven’t got one already, find an empty exercise book, and start jotting down your goals, thoughts, challenges, concerns, inspirations – all that good stuff! Pull out the marking criteria for the reflection statement and start writing some preliminary notes. Even if you’re not sure of your response, jot it down! When you do finally start writing your final reflection, it’s a lot easier to be able to refer to notes from the time of writing, rather than trying to remember what you were thinking and feeling a few months back.
“How do you balance doing your major work and studying for exams?”
English Extension 2 allows you to finish a unit ahead of time – so, get it done efficiently and from the day you hand it in, dedicate your time to your other exam-based subjects. So, the key here is, again, to just sit down and get it done. My major work was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about during trials, so I approached this situation by getting as much of my piece done as I could before trials (while also studying for my other subjects), pushing English Ext 2 completely to the side during exams, and then picking up right where I left off afterwards. Of course, this all depends on the timing of your trials. My trials were quite early, so I was able to dedicate four or five solid weeks to Ext English after exams, which proved to be super beneficial.
FINAL TIPS
DO NOT leave editing to the last minute!
Choosing which parts to cut and which to keep is a difficult task, but editing can also be emotionally challenging. I mean, you’ve spent months labouring over this piece, and now you’re cutting out sentences that you rearranged hundreds of times, paragraphs you spent hours perfecting – it’s tough work! But it’s here that you have to take a step back, drop that emotional connection to your piece, and ask yourself if every sentence has a purpose and every paragraph adds meaning. If it doesn’t it goes. Be ruthless.
I did Ext2 English last year so I know how hard it can be to find information and services that offer comprehensive editing/feedback - I offer editing so feel free to PM Me!