English-Are you really learning anything? (1 Viewer)

[Deadlyned]

Actually correction... I suck at writing essays!!! The rest of my English is quite good (articulation, story writing, comprehension.. etc).. any tips for writing essays?

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

go back to your basic formatting.

a good, strong intro. if you show a strong understanding of the concept, and how it links to your question, the marker is automatically going to click and say, wow, he/she knows whats going on. HAVE A STRONG THESIS
they should never allow textual capacity to override conecptual understanding. even if right now your language isnt sophisticated, if you show a strong coneptual understanding, you will jump up in marks.

aim to synthesise your central materal. work your techniques or themes in naturally, so i flows and links. this takes nothing but practise. trust me.

your conclusion should reaffirm your thesis.

 

[Phoenix Fury]

As for essays I suck as well.
For creative writing I say:
write in 3rd person
VARY SENTECE BEGINNINGS markers notice this incredibly quickly, if it's all he, she, I (if 1st person), they, the etc (simple words). They immediatley dismiss you as a douche-bag.

 

[Rhanoct]

I never said I thought english was bullshit etc. I merely stated (perhaps better said specifically) that at my school in particular we (I) have to constantly adapt my essays to the teachers marking it.

I mean heaven forbid I didn't do a feminist reading with an English Department like ours. They're fantastic but really and truly I think we both know that no matter how much you get into it it is still subjective. I love english, I think it's wonderful but there are certain areas where things like these are hard to evade.

I'm only talking internal marking, we haven't had any external yet so it's a bit hard for either of us to justify.

Why else would I do four units.

Was referring to Phoenix mostly.

I agree with your second point, and my EE1 teacher told us about this too, giving the scenario of a 50 year old teacher from a catholic school seeing a paper that dismisses religion as primitive nonsense- not gonna get far are you? But yeah, I really don't think that comes into the equation THAT much- most teachers are open to different readings and even if they mark you unfairly you have the right to appeal- even at the HSC you can get it remarked.

Reason people think they don't learn much is because most of what you learn is philosophical, so if you don't appreciate the ideas obviously you aren't getting anything out of it. Saying that, though, even if you don't realise it you're always learning new phrases/words and ways of thinking/presenting ideas.

 

[Deadlyned]

go back to your basic formatting.

a good, strong intro. if you show a strong understanding of the concept, and how it links to your question, the marker is automatically going to click and say, wow, he/she knows whats going on. HAVE A STRONG THESIS
they should never allow textual capacity to override conecptual understanding. even if right now your language isnt sophisticated, if you show a strong coneptual understanding, you will jump up in marks.

aim to synthesise your central materal. work your techniques or themes in naturally, so i flows and links. this takes nothing but practise. trust me.

your conclusion should reaffirm your thesis.

Thanks for that! What would you say is the largest contributing factor to composing an essay (quotes? analysis of techniques used? the overall concept being argued?..etc?)

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

Thanks for that! What would you say is the largest contributing factor to composing an essay (quotes? analysis of techniques used? the overall concept being argued?..etc?)

depends on what your essay is on. journeys, i would definitely hammer TEE (technique, example, effect) while maintaining a strong conceptual framework.

In the Wild however, while teachniques are still important, requires a deeper level of conceptual understanding (ie of the context and ITS impact), and you should be able to back up your understanding with techniques and how they portray the concept.

You need to learn what each module is asking you, to be prepared. go back the rubric, the marking guidelines etc. check it out.

essays on the whole need to balance understanding of concepts with a grasp on literary techniques to highlight them, and be prepared to bend a little.

 

[Sarah182]

Actually correction... I suck at writing essays!!! The rest of my English is quite good (articulation, story writing, comprehension.. etc).. any tips for writing essays?

I think the core to any good essay is a strong thesis at the beginning to draw the markers attention, I usually have a quote that i can apply to different essays under exam conditions.

If I have to talk about multiple texts I talk about each text, one at a time and link it back to the question. Always examine the HOW, how ideas are communcated in the text you are discussing.
If i have a mind blank I usually go in stages of
1. Make a general statement about the point you are arguing eg. In the novel "Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta change is depicted as a daunting or difficult process"
2. Then move onto the how, how are these ideas communicated this stage is ussually easy for poems or visual texts. In novels use quotes.
3. Then relate it back to the original question or your thesis.
Make sure that you somehow link each text together use good connecting words like "Similarly" or "In contrast"

DO NOT ever fall into the trap of retelling the story too much, it is quite easy to do but my english teacher is always stressing the point that this should be avoided no matter what.

Hope that helps if you are still struggling PM me and I can go way further in depth with that, I havent recieved a mark lower than an A in Year 10 or Year 11 so far for my essays so I'm pretty good at them.

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

oh, and never ever ever use prepared answers.
ever.
ever ever ever.
you will get so hammered for it.

leanr to be flexible. if you know the area, the concept, and your techniques, you should, with practise, be abke to bend them to any question

 

[carrots please!]

Is this just me or are the teachers winging English just as much as we are.

serious lols.

and yes id have to agree; though having an experienced teacher offers some degree of comfort.

 

[Deadlyned]

Thanks for all the help guys!!! this is the kind of stuff i ask my teacher, but the only response I get is a snide insult and a laugh!! Thanks so much!!

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

well he/she is a bit of a manky bint.

 

[Deadlyned]

I think the core to any good essay is a strong thesis at the beginning to draw the markers attention, I usually have a quote that i can apply to different essays under exam conditions.

If I have to talk about multiple texts I talk about each text, one at a time and link it back to the question. Always examine the HOW, how ideas are communcated in the text you are discussing.
If i have a mind blank I usually go in stages of
1. Make a general statement about the point you are arguing eg. In the novel "Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta change is depicted as a daunting or difficult process"
2. Then move onto the how, how are these ideas communicated this stage is ussually easy for poems or visual texts. In novels use quotes.
3. Then relate it back to the original question or your thesis.
Make sure that you somehow link each text together use good connecting words like "Similarly" or "In contrast"

DO NOT ever fall into the trap of retelling the story too much, it is quite easy to do but my english teacher is always stressing the point that this should be avoided no matter what.

Hope that helps if you are still struggling PM me and I can go way further in depth with that, I havent recieved a mark lower than an A in Year 10 or Year 11 so far for my essays so I'm pretty good at them.

By applying a quote, do you mean learning a quote from the text that you can make fit the question, and include it in your introduction?? What would a strong introduction entail??

 

[Deadlyned]

well he/she is a bit of a manky bint.

Haha, she is a nice lady outside the classroom. But not alot of help inside the classroom! It could just be me though, cause I've always been more of a math/logic person, I have never really understood essay writing, but now I actually know what I have to do, I am quite excited to PWNT some practise ones!!! Cheers

 

[Rhanoct]

All quotes should have a technique in them -> they're used to convey the ideas. Rarely will you quote in an intro (at least not in adv).

Your intro should be clear and concise. It will vary from module to module but you always have to refer to the question in the beginning of the intro and at the end, and somewhere in between outline the gist of your argument.

 

[peggy13]

i personally have learned NOTHING in english, perhaps only how to bs better.
im not planning on being a journalist, or a lawyer or a real estate agent where i have to bs my way through my work, so why do i have to do it?
i really dont understand why english is compulsory but maths isn't, at least we use that everyday
i know how to read and write, and deconstruct every-friggin-thing, i can't watch a movie without thinking about how the camera angle is creating meaning, but i learnt that in years 7-10 anyway

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

if youre going to argue maths should be compulsory because we use it every day, you can argue australian history should be compulsory because it allows us to develope a great national identity and makes us a better member of society, blah blah.

if nothing else, english allows you to think critically when you reach tertiary education or work, and lets face it, in most jobs, public speaking to some degree will play a part. So will writing reports, analysing..

sucks if you want to get into a job/profession that doesnt require most of those things i guess, but yeah.

 

[Jess007]

i guess insome jobs as u said sony reports might need to be written.. so having the basic idea of how to write and read and structure a proper report....

but analysig books and films ( unless u turn out to b a critic) is pointless and ruins the movie if it was good

we did billy elliot and i liked that movie now when ever i watch it i think of all the notes and shit i wrot eon INTO THE WORLD

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

again, thats just furthering your ability to look and think critically.

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

i actually really, realllly love english. and enjoying it helps alot when it comes to dealing with study and assessments

 

[sonyaleeisapixi]

haha, yes im serious. english probably ties with history as my favourite area of learning