How you study ENGLISH? (1 Viewer)

[69^boi]

so how you study english.....i seriously dont know ,need help

 

[69^boi]

Ahhhhh!!..

 

[glitterfairy]

Calm down!

Now, english is one of those rare subject in which you cannot cram for. Your either understand it, or you don't, and when the time comes, you will just write down everything you know.

At this stage I think it is folly to try and "study" for english like you might do maths. You don't understand your modules, so how can you study what you're not sure on?

for now, just work at your assessments, read notes and try to grasp understanding of what you're doing. THEN, you can start hunting around for practice essays if you really want, but you just have to remember that english is not a "studying" subject. You either understand it, or you don't. Seek to understand it, because you cannot study for something you do not understand.

But to bluntly answer your question: "English Study" for me was just re-aquainting myself with the texts and its themes, context/techniques etc etc, and practicing formulating everything I knew into well written essays that answered random questions I found. However I never got to this point until the few weeks before exams, and not properly until the week before the HSC.

 

[MaryTylerMoore]

When I studied a module, I'd go over the syllabus (and prescription which lists the books and mentions some other facts not in the syllabus that I saw in the CSSA trial so I just popped them in too) and I'd make sure I understood every word and the main points asked for. Look at the outcomes too. Then it's important to read the text. If you know the text intimately, you can't get stumped. Then, you may want to read over it again, but this time note key scenes and quotes. For example, in (let's say) Hamlet, it's important to understand context (social, cultural, historical - reformation, Elizabethan England, Christian etc.) and how they are reflect in the text (religion important, superstitious, ghosts, military references), values and attitudes apparent through a range of readings (e.g. traditional/liberal humanist, feminist etc. - women are treated badly by male characters "frailty thy name is woman"), language features, purpose (entertain and inform etc.) and audience of text (diverse, from peasants "groundlings" to high society - that's why there are silly elements like fighting, sexual innuendos etc. as well as important consideration about themes like death). Also look at the outcomes. Know about character, plot, theme etc. too. Do the same for your other text you are comparing it too, which in this case would be R and G are Dead. You would talk about change in context (existentialist, nihilistic etc. post WWII, Vietnam War) is reflected in the play. Different audience (theatre is high culture as pop culture of TV has outcompeted for a large proportion of people), but possibly similar purpose (entertain, social commentary). Allusions from other texts too (Beckert etc.) as well as values and attitudes (e.g. compare valuing of death in Hamelt to R and G are Dead) etc. Compare characterisation (tragic sympathy from Hamlet to R and G) and language (Elizabethan English to colloquial English that maintains a tension with the Elizabethan fragments).

Do the same for Journeys, Mod B and C.

 

[mack]

Knowing your texts in depth, having summarised notes which I could recall easily, and writing practise essay after practise essay were the 3 key things which got me good marks in English.

 

[silvermoon]

but you just have to remember that english is not a "studying" subject. You either understand it, or you don't.

what the..? ok, have to say i dont agree with that at all.
1) you can and must study english effectively - the thing to remember is that the way you study for english will differ dramatically to the way that you study for maths or science subjects
2) it is a gross simplification to say "You either understand it or you don't" - truly excellent english students are better than others because of the depth of their understanding and skills. english is a subject where good marks go hand-in-hand with the ability to observe and understand the different layers of meaning in a text. there are different levels of "understanding" - you may simply need to upgrade!

as to how to study english:
*read your texts over and over again
*read the syllabus so that you know what it is that you need to focus on knowing
*search around for critics explanations of texts as these will give you more scope for essays and a deeper understanding of the text
*make notes as you go and make sure to include appropriate quotes and page numbers for later reference
*each day that you have english, take 1/2 hour at hojme to go over what you learnt that day in class. did you understand it all? if the answer is yes, than write some notes that you can later summarise for concise exam revision. if the answer is no, then go over the work again until you do undserstand it, or make a note to ask someone else, whether a friend or teacher, for help until you do get it.
*READ. reading not only gives you a greater vocabularly, it also gives awareness of new writing styles and a greater pool of ideas that you can use when doing composing tasks. also, for the modules, readingh other texts by the same composer can give you greater insight into the text you are studying by making clearer common themes and ideas. read essays and creative pieces by other people, both critics and students, to get a better grasp on what you will be required to write and the different ways in which you can effectively express and communicate your ideas.
*practice writing essays to a 40 minute time limit. you need to know how much you can write. leave your essays for a few days and then go back to them. don't worry overly about spelling - check your grammer and read through it to look for repetitive phrases. get someone else to read your work - preferably someone who hasn't read the text. They will be able to give you a better indication of which sections were either poorly expressed or poorly explained.

above all, don;t stress out too much over it - there will ALWAYS be something that someone else sees in a text that you didn't or more that you could have written in an exam.

 

[anti]

I have a few points to add..

How you study English is dependent on what kind of person you are (ooh, how Dr Phil). Essentially English isn't a skill on its own - you have to understand it in context. What other subjects are you doing? How do you normally study? What do you like / don't like about English? And are you on good terms with your teacher, or any of the English staff at your school?

If you're a maths-inclined person - you like doing things over and over again until it 'clicks' - English will be a task in gathering the right information, learning the formulae, and plugging it in (so to speak).

If you're a more art-y person - you like doing what feels right and learning by mistake - you need to thoroughly understand the material, and the concepts. Chances are you're already pretty naturally good at writing essays, feature articles etc (with some technique brush-ups over the year) so you should focus on learning the material inside out. When it comes down to exam time, you should know what fits into the theme / idea you're talking about.

These are pretty generalised stereotypes (sorry anybody who got offended), but as you can see the more important fact is learning your material. The way you go about learning it is dependent on your preference - whether you put everything into boxes and go about learning each box one by one, or whether you take an idea, theme, technique, or example, and scrutinise it individually.

Anyway.. rambled on enough now

 

[silvermoon]

hey...theres nothing wrong with Dr Phil...*intones* daytime TV hosts are our friends. agh, ever since hsc finished ive become addicted to days of our lives...if anyone wants to use this for inner journeys i am the person to talk to!

how sad.

 

[pungpui]

in short:

1) ENSURE you read/view your texts!!! A couple of times if possible. You cannot expect to do well in essays if you dont even know what you are talking about.

2) GET DOWN important quotes...hence the word IMPORTANT...meaningful...when including them in your essay, stupid and irrelevant quotes only panic you and cram you up!

3) HAND IN PLENTY of practise essays...over and over again, keep your teacher busy!

4) Read exemplar examples from standard packages (buy em or ask your teacher like i did) or get em from the resource section of this site (i think, if they're there!).

NOTE: you cannot expect to do well by buying those study guides...trust me, i bought 4 of em and i pretty much used em once or twice each...total waste of money!

 

[absolution*]

1. Write brilliant essays
2. Practise integrating them into different questions
3. Memorise

Just remember kids, its not rocket science.

 

[Lorie]

another thing, learn your text types, essays, speeches, interviews, articles etc. There is a wide range of ways in which your will have to answer a question in exams and assessments. Learn the basic ways in which to construct each difference type, while still showing your knowledge and understanding about the text and question.

You can get these down to all most a formula if u look at it hard enough and read lots and lots of samples.

 

[04er]

in short:

1) ENSURE you read/view your texts!!! A couple of times if possible. You cannot expect to do well in essays if you dont even know what you are talking about.

2) GET DOWN important quotes...hence the word IMPORTANT...meaningful...when including them in your essay, stupid and irrelevant quotes only panic you and cram you up!

3) HAND IN PLENTY of practise essays...over and over again, keep your teacher busy!

4) Read exemplar examples from standard packages (buy em or ask your teacher like i did) or get em from the resource section of this site (i think, if they're there!).

NOTE: you cannot expect to do well by buying those study guides...trust me, i bought 4 of em and i pretty much used em once or twice each...total waste of money!

Precisely!