If you have VCE English questions you want answered, check out this thread!

You’re on the home stretch of the marathon; you can physically see the finish line, but you are fatiguing.
Despite the finish line being in sight, you feel as though you can’t make it.
That you should have trained harder.
That it’s now too late.
That perhaps you’re not cut out for this.
And that maybe you should just give up.

You wake up. It was just a dream. (Sound like anyone’s English creative SAC?)

Either way, your reality is probably just as terrifying; there are exactly 50 days until your English exam.

Let me guess.

What you’re feeling right now is a plethora of emotions: stress, panic, and perhaps a bit of anxiety. You’re probably thinking, ‘why did I slack off all year?’, ‘how did the year go by so fast?’, ‘how will I possibly be able to memorise quotes from THREE different texts?!’

Or, perhaps, something along the lines of ‘Oh goodness, is it too late to drop out of VCE?!?’

I can assure you I was feeling the exact same way this time last year. But hey, I ended up going into the exam quite confidently, and came out of it very much alive. How?

If you use these last few weeks wisely, it is still not too late. Here’s how.

ATTITUDE

First and foremost, you need to destroy all demoralising thoughts that are circulating your mind. Instead, focus all of your energy on what’s ahead of you.

Some psychological techniques I used to get into the right mindset were meditation and progressive muscle relaxation, or even just going for a light jog whenever I felt overwhelmed.

In terms of studying: at this stage, you do not want to be wasting time re-reading texts, making quote banks, sketching mind-maps, creating chapter summaries, etc.

The reality is harsh, but needs to be said: if you still need to be making summaries, you are going to have to get your act together – and fast. Fortunately, you still have time. Things like mind-maps are great for initially learning your texts, but after a while, their effectiveness diminishes.

SO… HOW SHOULD I STUDY?

What you should be doing right now is actively looking to develop stronger, broader, more complex ideas.

While surface-skimming ideas and analyses for Text Response and Analysing Argument may have sufficed in Unit 3, exams are expected to be written at Unit 4 (or even higher) standard.

TEXT RESPONSE & COMPARING TEXTS

For Text Response and Comparing Texts, this can be done through unpacking diverse types of prompts, as prompts are asking you to attack the texts from various – wacky, even – angles.

In fact, this is where most individual and unique insights come from.

Equivalently, don’t read the whole text again. Rather, read and re-read small passages closely and analyse them as deeply as you can. You might notice that the whole chapter is, in fact, a metaphor or an allusion! – something you may not have picked up on in Term 1.

Complete course notes for VCE English – click here for your sample!

 

ANALYSING ARGUMENT

For Analysing Argument, practise finding and analysing the effect of more subtle language techniques (like connotations) rather than excessively analysing the effect of – everyone’s favourite – inclusive language. Yes, we get it – inclusive language makes people feel included.

JUST KEEP WRITING

Make sure you are writing essays frequently. You need to be consistently writing essays because, in 50 days, you will have to write three essays in three hours.

Don’t stress if that seems out of scope at this stage; with practice, it is 100% within your capabilities.

Ideally, you want to start writing essays in timed conditions and, when you’re ready, try doing an exam in timed conditions.

Additionally, you can simulate exam conditions. When undertaking a practice exam, do it under timed conditions (with reading time), in an empty room and at the same time of the day as the actual English exam. What this does is it almost exactly replicates how November 1st will look and feel; familiarising yourself with these feelings will reduce panic and alarm on the actual day of the English exam.

That being said, make sure you are getting feedback on your essays. There’s nothing worse than writing ten essays only to find out you have been making the same mistake over and over.

EXAM DAY STRATEGIES

This is also the perfect time to develop strategies for exam day. These might include how long you will devote to each essay, how long you should leave for proofreading, and so on.

Ask yourself: “What works best for me?”

Go into the exam with a clear plan of attack. It’s important that you practise this battle plan from today onward to allow for tweaking if necessary.

As you get closer to exam day, however, it’s vital that you pace yourself. Remember, VCE is a marathon, not a sprint.

PACE YO’SELF

Many marathon runners go a bit too hard at the start and find that their glycogen stores (which supply energy) completely deplete when there’s still 5km to go! Consequently, the athlete will need to significantly reduce their speed.

This switchover period is usually called ‘hitting the wall’, which is detrimental to an athlete; an athlete who may have been in first place might find themselves finishing nowhere near first.

Likewise, without pacing yourself as you progress closer to the exam, you might find yourself ‘burning out’ right before the exam.

The good news here is, even if you’re currently nowhere near Rank 1, you can easily creep your way up to the front of the marathon we all know and love: VCE.

Finally, ensure you get some rest and don’t push yourself too hard. Stay healthy, enjoy yourself, and all the best for your English exam! 😊

(I hope this article helps studying for your English exam VCEasier!)

If you have VCE English questions you want answered, check out this thread!