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March 30, 2024, 12:24:48 am

Author Topic: should I choose Literature?!  (Read 3064 times)  Share 

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bridiew

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should I choose Literature?!
« on: August 03, 2020, 03:53:13 pm »
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Hi everyone, I'm selecting my subjects for yr 11 and I'm torn between VCE Literature or VCE English.
I'd say my writing abilities are reasonably strong - there is room for improvement though.
So, I have a few questions about Lit:
1. How much harder is Lit compared to English? I've gathered that you've got to be able to 'think outside the box' more, but in terms of analysing and adapting pieces, is it super difficult?
2. How competitive is it? I know that I'd be against some very talented writers, so how hard is it to achieve a somewhat high score? I know that Lit does get scaled up by a point or two while English gets scaled down by a little, but is it easier to get a higher score in English?
3. How heavy is the content? I am taking some subjects next year that are allegedly high in content; however, I know no subject is particularly easy. Is Lit a lot of work? I know there is quite a lot of reading but I think I could manage this factor.
4. Would you recommend the subject to someone who isn't necessarily 'gifted'? I enjoy English, especially the more creative side of things, but I don't think that I am crazily talented. Would I struggle a lot if I took Lit?
Any opinion is appreciated!  :)

Evolio

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Re: should I choose Literature?!
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2020, 07:58:07 pm »
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Hello!

1. How much harder is Lit compared to English? I've gathered that you've got to be able to 'think outside the box' more, but in terms of analysing and adapting pieces, is it super difficult?
This will vary between people since it's very subjective. Personally, I've always found any English subject difficult, so I find Literature difficult since I'm not that strong in it. Literature does require you to develop an interpretation however there are many class discussions that will help you in forming an interpretation of the chosen text. In terms of analysing, I don't think it's extremely difficult compared to English. There are similar skills required in analysing and in Literature, you'll be required to closely analyse as well but through practice, people become more adept at it.

2. How competitive is it? I know that I'd be against some very talented writers, so how hard is it to achieve a somewhat high score? I know that Lit does get scaled up by a point or two while English gets scaled down by a little, but is it easier to get a higher score in English?
There are strong writers in Literature, however that's the case with English as well. We shouldn't think about scaling here as scaling is just there to even out the playing field. Instead of focusing on which subject scales up or down, or by how much, it's better to choose the subject you think you would enjoy and be better at. It's not easy to get a high score in any English (or subject for that matter), per say, as it all depends on hard work.

3. How heavy is the content? I am taking some subjects next year that are allegedly high in content; however, I know no subject is particularly easy. Is Lit a lot of work? I know there is quite a lot of reading but I think I could manage this factor.
I'd say the content is manageable, however this would also depend on how Literature is taught at your particular school as I remember last year, I didn't spend as much time on Literature compared to my other subjects. There are a lot of books to read though. Whether Lit is a lot of work or not, depends on the particular student. If they find Lit difficult, then they would spend more time on it to improve their skills while someone who is doing well in Lit may spend less time on it.

4. Would you recommend the subject to someone who isn't necessarily 'gifted'? I enjoy English, especially the more creative side of things, but I don't think that I am crazily talented. Would I struggle a lot if I took Lit?
You should choose the subject you enjoy and the subject you feel you would do well in. It's impossible to say for sure, but if you're willing to put in the hard work (not just for lit, even English), then I don't think you would struggle a lot. It all depends on how dedicated you are to the subject and how much work you're willing to put into it.

Hope this helped!
« Last Edit: August 03, 2020, 07:59:58 pm by Evolio »

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Re: should I choose Literature?!
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2020, 11:02:16 am »
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Oh wow can't believe I just saw this!

Quote
1. How much harder is Lit compared to English? I've gathered that you've got to be able to 'think outside the box' more, but in terms of analysing and adapting pieces, is it super difficult?
I would say Lit is harder than English in the sense that while English is a continuation of what you're currently doing in year 10, literature has a whole new set of criteria and standards. But that's it. Lit and English are two very different subjects and content-wise, one isn't necessarily harder than the other.

Quote
2. How competitive is it? I know that I'd be against some very talented writers, so how hard is it to achieve a somewhat high score? I know that Lit does get scaled up by a point or two while English gets scaled down by a little, but is it easier to get a higher score in English?
Since scaling is decided by how competitive a subject is, Lit is probably more competitive. I don't think Lit ever goes up more than 1 study score though. Lit also has a much smaller cohort.

Quote
3. How heavy is the content? I am taking some subjects next year that are allegedly high in content; however, I know no subject is particularly easy. Is Lit a lot of work? I know there is quite a lot of reading but I think I could manage this factor.
There is a lot of reading and writing involved - particularly for Literary Perspectives which can get quite 'academic' in terms of reading. But honestly, you'll have to put in a lot of work if you want a good score for ANY subject.

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4. Would you recommend the subject to someone who isn't necessarily 'gifted'? I enjoy English, especially the more creative side of things, but I don't think that I am crazily talented. Would I struggle a lot if I took Lit?
Lit is very different from year 10 English. In my school, a lot of strong English students who took Lit found themselves struggling as the same style of essay-writing gets them a 90 in English but a 70 in Lit. In my case, I was able to get good scores in Lit despite mediocre English results.

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