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March 29, 2024, 04:53:26 pm

Author Topic: VCE English Guide~ How to do your absolute best this year!  (Read 538 times)  Share 

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emonerd

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VCE English Guide~ How to do your absolute best this year!
« on: January 16, 2021, 02:29:13 pm »
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Hey there! If you’re reading this, chances are you are a current VCE student looking for some tips on how to excel in mainstream English! If so, I hope this little guide will help you achieve your goals, whether its a 30, 35, 40, 50 or just to simply do your best!

I graduated in 2020, with an atar of 98.80, and a raw study score of 45 in english. That being said, I didn’t do English units 1&2, nor would I call myself a particularly gifted writer either. I think that for me, I was able to attain that ss because of my awesome english teacher who would give me consistent constructive feedback, and because of the effort I put into the subject itself.

My advice would be, utilise your english teacher!! I know every teacher is different, but try to get them to give you feedback on your essays. I don’t just mean feedback on practice SACs your teacher forces the entire class to do, but on any essays you write in your spare time. Not only does this show to your teacher that you care about the subject, and are prepared to do extra work, but you also get frequent constructive criticism so you are constantly aware of how your writing is heading, and how it is improving. I would write typically one essay a week, but nearing the SAC, I would sometimes write more. I was fortunate enough to have a teacher who would correct EVERy single one of my essays/ paragraphs! (I know right, wtf).

However, I know not everyone sometimes has that luxury. Teachers sometimes are busy, refuse to grade extra papers etc… If you find yourself in such a position, you can form study groups with your fellow peers. My teacher would make us peer review in class, and it was one of my favorite activities! You get valuable feedback from students who have different perspectives, and you also get to play the role of the assessor. To think like an assessor would, is incredibly helpful, as you become aware of the things that make them tick!

I also did literature, but whilst most people would think that doing both is extremely beneficial, its really not that helpful. Whilst SOME of the vocab used in lit can be transferred into english and help you stand out, literature is a really different style of writing all together. In fact, I found it difficult at the start of the year to differentiate between the two. In Lit, you can kind of go off the rails a bit. Provided you remain within the scope of the task, you can structure your response in any way. In contrast, english is very rigid in terms of structure, paragraphs, introduction and topic sentences. So if you’re doing both englishes, thats just something to keep in mind!


Misconceptions about VCE English:


You have a have an astonishing vocabulary in order to do well

At the start of 2020, I wouldn’t say I had a particularly exceptional or mind blowing vocab. However, I was able to find new analytical verbs, and funky phrases by looking through the exam reports for both english and lit. I don’t mean copy three consecutive sentences word by word in your essays, but harvesting specific words or phrases that you like. However, if you do this remember to research the words, and the contexts they are used in so you can be sure that you’re using them 100% correctly!



You have to be a fantastic writer

Nope! Whilst obviously it helps to be a naturally proficient writer, the VCE english course is structured in such a way that even those who are great at writing may struggle, as writing is only a fraction of the skills needed. You must also be able to analyse pieces, understand symbols and themes and be able to establish authorial intention.

You must be writing FULL essays in order to improve!!

Nope! You can even just write a paragraph every few days. This can be just effective as writing essays. Sometimes I would be so tired, and because I find essays SO emotionally draining, I just didn’t want to have to sit through it all. Instad, I would spend 15 mins doing a paragraph! Remember; some practice is better than no practice at all!

I think thats all for now! I’m sorry this was so long, I hope it wasn’t a drag to read hahaha! Let me know if this was helpful, and if you have any questions! :)

I’m also selling some of my VCE English and Lit essays for cheap if anyone is interested!!

My texts:

English
Like a House on Fire (Creative)
All The Light We Cannot See (Text Response)
The Queen/ Ransom (Comparative)

Literature
The Passion (Passage Analysis)
Northanger Abbey (Form and Transformation)
Ariel, Sylvia Plath (Literary Perspectives)

« Last Edit: January 16, 2021, 02:31:36 pm by emonerd »
2019 -Biology
2020- Chem, Methods, Spec, English and Literature