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March 29, 2024, 02:48:34 am

Author Topic: VCE English Question Thread  (Read 847339 times)  Share 

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clarke54321

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1800 on: April 24, 2017, 09:00:32 pm »
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jaded does work in that context. i'm struggling to think of synonyms that would exactly match it in this context, but i suppose cynical, or even at a stretch sardonic (or exhausted? kind of basic but hey it'd get your point across), are the closest adjectives that'd also work? (since if you're cynical that suggests you've seen a lot of the same shit lmao. idk the context exactly but if they're mocking something they're tired of then sardonic is your word). but please anyone feel free to contradict this because i'm sure i've missed something haha. (:

Thanks for the advice! Yes, I think exhausted is a good one. I can't find any other synonymous which accurately pinpoint the tone.
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n__n

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1801 on: April 24, 2017, 11:23:48 pm »
+2
Here is a snippet of the article from the Age:

"I could remind them that for all the passion the game inspires, it is only a game. I could urge them to remember that a footballer is also a human being, as sensitive as any other. I could ask them if they would like to be taunted for being who and what they are: fat, for example."

Ultimately, he comes to the conclusion that it wouldn't be worth doing all of this because no one would listen. Sorry, I should have given more context. I'm just trying to find a formal tone word to encapsulate feelings of defeat or tiredness. Thanks for all the help!

Describing the tone as defeated is pretty much spot on imo, but maybe you could also add in something to indicate a sense of implied disappointment?

johnhalo

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1802 on: April 25, 2017, 12:04:04 pm »
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With prompts that end with a 'Do you agree?' is it advised to only partially agree so both sides can be discussed?

Or can you fully agree/disagree?

Quantum44

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1803 on: April 25, 2017, 12:13:34 pm »
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With prompts that end with a 'Do you agree?' is it advised to only partially agree so both sides can be discussed?

Or can you fully agree/disagree?

Yes, the best responses generally interrogate the topic so you can explore both sides of the argument, giving greater depth to your response and allowing you to show more knowledge of the text.
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zhen

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1804 on: April 25, 2017, 12:48:07 pm »
+2
With prompts that end with a 'Do you agree?' is it advised to only partially agree so both sides can be discussed?

Or can you fully agree/disagree?
To add onto quantum44's response, I agree that the best responses always explore both sides of the argument, but I think that it's good to have a main point or argument in your essay, so basically take a side to whether you agree or disagree, however acknowledge the opposing argument and suggest that you agree/disagree, but not completely since there are exceptions. I think this allows you to explore both sides of the argument and shows your complexity of ideas.

zxcvbnm18

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1805 on: April 25, 2017, 01:57:33 pm »
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Hi guys
I was wondering if for language anaylsis we need to talk about 'argument techniques' i.e ad hominen, strawman's fallacy etc if its present or just concentrate on the language used by the writer to persuade their audience.
Thnx

zhen

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1806 on: April 25, 2017, 02:12:40 pm »
+2
Hi guys
I was wondering if for language anaylsis we need to talk about 'argument techniques' i.e ad hominen, strawman's fallacy etc if its present or just concentrate on the language used by the writer to persuade their audience.
Thnx
I think that argument analysis is focussing on how argument positions the reader and how the language used supports the argument and positions the reader. So, I don't think you need to talk about argument techniques, instead you should be focussing on the content of the argument and its purpose. I'm not too sure about this, so someone should correct me if I'm wrong.

patriciarose

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1807 on: April 25, 2017, 02:20:32 pm »
+2
With prompts that end with a 'Do you agree?' is it advised to only partially agree so both sides can be discussed?

Or can you fully agree/disagree?

discussing both sides means you run the risk of sitting on the fence, which is bad. fully agreeing or fully disagreeing is also generally not the best because you limit your argument to the exact parameters of the question (although sometimes you get a question/statement that is just totally wrong/right so obviously don't try and create conditions for it that don't exist lmao). generally i think the easiest way to do it well is to agree or disagree with a but, because that lets you add a little more depth to your answer than you'd otherwise get.
so for the record, yes, you CAN fully agree or disagree and still do well, but agreeing/disagreeing with conditions tends to make it easier to score highly.
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clarke54321

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1808 on: April 25, 2017, 02:27:58 pm »
+1
I think that argument analysis is focusing on how argument positions the reader and how the language used supports the argument and positions the reader. So, I don't think you need to talk about argument techniques, instead you should be focussing on the content of the argument and its purpose. I'm not too sure about this, so someone should correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, I agree with this.

You want to take a more holistic approach to the piece. Focusing too much on the argument techniques can make your analysis too 'listy' and detract from your understanding of the piece as a whole. However, if you can identify argument techniques prevalent in the piece, which will assist your analysis or explanation, then include it by all means. I'm just saying that a constant identification of techniques can weaken your analysis.

Hope this helps!
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patriciarose

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1809 on: April 25, 2017, 03:01:18 pm »
+1
Hi guys
I was wondering if for language anaylsis we need to talk about 'argument techniques' i.e ad hominen, strawman's fallacy etc if its present or just concentrate on the language used by the writer to persuade their audience.
Thnx

there's nothing that says you CAN'T talk about techniques but don't focus on them too much. vcaa literally named the essay 'argument analysis' so mention the techniques if they're contributing to the overall development of the argument but don't focus on listing etc. techniques are quite useful though because if you can identify them, you generally then know why they'd being used and thus the effect they have, which leads naturally into argument analysis territory. so they're nice to know and it doesn't hurt to briefly mention them but make sure they're contributing to your analysis, not detracting from it or wasting your time, if that makes sense? (:
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zxcvbnm18

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1810 on: April 25, 2017, 03:21:36 pm »
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Thnx everyone! Yall made it much more clear

j.wang

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1811 on: April 25, 2017, 03:36:36 pm »
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hellooo

so i'm doing creative and i always hear that we should challenge the text's ideas/ themes and not just reuse symbols

how exactly do we challenge the ideas??

n__n

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1812 on: April 25, 2017, 07:09:19 pm »
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hellooo

so i'm doing creative and i always hear that we should challenge the text's ideas/ themes and not just reuse symbols

how exactly do we challenge the ideas??


To challenge the author's ideas, you just extend on them. For instance, let's say the author's idea is "war is bad because people die"; you can agree with this to a degree, but not 100% as otherwise you'll just be copying the author (nor can you 100% disagree). Instead, you can for example say "war is bad because people die BUT it is good in certain situations for population control" (probably not the most morally correct example, but whatever). See how the addition of the last part extends on the original idea, making it your own and essentially challenging it?

Some questions of my own;
- How I do write quicker under SAC conditions? I do this thing during English SACs where I just procrastinate (?) by continually rereading over what I've already written and staying there doing nothing. It's not because I don't know what to write next, I do, it's just that I don't want to move on because I feel like what I've written is either not good enough (or even in some cases too good - I just sit there impressed at my own writing. I know, I'm humble), or what I'm going to write next is too hard. Any tips or advice to get out of this mindset?
- Can someone confirm the contention for this piece for me? I've identified it as something along the lines of "The changes to the citizenship test does not help in ensuring that potential citizens abide by Australian values, and the decision to revise it is a political stunt designed to regain dwindling Coalition support by playing to growing populist views of xenophobia and racism."

Thanks in advance for all help!!  :) :)
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 07:11:40 pm by n__n »

patriciarose

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1813 on: April 26, 2017, 01:12:12 am »
+1
Some questions of my own;
- How I do write quicker under SAC conditions? I do this thing during English SACs where I just procrastinate (?) by continually rereading over what I've already written and staying there doing nothing. It's not because I don't know what to write next, I do, it's just that I don't want to move on because I feel like what I've written is either not good enough (or even in some cases too good - I just sit there impressed at my own writing. I know, I'm humble), or what I'm going to write next is too hard. Any tips or advice to get out of this mindset?
- Can someone confirm the contention for this piece for me? I've identified it as something along the lines of "The changes to the citizenship test does not help in ensuring that potential citizens abide by Australian values, and the decision to revise it is a political stunt designed to regain dwindling Coalition support by playing to growing populist views of xenophobia and racism."

Thanks in advance for all help!!  :) :)

1. i feel you on the rereading part, haha. i don't think i finished an in class essay until half way through year eleven because i was so focused on perfection. i think if that's your problem, a good way to look at it is that a half finished good essay will do worse than an averagely written finished essay. just don't reread until the end. personally, my english sacs are eighty minutes and i write five paragraphs, so i give myself fifteen minutes per paragraph and fifteen combined for the intro/conclusion, and force myself to move to the next one if i hit the time limit (although once you have one you seem to instinctively write faster, which is nice). then at the end i go back and edit the heck out of everything i've written, which is better anyway because it gives me time to forget my phrasing, which means that when i go back if anything sounds clunky i can edit it out, whereas if you edit as you go along it's more likely you'll skim over something that sounded good in the moment and really bad later (: if you can't think of how to start the next paragraph, honestly just start. pick the first thing that comes into your head and go with it. ideally you'll have a rough plan already so that should keep your ideas linear, but if not, hey, you'll lose a mark for clarity, and that's a whole lot better than losing several for not finishing because you spent twenty minutes on an opening sentence. (:

2. yup, that contention basically works for me. i'm too sleepy to put it in great english, but yeah she's basically saying that it's not a bad thing to reform the citizenship test, and that in fact she believes it should happen bc migrants don't know our values, but the /way/ it's going to be done is pandering to xenophobic groups and won't assist or benefit those actually taking it. but please don't write it like that omg i'm v messy.
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Mariamnourine

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #1814 on: April 26, 2017, 02:16:28 pm »
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How many essays should I write a day to improve my English?
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