Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 29, 2024, 04:46:46 am

Poll

Will reading for pleasure, help your writing improve in VCE English?

Yes, but only if you read good novels (classics/more challenging texts)
11 (36.7%)
Yes, even reading "easier" novels
9 (30%)
Yes, but not signfiicantly
4 (13.3%)
No
1 (3.3%)
Idk, I didn't but still got 40+ in English
5 (16.7%)

Total Members Voted: 24

Voting closed: March 24, 2021, 02:25:45 pm

Author Topic: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?  (Read 1621 times)  Share 

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Snow Leopard

  • MOTM: SEP 19
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 574
  • Respect: +196
@40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« on: January 23, 2021, 02:25:45 pm »
0
Curious about this since lots of teachers seem to emphasise this.

ArtyDreams

  • MOTM: Jan 20
  • Victorian Moderator
  • Forum Leader
  • *****
  • Posts: 518
  • Fly against the wind. Not with it.
  • Respect: +599
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2021, 02:38:30 pm »
+11
Okay, I'll be honest, I *just* missed the 40 mark for English, but I do have some advice!!

When I was younger, I used to be such an avid reader, but this passion for reading really disintegrated when I went to Year 9. Across my senior years, I don't think I read any books apart from the books set by school.
From my personal experience, I know that I would've done much better in English if I continued to read for fun. I don't think there's any specific type of genre or anything, the books you'll get the most out of are the ones that are enjoyable to you. My vocabulary was quite poor in Year 12 compared to my younger years, and I wrote quite unsophisticated-ly (although this isn't necessarily a bad thing), and I personally do feel that I would've had a better writing style if I kept reading.

I personally found it hard to read for pleasure during year 12, as I didn't want to get confused with the books I had to actually study for English. Reading a few books during the breaks might be beneficial though.

I hope this helps a bit! This is what I found through personal experience though.

Geoo

  • MOTM: DEC 19
  • Victorian Moderator
  • Forum Leader
  • *****
  • Posts: 596
  • Class of 2020
  • Respect: +685
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2021, 04:32:19 pm »
+11
I only got a 36, so take this with a grain of salt :)

I absolutely despised reading my entire life. I barely read anything from ages 5-15, even the compulsory books I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. I went my whole early highschool getting C's and D's in english, and the occasional B if I was lucky. When I was 16, I had absolutely no internet for a few hours and being bored out of my mind I picked up a book I bought 3 years ago from a bookshop that was just lying around. I read it, and I loved it. After that, I think I read over 60 books in year 10, just powered right through them.

When I came back to do year 11, I ended up getting A's and A+'s in english. I think by reading books I really loved and enjoyed, I was able to grasp concepts of knowing what to look for when thinking about certain characters, themes, ideas and coming to my own conclusions and opinions on certain books. I found myself asking "why do I hate/love that character?," "what was their motive," "why did the author kill off my favourite character?" etc.
I like to compare it to watching a movie, when you finish the movie, you might talk about for a while with the people you saw it with and discuss it in great detail, the parts you love, what part about the character makes you like/hate theme, what was the overarching theme/big picture of the movies etc. I think when you are reading something you enjoy, it can be easier to analysing that book than one that you don't like (typically most English books from school) and it can be an easier learning experience to get your skills up. I also found that by reading books for pleasure, my ability to write improved, as I liked how some sentences were started/ resonated with the writing style. My overall comprehension of media in all forms improved alot because I actually cared about it. It also gave me the power to push through boring English books lol.

I also don't think that if a book is hard or easy will make that much difference. Sure, some books with more complex themes may be more useful in the long run, but they don't have to be like that all the time.

I went into VCE hoping for a 30 in english, and I walked out with a 36. Not as inspirational as other storied with getting 40's, but I think if I didn't get into reading for pleasure, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that score. Hope this helps :)
2020: VCE 93.2
2022: BSci/Arts (Chemistry/Pharmacology and French)@Monash

hel256

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 25
  • Respect: +24
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2021, 05:11:54 pm »
+8
Similarly to ArtyDreams, I had a great passion for reading in my earlier years, but this waned in my last years of school.
I didn't read novels apart from my set texts last year, but I did read news articles and essays from other students (there's an old thread somewhere on this forum full of high achievers' old essays that I frequented).
I think reading in some form is important; personally I found reading essays the most beneficial in expanding my vocabulary, writing style and developing ideas (in spite of the fact they were written for different texts), but generally I feel any kind of literary stimulus is helpful, just pick something you'll actually take interest in.
VCE Class of 2020
Japanese SL (2019) [42] | English [47] | Chemistry [46] | Methods [43] | Specialist [42]
ATAR 99.75
2021-2023: BCom @ UoM

The Cat In The Hat

  • MOTM: NOV 20
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 991
  • Do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31
  • Respect: +344
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2021, 08:19:02 am »
+4
I would say definitely.
Sure, my raw 40 scaled below 40, but that was partially due to a brain melt during the exam (honestly, I'm still confused how they gave me only 13/20 for one section...).
The people who read for pleasure are the ones who read their books, and remember them. I read (and despised) Ransom. And I read it again. And again. Not for pleasure. But having read for pleasure and thus being capable of far quicker reading than apparently many of my class, I read that book multiple times throughout year 12. Quotes were just pouring out of my head. I didn't need to remember them.
I continued to read for pleasure throughout year 12 (it helped that Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books of all time why vcaa why did you decide it was only worth 13/20 and thus I read it many times).
Those who read a lot I think also can write better, because they've been exposed to more writing styles. Sure, I also wrote fiction for pleasure (which really helped on the creative SAC) and thus had more practise in framing sentences etc. I did notice too that in my class the ones who liked to read could write better. Though that proves no correlation since they could enjoy it and thus put more time and effort into it.

I read a lot during year 12. All sorts of books. With the exception of the poetry which I avoided as far as possible, I read my English books (and the screenplay of The Queen) multiple times, and remembered quotes, so many quotes.

So: definitely reading for pleasure is useful. It also gives you (at least I found it so) more power to enjoy certain parts of books you despise (some of the descriptions, and occasional sentences in Ransom? Genius. The rest? Drivel).
VCE 20
HHD MM Revs (F/R) Eng T&T
ATAR 85
Uni 21-24: BNursing/BMidwifery @ Deakin
Y1T2:
HNM102
HNN122 (double)
HNN114
I hope I don't fail....
Listens to Amira Willighagen and Alma Deutscher and a little Marjolein Acke
~English - PM for P&P/creatives help~
Creative excerpts
Nur/Mid uni journal

For Narnia and for Aslan!

she/her

Basically inactive now. May change. Have a nice day.

clarke54321

  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1041
  • Respect: +365
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2021, 10:43:23 am »
+4
I didn't necessarily read for pleasure during VCE English, in the sense of reading unrelated novels/plays/etc. I instead read a whole lot of journal articles based on the specific text I was studying in VCE English. This in itself became an enjoyable pastime, given that I was exposed to new, text-specific vocabulary and complex ideas that weren't touched on in class/study guides. More than anything else, this is what gave me the edge in developing sophisticated essays.

Note that journal articles can be accessed through Google Scholar or university databases that your teacher may still have access to  :)
« Last Edit: January 25, 2021, 10:45:02 am by clarke54321 »
BA (Linguistics) I University of Melbourne
Tips and Tricks for VCE English [50]

Essay Marking Services in 2021 for VCE English + Essays for Sale

MoonChild1234

  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 96
  • Respect: +17
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2021, 12:33:46 pm »
+2
I didn't necessarily read for pleasure during VCE English, in the sense of reading unrelated novels/plays/etc. I instead read a whole lot of journal articles based on the specific text I was studying in VCE English. This in itself became an enjoyable pastime, given that I was exposed to new, text-specific vocabulary and complex ideas that weren't touched on in class/study guides. More than anything else, this is what gave me the edge in developing sophisticated essays.

Note that journal articles can be accessed through Google Scholar or university databases that your teacher may still have access to  :)

how do you search for appropriate journal articles that help? I just search the name of my text but not all of them seem to be relevant, so I'm a little lost

clarke54321

  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1041
  • Respect: +365
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2021, 01:11:32 pm »
+5
how do you search for appropriate journal articles that help? I just search the name of my text but not all of them seem to be relevant, so I'm a little lost

Your struggle is very understandable! It always took a lot of sifting and careful selection when looking for relevant journal articles. Given that there are so many new texts on the VCE English study design, you may not be able to find any journals for your specific text. However, you may still find it useful to look at related texts in the same genre. For example, when I studied 'Tracks' in year 12, there was no literature on this text. But I was able to locate other journals focussing on travel writing, which helped me immensely in developing vocabulary and understanding motives behind self discovery, lone venture, etc.

I'd also recommend JSTOR if Google Scholar doesn't yield many results :)
BA (Linguistics) I University of Melbourne
Tips and Tricks for VCE English [50]

Essay Marking Services in 2021 for VCE English + Essays for Sale

Snow Leopard

  • MOTM: SEP 19
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 574
  • Respect: +196
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2021, 03:13:21 pm »
0
I would say definitely.
Sure, my raw 40 scaled below 40, but that was partially due to a brain melt during the exam (honestly, I'm still confused how they gave me only 13/20 for one section...).
The people who read for pleasure are the ones who read their books, and remember them. I read (and despised) Ransom. And I read it again. And again. Not for pleasure. But having read for pleasure and thus being capable of far quicker reading than apparently many of my class, I read that book multiple times throughout year 12. Quotes were just pouring out of my head. I didn't need to remember them.
I continued to read for pleasure throughout year 12 (it helped that Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books of all time why vcaa why did you decide it was only worth 13/20 and thus I read it many times).
Those who read a lot I think also can write better, because they've been exposed to more writing styles. Sure, I also wrote fiction for pleasure (which really helped on the creative SAC) and thus had more practise in framing sentences etc. I did notice too that in my class the ones who liked to read could write better. Though that proves no correlation since they could enjoy it and thus put more time and effort into it.

I read a lot during year 12. All sorts of books. With the exception of the poetry which I avoided as far as possible, I read my English books (and the screenplay of The Queen) multiple times, and remembered quotes, so many quotes.

So: definitely reading for pleasure is useful. It also gives you (at least I found it so) more power to enjoy certain parts of books you despise (some of the descriptions, and occasional sentences in Ransom? Genius. The rest? Drivel).
Out of curiosity, why did you avoid reading poetry?

The Cat In The Hat

  • MOTM: NOV 20
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 991
  • Do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31
  • Respect: +344
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2021, 03:15:31 pm »
+1
Out of curiosity, why did you avoid reading poetry?
Simply because that particular poetry (Old/New World) was not to my taste. I'd read poetry I enjoyed, any time (such as Banjo Paterson) but didn't enjoy that style and poet.

So no reason but preference.
VCE 20
HHD MM Revs (F/R) Eng T&T
ATAR 85
Uni 21-24: BNursing/BMidwifery @ Deakin
Y1T2:
HNM102
HNN122 (double)
HNN114
I hope I don't fail....
Listens to Amira Willighagen and Alma Deutscher and a little Marjolein Acke
~English - PM for P&P/creatives help~
Creative excerpts
Nur/Mid uni journal

For Narnia and for Aslan!

she/her

Basically inactive now. May change. Have a nice day.

Julian27

  • Fresh Poster
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Respect: +1
Re: @40+ Scorers in VCE English, is reading for pleasure useful?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2021, 08:47:37 am »
+1
Just my opinion :) I personally think that reading is the most useful when it is a habit that you have done for many years, if you are in your last year of school, reading extensive amounts of books isn't the most direct way to help you with English. With that being said, reading opinion articles every so often may help with argument analysis. As such, it is more beneficial to study the texts you are studying (and an other articles regarding these texts) more thoroughly as this will directly enhance your understanding.

Hope this helps