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Author Topic: VCE English Question Thread  (Read 847274 times)  Share 

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knightrider

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #45 on: January 27, 2015, 12:42:36 pm »
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This is kind of bridging into knightrider's question:Every T.R. text is chosen for, amongst other things, its ability to relate to a social or historical context. This might be in the time the text is set (eg. This Boy's Life, Stasiland) or the time the author is writing (eg. Cloudstreet, Brooklyn) or both (eg. Henry IV, White Tiger.) Most texts still support both discussions, so what the assessors are looking for is an awareness of how certain values can be seen or presented in the text. You can look at this from either the author or audience's perspective. Not every argument lends itself to this kind of discussion, and you shouldn't base your entire contention on a wider message, but the socio-historical stuff makes for good 'zoomed out' discussion. It's usually pretty hard to form a proper interpretation of the text without an understanding of what the author is trying to say overall; just don't rely too heavily on it in your essays.

Pro tip: If you're integrating some background information, weave it into a sentence with textual discussion
Rather than: 'The idea of body image is something that has plagued young people throughout modern age. The Very Hungry Caterpillar critiques the idea that self-worth should be derived solely from one's external appearance.'
Transition more fluidly: 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar critiques the idea that self-worth should be derived solely from one's external appearance, thereby forming part of Carle's commentary on the wealth of body dysmorphic problems in the modern age.'
In that first example, you risk not getting credit for the first sentence because it doesn't relate to the text; you're just commenting on the context. In the second, however; you can almost trick the assessor into seeing the connection just by combining the sentences.

So in terms of the actual range of interpretations part:
The words whilst, although, despite, and whereas are your greatest allies. You're not expected to spend a great deal of time on alternate interpretations, but an easy way of doing it is to say something like:
'Whilst the caterpillar's journey could be viewed as one of blissful ignorance, there is an underlying sense of self-realisation and enlightenment in the text.'
I've just drawn a distinction between my contention (self-realisation is important to the caterpillar's journey) and an alternate interpretation (the caterpillar is blissfully ignorant.)
Words like 'although,' 'whilst' etc. force you to add that extra clause as a way of challenging interpretations, so include them every so often and you should be fine for this category.

Of course, there's every possibility that your teacher will have a totally different 'interpretation' of the criteria ;) so check with them in case there are any bizarre requirements they want you to fulfill.

Thank you so much Lauren  :)
i was just wondering in terms of the response what criteria do the VCAA examiners usually stick to as they would have to be consistent with there marking.

literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #46 on: January 27, 2015, 12:57:07 pm »
+2
Thank you so much Lauren  :)
i was just wondering in terms of the response what criteria do the VCAA examiners usually stick to as they would have to be consistent with there marking.
The most important be-all-and-end-all ultimately majorly critical 'do this or the English Gods will slap you' criteria is relevance. So if the socio-historical context is relevant to your discussion, then you can use it. However, if you're tying it in where it doesn't belong, especially if you're only doing it to ratchet up points for sounding sophisticated, the assessors are very likely to not only notice, but potentially penalise you.
Though you won't often lose marks directly for writing something of tangential relevance, you are indirectly missing an opportunity to gain marks in other areas. It also makes a bad impression on assessors, whose biggest pet peeve seems to be rote-learning formulaic responses. (No joke, every Assessor's Report since 2001 has bemoaned this approach!)

Only once relevance is assured can you get credit for the quality of ideas and writing. I'm generalising here, since I know there are assessors who find it acceptable to give credit for exploration and expression, even if what you're exploring and expressing isn't on the right track, but the most helpful way to approach the task is by prioritising relevance, and letting your discussion reflect that priority. :)

knightrider

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #47 on: January 27, 2015, 01:20:09 pm »
+1
The most important be-all-and-end-all ultimately majorly critical 'do this or the English Gods will slap you' criteria is relevance. So if the socio-historical context is relevant to your discussion, then you can use it. However, if you're tying it in where it doesn't belong, especially if you're only doing it to ratchet up points for sounding sophisticated, the assessors are very likely to not only notice, but potentially penalise you.
Though you won't often lose marks directly for writing something of tangential relevance, you are indirectly missing an opportunity to gain marks in other areas. It also makes a bad impression on assessors, whose biggest pet peeve seems to be rote-learning formulaic responses. (No joke, every Assessor's Report since 2001 has bemoaned this approach!)

Only once relevance is assured can you get credit for the quality of ideas and writing. I'm generalising here, since I know there are assessors who find it acceptable to give credit for exploration and expression, even if what you're exploring and expressing isn't on the right track, but the most helpful way to approach the task is by prioritising relevance, and letting your discussion reflect that priority. :)

Thank you so much Lauren  :)
really appreciate your time and effort into each response keep up your awesome work!! :) :D

Cogglesnatch Cuttlefish

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #48 on: January 28, 2015, 12:53:04 pm »
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How's religion in context essays? For example, the prompt is "conflict is inevitable" and I adopt the view that God creates conflict and some of the assessors may not necessarily believe in God. Are my chances of getting a high mark smitten as a result?
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literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #49 on: January 28, 2015, 12:59:54 pm »
+2
How's religion in context essays? For example, the prompt is "conflict is inevitable" and I adopt the view that God creates conflict and some of the assessors may not necessarily believe in God. Are my chances of getting a high mark smitten as a result?

If you're using that premise as the basis of your contention then you might have an issue, but if you're using the concept of religious faith as an example to demonstrate a point, then that should be okay.

(Assuming you're writing an expository/ expos-hybrid piece, you should be using other evidence anyway?)

I actually think it could be really interesting to look at the way different religions resolve the whole 'God is good, but bad stuff happens' dilemma, especially for the prompt you're writing on. I can't speak for your classroom teacher, but I know the end of year assessors are told not to let personal biases when it comes to political/ social/ religious issues skew their marking. Provided your writing is logical and interesting, I can't image them having a problem with it.

Cogglesnatch Cuttlefish

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #50 on: January 28, 2015, 01:15:53 pm »
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If you're using that premise as the basis of your contention then you might have an issue, but if you're using the concept of religious faith as an example to demonstrate a point, then that should be okay.

(Assuming you're writing an expository/ expos-hybrid piece, you should be using other evidence anyway?)

I actually think it could be really interesting to look at the way different religions resolve the whole 'God is good, but bad stuff happens' dilemma, especially for the prompt you're writing on. I can't speak for your classroom teacher, but I know the end of year assessors are told not to let personal biases when it comes to political/ social/ religious issues skew their marking. Provided your writing is logical and interesting, I can't image them having a problem with it.
Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Lauren :D
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shivaji

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #51 on: January 29, 2015, 03:07:11 pm »
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Hey Lauren,

Just wondering when analysing an editorial, how would you reference the author of it? I constantly use "the writer ...", are there any other better phrases which can be utilised?

Thanks! :D

maddihanna

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #52 on: February 01, 2015, 10:19:20 am »
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Hi all :)

Just a quick question about a prompt/structuring my response.
The prompt I have been given for my text response essay is one that I quite heavily disagree with and there are many pieces of evidence to prove why I do. I know I shouldn't completely favour my essay to one side, so I was just wondering if its enough to mention the 'affirmative' side only in my introduction?

The prompt is a "to what extent do you agree?" type.

Thanks in advance :)

paper-back

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #53 on: February 01, 2015, 10:36:05 am »
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During your second reading how do you what quotes you should highlight i.e. quotes of significance?

literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #54 on: February 01, 2015, 11:32:49 am »
+5
Hey Lauren,

Just wondering when analysing an editorial, how would you reference the author of it? I constantly use "the writer ...", are there any other better phrases which can be utilised?

Thanks! :D
You can refer to him/her as 'the editor' as well. Technically you can even use the newspaper's title, eg. 'The Herald Sun contends that...' or just 'The article/editorial...'
Otherwise, just try to vary your sentence structure so that you're not repeating words too often. Something like 'the writer' isn't a big deal though, since you're expected to tie all your points back to how they're using language to persuade anyway :)

Hi all :)

Just a quick question about a prompt/structuring my response.
The prompt I have been given for my text response essay is one that I quite heavily disagree with and there are many pieces of evidence to prove why I do. I know I shouldn't completely favour my essay to one side, so I was just wondering if its enough to mention the 'affirmative' side only in my introduction?

The prompt is a "to what extent do you agree?" type.

Thanks in advance :)
It's perfectly okay to disagree, but your contention can't simply be 'yes' or 'no.' Ask yourself why you disagree, and try to come up with a more complex argument so that your essay doesn't sound one-sided. Not every Text Response has to deal with both sides (and you don't want to sound non-committal) so perhaps address the alternate interpretations but round things back to your overall contention.
eg. 'Though one could argue character X's transformation is the result of purely selfish intent, there is an undeniable compassion in his behaviour that contradicts this interpretation...'

Also, there's no real difference between a 'to what extent' or 'discuss' or 'do you agree' question. VCAA just vary the sentence structures sometimes :)

During your second reading how do you what quotes you should highlight i.e. quotes of significance?

It's impossible to get all the useful quotes in one go, so start with the simpler themes and major characters. As you study the text in class, you'll uncover more and more facets of the text. You might even find a prompt that deals with an idea or theme you haven't considered before; that's when you go back to the text and  try to find evidence (quotes) to support an interpretation.
Quote banks should always be a work in progress, so trust your instincts at the start and then see what you need to add or change later down the track.

RazzMeTazz

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #55 on: February 01, 2015, 09:21:36 pm »
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For the English Persuasive Oral SAC is it necessary to include a rebuttal paragraph?

Also what hand gestures would be recommended during the speech? I usually feel really awkward and I feel like my hands don't have anything to do during a speech (Especially a memorised one, because there are no cue cards to hold!)

Thanks in advance for any of the replies :)

M_BONG

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #56 on: February 01, 2015, 11:43:47 pm »
+3
For the English Persuasive Oral SAC is it necessary to include a rebuttal paragraph?

Also what hand gestures would be recommended during the speech? I usually feel really awkward and I feel like my hands don't have anything to do during a speech (Especially a memorised one, because there are no cue cards to hold!)

Thanks in advance for any of the replies :)
Nope, the beauty of persuasive speeches is that you don't need to be balanced. You can be as biased as you want. But, depending on what you are arguing and your target audience(s), you may want to address some of the points that the "other side" or your opponents are espousing to sound moderate (again, optional).

In terms of hand gestures, I always have a rule to do whatever makes you comfortable. For example, I *don't* force myself to have eye contact, hand gestures or colourful pitch - I try to do it naturally (within your comfort zone) and that is the way to make your delivery smooth and not robotic. Of course, if you are normally doing awkward things like shuffling around or bending your knees etc, you should try to correct it.

... Which leads on really well to my golden oral tip: TREAT IT LIKE A CONVERSATION - speak like you would speak normally.The BEST way to argue something is not to sound robotic, overly flamboyant or aggressive. Most people don't respond well to these two. The best orators are ones who try to bring themselves to your own level and speak to you as a fellow human being - not a punching back or a sponge absorbing random information.




Cogglesnatch Cuttlefish

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #57 on: February 02, 2015, 08:30:58 pm »
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Is it right to be commending people/institutes referred to in context pieces(expository mainly)? E.g "As stated by the renowned Abraham Maslow..." or "... draws parallels to the arduous energy expended by the late Martin Luther King Jr."
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literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #58 on: February 03, 2015, 12:07:31 am »
+1
Is it right to be commending people/institutes referred to in context pieces(expository mainly)? E.g "As stated by the renowned Abraham Maslow..." or "... draws parallels to the arduous energy expended by the late Martin Luther King Jr."
For context you can commend, critique or censure as much as you like. Just don't do anything like it in a Text Response essay, as it can sound sycophantic and isn't worth anything.
Topic sentences like '>Author's< novel '___' is a hauntingly beautiful evocation of the human condition...' just make assessors' eyes roll :)

brenden

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #59 on: February 03, 2015, 12:14:22 am »
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For context you can commend, critique or censure as much as you like. Just don't do anything like it in a Text Response essay, as it can sound sycophantic and isn't worth anything.
Topic sentences like '>Author's< novel '___' is a hauntingly beautiful evocation of the human condition...' just make assessors' eyes roll :)
B-b-but... I thought mentioning the human condition was an instant guarantee for full marks..?!
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