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Author Topic: VCE English Question Thread  (Read 847384 times)  Share 

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literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #60 on: February 03, 2015, 12:19:56 am »
+6
B-b-but... I thought mentioning the human condition was an instant guarantee for full marks..?!

Ssssshhhhhh!!!!! We can't give away the secret!!


Nekminnit in this year's assessor's report: "An alarming number of students simply wrote the words 'human condition,' and nothing else on every page in their exam booklet, thereby royally screwing over our bell curves. VCAA is investigating the matter."

Callum@1373

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #61 on: February 04, 2015, 03:04:29 pm »
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Hi Lauren  :D

I have a english context speech on whose reality and the prompt that we are doing is 'Our reality is influenced by place and time'. The book we are studying is The Shark Net. I don't know how to go about it, because of the word 'our'.

What I mean is i can think of numerous examples where Robert's reality is influenced by place and time, but what am i meant to do seeing as it is not ' A reality can be influenced' instead 'OUR reality...'. Does that mean that I have to talk about everyone, 100 people to show its 'our', 3 people to show its 'our' or can I just simply refer to a couple examples with different people.

I can see what most of my year is going to do - something along the lines of 'Robert lived in 'orderly' melbourne and then when he got to perth he thought it was isolated because his reality of what a place to live in was influenced by his place in melbourne.' I want to do something different and explore it a bit deeper  ;D 8)

Thanks for any help you can give  :) :) :)
2015: Business Management [48]
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cosine

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #62 on: February 05, 2015, 07:17:35 am »
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Hey

I got my sac date for my first english essay. Its on the 3rd of march, when would be suitable for me to actually start writing practice essays, better more what else should i do to REALLY prepare for this date? The text im reading is a play called 'Medea'. Thank you
2016-2019: Bachelor of Biomedicine
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StressedAlready

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #63 on: February 05, 2015, 08:14:04 pm »
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Okay so I am freaking out. Can you totally 100% confirm that 3&4 English in 2016 will still follow the old study design?! I seriously had a panic attack over this because I graduate next year and I'm just a little - okay, a lot - stressed about this change.

literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #64 on: February 05, 2015, 09:46:30 pm »
+3
Hi Lauren  :D

I have a english context speech on whose reality and the prompt that we are doing is 'Our reality is influenced by place and time'. The book we are studying is The Shark Net. I don't know how to go about it, because of the word 'our'.

What I mean is i can think of numerous examples where Robert's reality is influenced by place and time, but what am i meant to do seeing as it is not ' A reality can be influenced' instead 'OUR reality...'. Does that mean that I have to talk about everyone, 100 people to show its 'our', 3 people to show its 'our' or can I just simply refer to a couple examples with different people.

I can see what most of my year is going to do - something along the lines of 'Robert lived in 'orderly' melbourne and then when he got to perth he thought it was isolated because his reality of what a place to live in was influenced by his place in melbourne.' I want to do something different and explore it a bit deeper  ;D 8)

Thanks for any help you can give  :) :) :)
You're absolutely right to want to challenge the prompt, and no, the evidence doesn't have to be the sole factor in your arguments. Obviously you need to do a substantial amount of exploration, but there's no requirement to 'prove' in English; you just need to suggest.
Some earlier posts contain information about questioning prompts (check the Context links on the first post in this thread) but for the example you've given, you can definitely consider the difference between our reality (ie. the objective one we all exist in) and our own personal realities.

Hey

I got my sac date for my first english essay. Its on the 3rd of march, when would be suitable for me to actually start writing practice essays, better more what else should i do to REALLY prepare for this date? The text im reading is a play called 'Medea'. Thank you
18th of Feb. 2:33 pm. Beginning practice essays at this exact time will guarantee full marks.
..I'm kidding of course. It totally depends on whether you prefer to read and research and think heaps before putting pen to paper, or whether you're the kind of learner who needs to practice articulating knowledge as soon as you acquire it. Remember, you can always write practice paragraphs in the meantime in order to consolidate your understanding of certain characters and themes. Writing full essays isn't the only way to learn, and you should be looking to improve your knowledge of the text as well as how you approach the Text Response criteria.

Okay so I am freaking out. Can you totally 100% confirm that 3&4 English in 2016 will still follow the old study design?! I seriously had a panic attack over this because I graduate next year and I'm just a little - okay, a lot - stressed about this change.
I can 100% confirm that the VCAA website states, in annoying equivocal jargon, that Year 12s in 2016 will be doing the current study design. There's really no point stressing over something like this anyway; 2/3 of the essay types are remaining the same, and it's looking like the third will only undergo minor changes. The marking scheme and a few odd SACs are the most significant alterations, unless you're doing EAL in which case there'll be a listening component like other SL subjects.
Tbh my sneaking suspicion is that this is a step towards a nationalised curriculum, and VCAA are just making minor changes here and there in preparation for a revamp in ~2021 or whenever.
Worst case scenario and VCAA actually implement the new design next year, everyone will be in the same boat, and the schools will guide you into things, so there's no sense worrying :)

Callum@1373

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #65 on: February 06, 2015, 06:42:53 am »
0
Thanks Lauren, I'll use that in my research  ;D
2015: Business Management [48]
2016: English [43] Specialist Mathematics [43] Methods [46] Chemistry [45] Biology [45]

ATAR: 99.65
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StressedAlready

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #66 on: February 06, 2015, 06:08:08 pm »
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Okay. I feel slightly better now. Panic attack over.

Because apparently some kids at my school were being told that they were being implemented next year by their teachers and I'd been told that they weren't and I was freaking out and gahhhhh. I feel slightly better now knowing everyone shall be in the same boat come 2016 English exam.

Worst case scenario, the whole state does horribly in English next year because they're ill prepared and the assessors feel bad and give us all a 50 SS because they screwed up the implementation.

Okay, so it's a little bit of wishful thinking on my part...

Talia2144

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #67 on: February 06, 2015, 06:44:09 pm »
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Hi, can anyone please tell me if know any English tutorial class for year 11 student or where I can find one. Thank you

2jzgte

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #68 on: February 07, 2015, 04:22:22 am »
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Hey

I got my sac date for my first english essay. Its on the 3rd of march, when would be suitable for me to actually start writing practice essays, better more what else should i do to REALLY prepare for this date? The text im reading is a play called 'Medea'. Thank you
Got my first essay on the same day, thinking of filling out character profiles to have a really in depth understanding of them and put together a few practice paragraphs. Thats all I've got in mind other than full practice essays based on prompts. Does anyone have any idea what aspects of the play they would want us to explore through the essay?
2015: Methods [ ] | Physics [ ] | English [ ] | Accounting [ ] | Further [ ]

literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #69 on: February 07, 2015, 03:08:09 pm »
+2
Okay. I feel slightly better now. Panic attack over.

Because apparently some kids at my school were being told that they were being implemented next year by their teachers and I'd been told that they weren't and I was freaking out and gahhhhh. I feel slightly better now knowing everyone shall be in the same boat come 2016 English exam.

Worst case scenario, the whole state does horribly in English next year because they're ill prepared and the assessors feel bad and give us all a 50 SS because they screwed up the implementation.

Okay, so it's a little bit of wishful thinking on my part...
Technically speaking, the new study design begins in 2016 because that's when the Year 11s (ie. class of 2017, currently year 10s) will start studying it. But if you're in year 11 now you have nothing to worry about.

Hi, can anyone please tell me if know any English tutorial class for year 11 student or where I can find one. Thank you
You can search the tutoring section of Atar Notes if you're looking for a one-on-one tutor, but I'm afraid I can't vouch for any of the particular groups (ie. commercially organised programs.)  You might be able to find an answer in some of the tutoring businesses thread.

Got my first essay on the same day, thinking of filling out character profiles to have a really in depth understanding of them and put together a few practice paragraphs. Thats all I've got in mind other than full practice essays based on prompts. Does anyone have any idea what aspects of the play they would want us to explore through the essay?
Sounds like a good plan for such a character-driven play. Just make sure you don't neglect the themes and values in the text, as going from character profiles to full essays can be a bit of a jump.
And unfortunately, there's no telling what your SAC might be on because they're all controlled internally, meaning every school (and occasionally every teacher) gets to choose their own focus. However, since it's in every teacher's best interests for their students to do well, they'll most likely choose/write a prompt relatively close to the areas you've been studying. So if you notice your teacher is bringing a lot of the discussion back to the idea of family an betrayal, for instance; don't be suprised if the prompt you get is 'Discuss the relationship between family and betrayal' :P

cosine

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #70 on: February 07, 2015, 05:56:46 pm »
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Would it be of much use if i posted my paragraph/short answer here for someone to edit for me and lend me some helpful advice, or not because the play i am doing (Medea by Euripides) you all may not have read? Thanks
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literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #71 on: February 07, 2015, 05:59:00 pm »
+2
Would it be of much use if i posted my paragraph/short answer here for someone to edit for me and lend me some helpful advice, or not because the play i am doing (Medea by Euripides) you all may not have read? Thanks

The English Work Submission and Marking board is the place to post your work if you want feedback :)

knightrider

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #72 on: February 08, 2015, 09:04:30 am »
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Hey Lauren.

How did you memorise your quotes for your sacs?

Also how did you group your quotes like how did you split them up?

What categories do you think are good ideas to be splitting your quotes into.Like themes etc.

Thanks  :)

literally lauren

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #73 on: February 08, 2015, 11:00:58 am »
+2
Hey Lauren.

How did you memorise your quotes for your sacs?

Also how did you group your quotes like how did you split them up?

What categories do you think are good ideas to be splitting your quotes into.Like themes etc.

Thanks  :)
Definitely split the quotes into categories. It'll depend on which text you're studying, as you could either go by characters (quotes said by, about, or to them) or by themes/ ideas.

My recommendations:
All About Eve - by characters
Burial Rights - by themes
Brooklyn - by themes
Cat's Eye - either (character maps would be helpful early on, but themes are better in the long run)
Cloudstreet - by themes
Henry IV Part 1 - either (I found themes worked better, even though there's an easy split between the four main characters)
I for Isobel - by themes
In the Country of Men - by themes
Mabo - by themes
Medea - by characters
No Sugar - by characters
Selected Harwood Poems - by theme (by poem is a good start, but breaking things into themes will definitely help for essays)
Stasiland - either
The Complete Maus - by themes
The Thing Around Your Neck - by themes
The War Poems - by theme (ditto with Harwood^, sort by poems at first, but aim for themes in the long run)
The White Tiger - by characters
This Boy's Life - by characters
Will You Please Be Quiet Please - by themes
Wuthering Heights - either, characters is probably easiest, but not conclusive

Regardless of what you're studying though, your first step should just be to go through the text chronologically and find as much as you can. Then, start grouping them into categories, but be flexible. Some will fit in multiple areas, so it's up to you whether you duplicate, or maybe just annotate the quotes so you remember.
A good quote bank will be a work in progress though, so keep in mind you may discover other important components of the text that you can't sufficiently cover with textual evidence. This is when you'll go back to the text and look for examples of a certain character or idea.

Basic memorisation techniques like reading, writing, and speaking the quote aloud will gradually cement them in you're mind, but the more you use them in essays, the easier it is to actually analyse and discuss the quotes, not just churn them out.

Don't panic about doing it all in one go though, especially if you're studying a novel or other dense text :)
« Last Edit: February 08, 2015, 11:04:04 am by literally lauren »

cosine

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Re: VCE English Question Thread
« Reply #74 on: February 08, 2015, 11:11:57 am »
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How can I practice for essays? People say do paragraphs, do this and that... But what do I do them on? Where am i meant to get the prompts and questions from?
2016-2019: Bachelor of Biomedicine
2015: VCE (ATAR: 94.85)