Which English??? Lit Vs. Mainstream

[lastapasta]

hi!

not sure if this is the right place to post this, relatively new here.

so i am in year 10 right now and am a fairly strong english student. i am doing two english electives which are based on vce english and vce literature. i am enjoying both, as i like writing and analysing, but i am unsure what to pick for next year.

i have read through many threads on this forum but i am a bit stuck as i really enjoy the structure and the content covered in mainstream english, and i like having "criteria" of sorts when writing an essay. i have heard literature is more subjective and there is more creative freedom, which seems a bit daunting and something that i am not sure i will excel in, but have heard numerous times that if you are an above average writer, to do lit (which idk if i should)

the texts in both subjects are interesting, as i enjoy reading. is it true that for a strong english student, it will be easier to get a higher (45+) study score in mainstream english than literature, as it is less competitive? provided i put in the same hard work and stuff ofc
for this reason coupled with the fact that i am really enjoying my english elective, i am leaning toward mainstream english, but worried i might make the wrong choice as lit doesn't scale down and targeted towards strong english students.

previously i was considering doing both, but i think the workload will be heavy (and maybe tedious) considering i am also going to be doing spesh and chem, so i thought about doing one english and a subject such as global politics, which sounds very interesting to me.

so what would your advice be? sorry if this is a bit all over the place oops 

thanks in advance 

[colline]

Hey!

I just want to address a bit of a misconception here - it's true that a lot of strong English students do literature, but you don't have to be strong in English to do well in lit. Similarly, someone who does very well in normal English may struggle in lit as the criteria is very different.

As you've mentioned already, there is an element of creativity and freedom in lit, unlike English where you must follow the strict criteria and structure when structuring and writing your essays. Many students at my school, who average high 90s in English, struggle to do well in lit as they just write the exact same essays. Likewise, I know many students who receive mediocre scores in English, but shines in literature.

I think 'easiness to get a 45+' is very subjective -- it really depends on your own strengths and what sort of essays you like writing. I personally found literature to be a lot easier to do well in, but I know many would disagree. Literature is definitely more competitive, but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed to do worse in it.

You could potentially do both in year 11 and see for yourself which one you like better? Good luck with your selection!! Lemme know if you have any questions!

Colline

[clarke54321]

Like colline, I'd suggest that you consider taking both English and Literature 1/2 in year 11. As a student that completed both English 3/4 and Literature 3/4, I wish that I'd paid closer attention to my progress in each subject in year 11. After years of writing in an 'English' style, Literature was much harder to come by in year 11. The notable freedom that came with the subject threw me off, given that I had always heeded to a very formulaic structure of writing. The discomfort of Literature seemed to follow through in year 12, where I often found it difficult to articulate my thoughts in the 'creative' way demanded by the subject. This was reflected in my scores for both subject, where I scored a 50 in English and 40 in Literature.

However, if I had had a teacher who could have inspired a Literature 'way of writing' in year 11, things might have been different. So, ultimately, have a go with experimenting with the two in year 11, and make the decision before year 12. If your gut says you can handle the two, then do the two. If not, choose the one you are most comfortable with.

Good luck!

[lastapasta]

Hey!

I just want to address a bit of a misconception here - it's true that a lot of strong English students do literature, but you don't have to be strong in English to do well in lit. Similarly, someone who does very well in normal English may struggle in lit as the criteria is very different.

As you've mentioned already, there is an element of creativity and freedom in lit, unlike English where you must follow the strict criteria and structure when structuring and writing your essays. Many students at my school, who average high 90s in English, struggle to do well in lit as they just write the exact same essays. Likewise, I know many students who receive mediocre scores in English, but shines in literature.

I think 'easiness to get a 45+' is very subjective -- it really depends on your own strengths and what sort of essays you like writing. I personally found literature to be a lot easier to do well in, but I know many would disagree. Literature is definitely more competitive, but that doesn't mean you're guaranteed to do worse in it.

You could potentially do both in year 11 and see for yourself which one you like better? Good luck with your selection!! Lemme know if you have any questions!

Colline

thank you so much!
also, i know it very much depends on the strengths of the individual, but isn't it true that literature is more competitive, especially in the top end of scores, as the people picking it have picked it knowing english is a strength of theirs?

[lastapasta]

Like colline, I'd suggest that you consider taking both English and Literature 1/2 in year 11. As a student that completed both English 3/4 and Literature 3/4, I wish that I'd paid closer attention to my progress in each subject in year 11. After years of writing in an 'English' style, Literature was much harder to come by in year 11. The notable freedom that came with the subject threw me off, given that I had always heeded to a very formulaic structure of writing. The discomfort of Literature seemed to follow through in year 12, where I often found it difficult to articulate my thoughts in the 'creative' way demanded by the subject. This was reflected in my scores for both subject, where I scored a 50 in English and 40 in Literature.

However, if I had had a teacher who could have inspired a Literature 'way of writing' in year 11, things might have been different. So, ultimately, have a go with experimenting with the two in year 11, and make the decision before year 12. If your gut says you can handle the two, then do the two. If not, choose the one you are most comfortable with.

Good luck!

thank you for your advice! i know that saying a strong english student is more likely to perform better in mainstream english is an generalisation, but i feel i can perform better in english as i am very comfortable with how it is structured, seeing as that is what i have been doing for all my schooling. but is that a good reason to pick a subject?

[clarke54321]

thank you for your advice! i know that saying a strong english student is more likely to perform better in mainstream english is an generalisation, but i feel i can perform better in english as i am very comfortable with how it is structured, seeing as that is what i have been doing for all my schooling. but is that a good reason to pick a subject?

As already suggested, I'd strongly advise that you trial both subjects in year 11. Given that you have only ever studied English up until this point, you will naturally gravitate towards it more than Literature. So give yourself the chance to try out both, and who knows, maybe you'll discover a new style in Literature that will see you succeed. Good luck!

[colline]

thank you so much!
also, i know it very much depends on the strengths of the individual, but isn't it true that literature is more competitive, especially in the top end of scores, as the people picking it have picked it knowing english is a strength of theirs?

Hi! Sorry for my late reply.

Literature is definitely the more competitive out of the the two (hence the +1 scaling as opposed to English which scales down) but I don't think you should stress over it too much. Aside from the fact that I think the scaling effectively balances out any differences in competitiveness, there's also the fact that a lot of strong English students fall into the trap that they'll be naturally good at literature. Yes, there are a lot of overlaps and similarities between the two, and being excellent at English is definitely no detriment, at the end of the day they are two different subjects with two different grading criteria.

Literature isn't just "hard English", there are assessments in lit which you would've never done before in year 7-10 English (for example, literary perspectives) so everyone is more or less at the same starting line. People who are strong in English also tend to fall into the trap of writing "English-style" essays which you would want to avoid in literature.

So I reckon just give both a try and see which one you enjoy more. Good luck!