I really need advice :(

[david.ko3]

Hi! I am currently doing English Advanced at the moment. I need advice on whether or not I should move down to Standard English. I chose advanced because of scaling and I am really concerned that it will affect me in my HSC. I am not feeling confident in my advanced class but I want to push until the end of my HSC in the advanced class. I am also aware that this time is the last time that i can make my move to Standard English. I don't know it will be worth it or it will affect my ATAR harshly. I really want to aim for 90+ ATAR but I don't know it will stop me from achieving it. Also I have not got back my first assessment task but I am certain that it won't be too good.

Also on general side of things, what should a thesis really have? When the markers read the thesis of an essay, what should I aim to write in a thesis?
Thanks so much!!!

[charlottemchenry]

Hey,

I was in the exact same position as you at the start of year 12. I was in the middle of the advanced cohort but really hated English. I ended up dropping and overall came rank 6/72. Whilst my marks did not improve significantly until closer to trials (when I got a tutor which helped my confidence especially) getting high ranks was a bit of a confidence booster and I was motivated to try and stay near the top of standard. As you can see in my signature doing standard did not affect getting a 90+ atar (I panicked about the same thing all year). However if you do want to push yourself then perhaps the advanced course it for you.

If you are not struggling immensely/been strongly advised to move down the decision really comes down to your enjoyment. Advanced is great if you like English and are really willing to put the effort in to extend yourself. Standard is by no means easy and only a small amount of students get a band 6, however I found the attitude particularly from the teachers was more suited to my feelings towards English as in my class the teacher understood many of us did not enjoy English but were ok or good at it.

Definitely don't base your decision on scaling as I know many people who got 90+ atars and even 95+ atars with standard english.

All the best with your decision and year 12.

[angewina_naguen]

Hi! I am currently doing English Advanced at the moment. I need advice on whether or not I should move down to Standard English. I chose advanced because of scaling and I am really concerned that it will affect me in my HSC. I am not feeling confident in my advanced class but I want to push until the end of my HSC in the advanced class. I am also aware that this time is the last time that i can make my move to Standard English. I don't know it will be worth it or it will affect my ATAR harshly. I really want to aim for 90+ ATAR but I don't know it will stop me from achieving it. Also I have not got back my first assessment task but I am certain that it won't be too good.

Also on general side of things, what should a thesis really have? When the markers read the thesis of an essay, what should I aim to write in a thesis?
Thanks so much!!!

Hey, david.ko3!

Good on you for reaching out about your dilemma. I'm sure a lot of people would have faced this and I would like to offer some things you could consider before you make your decision. My response is basically just like charlottechenry's who just beat me to posting this by an hour ago but I'll reinforce a few points.

Firstly, a 90+ ATAR can be achieved regardless of whether you pick Standard or Advanced English. Choosing one or another won't impact your ATAR if you perform well in it and your other subjects are also up there. It is notoriously harder to attain a Band 6 in Standard but it is not impossible.

What I think you need to consider is whether you actually enjoy Advanced and if you can see yourself being motivated enough to continue it. If scaling is the only factor that is motivating you at the moment, then I would suggest dropping to Standard for the long term betterment of your performance in English. However, if you think that you can grow to enjoy it in some way and that your areas of improvement are easy to rectify, I would advise you to pursue Advanced because it is definitely a rewarding course. I can't say for certain what you should do but these are the aspects you need to think about and speculate on before you finalise your choice.

My final piece of advice is to remember that this is only the beginning of the course. Your performance in English, Advanced or Standard, will accelerate over time because that's just how it works. You develop your vocabulary, ability to express and engagement with the texts over the year. If your performance isn't great for the first assessment, don't be too disheartened  There is time to improve and push yourself up the ranks.

As for having a good thesis, I would advise you to present a clear stance on what your answer to the question is and how you intend to prove it throughout the essay.

It should have;

- A judgement that is solid and clear to the marker.
- Elaboration on what the essay will discuss in relation to that judgement.
- The prescribed text/s' composer/s, title, year of publication, medium, context/audience (This can be integrated throughout the sentence such as "Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy ‘Waiting for Godot’ (1953), and Masahiro Shinoda’s film ‘Pale Flower’ (1964) pronounce historically relevant concerns, provoking audiences to recognise the innate shortcomings of post-war geopolitics.")
- A sentence to lead into the essay. This is where you would introduce themes for discussion. If you have a second text, you could even highlight the similarities or differences briefly here.

It should not include;

- A synopsis of your text. The point of an essay is to be a response to a question, not a recount of it.
- Any techniques. Techniques are used as evidence for the rest of the essay so leave them out of the thesis.
- The words "thus", "therefore", "hence" and any other synonyms of them. You haven't proven anything in the thesis; you have only stated your perspective and judgement on the question. Save these for the linking sentences in your essay and the conclusion.

If you would like assistance, whether it be for a thesis or for a whole essay, do post it in the Marking and Feedback thread. I hope this helps and let me know what you end up deciding  Good luck!

Angelina 

[meerae]

Hi! I am currently doing English Advanced at the moment. I need advice on whether or not I should move down to Standard English. I chose advanced because of scaling and I am really concerned that it will affect me in my HSC. I am not feeling confident in my advanced class but I want to push until the end of my HSC in the advanced class. I am also aware that this time is the last time that i can make my move to Standard English. I don't know it will be worth it or it will affect my ATAR harshly. I really want to aim for 90+ ATAR but I don't know it will stop me from achieving it. Also I have not got back my first assessment task but I am certain that it won't be too good.

Also on general side of things, what should a thesis really have? When the markers read the thesis of an essay, what should I aim to write in a thesis?
Thanks so much!!!

Hi David!
At this moment in your HSC, scaling and the ATAR you may receive should not be something to panic over. The type of English you do does not ensure you get a certain type of Atar, as charlottemchenry said, there are many people who did standard and still got a 90+ ATAR. A teacher of mine did standard English and achieved an ATAR of 98. I feel that if you're not doing awful in advanced, I'd definitely stay as I have heard from many markers that they do not give many band 6's as they believe a standard eng student who gets a band 6 should be in advanced. Another major point to consider is how motivated you are to continue through advanced, as like all subjects, it gets tiresome and boring during the year and you'll need motivation to continue through it.

In regard to confidence, getting an English tutor and using assessment feedback can boost your marks and in turn confidence. At the English lectures this month, something that Emily said that really stuck to me was "The second [she] stopped thinking about [her] marks, the better they got" - I know this seems hard but if you focus on submitting work that you are proud and content with, at least you know you've done your best and usually marks reflect effort. To achieve this you have the "marking and feedback" section of the forums where you can post your work and get other peoples opinions and feedback on it!

In regard to writing a thesis, your thesis should be the general idea of what you're going to prove in your essay and how you're going to prove it. So, when listing your points they should all be under the big umbrella of what you want to prove. When the markers read your thesis, they should understand what you're trying to prove and by the end of the essay it should be proven to them. For e.g. if the question is "Explore the way in which your prescribed text has reflected the complexity of human experiences." your thesis would aim to answer how the complexity of human experiences is explored, that is what you're trying to prove to the markers and then list out where your thesis occurs in the text. Does that make sense?

Hope this helped!
meerae