VCE English Question Thread

[captkirk]

Hey everyone,

For the Year of wonders and The crucible what is the authors trying to say about resistance and death.

Any help is appreciated

[lilyrosee]

Hi,

could someone please fix up my topic sentence for a comparative essay on Ransom/Invictus

'Leadership that is supported in society is admirable and commended for sacrifices and selflessness'.

It sounds a bit odd and I do not know how to reword it

[sonnyangel]

Hi!
I'm not doing Ransom/Invictus but you could try:
Commended for the selflessness involved and the sacrifices one must make, endorsed leadership is viewed as admirable and meritorious (by the society).
Hope that helps!

[lilyrosee]

Hi!
I'm not doing Ransom/Invictus but you could try:
Commended for the selflessness involved and the sacrifices one must make, endorsed leadership is viewed as admirable and meritorious (by the society).
Hope that helps!

Thanks

[waterangel82]

Hi,

I'm doing Tracks and Into the Wild for comparative this year. However, I am quite concerned with answering essay topics, particularly after my english teacher noted in the comments after my comparative SAC that I 'needed to respond the the topic more fully'. I haven't gotten the sac back yet.

The topic that I chose for my essay was on identity, and it was something like this (but can't remember the two quotes exactly):

'Compare how both Tracks and Into the Wild explore the construction of identity'

I don't know what I did wrong, but I remember my ideas being something like this:

1.) Both texts suggests that the need to abandon societal conventions and expectations and seek an existence in the natural world is necessary for the development of one's true identity as they able to seek a freedom unrestrained by other's expectations. Here I talked about how Robyn abandons the identity being imposed onto her by Western society, escaping materialistic world and finding a sense of belonging in the natural world. I said pretty much the same thing for Chris.

2.) Both texts suggest that identity is more than simply belonging, but developing a sense of identity also comes from recognising one's weaknesses. Here I talked about the camel and moose scene - and how especially for Chris, his inability to kill the moose results in him to realise that his true identity within the natural world is not what he believes it to be.

3.) However, most importantly, both texts suggests that a sense of identity is mainly constructed from human relationships. Here I talked about importance of human relationships. Especially for Robyn, I talked about how her relationship with Mr Eddie allows her to truly find a sense of belonging in the Australian landscape and form an identity where 'the self becomes more like the desert.'

I know my ideas really aren't great, but the head of English at my school said that I needed to talk about things like Chris Mccandless creating his own alter ego of Alexander Supertramp, etc. Overall though, my teacher said that I have a 'sound understanding of the texts and an ability to analyse and how they convey ideas, issues and themes.' He also said that 'You made some relevant connections, but could have tackled the topic more consistently and directly throughout the response.'

I'm really confused right now .  Can someone (like literally lauren) or anyone doing Tracks and Into the Wild please help me? I don't want to fall into the same trap during the actual exam .

[Perryman]

Hello,

What are the most important things to do before an exam? I have a practise exam tomorrow and have only finished the course work this past Friday. Is it best just to do practise essays/plans and re-read notes of issues/themes about the books? Any help will be great!

Thanks,

[clarke54321]

Hello,

What are the most important things to do before an exam? I have a practise exam tomorrow and have only finished the course work this past Friday. Is it best just to do practise essays/plans and re-read notes of issues/themes about the books? Any help will be great!

Thanks,

Hey!

Given that your practice exam is tomorrow, I'd recommend that you read through past essays and SACs. This should help refresh your knowledge on important quotes, ideas and interpretations, which you've formulated throughout the year. Perhaps also take note of the areas that could do with some improvement. I wouldn't worry too much about not finishing complete, polished essays tomorrow. There's still quite a bit of time to get used to constraint!

What you do after the practice exam is completely up to you. English is very much a personal subject, in terms of how you can prepare. But if you're looking for recommendations, here's what I'd suggest.

-Instead of writing a copious number of essays, re-write the essays that you've completed throughout the year. You would have already formed the basis of your interpretation and can just fix up expression, relevance to prompt, clarity of ideas, etc.

-Time yourself every now and then, but ensure that you first have the quality down pat. There is no point writing essay after essay if you are making the same mistake and aren't getting enough depth in your writing.

-Like you say, it's good to have a re-read over notes and themes. Something additional to this is selecting small passages from your texts and then annotating them in detail. Annotating is a really great skill, which allows you to recognise the small nuances of the text and pick up on connections, which you previously did not see.

-Contribute to the AA Club on AN, where a new article is added each fortnight. Here, others can mark your work and you too will have the opportunity to mark the work of others. Marking is a fantastic way to better your own skills, as it forces you to identify what is strong in a piece, and what can be improved.

Hopefully these ideas give you a starting point for revision. All the best

[Perryman]

Hey!

Given that your practice exam is tomorrow, I'd recommend that you read through past essays and SACs. This should help refresh your knowledge on important quotes, ideas and interpretations, which you've formulated throughout the year. Perhaps also take note of the areas that could do with some improvement. I wouldn't worry too much about not finishing complete, polished essays tomorrow. There's still quite a bit of time to get used to constraint!

What you do after the practice exam is completely up to you. English is very much a personal subject, in terms of how you can prepare. But if you're looking for recommendations, here's what I'd suggest.

-Instead of writing a copious number of essays, re-write the essays that you've completed throughout the year. You would have already formed the basis of your interpretation and can just fix up expression, relevance to prompt, clarity of ideas, etc.

-Time yourself every now and then, but ensure that you first have the quality down pat. There is no point writing essay after essay if you are making the same mistake and aren't getting enough depth in your writing.

-Like you say, it's good to have a re-read over notes and themes. Something additional to this is selecting small passages from your texts and then annotating them in detail. Annotating is a really great skill, which allows you to recognise the small nuances of the text and pick up on connections, which you previously did not see.

-Contribute to the AA Club on AN, where a new article is added each fortnight. Here, others can mark your work and you too will have the opportunity to mark the work of others. Marking is a fantastic way to better your own skills, as it forces you to identify what is strong in a piece, and what can be improved.

Hopefully these ideas give you a starting point for revision. All the best

Thanks heaps for the advice, when you say, "I wouldn't worry too much about not finishing complete, polished essays tomorrow.", do you mean it is better to have unfinished good quality essays in the actual practise exam since it is just a practice one??
Thanks again,

[clarke54321]

Thanks heaps for the advice, when you say, "I wouldn't worry too much about not finishing complete, polished essays tomorrow.", do you mean it is better to have unfinished good quality essays in the actual practise exam since it is just a practice one??
Thanks again,

No worries! Yeah, basically don't bother yourself by stressing too much. It is just a practice, which will indicate areas of strength and weakness. By all means try and finish the essays, but if you can't, you've still got plenty of time to work on this

[princessofpersia]

hey guys, just wanted to ask a quick question.

With questions such as this 'Both Victor and the Creature are motivated by revenge. Discuss.' how do you relate back to the author and not make it a  character- based essay?

[boooom]

hey guys, just wanted to ask a quick question.

With questions such as this 'Both Victor and the Creature are motivated by revenge. Discuss.' how do you relate back to the author and not make it a  character- based essay?

Think about what the author is saying through your answer to the essay question. For instance, if they are both motivated by revenge, is Shelley saying that it is good or bad thing? To what degree and why so?

[princessofpersia]

Think about what the author is saying through your answer to the essay question. For instance, if they are both motivated by revenge, is Shelley saying that it is good or bad thing? To what degree and why so?

ohh thanks

[Sigma]

Help!!! Year 11 English Unit 2, Area of Study 2: Presenting Argument

Need urgent help.

Topic:  Homelessness in Melbourne is a complex social issue that needs addressing.

Could someone give me a few arguments and dot points, contention and also the structure?

Thanks. Sigma.

[K888]

Help!!! Year 11 English Unit 2, Area of Study 2: Presenting Argument

Need urgent help.

Topic:  Homelessness in Melbourne is a complex social issue that needs addressing.

Could someone give me a few arguments and dot points, contention and also the structure?

Thanks. Sigma.

What is it about the topic specifically that's got you stuck?
I think the thing with presenting an argument is that for it to be properly effective, it needs to be your own arguments! After all, how can you argue about a topic properly if you don't engage with what you're meant to be arguing about?

It might help to break it down:
- Why do you think homelessness is an issue that needs to be addressed? What are the benefits for addressing it?
- Why is it a complex social issue? -> maybe from here, you can look at the risk factors and things that lead to homelessness, barriers that prevent people from changing, you could also look at perceptions of homeless people, what we as a society do to help homeless people, etc.

Your first port of call should be doing some research. Just do a quick google, find out a bit more about the issue as a whole so you understand it better - maybe read some news articles, etc. then you can start forming some arguments
I'd also recommend watching ABC's "You Can't Ask That" episode where they interview people who are homeless or have been homeless in the past. You can watch it on iview here, and it'll take less than 30 minutes!

I hope that this gives you a few ideas and somewhere to start. All the best!

[simrat99]

Hey guys,
In for Section C, if there are many comments accompanied by the main piece, do we have to analyse every single one of them? Are we allowed to leave one or two out?
Thanks