Hey,
So for short answers, since they can ask a question worth like 7 marks. How much are you expected to write because I had my teacher say like 2 and a half pages is that true?
Thanks,
Rohit
yep it should be like a full mini essay. intro, 2 paragraphs (1 on each text), and then maybe like 2 comparative sentences and something overarching about the human experience to just top it off. It depends how big your writing is but 2 1/2 pages sounds about right!
Hey Everyone. I've recently started the yr 12 HSC course and my teacher helping me understand the course. This term's assessment involves writing a forum script concerning human experiences within the text "go back to where you came from"- a social experiment of racism and refugees.
Would any of you have an idea on how you would do the task? I honestly have no idea how to start it.
Hi, I'm currently studying English Standard and my prescribed text for the common module is 'Billy Elliot'. What's a good related text for Billy Elliot??? I'm not much of a reader so I don't know what to choose. I was thinking of choosing Percy Jackson just because I love that series and have read the book but I don't know?? Our teacher told us not to do a film as our prescribed text is also a film and I don't want to do a novel that I haven't read cause I really don't want to spend my time reading it. I possibly wanna do a poem, short story/film or an essay but I'm not too sure what to pick.
Any advice or suggestion would be really helpful. Thanks :)
Hi, I'm currently studying English Standard and my prescribed text for the common module is 'Billy Elliot'. What's a good related text for Billy Elliot??? I'm not much of a reader so I don't know what to choose. I was thinking of choosing Percy Jackson just because I love that series and have read the book but I don't know?? Our teacher told us not to do a film as our prescribed text is also a film and I don't want to do a novel that I haven't read cause I really don't want to spend my time reading it. I possibly wanna do a poem, short story/film or an essay but I'm not too sure what to pick.
Any advice or suggestion would be really helpful. Thanks :)
Hey, mani.s_!THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :)
I agree with your teacher in that since you already have a film for your prescribed text, it would be wiser to choose a different form for the related text to give you room to compare and showcase your analysis skills. Novels do offer a wealth of knowledge and opportunity for being used as related texts but do require commitment and investment to work. I've offered a few options based on the themes of Billy Elliot below if you're thinking of using poetry or a TED talk. Both of these forms allow you to explore techniques unique to them (poetic techniques, performance techniques etc.) and still give you room to unpack ideas.
Poetry
Mother and Son
Big Dreams
TED Talks
How movies teach manhood
Why I'm done trying to be "man" enough
Change your mindset and achieve anything
Dance as Therapy
Body language and gender from a dancer's perspective
You can also check out our amazing related texts compilation for more pointers! They all link to Texts and Human Experiences so they'll be useful :) Hope this helps!
Angelina ;D
Hey!THANK YOU SO MUCH, I'll make sure I check it out :)
I studied Billy Elliot as well, for my related text I chose Aquifer by Tim Winton. Its a short story that dwells on teenage rebellion and loss which are also human experiences found in Billy Elliot. It's really easy to get through and has a wide array of techniques including some paradoxes as well which link directly to the rubric (these are much harder techniques to identify in texts so including them in your response can help you get into higher bands).
Hope this helps you! :D
Hi, I am currently studying English standard and my prescribed text is 'go back to where you came from'. I am planning on doing my presentation about Struggle with adversity in my prescribed text and related text which is 'On Her Knees' by Tim Winton. I really need help with finding scenes in both texts that correlate with struggle with adversity."Go Back To Where You Came From" is such a fantastic show. Can you use any episode from any season or only one season in particular? A lot of the conversations in Episode 3 (S1) with families stuck in source countries could be really good examples of struggle and adversity. In Season 4, some of the participants face bomb and shooting threats; this is an example of the everyday adversity faced in war zones.
"Go Back To Where You Came From" is such a fantastic show. Can you use any episode from any season or only one season in particular? A lot of the conversations in Episode 3 (S1) with families stuck in source countries could be really good examples of struggle and adversity. In Season 4, some of the participants face bomb and shooting threats; this is an example of the everyday adversity faced in war zones.
Best of luck!
Hi, yeah we have to focus on episodes 1-3 from season 3, I can maybe do a paragraph on families being stuck in source countries, thank you for your help :). Also would the interview with Masara (episode 1) where she talks about losing her baby be an example of struggle with adversity?Masara talking about her baby is definitely an example of adversity. Good luck and I'm glad I could help!
Thank you again for your help !
Hey!
I am doing The Crucible as my prescribed text for the common module assessment and Of Mice and Men as my related text. I want to comment on the genre of The Crucible being a tragedy but i'm not sure if I should explain 'why' it is a tragedy in the introduction or do I need a separate paragraph?? My two key human experiences that i'm referring to are guilt and fear so i'm not sure whether it would be weird to then have a another paragraph on genre?? Help please!!
Hey!
I am doing The Crucible as my prescribed text for the common module assessment and Of Mice and Men as my related text. I want to comment on the genre of The Crucible being a tragedy but i'm not sure if I should explain 'why' it is a tragedy in the introduction or do I need a separate paragraph?? My two key human experiences that i'm referring to are guilt and fear so i'm not sure whether it would be weird to then have a another paragraph on genre?? Help please!!
Masara talking about her baby is definitely an example of adversity. Good luck and I'm glad I could help!Thank youu :) :D
Hi, I have a multimodal presentation on 'Billy Elliot' and my related text where I have to choose one of three key experiences : The struggle with adversity or The search for identity or The pursuit of dreams. For my related text, I chose Martin Luther king's speech. Is that a good related text, where I'll be able to make a detailed analysis between Billy Elliot and the speech, or should I change my text?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!!!
Hi mani.s_Do u have any texts that I could perhaps do, that have the key experiences listed above???
This certainly is a valid related text and it's good that it is of a different form to Billy Elliot, enabling you to make skilful comparison. My only suggestion would be that MLK's speech is extremely popular and arguably an 'obvious' choice as a related text. While you're by no means not allowed to choose an extremely popular work of literature, choosing something perhaps less obvious may show a little more sophistication + flair. It is completely up to you though - the human experiences most definitely interrelate.
Do u have any texts that I could perhaps do, that have the key experiences listed above???
Hey, mani.s_!Thank you so much, I probably won't do a novel as a related text, as it requires commitment and passion for reading, but I'll make sure I check out 'Seven People Dancing'. Thank you so much for ur help again!!!
I'd recommend Mao's Last Dancer which is a novel if you wanted to draw some significant links between the role of art (dance in this case) in the human experience as an expression of identity (to which you could then look at individual, collective, qualities, emotions, anomalies etc.) It's basically if Billy Elliot was Chinese :) If you wanted a less obvious comparison, I'd also recommend Seven People Dancing which is a short story and similarly links to those concepts in the rubric. You could also check out this amazing compilation of related texts thread here for some other suggestions. Hope that helps!
Angelina ;D
Hey, mani.s_!I also had another text in mind. It's "Please Resist Me" by Luka Lesson. It's slam poetry but I wasn't sure if I could make a detailed analysis on the key experiences that I listed. If you have any feedback on that, could you please let me know. THANKS!!! :)
I'd recommend Mao's Last Dancer which is a novel if you wanted to draw some significant links between the role of art (dance in this case) in the human experience as an expression of identity (to which you could then look at individual, collective, qualities, emotions, anomalies etc.) It's basically if Billy Elliot was Chinese :) If you wanted a less obvious comparison, I'd also recommend Seven People Dancing which is a short story and similarly links to those concepts in the rubric. You could also check out this amazing compilation of related texts thread here for some other suggestions. Hope that helps!
Angelina ;D
I also had another text in mind. It's "Please Resist Me" by Luka Lesson. It's slam poetry but I wasn't sure if I could make a detailed analysis on the key experiences that I listed. If you have any feedback on that, could you please let me know. THANKS!!! :)
:) Hello
What does it mean by the 'complexity of human experience'?
This concept is much more clear now, thanks a lot Angelina!!!
Could you help me identify how the complexity of human experiences is represented in this extract:
Hello everyone! I was just wanted to know, how do you guys organise your quote tables for the Common Module? Under rubric terms, human experiences, the text (My text is a series of Dobson poems), key ideas? There's so much stuff to include!!
Hey, alice343!
I would recommend organising it under rubric terms so that way, you cover all the bases they could possibly ask you in the exam! You also can organise it under key ideas but make sure the examples you choose are flexible enough across a variety of concepts. I also tried to reduce the number of quotes I had down so I had less to memorise by reusing quotes for multiple rubric points. I initially would have around 30 quotes per text but by Trials, I had around 12 instead. For example, you could use this quote from Amy Caroline "Eight children, little money, many griefs" for human emotions, as well as individual and collective human experiences. See if you can find quotes that apply to more than one rubric concept and use those wherever you can :) Hope that helps!
Angelina ;D
Just a quick question about topic sentences - I know we are supposed to have extensive links between paragraphs (ie, not just using similarly, conversely etc), and link back to the author's overall philosophical purpose for example - but I wondering how to do that without just rehashing what you just talked about?
Hey guys, I’m really struggling to study for the common module (I’m doing 1984) in the lead up to trials and could really use some help.
I’ve been trying to memorise techniques, quotes and explanations from the text by creating tables but end up struggling with how to insert them into a cohesive paragraph! Should I instead be looking to memorise an essay that I can adapt to in my exam? What should my paragraphs look like and how much should I be aiming to write? Just generally, what should my study for these big essay components of the HSC look like?
I’ve never been a fan of English and am especially struggling to get my head around these exams and boost my confidence back up so any advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Lara
Hey, pine-apple01320!
Great question! Try to think of your topic sentences as branches off of the trunk that is your thesis. They should essentially be building your judgement using themes to argue a specific stance on the text. Each topic sentence will be different since you're using different ideas but the key words of the question (and relevant synonyms, as well as concepts, can help you write them. For example, let's say this was your thesis.
"Compassion is represented as an essential quality when responding to human experiences that emerge out of adversity. Through showcasing the importance of compassion, composers are able to catalyse and generate personal reflection within their audiences."
Your topic sentence could be something along the lines of this.
"Central to the portrayal of compassion is, paradoxically, the prejudice that is present in the attitudes of the documentary's individuals."
As you can see, the topic sentence is an extension of the thesis and uses the theme to provide the rest of the body paragraph direction. Let me know if that makes sense!
Hey, Lara!
Welcome to the forums! I would really discourage memorising an essay because the new HSC is designed to actively challenge students to respond to questions on the spot. Instead, use your existing notes to respond to practice questions. If you're struggling to write the paragraphs, I would advise firstly making a plan for your essay which includes the thesis, your chosen themes for each body and the quotes/techniques you will be using to argue your points. Diving straight into an essay might be daunting so this can help you ease yourself into writing your responses ;D How you structure your paragraphs depends on what your school has taught you and what you think you're most comfortable with doing. The structure I generally recommend is as below but you can definitely pull off a great essay with only three examples per paragraph (I'd just recommend five if you can).Writing Bodies- Step by Step!- Topic Sentence
- Elaborate
- Example 1 Analysis
- Example 2 Analysis
- Example 3 Analysis
- Example 4 Analysis
- Example 5 Analysis
- Argument summary
- Linking sentence
You should aim for anywhere between 800-1000 words in the exam since you have 45 minutes to respond to the Common Module essay and 40 minutes for the Module A and B essays. Here is a great Band 6 sample for a Common Module essay on 1984 if you wanted to see how you might approach it yourself!
Let me know if this helps and if you have any other questions. All the best with your Trials revision to the both of you!
Angelina ;D
Hey, as trials are approaching just wondering if I could any tips on my notes structure for the common module (English advanced: Merchant of Venice). As of now, I've structured notes for each module using a quote technique effect table under each theme. Is there anything else I can add in order to improve the quality of my notes. Also, any tips on adapting to questions in exams. I usually tend to get overwhelmed under exam conditions and can't seem to adapt my prepared analysis and themes to the specified questions. Would it be useful to memorise generic paragraphs and topic sentences based on themes and then try to adapt them to the given questions or maybe other approaches? Thanks in advance.
Hi Everyone!
For the short answer responses in Paper 1 (Section 1 of Paper 1), do we need to include form in our responses? And could it elevate your response or possibly grant you more marks?
For Example:
"Text 1's embodiment of dramatic monologue coupled with a metaphor poses *this*"
Thanks in advance!
Coolmate 8)
Hey, Coolmate!
Good question :D If the question asks you to discuss textual form or language forms and features, I would absolutely recommend embedding it in your analysis! If it doesn't, you could still mention it to elevate your analysis and potentially grant you marks if it is relevant to your argument. A really good way to do it is as you've shown in your example where you discuss it in tandem with another technique :) Alternative phrases you can use to vary your expression include "combined with", "in conjunction with" and "in tandem with."
However, the main things you should be focusing in on for your short answer responses are the key words of the question, especially the ones related to the module (individual/collective human experiences, storytelling etc.) and any other prescribed focuses (family, unique experiences, use of voice and any other specific requirements). This is where the bulk of your marks will come from so while it's worth mentioning and discussing textual form, use it more for the purposes of enhancing your analysis in light of the question, as opposed to just rambling on about it in isolation :D Hope that helps and that your Trials revision is coming along well!
Angelina ;D
Hi Angelina!
Thankyou for your help with my question, I really appreciate it! And my trial revision is coming along well thanks :)
I just have another question though, when analysing a text like, "The Boy Behind the Curtain", would you recommend I have about 5 quotes for each "short story", or should I have more? and would about 5 quotes per paragraph (3 body paragraphs in a full essay) be enough? (15 quotes in the whole essay)
Thanks again!
Coolmate 8)
Hey, Coolmate!
I think that having five quotes for each short story should work fine! Just make sure that those quotes explore the same theme so that you can have a thematic argument established for each story in your body paragraph. For example, you might use spirituality for "A Walk at Low Tide" or loss for “Havoc.” As for quotes, 5 per paragraph will be more than enough! I usually recommend at least 3 per paragraph for those who write slower and 5 for those who write fast under exam conditions; 4 is a safe amount in between if your handwriting speed is average! As long as each paragraph has the same number of examples, anywhere between 3-5 will do 8) Hope that clarifies that!
Angelina ;D
Hey everyone, I just wanted to ask what the differences are between English Standard and English Advanced for the Common Module. I've had a look at a couple Standard papers and they don't seem too different; could I use those as practice as well? (I do Advanced).
Hey, alice343!
Both streams of English do the same content for the Common Module (the prescribed texts list is even shared across them, rather than there being two separate ones). The only difference is that the questions are regulated for differentiation purposes between the students' abilities to better gauge performance and facilitate scaling. In short, you could definitely use Paper 1 for additional Common Module practice and vice versa; those in Standard can also use Advanced's Paper 1's :) The more exposure you have to possible questions, the better 8) Hope that helps!
Angelina ;D
Hi Everyone,
So I was just wondering how many quotes we are meant to include for a 6 mark question that focuses on just one text? (I know how a 6 marker comparative we do a mini-essay structure, but I wasn't sure if this also applied for just one text...) Thanks!
Hey, sroe!
Great question :D I basically recommend a mini-essay structure for questions with 6 marks and above regardless of whether it is for one text or two. With two texts, you would have a body per text but with a single text, you could explore two contrasting ideas/representations/perspectives presented. For example, if you get a question asking you to discuss the individual and collective human experiences explored in Text 4, you might look at individual experiences for the first body paragraph and collective experiences for the second. I recommend having two quotes per body paragraph (4 in total) for a 6 marker which is sufficient for the marks and gives you room to compare the contrasting ideas represented and synthesise them in relation to your understanding of the module. Hope that makes sense!
Angelina ;D
Hello.
I'm new here so I dont really know how things work around here, but I was hoping that someone could help me out with English stuff.
So for the common mod, we are doing The Crucible at school and for my related text, I chose to do Lamb to the Slaughter. I sort of understand how the two texts relate, but I need an in-depth explanation of how to connect them. I'm so confused. Can someone please help me out?
Thank you!
Hey...
Very basic question...but how many paragraphs should be in an English essay? I have always done: Intro, Body 1, Body 2 and Conclusion...but some people have four body paragraphs?
Just wanting some advice...I do standard English
Hey, 0447940204!
It depends on what your school advises and how many texts you're covering in the essay. If it's just one like a film or a novel, three paragraphs with three different themes would be ideal. However, if you have more than one text (so doing poetry or short stories), you could either do four smaller body paragraphs with two different themes (two texts to work with) or do three body paragraphs with three different themes (three different texts to work with). Essays with two large bodies can also definitely still work out well! You might want to ask your school what they recommend and see as successful but my general recommendation is to have three paragraphs :D Hope that helps and feel free to follow up with any other questions if you need!
Angelina ;D
Thanks for that. I was wondering, if I did four paragraphs with the following structure, with Text 1 being our prescribed text and Text 2 being my related one, then how many techniques should I put in each paragraph?
Paragraph 1 - Concept 1 (Division): Text 1
Paragraph 2 – Concept 1(Division): Text 2
Paragraph 3 – Concept 2 (Unity): Text 1
Paragraph 4 – Concept 2 (Unity): Text 2
Hello!hey!
I have seen advice on here where someone said you write something English related every fortnight (like a creative, analysis, introduction, essay plan etc.) and I LOVE the idea of that!
But I am lost at where to begin. I do not yet know my prescribed text through and through, but I think I do well enough to perhaps write an essay. Do I write one even if it is going to be awful at first?
Also, I am seeking any advice you have for beginning to plan ideas for creatives and how to begin them.
Thanks!
Hi, I just needed some help for analysing my related texts.Note: I haven't studied either of those texts
We have been given to do Billy Elliot as our prescribed text and
I am thinking about choosing Please resist me by luka lesson.
Only problem is I can't really tell how they can link with each other like what themes are present in both of them
Hi, I'm a year 12 student sitting the HSC this year and had a question. Is it recommended for us to have a critic for our common module essay? Or is it best not to?
HI, so im not to sure if anyone is bothered or allowed to do this, but I was wondering if someone would be able to read my English advance speech of texts and human experiences I did it on TMOV and a poem by Sylvia Plath and its due in 24 hours and it flows terribly and has the language of a 2-year-old!
So is there a forum on here that has markers or does anyone have any free time to help a mentally challenged teen who writing this at 11 pm?