hey lauren,
I'm reading this article:
and i'm not quite sure what the author is trying to say about the 'artificial haemoglobin' in comparison to the new stem cel ideology.
I get that the article is trying to lead readers more into the stem cell version, because they say its the 'new idea', but they didn't really say what's wrong with the 'artificial haemoglobin' version. is it just presented there for the author to seem like she knows her science?
That section you've bolded would probably be one of the bits you'd leave out in analysis. That's not to say there isn't some worthwhile language to discuss, but it just doesn't seem very central to the argument. Most of it is just an outline about the history of the process that serves as a backdrop for the 'new idea.' Overall, this doesn't seem like a very persuasive piece though. It's more like the sort of thing you'd see in a scientific journal than a VCAA exam
How should you break down a text response prompt and then answer it?
What structure should i be looking as a guideline to my writing?
There is no 'one' breakdown and there is no 'one' structure. In fact, it's better if you build off what you know and try to shape that into something suitable than adopt someone else's methods completely. There are some recommendations on the first page of this thread, and you could always read practice essays to get a sense for what works well and what doesn't, but ultimately there are so many things you could do right and wrong, sometimes it's best to just sump in and work on little things gradually rather than trying to formulate a fool-proof format before you know your own strengths and weaknesses.
Breaking down the prompt should help you open up the prompt and tease out some interesting ideas, and your structure should enable you to explore these ideas. Beyond that, it's pretty much up to you
Hi Lauren,
Regarding shortening quotes, my teacher says to shorten them to 5 or 6 words but I'm finding it hard to shorten quotes from "Maus". I find that if I try to shorten them, I lose the a lot of the significant of the quote so it doesn't prove the point I'm trying to make.
Also, for remembering quotes, should I write the quotes under categories of themes or categories of what the character says?
Thanks
In general, how do you go about memorizing quotes? Do you just sit down a stare at them for ages, or is there a technique you use? Also, how many quotes should I try and memorise for each text that I'm studying?
I'll deal with these together since it seems like there's some overlap.
With very few exceptions, no one really gets much of a learning benefit from just staring at words on a page. Association is a much stronger and more efficient way of remembering materials. For starters, grouping quotes is really valuable: try and do so either by themes or characters depending on your text, and then you'll quickly start to link certain ideas together. Plus, when you start writing essays on these ideas, the links get even stronger.
That said, there's no need to be testing yourself too early. No one expects you to simply read a text once, write some notes, and then be able to roll out quotes with complete confidence. The first few practice paragraphs or essays you write should definitely be making use of your resources: have the text open in front of you, refer to your notes as you go, and perhaps even use class discussion or teacher feedback (whatever is more helpful) to compliment your own exploration.
For the more hardcore amongst you, you might even try some more elaborate memory hacks. Like I said, association is the most reliable means of forging mental connections, but it's usually easier to associate unfamiliar material with familiar things. So rather than just listing a whole bunch of quotes and 'associating' it with a character's name or a theme isn't likely to help.
There's a memory contest every year where geniuses the world over try to beat the world record for the amount of shuffled card decks memorised; (I believe it stands at about 60 or so) and when these people are interviewed, they often talk about how they make connections in order to aid their memories. For instance, they'll assign each card a certain person place or thing, so if they have to memorise a sequence like: Jack of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, Nine of Hearts - then they'll tell a little story with the assigned meanings. Let's say the Jack of Clubs = Jack Dawson from Titanic; the Two of Diamonds = my mothers' diamond earings, and the Nine of Hearts = my dog because she's nine years old. In order to remember the sequence, I'd simply picture Jack Dawson wearing my mother's earings, patting my dog.
^That's a way more memorable, vivid image than an objective sequence.
So how would this help you in VCE?
You obviously wouldn't need to go to such an extreme, but the same principles can be applied on a small scale. For instance, one of the books I studied in Year 12 dealt with the theme of identity and self-perception/deception, so I wrote up a list of quotes that related to these concepts and pinned them up on my bathroom mirror (because the mirror is where you see yourself, and reminds me of things like vanity and self-awareness.) Not only did that mean I was seeing the quotes a couple of times a day, but I was also able to connect them to one another under that umbrella of 'identity and perception.'
You could do the same with some of your other themes: perhaps print off a list of quotes about the importance of place and setting and blue-tack them to your front door or bedroom window. Or grab a list of ones about relationships between characters and put them next to your photo frames of your own friends and family. You can get as creative as you want - the important thing is that the immersion works as both a deliberate and incidental form of learning; when you need to memorise more, you can consciously tell yourself to go read the lists and recite them, and when you're just lying in bed exhausted after a long day, your eyes might glance over the list on your bedside table. Gradual absorption is hard to notice, but it does happen, and it does help.
And of course, using the quotes in the context of your analysis (ie. practice essays) is also very beneficial.
In terms of shortening quotes, it does depend on the text. Maus does have a lot more dense sentences, but there should still be a 'core' for most of the quotes that'll be containing most of the critical information you need. There are exceptions, and sometimes you just need to quote about ten words or so, but for the most part, the unimportant stuff can be paraphrased. Also, don't discount the role of quote modification. Altering the grammar of the quote can be an easy way of cutting down irrelevant information. Just use [square brackets] to add new information or replace words/letters that don't fit, and use ... ellipses ... to omit details.
So if I wanted to alter the sentence: "Jimmy, why don't you just go away and abandon your foolish dream"
I could say:
Suzie is very critical of her brother's attitudes, and questions why he doesn't "just... abandon [his] foolish dream" to fly an aeroplane.I'm hoping this is familar to you; if not, let me know and I can explain this in more detail. Otherwise, perhaps give me an example or two of the kinds of quotes you're finding hard to shorten and I can walk you through it