Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 28, 2024, 10:05:13 pm

Author Topic: trials help  (Read 4168 times)  Share 

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

rirerire

  • MOTM: OCT 20
  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 85
  • Respect: +13
trials help
« on: August 05, 2020, 11:15:40 pm »
0
Hey, I've got a couple questions since trials are coming up very soon.
I know its bad that I still have no clue but I'm finding it really hard to differentiate between ext 1 and advanced in terms of what kind of language we should be using... should there be a massive jump to sophisticated language in ext 1? I'm confused with that since many ext exemplars keep it relatively simple.

secondly, what are some cliches that should definitely be avoided (aside from the classic hunger games/divergent/coming of age YA novel...), should immigrant stories be avoided too?

Thanks!  :)

angewina_naguen

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1257
  • Musical Theatre Tragic And Ultimate Pun Generator
  • Respect: +1026
Re: trials help
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2020, 02:24:42 pm »
+6
Hey, I've got a couple questions since trials are coming up very soon.
I know its bad that I still have no clue but I'm finding it really hard to differentiate between ext 1 and advanced in terms of what kind of language we should be using... should there be a massive jump to sophisticated language in ext 1? I'm confused with that since many ext exemplars keep it relatively simple.

secondly, what are some cliches that should definitely be avoided (aside from the classic hunger games/divergent/coming of age YA novel...), should immigrant stories be avoided too?

Thanks!  :)

Hey, rirerire!

Welcome to the forums  ;D I hope this isn't too delayed of a response because both of these are great questions! Here are my thoughts  :)

- I responded to a post earlier this week with a similar enquiry about what separates a Band 5 essay from a Band 6 one but this also applies to the way you use language more generally in both in Advanced and Extension 1 English. High performing essays are able to demonstrate a rich vocabulary and strong control over language. I say rich and not sophisticated because students often think they have to use big, flowery language to succeed in English but it is really important to make sure you have clarity in your writing. If the marker is spending too much of their time comprehending your essay and not actually engaging with its ideas, it's a problem  :-\ Students should avoid verbosity, crowded language and using words that they are not comfortably contextualising in their responses. Instead, students should aim to have a variety of words and relevant synonyms to employ in the response so they can express themselves eloquently and aren't repeating themselves. In short, high performing students are able to write with style, conviction and flair, while still making sense and showing that they understand the words they are using  :) I wouldn't say that the exemplars use simple language, but they use language in a way that it is intentional to the judgement/arguments/creative direction they are working towards. When it comes to writing in Extension 1 English, you want to have an engaging voice and to showcase to the marker your ability to harness language to respond appropriately to the questions. Whether that means having metalanguage relevant to your elective's critical lens such as psychoanalytical criticism in Literary Mindscapes, to plain English to help you get your point across easier is up to your own judgement as a student  :)

- This is always a difficult question to answer because I find that cliches are often easier to identify within a piece itself, rather than to just recall off the top of my head. My Advanced teacher was a creative writing marker for the HSC for 6 years and some of her really big no no's in creative writing are car crashes, waking up from the whole story which becomes a dream and the death of the protagonist. I think an immigrant story is more than fine to work with so long as you don't make it a cliche. Research deeply into what you are writing, have conversations with people who might have lived through those experiences themselves and try to present alternative perspectives that may have been overlooked. You could choose to explore an unlikely point of view, use unique cultural motifs and symbols, or set it in a vastly different context from your own (maybe in the late 1970's when immigration after the Vietnam War was huge, for example). This article is a great read if you find yourself having some trouble!

Hope this helps and let me know if you have anything else you wanted me to address!

Angelina  ;D
-HSC 2018-

-ATAR-
97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Natasack

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: 0
Re: trials help
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2020, 03:46:28 pm »
0
Angelina,

What do you think about a story where the protagonist is a high functioning autistic boy?

angewina_naguen

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1257
  • Musical Theatre Tragic And Ultimate Pun Generator
  • Respect: +1026
Re: trials help
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2020, 09:47:52 pm »
+6
Angelina,

What do you think about a story where the protagonist is a high functioning autistic boy?

Hey, Natasack!

This is a tricky question to answer but I think it's fine to write from the perspective of someone who is on the spectrum so long as you are not doing it in a tokenistic way and striving towards authenticity. It's impossible to be able to perfectly represent every person's experience of high functioning autism. However, you should always have at the forefront of your mind strategies to prevent you from reinforcing stereotypes, recycling existing cliched narratives about and romanticising the experiences associated with autism when you are writing the story. These are things like researching into high functioning autism to learn more about what it is beyond a surface level understanding, reading literature and stories of people who have autism and having conversations with people who live with it or know someone close to them that does. Essentially, you want to ensure that your story is working towards a greater purpose of educating and raising awareness about autism through having the character navigate its complexities, rather than simply writing about autism for the sake of it  :) This article is a really powerful piece from a spokesperson who shares her story living with high functioning autism which you might want to read and can get you thinking about any other resources and stories you might want to illuminate in your own!

If you are worried about writing directly from the boy's perspective, you could choose another protagonist such as a parent, a friend or a classmate of the autistic character you're wishing to highlight in your story. I think this can also create great opportunities to explore how disability affects people in far more nuanced ways than the wider audience may be aware of. Hope this helps and answers your question!

Angelina  ;D
« Last Edit: August 12, 2020, 09:50:13 pm by angewina_naguen »
-HSC 2018-

-ATAR-
97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Natasack

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: 0
Re: trials help
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2020, 10:28:50 am »
0
Hey, Natasack!

This is a tricky question to answer but I think it's fine to write from the perspective of someone who is on the spectrum so long as you are not doing it in a tokenistic way and striving towards authenticity. It's impossible to be able to perfectly represent every person's experience of high functioning autism. However, you should always have at the forefront of your mind strategies to prevent you from reinforcing stereotypes, recycling existing cliched narratives about and romanticising the experiences associated with autism when you are writing the story. These are things like researching into high functioning autism to learn more about what it is beyond a surface level understanding, reading literature and stories of people who have autism and having conversations with people who live with it or know someone close to them that does. Essentially, you want to ensure that your story is working towards a greater purpose of educating and raising awareness about autism through having the character navigate its complexities, rather than simply writing about autism for the sake of it  :) This article is a really powerful piece from a spokesperson who shares her story living with high functioning autism which you might want to read and can get you thinking about any other resources and stories you might want to illuminate in your own!

If you are worried about writing directly from the boy's perspective, you could choose another protagonist such as a parent, a friend or a classmate of the autistic character you're wishing to highlight in your story. I think this can also create great opportunities to explore how disability affects people in far more nuanced ways than the wider audience may be aware of. Hope this helps and answers your question!

Angelina  ;D
Thank you for the detailed reply.
The focus of my story is my protagonist's low-self esteem and sensory sensitivities (gets overwhelmed by loud noises, but is sensory seeking when it comes to visual stimuli and is mesmerised by bright lights and colours), not so much his social awkwardness. He is a high achieving student in maths and science,  but of course language is his weakness. When he was younger he used to focus and worry about his weaknesses, but eventually in his late teenage years he realises that he needs to focus on his strengths in order to live fulfilled life. How does this sound to you?

angewina_naguen

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1257
  • Musical Theatre Tragic And Ultimate Pun Generator
  • Respect: +1026
Re: trials help
« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2020, 12:23:05 pm »
+3
Thank you for the detailed reply.
The focus of my story is my protagonist's low-self esteem and sensory sensitivities (gets overwhelmed by loud noises, but is sensory seeking when it comes to visual stimuli and is mesmerised by bright lights and colours), not so much his social awkwardness. He is a high achieving student in maths and science,  but of course language is his weakness. When he was younger he used to focus and worry about his weaknesses, but eventually in his late teenage years he realises that he needs to focus on his strengths in order to live fulfilled life. How does this sound to you?

Hey again!

I think that works completely fine  :) You might also want to think of an extended metaphor or motif to give your story unity. Perhaps there's a particular object or hobby or something that gives the protagonist comfort which transforms in meaning over the course of the piece. This can show your marker that you're thinking deeply about representation and how it can be achieved through using literary devices. Hope this helps and good luck with it!

Angelina  ;D
-HSC 2018-

-ATAR-
97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Natasack

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: 0
Re: trials help
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2020, 03:38:38 pm »
+1
Hey again!

I think that works completely fine  :) You might also want to think of an extended metaphor or motif to give your story unity. Perhaps there's a particular object or hobby or something that gives the protagonist comfort which transforms in meaning over the course of the piece. This can show your marker that you're thinking deeply about representation and how it can be achieved through using literary devices. Hope this helps and good luck with it!

Angelina  ;D

Have you read my story??? I actually have an object that gives the protagonist comfort and transforms in meaning over the course of the piece! I call it a motif in my reflection statement, but was thinking it may be an extended metaphor? Obviously I don't quite understand what is the difference between them :)

angewina_naguen

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1257
  • Musical Theatre Tragic And Ultimate Pun Generator
  • Respect: +1026
Re: trials help
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2020, 06:28:32 pm »
+2
Have you read my story??? I actually have an object that gives the protagonist comfort and transforms in meaning over the course of the piece! I call it a motif in my reflection statement, but was thinking it may be an extended metaphor? Obviously I don't quite understand what is the difference between them :)

Hey!

Sounds like you're on the right track with it! The difference between the two is really not much but I would say that an extended metaphor uses an object over a passage (or over the whole piece of writing) to explore a concept such as wings to metaphorically represent a character's ambition. Motifs are more repeated/recurring elements in your story that contribute to that representation of a concept, such as referring to glasses or writing about how a character fails to "see" something to create this recurring idea of sight/blindness. I think what you have could be considered a motif but if you are in doubt, you could always go with exploring the symbolism of the object itself and play it safe  ;D Hope that helps!

Angelina  ;D
-HSC 2018-

-ATAR-
97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Natasack

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: 0
Re: trials help
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2020, 07:11:06 pm »
0
Hey!

Sounds like you're on the right track with it! The difference between the two is really not much but I would say that an extended metaphor uses an object over a passage (or over the whole piece of writing) to explore a concept such as wings to metaphorically represent a character's ambition. Motifs are more repeated/recurring elements in your story that contribute to that representation of a concept, such as referring to glasses or writing about how a character fails to "see" something to create this recurring idea of sight/blindness. I think what you have could be considered a motif but if you are in doubt, you could always go with exploring the symbolism of the object itself and play it safe  ;D Hope that helps!

Angelina  ;D

I am still a bit confused. Can an object be both the motif and extended metaphor? The object in my story is a kaleidoscope, used by my protagonist to comfort himself, but later he also uses symbolically it to change his perspective in life, so it is used throughout the story. Can I say it's both the extended metaphor and motif?

angewina_naguen

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Moderator
  • Part of the furniture
  • *****
  • Posts: 1257
  • Musical Theatre Tragic And Ultimate Pun Generator
  • Respect: +1026
Re: trials help
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2020, 12:26:08 pm »
+4
I am still a bit confused. Can an object be both the motif and extended metaphor? The object in my story is a kaleidoscope, used by my protagonist to comfort himself, but later he also uses symbolically it to change his perspective in life, so it is used throughout the story. Can I say it's both the extended metaphor and motif?

Hey!

You could say that the kaleidoscope is a symbol used to explore the motif of change which is a recurring idea throughout your story. I wouldn't say that it's an extended metaphor because you're not saying that the change is a kaleidoscope so I think symbolism and motif would pair nicely for you to discuss its significance to your creative.

A really good example of an extended metaphor is Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope" is The Thing With Feathers. I've linked you a great analysis for it here if you wanted to get a better idea of what it is  :) Hopefully that clarifies it a little better but feel free to ask any follow up questions if it doesn't!

Angelina  ;D
-HSC 2018-

-ATAR-
97.50

-UNI 2019-2022-
Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Natasack

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Respect: 0
Re: trials help
« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2020, 06:33:27 am »
+1
Hey!

You could say that the kaleidoscope is a symbol used to explore the motif of change which is a recurring idea throughout your story. I wouldn't say that it's an extended metaphor because you're not saying that the change is a kaleidoscope so I think symbolism and motif would pair nicely for you to discuss its significance to your creative.

A really good example of an extended metaphor is Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope" is The Thing With Feathers. I've linked you a great analysis for it here if you wanted to get a better idea of what it is  :) Hopefully that clarifies it a little better but feel free to ask any follow up questions if it doesn't!

Angelina  ;D

Thank you!!!

rirerire

  • MOTM: OCT 20
  • Forum Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 85
  • Respect: +13
Re: trials help
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2020, 10:40:50 pm »
0
Hey, rirerire!

Welcome to the forums  ;D I hope this isn't too delayed of a response because both of these are great questions! Here are my thoughts  :)

- I responded to a post earlier this week with a similar enquiry about what separates a Band 5 essay from a Band 6 one but this also applies to the way you use language more generally in both in Advanced and Extension 1 English. High performing essays are able to demonstrate a rich vocabulary and strong control over language. I say rich and not sophisticated because students often think they have to use big, flowery language to succeed in English but it is really important to make sure you have clarity in your writing. If the marker is spending too much of their time comprehending your essay and not actually engaging with its ideas, it's a problem  :-\ Students should avoid verbosity, crowded language and using words that they are not comfortably contextualising in their responses. Instead, students should aim to have a variety of words and relevant synonyms to employ in the response so they can express themselves eloquently and aren't repeating themselves. In short, high performing students are able to write with style, conviction and flair, while still making sense and showing that they understand the words they are using  :) I wouldn't say that the exemplars use simple language, but they use language in a way that it is intentional to the judgement/arguments/creative direction they are working towards. When it comes to writing in Extension 1 English, you want to have an engaging voice and to showcase to the marker your ability to harness language to respond appropriately to the questions. Whether that means having metalanguage relevant to your elective's critical lens such as psychoanalytical criticism in Literary Mindscapes, to plain English to help you get your point across easier is up to your own judgement as a student  :)

- This is always a difficult question to answer because I find that cliches are often easier to identify within a piece itself, rather than to just recall off the top of my head. My Advanced teacher was a creative writing marker for the HSC for 6 years and some of her really big no no's in creative writing are car crashes, waking up from the whole story which becomes a dream and the death of the protagonist. I think an immigrant story is more than fine to work with so long as you don't make it a cliche. Research deeply into what you are writing, have conversations with people who might have lived through those experiences themselves and try to present alternative perspectives that may have been overlooked. You could choose to explore an unlikely point of view, use unique cultural motifs and symbols, or set it in a vastly different context from your own (maybe in the late 1970's when immigration after the Vietnam War was huge, for example). This article is a great read if you find yourself having some trouble!

Hope this helps and let me know if you have anything else you wanted me to address!

Angelina  ;D
omg just saw this now ahah but thank you for the detailed response!!! this is so helpful, wish I had looked at it before my trials lol but I will definitely definitely apply this advice to my hsc, you addressed everything I had trouble with in my trials and now I know how to improve!!! thank you!!!!!!! :) :) :)