English Advanced Question Thread

[Bells_123]

What's the best way to study 'Hamlet' because I find Shakespeare probably the hardest to study in English 

And also, how would I go about answering this Hamlet question from the 2017 paper?

[angewina_naguen]

What's the best way to study 'Hamlet' because I find Shakespeare probably the hardest to study in English 

And also, how would I go about answering this Hamlet question from the 2017 paper?

Hey, Bells_123!

Unpopular opinion but I think Shakespeare is the most intriguing part about English! It can also be the easiest once you grasp yourself around the ideas of the text you are assigned. 'Hamlet' is a little tricky because it's one of the more dense tragedies but you can still find ways around studying it. My suggested approaches to study smarter would be to do the following;

Looking for more unconventional techniques and evidence- In order to demonstrate that you have engaged in a critical study of the text, you should try and search for less known or used evidence to bring an element of originality to your arguments. I would suggest looking more into the form techniques specific to plays, and Shakespearean tragedies, such as dramatic irony, pathetic fallacy, asides, soliloquy, stage directions, mise-en-scene and divine intervention to separate your response from others Plays are written to be performed so if you can investigate into these aspects, your response can be more relevant to a question such as 2017's one that looks at the "dramatic experience." 

Frame your analysis around the module requirements- Rather than knowing every single detail about the play, choose elements of it that link to Module B. From your understanding of the text, why do you think it is still studied despite not being something you might enjoy yourself? Once you can answer this overarching question, your chosen evidence should be framed around justifying why 'Hamlet' is still appreciated today. Find quotes that resonate with you or make you think "that's something I can relate to today" because that's essentially what makes a text valuable 

Make tables with your evidence- I would put the headings Language Form/Feature (Characterisation, Setting etc.), Techniques, Analysis and Link to Module B. This can help you organise your ideas in a way that logically flows. I use tables as the basis of my notes in Advanced and it helps when I combine it with doing practice questions under exam conditions because all the information is concise and yet plentiful.

Not compulsory but you could also do some critical readings of your text- Reading about how others have interpreted your text can give you different frameworks to view 'Hamlet.' It is also quite handy to quote a critic once or twice, but definitely avoid over relying on it, to enhance your argument and bring another layer to your essay. If you do find quotes from others that you want to include in your response or to reference their theories, make sure you in-text reference to credit their ideas 

As for the 2017 question, I had a really similar one with 'Cloudstreet' which is my prescribed text that had the strengths and weaknesses part. How I approached it was by arguing in two bodies the novel's strengths and then I acknowledged a weakness of the novel but turning the rest of that body into a comment on how the author must sacrifice certain aspects in order to make other parts stronger. You could argue in two bodies the strengths of the notion of the "unconventional heroes" with how Shakespeare's tragedy explores more complex characters and how it is this complexity in his construction that makes the novel relevant (because humans are very complex  ). In saying this, your last body could be about how the characters are dramatised so they might lose an aspect of realism, which is something that you can comment on as a weakness. However, you could also turn this into an argument of strength because drama entertains the Elizabethan audience as much as it does with our contemporary audience. It also shows how extreme cases of hate, resentment and jealousy can result in tragedy to try and deter us from following similar paths. I actually quite like the 2017 question because it encourages you to be more critical of the text and you can easily turn the weakness into a strength to link it back to textual integrity.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions 

Angelina 

[3.14159265359]

hey I wanted to ask if you use a similar plot line to a creative you read, is that plagiarism?

[lerf]

hey I wanted to ask if you use a similar plot line to a creative you read, is that plagiarism?

Yep; you're plagiarising their thoughts / ideas.

[owidjaja]

hey I wanted to ask if you use a similar plot line to a creative you read, is that plagiarism?

Hey there,
The thing is, coming up with a creative that is entirely original is already difficult! The way you set yourself apart from other creatives that are "generic" is by including your own experiences. For example, my creative is essentially my character discovering her family through photographs. The plot itself isn't original (in fact one of the AN members who gave me feedback said my creative was similar to theirs) but what makes it unique was that I included my own culture and language.

That being said, I wouldn't encourage "stealing" other people's ideas. You should be getting inspiration from other people's ideas, i.e. their writing style, how they approach the topic of discovery etc.

Hope this helps!

[3.14159265359]

Yep; you're plagiarising their thoughts / ideas.

thank you!

Hey there,
The thing is, coming up with a creative that is entirely original is already difficult! The way you set yourself apart from other creatives that are "generic" is by including your own experiences. For example, my creative is essentially my character discovering her family through photographs. The plot itself isn't original (in fact one of the AN members who gave me feedback said my creative was similar to theirs) but what makes it unique was that I included my own culture and language.

That being said, I wouldn't encourage "stealing" other people's ideas. You should be getting inspiration from other people's ideas, i.e. their writing style, how they approach the topic of discovery etc.

Hope this helps!

yes it does! that Is what I was getting at, using an idea thats being used but tweaking it and adding your own stuff to it. I wasn't saying using exactly the same thing.

[3.14159265359]

sorry 2 more questions:

1) for creative writing do we need to write a title in the exam?

2) do we need to write/mention which stimuli we use in the creative or no?

[owidjaja]

sorry 2 more questions:

1) for creative writing do we need to write a title in the exam?

2) do we need to write/mention which stimuli we use in the creative or no?

Hey there,
I don't think you need a title for your creative- I didn't have a title for my creative.

As for your second question, don't mention the stimulus you will be using. A good integration of the stimulus is that the marker can see how the stimulus fits with your creative- mentioning the stimulus before will defeat the purpose of that. This is why when you integrate the stimulus, you should do it metaphorically and literally to make sure the stimulus is explicit enough.

[3.14159265359]

Hey there,
I don't think you need a title for your creative- I didn't have a title for my creative.

As for your second question, don't mention the stimulus you will be using. A good integration of the stimulus is that the marker can see how the stimulus fits with your creative- mentioning the stimulus before will defeat the purpose of that. This is why when you integrate the stimulus, you should do it metaphorically and literally to make sure the stimulus is explicit enough.

alright thank you! 

[SanaBanana]

hiya!
im having so much difficulty with creating a structure for my module a essay (1984/metropolis), does anyone have any pointers as to how to structure it??
thanks xx

[Mada438]

hiya!
im having so much difficulty with creating a structure for my module a essay (1984/metropolis), does anyone have any pointers as to how to structure it??
thanks xx

So i use an essay structure called CLACEL. This is a base essay structure.
Concept
Literal
Analysis
Critical analysis
Evaluation
Link
And thats how i structure an essay. With module A i also throw in aspects of each composer's context as well as links between the texts (the module focuses on intertextuality) when necessary and approptiate to my argument.
Hope this helps!

[SanaBanana]

So i use an essay structure called CLACEL. This is a base essay structure.
Concept
Literal
Analysis
Critical analysis
Evaluation
Link
And thats how i structure an essay. With module A i also throw in aspects of each composer's context as well as links between the texts (the module focuses on intertextuality) when necessary and approptiate to my argument.
Hope this helps!

Thanks! I'll definitely try that out. Is three concepts enough for that particular structure?

[Mada438]

Thanks! I'll definitely try that out. Is three concepts enough for that particular structure?

That would depend. What sort of essay structure are you doing?
Intergrated? Semi-Intergrated? or Non-Intergrated?
That would affect it.
For mod a, I do sem-intergrated in which i get an overarching concept (e.g. use of technology) and explore how it used in metropolis (obiviously my concept for that metropolis technology paragraph wil be a bit bigger) then i look at how that same concept is explored in 1984 from a different angle.
I do this process twice (so 4 body paragphs, overlooking two main concepts) and i find this is good. Anything more than that would take way too much time.

P.s in case it wasn't apparent. When it says literal, that means your technique/quote. Then you analyse it in the next stage. You don't have to do critical analysis and evaluation for every technique/quote. You usually do those after you have presented your techniques/quotes and their analysis. Although i do throw in a bit of critcal analysis to connect my technique/quote and initial analysis to the question.

[SanaBanana]

That would depend. What sort of essay structure are you doing?
Intergrated? Semi-Intergrated? or Non-Intergrated?
That would affect it.
For mod a, I do sem-intergrated in which i get an overarching concept (e.g. use of technology) and explore how it used in metropolis (obiviously my concept for that metropolis technology paragraph wil be a bit bigger) then i look at how that same concept is explored in 1984 from a different angle.
I do this process twice (so 4 body paragphs, overlooking two main concepts) and i find this is good. Anything more than that would take way too much time.

P.s in case it wasn't apparent. When it says literal, that means your technique/quote. Then you analyse it in the next stage. You don't have to do critical analysis and evaluation for every technique/quote. You usually do those after you have presented your techniques/quotes and their analysis. Although i do throw in a bit of critcal analysis to connect my technique/quote and initial analysis to the question.

I generally do the semi integrated structure. But my English teacher tells us to do 6concepts and I've never finished a mod a essay because of that. Everytime I've attempted to do an essay with even 4 concepts she marks me down. That's why I was finding it so difficult forming a structure fro my essay. But you've helped massively! Thankyou so much!!

[3.14159265359]

hello
I have a pretty dumb question but here goes nothing.
every person I asked who done the hsc or is doing the hsc says to study for English you write paragraphs and memorise quotes and your arguments and stuff. so my question is HOWWWWWWW?!!!! you don't know the essay question on the day, so how do you pick your quotes and your analysis and your arguments if you don't know the question.