Check out more of Aidan’s top advice in this VCE English video series.
When it comes to preparing for the end of year English exam, it’s imperative to practice each of the three different sections of the exam – Single Text Response, Comparative Text Response, and Analysing Argument – in order to ensure you’re prepared for every section.
However, with the rest of your exams just around the corner, and months of content to revise, you may not always feel like you have time to be writing out multiple, complete essays.
Whilst there is no substitute for sitting down and writing an entire essay, especially under exam conditions (~1 hour), one of the quicker, yet still effective ways to prepare for sections A & B of the VCE English exam is to write mini-analyses.
So what are mini analyses?
In layman’s terms, a mini-analysis is a paragraph (~200 words) of analysis in response to a certain topic for either of the two text response sections.
The idea behind these is to force yourself to write down analysis, even incorporating quotes, into a formal piece of writing rather than simply thinking about it in your head. The teasing apart of this information and construction of formal analytical responses is one the most important skills to fine tune before exam day, rather than re-reading your notes or the text which doesn’t actually involve you reconstructing information into logical analysis.
What questions should I be writing mini-analyses on?
Mini-analyses are a great way to practice writing on specific themes, characters and structural features of texts and still connect them to the overall message of an author/playwright/director.
Examples of these questions could include:
How is *insert theme* portrayed in the text?
How is *insert structural device* (setting, plot, stage directions, camera angles, point of view) used in order to portray a message?
What are the similarities and differences between these two characters? (Comparative Text Response)
What is the primary lesson that the author is trying to teach society through this text?
The point of mini analyses is also to get straight to the point. Taking the above example about the primary lesson of the text, you might like to start your response with something such as:
“The primary lesson of the play Medea by Euripides is that… This is demonstrated in *these sections* of the text and *these quotes*.
When writing these analyses, try and engage with all four levels of texts at the same time, so even if you’re writing on a character, make sure you analyse how it connects to structures, themes, and views and values, and vice-versa!
* V&V = Views and Values
Remember that this is not a summary of a theme or character, but an analysis! This means that you need to be discussing how these views & values/characters/themes/structural features are significant within the text, rather than summarising a few events or characteristics.
Having engaged with the text and analysed it on a deeper level, you’ll be in a much better position to tackle the exam. But don’t forget that you’ll need to combine multiple levels of analysis into an essay, so make sure you’re writing those as well!
All the best
– Aidan
Check out more of Aidan’s top advice in this VCE English video series.
