Should you memorise a generic essay or write your essay on the spot in exams? (2 Viewers)

[lychnobity]

When I memorise, I'm more memorising themes and techniques and how to use them, and maybe how I would word some things (I'm a 'perfectionist' - it's hard for me to come up with the right wording in the set time), I don't memorise a set response per se.

 

[Erotic Cakes]

I think it depends on the marks you want. Memorizing an essay and regurgitating it to the question I personally think will probably cap you at about 16/20, then again it would be difficult to get below 11/20. However if you just know your stuff and create a response that truly engages with the question then you have the potential to get marks like 18 and 19/20, this option can be a bit risky however.

 

[sinophile2]

I memorise and then twist it... I think it's always good have a generic up your sleeve just incase you are lucky enough to get the question. If it isn't then i'll twist my response to the question so that it's no longer 'generic' but question specific because for the average english person... you're not going to be able to come up with a sophisticated and well articulated response on the spot. Looking back at the hsc sample responses - the band 6 ones - they've either walked in with a brilliant memorised response or they've done SO many practice responses it's not funny. If worse comes to worse you already have enough quotes and techniques from your essay to make it up on the spot.

p.s:Twisting a generic essay is a skill in itself. All you have to do is apply your generic to a wide range of practice questions prior to the examination to prepare yourself for the real thing.

Thats some good advice there. If I knew that during year 11 I probably wouldve enjoyed english a lot more over these two years. Well at least I know now rather than never. Thanks for that.

 

[ashie0]

It had been said already. Do not memorize an essay. Know your texts, your thesis, your quotes and your essay technique inside out. One of the most important things to do in order to achieve top marks in english is to answer the question.

Generic essays, regardless of whether they have been twisted or not lack the flair and specificity required to do well in english. They are boring and the markers read thousands of them.

Do a shitload of practice papers and know your texts, you will be surprised how well you can construct an essay or piece of work in the allocated time.

 

[Charity F]

that's interesting. people tend to side with what has and will always work well for them, which is fine by all means

just wanted to mention that i've seen people either memorise generic essays, only memorise key theory/quotes, or just memorise quotes, and still get full marks with their essays

so long as you're smart about the way you prepare, and you answer the question demonstrating your understand of the module, your elective and your texts, you will be fine.

 

[ashie0]

that's interesting. people tend to side with what has and will always work well for them, which is fine by all means

just wanted to mention that i've seen people either memorise generic essays, only memorise key theory/quotes, or just memorise quotes, and still get full marks with their essays

so long as you're smart about the way you prepare, and you answer the question demonstrating your understand of the module, your elective and your texts, you will be fine.

Yes thats a very, very good point. I have always had the ability to write on my feet and commit to memory the information i need to write an essay, i work best under pressure. Even my assessment tasks are written at the last minute early in the morning as that is the time i work best. Your very right though, it differs from person to person. Play to your strengths.

 

[possessionless]

i didn't memorise essays because that's gay and all you do is set yourself up to fail if you encounter a question that just cannot be answered with your generic essay, despite how generic it is.

Memorise a heap of quotes. Write your essay fresh. Don't be shit. Basically.

it had been said already. Do not memorize an essay. Know your texts, your thesis, your quotes and your essay technique inside out. One of the most important things to do in order to achieve top marks in english is to answer the question.

Generic essays, regardless of whether they have been twisted or not lack the flair and specificity required to do well in english. They are boring and the markers read thousands of them.

Do a shitload of practice papers and know your texts, you will be surprised how well you can construct an essay or piece of work in the allocated time.

+ 1

 

[Teclis]

Memorised Essay's will NEVER get you a 20/20... simple as that...

 

[iSplicer]

Memorised Essay's will NEVER get you a 20/20... simple as that...

Well one of my memorised essays got 15/15 for a recent assessment..

 

[Teclis]

Well one of my memorised essays got 15/15 for a recent assessment..

you're in year 11... you don't count...

 

[toby12]

so in your 'generic essay' do you guys just write a response with themes, techniques quotes etc? or what do you include?

 

[ninetypercent]

just a general response with heaps of themes, techniques and quotes. I do that every English assessment task. like a 1500 word essay and then I condense it down to 1000 words during the exam by selecting the appropriate themes, techniques and quotes to adapt it to the question

 

[Macdwg]

Pretty much what that guy said. I got 92 for english in the trials and what i found worked best was a combination of my prelearned generic essays mixed with me learning quotes and techniques. Then in the exam i had my generic essay that i mixed with my 'flair' and on the spot thinking to produce something similar, but it fit the question as well.

Learn both. You need something to fall back on. Plus imagine how easy an essay will be in the exam if u have a generic essay and the question is simple as, you will save alot of thinking time as you can just write and shit will flow.

 

[jellybelly59]

you know what i don't get is how people say you have to remember a thesis... which makes NO sense at all lol.... a thesis is meant to be a line of argument... how can you have a line of argument remembered to a question you've never seen? and then people go and say learning a generic will screw you over lol

 

[Cloesd]

Why not do a bit of both.

Memorise a structure. No not a "general" essay, just a structure.

See an essay is like a living creature, it needs a skeleton. (or an exo-skeleton, if you know what i mean heh..) Once this skeleton's in place it can be "accessorized" and "geared up" depending on the situation. For example all mammals are warm blooded this is a structure feature, but some have trunks.. this is an accessory; an adaption to the situation.

Therefore there are two "umbrella" components to an essay. The skeleton, and the accessories.

Memorize the skeleton for each "type" of essay you're going to write. (eg a hamlet essay, or a Belonging essay), also memorize the various "accessories", a bank of 20+ quotes per text, contextual information, main ideas of the unit etc.

DO NOT, memorize a fully accessoriesed essays! At most you're going to use... what? 12 quotes per text in an essay. This means that your "pool" of accessories to outfit your structure is vastly limited. It also means you've spent alot of your preparation time memorizing this limited pool. Going back to our the essay is a living creature metaphor, what your essentially doing when you memorize an essay is dropping an elephant into the ocean, hoping that somehow it'll learn to use its trunk to swim.


A better approach is to memorize the accessories separately.

Not only does this mean that you've got MORE options, because you now have a choice from bank of quotes from which elements can be specifically chosen and fitted onto your structure TAILORED SPECIFICALLY FOR the situation, but also itl'l be easier to remember, because instead of remembering one long STRING of words, you're remembering "chunks" of information.

(also after the essay's over youl'l have a pool of quotes from classical literature and contemporary film knowledge to make you sound smart, rather than an essay you're never going to write again).