Best way to tackle upcoming english exam (3 Viewers)

[Gotei]

So how are you guys studying.... I am trying to memorise my 4 essays each which are worth 1000-1200 words albeit I'm not feeling it. It just feels like I'll go into the exam even though I'll know everything and I'll fail to answer the question.


What's the best way? Also I feel that if I don't memorise my sophistication will disappear.



Give me some advice guyz. How did past students tackle the exams....?

 

[LoveHateSchool]

What if you memorise an essay that doesn't fit the Q? WHat if they prescribe a poem in Mod B? What if they as for only ONE/or TWO when you've prepared the other way? What if???

Are you planning to mould these four essays?

 

[jamesischool]

lol ^ so true

 

[Gotei]

Lol yeah.

What i really meant was should i try and memorize a full essay in which I can mold to the question or should I just take key themes and questions and just start from scratch.

 

[timeslowsdown]

Best way I find is to remember all key ideas so you can mould to any question - definitely works for me - also reduces stress because you know you'll virtually be able to answer any question

 

[ArguablyMitch]

Lol yeah.

What i really meant was should i try and memorize a full essay in which I can mold to the question or should I just take key themes and questions and just start from scratch.

I prefer to write from scratch. This scares some people, but if you understand your texts and relevant concepts you have more freedom in answering the question without the pain of moulding some memorised piece. I find that memorised pieces put me more at risk of drifting away from the question; this seems to happen for other students as well.

 

[asadass]

Just do a few practise questions for each essay once you have memorised them.

 

[unLimitieDx]

Memorise then analyse different questions and see how you would mould it appropriately .

 

[teeah]

I prefer to write from scratch. This scares some people, but if you understand your texts and relevant concepts you have more freedom in answering the question without the pain of moulding some memorised piece. I find that memorised pieces put me more at risk of drifting away from the question; this seems to happen for other students as well.

+1
I have no idea as to how people memorise essays..I have difficulty memorising just the quotes -.-

 

[someth1ng]

+1
I have no idea as to how people memorise essays..I have difficulty memorising just the quotes -.-

Rote learning.

 

[teeah]

Rote learning.

well now i know why people hate english so much...if i repeated anything to myself the number of times required to memorise, id pretty much want to kill myself too lol.

 

[alexandra10123]

Memorising never works. The markers can tell instantly and they deduct marks for prepared responses.

 

[kwu1]

Memorising never works. The markers can tell instantly and they deduct marks for prepared responses.

Unless if its original discussion that answers the question...

 

[deswa1]

Memorising never works. The markers can tell instantly and they deduct marks for prepared responses.

No lol that's if you just rewrite your memorised response word for word. The idea behind memorisation is to adapt it to the specific question. So you'll use the exact same quotes and techniques but depending on the question you'll change the linkages between each of the quotes and stuff to put forward a different argument.

Protip for memorisation: Don't do what a lot of people do and change one line in your intro and one line each paragraph to answer the question- that is HEAPS obvious. You have to sustain linkages to the question throughout

 

[RishBonjour]

No lol that's if you just rewrite your memorised response word for word. The idea behind memorisation is to adapt it to the specific question. So you'll use the exact same quotes and techniques but depending on the question you'll change the linkages between each of the quotes and stuff to put forward a different argument.

Protip for memorisation: Don't do what a lot of people do and change one line in your intro and one line each paragraph to answer the question- that is HEAPS obvious. You have to sustain linkages to the question throughout

this.
also, don't just put in

"thus, it shows conflicting perspectives in unique and evocative ways" (question from 2011 HSC) after every para - looks dodgy.

I'm memorising for Frankenstein (hate this module)

not memorising for mod B - speeches. best module by far.
Not memorising for C either (might do an essay on C if I have time)

 

[someth1ng]

I'm just memorising quotes. I can make up techniques on the spot etc.

 

[Rawf]

Err.. I memorise my essays but I haven't started memorizing yet. I think I would fail otherwise.
What I find works (for me at least haha) is reading your essay aloud and recording it. Then I listen to it in my sleep.
Somehow it helps me recall my essay. Maybe cause it keeps me up for an hour or two before I can fall asleep with my earphones in. Eh, it might not be effective... could pretty much be a placebo oh well straight after I wake up I can't hear anything and then a few seconds later I can hear it when my mind starts to focus.

 

[Aaron6693]

Memorising never works. The markers can tell instantly and they deduct marks for prepared responses.

Bullshit. Not to sound conceited, but I completed the HSC last year and I memorised word-for-word (NO JOKE!) every single essay for both Advanced and Extension 1 English. Generally, this is where people would go all "...but then you cant answer the question properly!!!!"

The questions they give in the exams are always generic. Even for me who completed the 2011 HSC English exam where they SPECIFIED a text for Module B, and even stated a "type" of belonging in Paper 1, I wrote exactly what I memorised along with a simple sentence or two that was basically the question re-worded throughout the essay. Granted, the specified text in Module B just happened to be one of the poems I memorised (I didnt bother memorising all of them..which is a risk). Obviously you'd want to memorise all of them if you really wanted to cover yourself.

I'm serious when I say that for every single English exam I ever did I memorised the essays required. This is generally how most people in my year went about it.
Again, I'm not trying to sound conceited, but just to give you an idea of how people went with this approach, I was a consistent high-performer in both Adv./Ext.1 English.

I had a rank of 4th at a school with 450 people in my grade. (Obviously, the rank was 4/200 or however many students were doing Advanced)

Received a HSC Mark of 96/100 for Adv. English and 44/50 for Ext.1.

Considering most people I know went about it this way and did very well for HSC English at the various levels, memorising essays obviously DOES work...and it does so VERY well, as long as you have a somewhat natural ability to memorise large amounts of text.

 

[Skeptyks]

^ memorise

 

[RishBonjour]

Bullshit. Not to sound conceited, but I completed the HSC last year and I memorised word-for-word (NO JOKE!) every single essay for both Advanced and Extension 1 English. Generally, this is where people would go all "...but then you cant answer the question properly!!!!"

The questions they give in the exams are always generic. Even for me who completed the 2011 HSC English exam where they SPECIFIED a text for Module B, and even stated a "type" of belonging in Paper 1, I wrote exactly what I memorised along with a simple sentence or two that was basically the question re-worded throughout the essay. Granted, the specified text in Module B just happened to be one of the poems I memorised (I didnt bother memorising all of them..which is a risk). Obviously you'd want to memorise all of them if you really wanted to cover yourself.

I'm serious when I say that for every single English exam I ever did I memorised the essays required. This is generally how most people in my year went about it.
Again, I'm not trying to sound conceited, but just to give you an idea of how people went with this approach, I was a consistent high-performer in both Adv./Ext.1 English.

I had a rank of 4th at a school with 450 people in my grade. (Obviously, the rank was 4/200 or however many students were doing Advanced)

Received a HSC Mark of 96/100 for Adv. English and 44/50 for Ext.1.

Considering most people I know went about it this way and did very well for HSC English at the various levels, memorising essays obviously DOES work...and it does so VERY well, as long as you have a somewhat natural ability to memorise large amounts of text.

Lol, I'm on my third day memorising 850 word fk/br essay - so far spent about 8/9 hours, still haven't memorised it.

and great mark!