thesaurus lol. just make sure u know what the synonyms actually mean instead of using them in a weird context.
i assure you that apart from the linking words using big fancy words for the sake of big fancy words does not impress english teachers at all, i'm not an english teacher but if i read that in someone's response the first thing i think is just how superficial the response feels now just cos (and you get the vibe they're just trying to make up for lack of substance or lack of good writing quality. like no-one uses axiomatic in essays ever). big fancy words and phrases can also convolute your essay which is the last thing you want, especially since you don't have time in 40 minutes to have a bajillion words complicating a simple idea. linking words make your essay more cohesive but they're not a necessity (though i highly recommend using them where appropriate). for example, the provided quote for 'going past a simple interpretation' can have the same sentiment expressed in a much shorter way (experience: i've convoluted my ideas by accident and my tutor just flames me to hell and back every single time that happens), which is what teachers would rather read.
extend your vocabulary, but do so appropriately and obviously don't overdo it like what i'm quoted at the very top, and integrate them properly (there is a huge difference between that and saying 'this is axiomatic'. you can do that by reading top mark exemplar responses and see how they shape sophisticated language (but tbh i've read a few exemplars and a lot of them have achieved the top mark by using simplistic language that presents the idea concisely and clearly), and going through critical readings because they have a lot of words you can steal from
I'm gonna have to disagree here, my teacher seemed to be happy with my inclusion of these elements and commended me on it. considering that that he's a hsc marker, id recommend it too
it might depend for teacher to teacher tbh, but most of the time it just feels superficial because if you're just chucking them in the teachers know. personally the highest marks i've gotten for english in y11-12 were usually the ones that didn't overcomplicate and convolute and only put in big fancy words where it felt natural to (the convoluted ones usually brought down my marks to around 17-18/20 in y11), i've been roasted by both teachers and tutors for doing the same thing : (
yeah i remember reading this exemplar for module a that really went up and out with their sophistication and fancy schmancy writing and compared it to a simpler one and they both got top marks, it might depend in the end on the individual teacher but personally i'm not a fan of overdoing it
literally 90% of my time when writing take home English assessments is on thesaurus.com
