How to really understand your texts? (1 Viewer)

[qna]

On a level that doesn't make your teachers scribble 'you don't understand the text' all over your essays (story of my trials)

 

[iloveeggs]

can't give you very valuable advice bc im a prelim kid

but on a prelim level i find that referring to macro-techniques as opposed to micro-techniques helps as a whole. like instead of analysing a very specific metaphor a text uses (micro-technique), use a recurring motif or like desaturation and specific colour palettes used throughout a film, meaning it refers to smth that occurs throughout the text and it relates to the context, purpose and form of the text.

my ext 1 teacher says this shows that you've engaged with the text and its concepts holistically as opposed to finding one specific spot where the text agrees with your arguments

y12 ppl feel free to correct me if im wrong

 

[enchantedivory27]

following from Eggs, with Mod B year 12 its so important to know the whole text rather than only key scenes. so macro techniques is interesting i havent heard of that tho, but is true. this is hard, we only did revision on this like 2 days ago so im working on it too, but if you have the idea of smaller scenes and minor characters but still more in depth with the main parts then that is rlly great.

saying "you dont understand" is harsh did you not do enough quotes or not know context?

 

[iloveeggs]

macro techniques is interesting i havent heard of that tho, but is true

that's interesting bc ive only com across it in e1 eng not advanced where just focusing on a few aspects flies. thanks for the input tho ill stick to that type of analysis then

 

[spiderfan44]

On a level that doesn't make your teachers scribble 'you don't understand the text' all over your essays (story of my trials)

did you read the text?

 

[Bendwhat?_over]

On a level that doesn't make your teachers scribble 'you don't understand the text' all over your essays (story of my trials)

Engage with the text as much as you can. Not just by reading it, but find articles about it, those can give very good analysis on niche parts of the texts which can improve your understanding and give you more points to talk about. Write unprompted paragraphs about whatever you found interesting within the text. Ask others what they think about it, what they thought was more interesting, etc...

 

[QuiteLiterate]

On a level that doesn't make your teachers scribble 'you don't understand the text' all over your essays (story of my trials)

Hey Qna, this is a really great question that so many students ask.

First, 'understanding' a text occurs on multiple levels, and HSC English in particular demands a higher level of understanding/interpretation.

1. Literal understanding - here, you know what literally happens in the text, who the characters are, and some of the general themes. This literal level of understanding will get you a C-range result at most, because in the marker's eyes, anyone can gather a literal understanding by reading the book and scrolling through a bunch of SparkNotes/Wikipedia pages. In this sense, this level of understanding is considered 'satisfactory' or 'basic (looking at the C-range here!)

2. Subtextual/thematic/contextual understanding - here, you understand the text on a deeper, symbolic level, and your interpretation of the text's content and form is deepend by background knowledge of the composer, the text's compositional context, and the thematic and symbolic meanings embedded in the plot, character, form, settings etc. So rather than just knowing that 'this character does this', and 'this happens and explores this theme', you can make deeper judgments about 'the character, in doing this, represents xyz concerns of the composer', and 'this happens to reveal xyz insights into the intricacy and depth of this theme that the text explores'.

3. Personal/critical understanding - here, you not only understand the literal and symbolic/contextual ideas explored through the text, but you've formed your own judgment of the text's overall purpose and meaning. So, you're not only able to make isolated judgments about a few quotes or characters, but you understand how everything within the text functions in a cohesive way to convey a much deeper set of meanings. This is usually the product of sustained thinking and studying in relation to a text, and doing extra research to look for academic articles and exemplar essays that synthesise the purpose and value of a text. What is the composer's intention? Is this intention met? What does the text achieve, and what effect does it have on the reader? How does this text achieve an effect/meaning so effectively? Why and how does it provoke a response from the reader? How and why does the text endure in its representation of xyz?

The best way to understand your text is to go through the levels in an intentional manner:
1. Read and understand the literal events and meaning of the text. Create brief plot/chapter summaries to outline your understanding.
2. Read and understand the text with research into the themes, and the composer's background and concerns. Annotate your text, form analysis that is organised by theme, idea, character etc. Discern the key language devices/forms that are distinctive for that text and composer, and ask yourself why they're used.
3. Read and understand the text with in-depth research into academic articles (university level analysis of the text), and by thinking about the text personally in terms of your experience and perspective of the world. Understanding texts in HSC English requires you to relate and apply the text to human society and the human condition in real life. Use empathy -- why is this character this way, what wisdom am I meant to gain by experiencing their journey, how is this text commenting on something deeper about humanity, culture, and society? Here, you should begin forming high-level analysis and practice essays that condense your understanding in terms of the conceptual framework of the specific module you're studying.

 

[qna]

can't give you very valuable advice bc im a prelim kid

but on a prelim level i find that referring to macro-techniques as opposed to micro-techniques helps as a whole. like instead of analysing a very specific metaphor a text uses (micro-technique), use a recurring motif or like desaturation and specific colour palettes used throughout a film, meaning it refers to smth that occurs throughout the text and it relates to the context, purpose and form of the text.

my ext 1 teacher says this shows that you've engaged with the text and its concepts holistically as opposed to finding one specific spot where the text agrees with your arguments

y12 ppl feel free to correct me if im wrong

Nah allg this is very valuable advice! Gl for prelims

 

[qna]

following from Eggs, with Mod B year 12 its so important to know the whole text rather than only key scenes. so macro techniques is interesting i havent heard of that tho, but is true. this is hard, we only did revision on this like 2 days ago so im working on it too, but if you have the idea of smaller scenes and minor characters but still more in depth with the main parts then that is rlly great.

saying "you dont understand" is harsh did you not do enough quotes or not know context?

Yeah I hear this a lot, it is hard but makes a lot of sense, thanks!

Haha idk they didn't really elaborate, but I have been criticised for my lack of context previously as well as somewhat irrelevant quotes (not as much though), so that's probably it.

 

[qna]

did you read the text?

Yep even twice lol

 

[qna]

Engage with the text as much as you can. Not just by reading it, but find articles about it, those can give very good analysis on niche parts of the texts which can improve your understanding and give you more points to talk about. Write unprompted paragraphs about whatever you found interesting within the text. Ask others what they think about it, what they thought was more interesting, etc...

Wow yeah these are good strategies, thanks!

 

[qna]

Hey Qna, this is a really great question that so many students ask.

First, 'understanding' a text occurs on multiple levels, and HSC English in particular demands a higher level of understanding/interpretation.

1. Literal understanding - here, you know what literally happens in the text, who the characters are, and some of the general themes. This literal level of understanding will get you a C-range result at most, because in the marker's eyes, anyone can gather a literal understanding by reading the book and scrolling through a bunch of SparkNotes/Wikipedia pages. In this sense, this level of understanding is considered 'satisfactory' or 'basic (looking at the C-range here!)

2. Subtextual/thematic/contextual understanding - here, you understand the text on a deeper, symbolic level, and your interpretation of the text's content and form is deepend by background knowledge of the composer, the text's compositional context, and the thematic and symbolic meanings embedded in the plot, character, form, settings etc. So rather than just knowing that 'this character does this', and 'this happens and explores this theme', you can make deeper judgments about 'the character, in doing this, represents xyz concerns of the composer', and 'this happens to reveal xyz insights into the intricacy and depth of this theme that the text explores'.

3. Personal/critical understanding - here, you not only understand the literal and symbolic/contextual ideas explored through the text, but you've formed your own judgment of the text's overall purpose and meaning. So, you're not only able to make isolated judgments about a few quotes or characters, but you understand how everything within the text functions in a cohesive way to convey a much deeper set of meanings. This is usually the product of sustained thinking and studying in relation to a text, and doing extra research to look for academic articles and exemplar essays that synthesise the purpose and value of a text. What is the composer's intention? Is this intention met? What does the text achieve, and what effect does it have on the reader? How does this text achieve an effect/meaning so effectively? Why and how does it provoke a response from the reader? How and why does the text endure in its representation of xyz?

The best way to understand your text is to go through the levels in an intentional manner:
1. Read and understand the literal events and meaning of the text. Create brief plot/chapter summaries to outline your understanding.
2. Read and understand the text with research into the themes, and the composer's background and concerns. Annotate your text, form analysis that is organised by theme, idea, character etc. Discern the key language devices/forms that are distinctive for that text and composer, and ask yourself why they're used.
3. Read and understand the text with in-depth research into academic articles (university level analysis of the text), and by thinking about the text personally in terms of your experience and perspective of the world. Understanding texts in HSC English requires you to relate and apply the text to human society and the human condition in real life. Use empathy -- why is this character this way, what wisdom am I meant to gain by experiencing their journey, how is this text commenting on something deeper about humanity, culture, and society? Here, you should begin forming high-level analysis and practice essays that condense your understanding in terms of the conceptual framework of the specific module you're studying.

This is such an intricate response, thank you so much, will definitely be doing these from now on!

 

[qna]

Thanks guys!!!! I feel much more ready to tackle HSC English now! Best wishes for your journeys

 

[idkkdi]

On a level that doesn't make your teachers scribble 'you don't understand the text' all over your essays (story of my trials)

litcharts if that still exists

 

[enchantedivory27]

litcharts if that still exists

lol yeah true