• Best of luck to the class of 2024 for their HSC exams. You got this!
    Let us know your thoughts on the HSC exams here
  • YOU can help the next generation of students in the community!
    Share your trial papers and notes on our Notes & Resources page
MedVision ad

Does anyone else have no idea what they're doing for their MW? (2 Viewers)

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
I had my first lesson yesterday and realised that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do for my Major Work. All I know is it'll be a narrative. Anyone else in this same boat, or do you know what you're doing already? XDDD
 

phy6au

New Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
Yeah, I'm in the same boat but I'm not even 100% sure of what medium I'm gonna do. I think it will be a script though.
 

hope14

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
64
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
Argh, me too! I was thinking short story but my teacher seems pretty keen for me to do a critical response and now I'm confused about what I want!
And idea-wise, I don't know if my preliminary idea is too cliched / not intelligent enough for an EX2 course.
 

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@phy6au - a script! That's interesting :D Will it be just a written one, or will you record it as well? I'm too scared to do a script because I've never really written one before :D

@hope14- xDD I have the same problem with worrying about being cliched/too preachy. Good luck with yours! Are you generally better at critical or creative writing?
 

hope14

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
64
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@hope14- xDD I have the same problem with worrying about being cliched/too preachy. Good luck with yours! Are you generally better at critical or creative writing?
@joscat: Um... the only critical responses I have really written are essays for English about texts and I have received good marks, admittedly, I just don't think they were sophisticated (e.g. idea/technique/effect etc.) and aren't EX2 majors overly sophisticated? Generally I get slightly lower marks in creative writing, but not significantly. Have you formed an initial idea since you created this thread?
 

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@hope14- Yeah.... maybe read some examples of past critical MW's to see how deep and meaningful they have to be? So have you decided to go critical or creative? :)

Yup! I've got an idea to do with Hamlet. It's kind of all over the place at the moment, but it's centred around the idea of life being a like a chessboard with peoples' morals/values dictating which way they can move. I'm not sure if I'll appropriate Hamlet into a new context or set it during one of the 'missing' scenes of the play... still kinda vague but I'm working on it :3
 

Blue Suede

a bedroom philosopher
Joined
Feb 28, 2010
Messages
2,016
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2019
Just start with any idea, even if it's a bit cliched, and go with it! Throughout the researching/writing process, you'll get more of an idea about what you want to write about.

It's fairly usual for people to start off with one idea, and end up in a completely different place. When I did ext 2, I wrote three separate stories and it was a LOT of work, but I was happy with my end result and learnt something more about what I wanted to do through each attempt :)
 

hope14

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
64
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@joscat: your idea sounds great even if you still think it is a bit vague at the moment. This is what I mean about all EX2 works being clever. :D I think I'll just go creative... maybe... :S I have a semi-idea for that at least, even if it isn't very good. Hopefully, as Blue Suede just said, the idea will develop into something better as I go. Good luck with yours.
 

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@Blue Suede- Thanks for the advice! :)

@hope14- Thank you! ^^ And that's cool... mind sharing your idea or is it still developing? :)
 

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
Oh! So I did xD *is bad at recognising usernames on the sidebar* Your idea is really interesting! How's your journal going?
 

hope14

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
64
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
Haha... that's fine :D I didn't notice either until I went back to copy the URL.

On the journal... is badly an option? I haven't done very much research just writing about some Board stuff, little bit on initial idea and mindmapping favourite texts for inspiration etc. Is freaking me a bit but its not really marked so I hope to get it up to a point I am happy with (some research etc.) and then do heaps of research / writing over the holidays... What about you??? Also what type / method are you using for the journal??
 

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
Ahaha that doesn't sound like it's going too badly, at least you have texts for inspiration and stuff :) I've just written ramblings on possible ideas and then expanded on the one I liked; I did some research yesterday and found some Hamlet essays that I'm gonna print out and highlight and annotate xD

I've got a sort of hardcover book and I'm doing it half by hand, the other half I'll print out and paste in :) What about you?
 

nerdasdasd

Dont.msg.me.about.english
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
5,353
Location
A, A
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Uni Grad
2017
I have major works, who wants the link ?
 

hope14

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
64
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
I think I'll use a lever arch folder then one of those A3 art diaries to paste my drafts in.
How neat do you think yours will be by the end? haha
 

joscat

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
30
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@nerdasdasd- what do you mean? :) I've read some old ones already, as well as some of the ones from the 2008 showcase book.

@hope14- Sounds good! xD I'm hopeless at keeping folders organised so it was always gonna be a book for me xD and LOL mine's already getting messy and my handwriting is sort of terrible. I'm gonna try find inspiring pictures at least, to keep it interesting :D Are you still working on the idea/themes in your story or have you started thinking about plot and characters? From the other thread your idea sounded like it was already pretty solid.
 

teganjoyy

New Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
28
Gender
Female
HSC
2012
Argh, me too! I was thinking short story but my teacher seems pretty keen for me to do a critical response and now I'm confused about what I want!
And idea-wise, I don't know if my preliminary idea is too cliched / not intelligent enough for an EX2 course.
You want to do something that you will enjoy, SO much work goes into it. Even if seems cliched you can always take those idea's and develop them :)
 

hope14

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2012
Messages
64
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
@joscat: I want to use pictures but I don't really know what kind of pictures will be relevent to my idea. I'm kinda OCD so hope to keep mine fairly neat (doubt it will work though). Does my idea really sound solid? :D That's ... reassuring. I have some thoughts for plot so hope to develop them some more this week. What about you?

@teganjoyy: so you don't think it will matter if some are overused?
 

teganjoyy

New Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
28
Gender
Female
HSC
2012
It depends what you want out of your major work I guess, whether you want something you are absolutely proud of and honestly enjoyed working on, or something that is going to ultimately score amazingly. In a perfect world you want a combination of both, but I know I'll be so proud of mine no matter how it scores, the most rewarding thing I have ever done and the only thing that got me through year 12. If you look through the showcase books they are all super original with multiple perspectives and so much stuff crammed into them, but that's not to say people don't do just as well, the purpose of those books is to show off the range of ways you can do language and what people have done within the course.

Look, as my advanced teacher says, 'don't look for a perfect idea, look for a idea to perfect.' You can write it all out and then pick up the bits you think are overused and think how you can give them a new edge. I know people who wrote out their whole story then thought a script would suit it beter and changed it to that, added letters instead of normal narration, changed their whole thing from first to third person, you can always manipulate it! If you do that you will be right. If you'd like, I can email you my major work to read, just to get an idea? I obviously don't have my marks back yet though. :)

I think, the most important thing, is to enjoy it and have something you are proud of. That is just me though. I think if you put too much pressure on yourself to get an amazing mark you automatically are hindering yourself.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 2)

Top