ATTENTION: Seeking an english tutor/mentor. Help would be greatly appreciated :) (1 Viewer)

[AVY]

Hello,

I'm a year 12 student seeking some English help. I'm doing really well in all my subjects - I got an ATAR estimate of 98+ however I feel that Eng Adv is letting me down. I'm ranked 4th (my lowest rank) and I only got 79% for my trials D:

I'm not sure what my school is ranked (On a side note - how can I find that out?) but it's definitely NO where near the top. Our teachers aren't very helpful, and yes I've tried talking to them... So that's why I came here

Is anyone willing/know anyone that could help me out? I'm pretty good at writing so I don't need help in terms of the language/structure/writing skills, and I know my texts pretty well. I just need someone to guide and help me understand what the HSC markers require for top responses in the exam. I mainly need practice and it would be great if someone could critique my work and give me extensive feedback for the next month or so. Also, don't worry, I'm willing to pay.

These are the texts that we study:

-AOS Belonging - Immigrant Chronicles Peter Skrzynecki poetry

Module: Texts in time - Blade Runner and Frankenstein
Module: Shakespeare - Hamlet
Module: History and memory - Fiftieth Gate by Mark Baker

(Would be helpful if the person would be familiar with these texts)

Thank you, I appreciate your help/advice

 

[plasticities]

I'm only familiar with Hamlet and the 50th Gate, but I could offer some advice. Did your teachers give you any feedback after the trials? Personally I think one of the things HSC markers look for the most is structure. If you structure your essay really well it shows you can sustain a logical argument, you know what you're talking about and it makes it much easier for them to award you marks. If your teachers haven't told you much about structure, I would recommend it follow something like this:

Introduction
-Address the question and state a thesis (overall what you are trying to prove by writing this essay)
-Introduce your text and related material
-State what themes you are going to discuss to aid your thesis and mention that they will be conveyed through a myriad of language techniques etc.

Theme 1
-Topic sentence. (this should introduce what you believe this theme expresses in terms of the question)
-Quote, mention what technique(s) are used and then further explain how that technique proves your topic sentence.
-Do this for 3/4 quotes
-Small conclusion that may lead into the topic sentence of your next theme.

*Repeat that for your remaining 2 themes (3 themes is usually ideal I think) and for your related material (or in the case of Hamlet, your critique of another author etc)

Conclusion
-I know this is obvious, but don't introduce any new material or ideas. Essentially just reiterate in a nice small package what you said in your essay and how this is a convincing argument for your thesis (which in turn answers your question)

Some additional advice, for the 50th Gate (I don't know how much you've been taught) but you essentially have to come to the conclusion that both history and memory are needed for the most accurate depiction of a historical event. You should have highlighted the pros and cons of each throughout the essay. Also, it isn't necessary, but I think it does help if your related material is in some way related to the Holocaust, just because it adds another level on which you can link the two texts. For Hamlet, choose themes that you think you can easily manipulate, because for Shakespeare (and module B) they can ask pretty much any question and it is impossible for your teachers to teach every theme and aspect of the play. One year they asked about loyalty specifically and my school doesn't teach loyalty as a theme, so you have to be able to think on your feet. Also have about 2 critical people you can analyse to aid your opinion. From memory I used Ash Tekinay as an existential perspective and Sam Coleridge as a Romantic one (although you may only need one).

That's all I can think of now, hopefully it's actually helpful haha

 

[AVY]

Thank you for your info/tips! I appreciate it!