Do you think this is an effective way of studying? (1 Viewer)

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hey guys,

for english (standard), the main ways I study for it is basically reading HEAPS of notes from study guides as well reading essays which I have done.
I dont do any practise papers etc. basically I just do a whole LOT of reading and understanding the text.

is this an effective way to study? does anyone else do this?

btw: im ranked 1st in english standard.
 

tommykins

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回复: Do you think this is an effective way of studying?

well alot of people will tell you to pre-prepare essays, which i personally dont like.

the girl topping our school in 2unit, 3unit and 4unit english studies the way you do. reads notes, critiques and her past responses, she doesn't have pre-prepared essays.
 

DownInFlames

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it's effective for learning about the texts but not for getting your exam/essay technique up to scratch, which is also pretty important. There's only so many marks you can get for an in-depth understanding of the text.

practise papers are great just so that when it comes to the exam you'll already have practised that type of question (hopefully) and have some ideas floating around in your head that you know how to apply to text and questions
 
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Re: 回复: Do you think this is an effective way of studying?

tommykins said:
well alot of people will tell you to pre-prepare essays, which i personally dont like.

the girl topping our school in 2unit, 3unit and 4unit english studies the way you do. reads notes, critiques and her past responses, she doesn't have pre-prepared essays.
oh okay. the only pre-prepared stuff i have is my creative writing and my AOS essay. both of which I can easily modify to suit the question.

but for the modules, I dont have pre prepared stuff.
 
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DownInFlames said:
it's effective for learning about the texts but not for getting your exam/essay technique up to scratch, which is also pretty important. There's only so many marks you can get for an in-depth understanding of the text.

practise papers are great just so that when it comes to the exam you'll already have practised that type of question (hopefully) and have some ideas floating around in your head that you know how to apply to text and questions
Hi,

I was just curius, what did you mean when you said: "There's only so many marks you can get for an in-depth understanding of the text"?

And also, what is your opinion about doing pre-prepared essays and then modifying it to suit an exam question?

thanks.
 

dolbinau

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I don't believe it's an effective way just to read notes. You may know your texts really well, but you need to get it down on paper - and you have to relate this to the outcomes of the module and get practice of how to apply it to a specific question. And you need to practice this all in 40 minutes.

I only really practiced writing essays for the Trial exams and it increased my results dramatically (ranked 1st 90% CSSA for that assessment), because in the exam instead of trying to think of how to use a technique in a sentence you've already practiced it and you remember phrases etc..

I also don't understand what people mean by 'pre-prepared'. If you mean Word-for-word written I don't see how can work that effectively, but a similar structure with a bank of techniques and a consistent 'direction' for writing your essays in each module is useful for me.

At least write 2 practice essays per module before the exam, IMO.
 

teags21

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alot of people find that reading and writing pre prepared essays helps them study for english it is different 4 each individual . this method is effective for me and i am ranked 3rd in standard english although i make sure i know my texts and techniques for each of them .
 

DownInFlames

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ConquerDiscover said:
Hi,

I was just curius, what did you mean when you said: "There's only so many marks you can get for an in-depth understanding of the text"?

And also, what is your opinion about doing pre-prepared essays and then modifying it to suit an exam question?

thanks.
first bit: I mean that although in-depth understanding of the text is crucially important to doing well in english, there are also other aspects which you can only really get from innate ability or extra exam practice. You need to be able to come up with a thesis (hopefully you've already got opinions on it) which is appropriate to the question, pick out the relevant bits of information to base your introduction on, write quickly and coherently, and formulate an argument logically using appropriate language.

They are allowed to ask you any for any specific text form on the day (even though it's usually pretty generic because it's the same exam for the standard students), to write about any particular character or scene, to argue a particular side of the case. It's not as easy as you'd think to come up with ideas for a feature article or a speech in 5 minutes. It helps to have practised a wide range of questions and text-types, to have written an essay from the opposite perspective, etc. This way you know that you've got all your ideas in order and won't falter on the day even if the question throws you a little.

You also need to have a good understanding of the unit of study and what's in the rubric for assessment (can lose you a LOT of marks eg. decent essay gets you 5/20). You need the understanding of the text to do this, yes, but you also need to be able to juggle your exam technique quickly and effectively, and the best way to learn this is to practise. The people who did best in english were always the ones who had practised heaps of past papers, gotten feedback from the teacher, rewritten until they got 19 or 20/20 for them, and learned that way.

second bit: I know some people have done quite well pre-preparing essays and modifying them to suit the question. I don't agree with using this method so much, especially with people memorising generic essays almost word-for-word. I think the best responses are always going to come from good understanding of the text and how to apply it to the question. I don't think doing a lot of past papers is necessarily pre-preparing essays, but it helps during an exam when you get a question that you've done something similar to before, and you can think back to the feedback you got and not make the same mistakes again, not try to use arguments that you later realise you can't support, etc. And as I said before with the text types, if they ask you for a speech or a feature article or an interview or something, and you've never tried to write one before, you might be in for a rough time no matter how well you know the text.

So there's my answer. Sorry it's a bit long... x_x

and my exam tip for today: the introduction is worth a lot. A bad introduction will give the marker a bad first impression, and they're only spending like, 10 minutes reading your paper, so that's not good. Do it well.
 
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DownInFlames said:
first bit: I mean that although in-depth understanding of the text is crucially important to doing well in english, there are also other aspects which you can only really get from innate ability or extra exam practice. You need to be able to come up with a thesis (hopefully you've already got opinions on it) which is appropriate to the question, pick out the relevant bits of information to base your introduction on, write quickly and coherently, and formulate an argument logically using appropriate language.

They are allowed to ask you any for any specific text form on the day (even though it's usually pretty generic because it's the same exam for the standard students), to write about any particular character or scene, to argue a particular side of the case. It's not as easy as you'd think to come up with ideas for a feature article or a speech in 5 minutes. It helps to have practised a wide range of questions and text-types, to have written an essay from the opposite perspective, etc. This way you know that you've got all your ideas in order and won't falter on the day even if the question throws you a little.

You also need to have a good understanding of the unit of study and what's in the rubric for assessment (can lose you a LOT of marks eg. decent essay gets you 5/20). You need the understanding of the text to do this, yes, but you also need to be able to juggle your exam technique quickly and effectively, and the best way to learn this is to practise. The people who did best in english were always the ones who had practised heaps of past papers, gotten feedback from the teacher, rewritten until they got 19 or 20/20 for them, and learned that way.

second bit: I know some people have done quite well pre-preparing essays and modifying them to suit the question. I don't agree with using this method so much, especially with people memorising generic essays almost word-for-word. I think the best responses are always going to come from good understanding of the text and how to apply it to the question. I don't think doing a lot of past papers is necessarily pre-preparing essays, but it helps during an exam when you get a question that you've done something similar to before, and you can think back to the feedback you got and not make the same mistakes again, not try to use arguments that you later realise you can't support, etc. And as I said before with the text types, if they ask you for a speech or a feature article or an interview or something, and you've never tried to write one before, you might be in for a rough time no matter how well you know the text.

So there's my answer. Sorry it's a bit long... x_x

and my exam tip for today: the introduction is worth a lot. A bad introduction will give the marker a bad first impression, and they're only spending like, 10 minutes reading your paper, so that's not good. Do it well.
oh okay...thanks for replying back.

um..yeah, I've looked through some past papers and looked at what kind of questions they ask etc, nothing too hard I reckon.

I'm pretty confident my in depth understanding of my texts from back to front will get me though, even though I didnt do a lot of past papers.

Btw, is it good if in the same paragraph, I'm talking about the presribed text and making links to my related text? Apparently this was showing synthesis...?

How can I make a good introduction + how long does it have to be?

And...Any tips for creative writing?

And also finally, I was wondering, what mark did you get for English in your HSC?

Thanks

:)
 

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ConquerDiscover said:
Btw, is it good if in the same paragraph, I'm talking about the presribed text and making links to my related text? Apparently this was showing synthesis...?
yep as long as you're using it to develop your argument and not just going "I must refer to both I must refer to both I must refer to both"

How can I make a good introduction + how long does it have to be?
This is a good summary which applies to any essay:

You need to define what you are going to talk about. Otherwise your marker can't tell if you've talked about it meaningfully or not.
You need to show your marker what you are trying to do with your topic - your direction.
You need to show your marker what you are going to cover (and what you're not, if need be).
You need to give your marker background information necessary to their understanding. (but not to much info: assume they already know the text back to front. You shouldn't describe the plot or anything)

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/business-economics/marketing/2.2.2.xml

And, as long as you need it to be. Could be half a page if it's a longer essay. the writing booklets tend to have massive spaces between the lines so half a page on one of them is a pretty good length.

And...Any tips for creative writing?
not really. just the obvious ones like steering clear of topics that everyone else in the word picks, and making sure your show character/plot development through actions of the character

And also finally, I was wondering, what mark did you get for English in your HSC?
tbh I don't remember. It seems like a very long time ago, now.
 
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Na sorry, all the very top students in english have pre-prepared essays.
what sets them out from the other thousands of students who prepare their essays is their ability to adapt it to the question.

unless you're a genius, its borderline impossible to construct and write a proper essay in 40 min.
 

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u-borat said:
unless you're a genius, its borderline impossible to construct and write a proper essay in 40 min.
It isn't really. If you're adqauately prepared.
Many of the best students at our school didn't memorise essays (I'm talking people who got 99+ UAI). I never did and I went well in english through most of high school.
 
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DownInFlames said:
yep as long as you're using it to develop your argument and not just going "I must refer to both I must refer to both I must refer to both"



This is a good summary which applies to any essay:

You need to define what you are going to talk about. Otherwise your marker can't tell if you've talked about it meaningfully or not.
You need to show your marker what you are trying to do with your topic - your direction.
You need to show your marker what you are going to cover (and what you're not, if need be).
You need to give your marker background information necessary to their understanding. (but not to much info: assume they already know the text back to front. You shouldn't describe the plot or anything)

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/business-economics/marketing/2.2.2.xml

And, as long as you need it to be. Could be half a page if it's a longer essay. the writing booklets tend to have massive spaces between the lines so half a page on one of them is a pretty good length.



not really. just the obvious ones like steering clear of topics that everyone else in the word picks, and making sure your show character/plot development through actions of the character



tbh I don't remember. It seems like a very long time ago, now.
Hi,

thanks for the advice,

My plan is to adopt my Area of study (Paper 1) text and creative writing to the question. I know my pre-preprared essay and story for the area of study very well and made sure that I can adopt it to any question so I'm just going to do that.

As for the modules, its much more broader. Im just going to read over a lot of my notes and maybe do some practise papers but I'm not going to memorise for this, as the questions tend to be very different. My strategy for this is to use my in depth undestanding of the text and apply this understanding to the question.

Anyways thanks a lot, I'll post back here again after the HSC.

:)
 

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I concur with u-borat. Everyone has fancy prepared essays memorised. Your skill in English is determined by your ability to adapt your prepared material to the question, imho.
 

tommykins

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diametric said:
I concur with u-borat. Everyone has fancy prepared essays memorised. Your skill in English is determined by your ability to adapt your prepared material to the question, imho.
person topping our grade (out of 160 students) never prepares essays.
 

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In year 12 i have never not prepared an essay. If i dont i write total crap so i have to prepare.
 

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tommykins said:
person topping our grade (out of 160 students) never prepares essays.
and my sister who got 99 UAI ALWAYS prepared essays.
 

tommykins

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my1stpost said:
and my sister who got 99 UAI ALWAYS prepared essays.
and any bets the person topping our grade will get 99.8+, considering shes topping all her subjects.

=]
 

u-borat

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special case tommy, i'm willing to bet a majority of people who have got state rankings in english prepare their essays.
 

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