Hi there! A noob in y11 is here to ask you some questions! (1 Viewer)

[Leviathan96]

EDIT: Damn, I ended up writing a lot. Sorry guys!

So, I was surfing the forums to figure out whether or not I should memorise my essays for the HSC - WAIT! Before you get all fired up and start arguing for your party, please hear me out! What initially began as a 'hmmm... should-I-memorise-my-essays?' surfing session, soon morphed into a: "HOLY SHITTOLA! PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM ARE SMART. REALLY SMART. AM I LIVING IN A DAMNING SPHERE OF COMPLACENCY?!" kinda feeling.

My current dilemmas:
- How can I accurately assess my ability? (Humanities)
- You, as a year 12, or as a graduate, how did you assess your ability?
- If my ability does prove to be highly developed, should I still memorise essays?

To start off, these are the subjects I'm planning on doing for my HSC year:
- English Advanced
- English Extension I
- English Extension II
- S.O.R I
- Modern History
- History Extension
- Legal Studies

My current Prelim ranks are in my sig.

Seeing as all my subjects are highly assuming of an adequate amount of skill in writing, you can probably see why I'm concerned. (I won't discuss ranks/results in subjects which I am not planning to carry into the HSC)

- I consistently achieve full marks in all English courses, and 95%+ in Legal Studies/Modern/SOR. I was pretty confident in my ability and the rate at which I'm improving my skill until I found this forum. It's pretty intimidating, actually haha! P.S. I have not and do not pre prepare essays. My marks are based entirely on spontaneity.

- I'm concerned that a 20/20 for an essay or an exam result of 100% at my school (which is ranked lower than Hitler is on Leviathan96's list of the world's most terrible people), is NOT that of full marks at a school which achieves highly.

To put things into perspective, the dux of my school last year received an ATAR of 94.15 lol. (We don't usually do that bad, at least one 98-99'er). I also only have 90 girls in my grade.

- How can I gauge my ability? Accurately. Maybe even a little too harshly.

My Ruse/Baulko/selective school friends who currently attend or have already graduated think I'm pretty legit (in the humanities, God forbid I ever look at a number!)

I'm planning on finding my first English tutor during the six week holidays and asking them to mark (as harshly and damning as possible!) my essays/short answer. Any volunteers? Or referrals?

I think my real problem here is that... I want to know if I'm crap, and if I am crap, I want to fix that immediately!

I love English. I really do. I enjoy writing and I enjoy reading and I enjoy deconstructing, analysing, formulating analytical responses and thesis statements and RAHHHHHHHHH... Hi.

 

[Absolutezero]

tl;dr for those playing at home:

My current dilemmas:
- How can I accurately assess my ability? (Humanities)
- You, as a year 12, or as a graduate, how did you assess your ability?
- If my ability does prove to be highly developed, should I still memorise essays?

 

[deswa1]

Firstly- you have a very good attitude- a lot of people in your situation could easily become complacent and think they are simply the best without accurately being able to tell how they would go against the best in the state. I gauged my ability by looking at my ranks at my selective school- you can see how people of similar ranks did in the HSC and go from there. Also my subjects are a lot more objective (Asian 5- 4U maths etc.) so I could simply mark maths papers for example to get an idea. The only subjects we have in common is advanced english so I'll just talk about that for a bit.

Of course, there is no way for you to tell if your school marks too easily/harshly without comparing to other schools. What I think you should do- find the top HSC mark in english over the past few years and ask your teachers if you are better than them. If you enjoy english so much, that's fantastic and your essay writing could actually be that good. And about your last question- if you manage to sustain very solid marks without memorising, I don't really see a need to begin. The thing with the HSC is do what works for you- don't worry about accepted 'study theory' etc- you are the one sitting the test at the end of the day

 

[Leviathan96]

Fuark. Owned.

Thanks guys!

 

[enoilgam]

Firstly- you have a very good attitude- a lot of people in your situation could easily become complacent and think they are simply the best without accurately being able to tell how they would go against the best in the state. I gauged my ability by looking at my ranks at my selective school- you can see how people of similar ranks did in the HSC and go from there. Also my subjects are a lot more objective (Asian 5- 4U maths etc.) so I could simply mark maths papers for example to get an idea. The only subjects we have in common is advanced english so I'll just talk about that for a bit.

Of course, there is no way for you to tell if your school marks too easily/harshly without comparing to other schools. What I think you should do- find the top HSC mark in english over the past few years and ask your teachers if you are better than them. If you enjoy english so much, that's fantastic and your essay writing could actually be that good. And about your last question- if you manage to sustain very solid marks without memorising, I don't really see a need to begin. The thing with the HSC is do what works for you- don't worry about accepted 'study theory' etc- you are the one sitting the test at the end of the day

This is a good start (the whole last sentence is very very true) - for more specific information on how your skill performs, try this site http://topscores.info/select-nsw.php (obviously, this offers an indication, but nothing concrete). For humanities, one of the major problems in gauging your skill is that quite a few teachers who dont mark a HSC often mark too easily, or they dont know how to mark at all. If your teacher is a HSC marker, then they should be pretty reliable in terms of providing you with an accurate depiction of your skills, but if they are not, you need to find a way to ensure that you know what you are doing.

 

[Leviathan96]

All of my teachers are HSC markers/have been for quite a while. My Legal Studies teacher won some NSW gov outstanding teachers award or sumtin'

I asked my Modern History teacher (who refuses to give full marks/does not believe in a 'perfect' essay/harshest marker EVER) where she thinks I'm at and she says, "with consistent effort I believe you are capable of earning a state rank." This is what made me really want to improve my ability.

That's the thing, I'm not too sure as to why my school achieves so poorly when most of our teachers are really amazing! It makes me sad. This is what sparked my fervent passion towards becoming a teacher!

However, thank you very much for your input. I'm checking out the website now!

 

[enoilgam]

All of my teachers are HSC markers/have been for quite a while. My Legal Studies teacher won some NSW gov outstanding teachers award or sumtin'

I asked my Modern History teacher (who refuses to give full marks/does not believe in a 'perfect' essay/harshest marker EVER) where she thinks I'm at and she says, "with consistent effort I believe you are capable of earning a state rank." This is what made me really want to improve my ability.

That's the thing, I'm not too sure as to why my school achieves so poorly when most of our teachers are really amazing! It makes me sad. This is what sparked my fervent passion towards becoming a teacher!

However, thank you very much for your input. I'm checking out the website now!

My modern teacher was the same when it came to marking as well (he was a senior marker). Given that your teachers are markers, it is extremely likely that they are giving you an accurate depiction of your skills.

My school had great teachers as well, but with the HSC, it really comes down to the students. My modern teacher was fantastic, but I was the only one in our class to get a band 6 - not to sound arrogant, but the reason for that was because I was the only one who really put in the effort to get that mark. You cant motivate the unmotivated - even the best teachers will fail to help a cohort who dont have the desire to do well.

 

[Leviathan96]

I don't think you sound arrogant, not at all. I think that's why I want to teach despite what my entire family/every single person I know keeps saying against it. (I'm Asian - family wants me to do Law). I want to help kids that don't want to learn... learn... or even let those who DO want to learn realise how brilliant their minds can be. It's a struggle, helping non-responsive kids, but I feel as though education is the only way to break the cycle of crappiness, everywhere, and to ensure a sustainable future.

Were you very devoted in year 12? How much did you study for each subject per week on avg? (Sorry for overloading you with questions)

 

[enoilgam]

Were you very devoted in year 12? How much did you study for each subject per week on avg? (Sorry for overloading you with questions)

Yes, I was highly motivated in year 12 and I did put in quite a bit of effort (my result may not be stellar by BoS standards, but I am very proud of them irrespective). Study varies for each person - you shouldnt work to a time per se, but rather towards the point at which you understand the work well.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

I love English. I really do. I enjoy writing and I enjoy reading and I enjoy deconstructing, analysing, formulating analytical responses and thesis statements and RAHHHHHHHHH... Hi.

'If my ability does prove to be highly developed, should I still memorise essays?'

It seems like you are a natural English talent and judging from your passion for English (hence, Extension 2 English), I don't see why you need to memorise your essays. I assume you always know your texts inside out and all so yeah.

The biggest question is:
Will your essays improve if you memorise pre-planned essays? Cause if memorising pre-prepared responses doesn't make a notable difference to the quality and standard of your essays, there's no point in doing it. Will quantity increase? Will quality increase?

As for me, when it comes to English, I memorise most of the pre-planned responses I prepare and adapt to the question on the day for three main reasons:
- I'm just not a natural English talent nor do I love English.
- I usually don't know my texts inside out due to lack of reading. I just pull out quotes and techniques to use for my essays. (Hoping to fix this habit in the HSC)
- I pull off better quality essays AND more quantity (I end up writing more pages compared to not memorising)

 

[hayabusaboston]

EDIT: Damn, I ended up writing a lot. Sorry guys!

So, I was surfing the forums to figure out whether or not I should memorise my essays for the HSC - WAIT! Before you get all fired up and start arguing for your party, please hear me out! What initially began as a 'hmmm... should-I-memorise-my-essays?' surfing session, soon morphed into a: "HOLY SHITTOLA! PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM ARE SMART. REALLY SMART. AM I LIVING IN A DAMNING SPHERE OF COMPLACENCY?!" kinda feeling.

My current dilemmas:
- How can I accurately assess my ability? (Humanities)
- You, as a year 12, or as a graduate, how did you assess your ability?
- If my ability does prove to be highly developed, should I still memorise essays?

To start off, these are the subjects I'm planning on doing for my HSC year:
- English Advanced
- English Extension I
- English Extension II
- S.O.R I
- Modern History
- History Extension
- Legal Studies

My current Prelim ranks are in my sig.

Seeing as all my subjects are highly assuming of an adequate amount of skill in writing, you can probably see why I'm concerned. (I won't discuss ranks/results in subjects which I am not planning to carry into the HSC)

- I consistently achieve full marks in all English courses, and 95%+ in Legal Studies/Modern/SOR. I was pretty confident in my ability and the rate at which I'm improving my skill until I found this forum. It's pretty intimidating, actually haha! P.S. I have not and do not pre prepare essays. My marks are based entirely on spontaneity.

- I'm concerned that a 20/20 for an essay or an exam result of 100% at my school (which is ranked lower than Hitler is on Leviathan96's list of the world's most terrible people), is NOT that of full marks at a school which achieves highly.

To put things into perspective, the dux of my school last year received an ATAR of 94.15 lol. (We don't usually do that bad, at least one 98-99'er). I also only have 90 girls in my grade.

- How can I gauge my ability? Accurately. Maybe even a little too harshly.

My Ruse/Baulko/selective school friends who currently attend or have already graduated think I'm pretty legit (in the humanities, God forbid I ever look at a number!)

I'm planning on finding my first English tutor during the six week holidays and asking them to mark (as harshly and damning as possible!) my essays/short answer. Any volunteers? Or referrals?

I think my real problem here is that... I want to know if I'm crap, and if I am crap, I want to fix that immediately!

I love English. I really do. I enjoy writing and I enjoy reading and I enjoy deconstructing, analysing, formulating analytical responses and thesis statements and RAHHHHHHHHH... Hi.

Fuck i'd kill to have ur english skillz.... omg Im so fucking jealous right now....

 

[Leviathan96]

'If my ability does prove to be highly developed, should I still memorise essays?'

It seems like you are a natural English talent and judging from your passion for English (hence, Extension 2 English), I don't see why you need to memorise your essays. I assume you always know your texts inside out and all so yeah.

The biggest question is:
Will your essays improve if you memorise pre-planned essays? Cause if memorising pre-prepared responses doesn't make a notable difference to the quality and standard of your essays, there's no point in doing it. Will quantity increase? Will quality increase?

As for me, when it comes to English, I memorise most of the pre-planned responses I prepare and adapt to the question on the day for three main reasons:
- I'm just not a natural English talent nor do I love English.
- I usually don't know my texts inside out due to lack of reading. I just pull out quotes and techniques to use for my essays. (Hoping to fix this habit in the HSC)
- I pull off better quality essays AND more quantity (I end up writing more pages compared to not memorising)

+_+ Yuri!!

Well, I don't think quality/quantity suffers from the lack of pre-prep essays. In my Prelims on Monday I went in with only supp texts and quotes which most embodied the contextexual/thematic deconstruction/narrative technique of the texts and got 99% overall. (I lost a mark because I didn't source one of my supp texts properly) -_-.

My only fear is that this won't happen in the heat/stress/fear of the HSC exam room.

 

[Leviathan96]

Fuck i'd kill to have ur english skillz.... omg Im so fucking jealous right now....

If only you could see how great I am at maths........... LOL!

 

[RivalryofTroll]

+_+ Yuri!!

Well, I don't think quality/quantity suffers from the lack of pre-prep essays. In my Prelims on Monday I went in with only supp texts and quotes which most embodied the contextexual/thematic deconstruction/narrative technique of the texts and got 99% overall. (I lost a mark because I didn't source one of my supp texts properly) -_-.

My only fear is that this won't happen in the heat/stress/fear of the HSC exam room.

Clannad! (Dango Daikazoku)

Everyone has the fear of the unknown (dat Gothic convention) so don't worry, it's normal. I'd say you are heading in a good direction for English even without memorising essays... in fact, you seem to be doing better than people who do memorise pre-prepped essays. It's a good strength to have just in case they ask you a non-generic question where memorised essays can't adapt to it (forcing you to know your texts inside out which I assume you do)

I don't think you sound arrogant, not at all. I think that's why I want to teach despite what my entire family/every single person I know keeps saying against it. (I'm Asian - family wants me to do Law). I want to help kids that don't want to learn... learn... or even let those who DO want to learn realise how brilliant their minds can be. It's a struggle, helping non-responsive kids, but I feel as though education is the only way to break the cycle of crappiness, everywhere, and to ensure a sustainable future.

Were you very devoted in year 12? How much did you study for each subject per week on avg? (Sorry for overloading you with questions)

This is simply... fantastic of you to think this way.

 

[fionarykim]

i am just completely jealous of you xP
i am having problem with english, its legit the subject im doing worse it
and its one of the most important subjects for your atar
whats worse is, studying for eng is hard aswell!! T____Tz