How much writing does it take to get a Band 5/6? (1 Viewer)

[gonnaflynow]

I checked the word count for my trial papers and was pretty disappointed with how much I wrote. English is my weakest subject, but I'm still hoping to try and get into that mid Band 5 range so I'm wondering how much work that will actually take. Also if anyone would be willing to give me feedback on my trials that would be very appreciated.

 

[killer queen]

Word count isn’t what matters! I know people who write like 800-900 words and have band 5/6 responses - what matters is targeting the question, and thorough analysis of evidence. Honestly, if your aim is to get into the Band 5 range, use ChatGPT - not to write essays, but to give you feedback. Even if it isn’t the most reliable, it knows structures that do well and can likely tighten your language and evidence. Talk through essay plans with it to ensure you’re hitting the question on the head. Also, practicing rubric language! For example, in Mod A, you should use the words “textual conversation” in your essay even if it’s not in the question, as that’s what the entire module is about. Focus not on amount of evidence but rather the depth of analysis, and ensure you link it back to the module and question!

Hopefully this somewhat helps!! What feedback did you specifically get in trials?

 

[Trial&Error]

I checked the word count for my trial papers and was pretty disappointed with how much I wrote. English is my weakest subject, but I'm still hoping to try and get into that mid Band 5 range so I'm wondering how much work that will actually take. Also if anyone would be willing to give me feedback on my trials that would be very appreciated.

Agreed with killer queen. I memorise 700-800 word essays and adapting in the exam takes them to 900-1000 words max. My school predicted I’ll get high band 6 in hsc for both adv and ext1. As long as you‘re explaining everything and answering the question it’s 100% quality over quantity.

A key thing I like doing is I go through my essays and think “Is this sentence adding anything to my argument” that way you can use every word you write to its maximum potential.

another tip is to write slightly bigger and leave bigger spaces between your words so it looks like you write a lot. The markers won’t be counting every single word. For almost every essay I use an extra booklet but I’m writing 1000 words max, whereas some people I know write the same amount but only use 3/4 of the booklet.

hope this helps

 

[academic_reaper]

Word count isn’t what matters! I know people who write like 800-900 words and have band 5/6 responses - what matters is targeting the question, and thorough analysis of evidence. Honestly, if your aim is to get into the Band 5 range, use ChatGPT - not to write essays, but to give you feedback. Even if it isn’t the most reliable, it knows structures that do well and can likely tighten your language and evidence. Talk through essay plans with it to ensure you’re hitting the question on the head. Also, practicing rubric language! For example, in Mod A, you should use the words “textual conversation” in your essay even if it’s not in the question, as that’s what the entire module is about. Focus not on amount of evidence but rather the depth of analysis, and ensure you link it back to the module and question!

Hopefully this somewhat helps!! What feedback did you specifically get in trials?

Is it worth using rubric terms for mod a + b? Our teacher drilled it into us for com mod, but no mention of it for other modules...

 

[gonnaflynow]

Word count isn’t what matters! I know people who write like 800-900 words and have band 5/6 responses - what matters is targeting the question, and thorough analysis of evidence. Honestly, if your aim is to get into the Band 5 range, use ChatGPT - not to write essays, but to give you feedback. Even if it isn’t the most reliable, it knows structures that do well and can likely tighten your language and evidence. Talk through essay plans with it to ensure you’re hitting the question on the head. Also, practicing rubric language! For example, in Mod A, you should use the words “textual conversation” in your essay even if it’s not in the question, as that’s what the entire module is about. Focus not on amount of evidence but rather the depth of analysis, and ensure you link it back to the module and question!

Hopefully this somewhat helps!! What feedback did you specifically get in trials?

I wrote about 500 words for each of my essays, which was just over 3 pages. The main feedback I got was to deepen analysis and conceptual engagement, and to elevate vocab. Using the syllabus words is the one thing I actually feel like I do well in English cause it always gives me something to fall back on and yap about. I'll definitely take your advice on using ChatGPT, thanks!