IMPORTANT: PAPER 1 n 2 ESL (1 Viewer)

[VQ]

I did my ESL trial last week (which is then I have to re-sit again this week)...several questions come into my mind tho'..can u guys help?

1. Paper 1: the last question usually worth big marks, like 6-7...how long should I write anyway? What is the meaning of class talk (my teacher says that it is form of casual speech?) anyway?

2. Essay on paper 1: How many texts actually should I write? I know that it is four including two from the list, one from the booklet, and one from my own choosing...well, then, some of the texts on the list have sub-list too, like in Peter's poem. Should I simply choose one? or better then I write about 3/4 from the list (and if yes, I wonder, how can I write about those texts in about 40 minutes?)..


Is it enough if I wrote about 7 pages (my handwritting is huge at exam time-say, 10 words per line?) explaining one Peter's poem, one novel from the list, one text from booklet, and simply one other text?

3. Essay on paper 2: or other form of text...how long should it be?

Thanks a lot guys...anyway, aiming for band 5/6 in ESL

 

[Survivor39]

1. 6 - 7 pages should be fine, as long as you have communicated your points well. If this is the 20 marks extended response you're talking about
A class talk is a speech. The degree of formalism is up to you.

2. I don't know about your prescribed texts. But your teacher should have told you how many to include in your essay. For example, when I did mine on "Through Australian Eyes", we had to write about 3 documentaries from that series (we've learned a total of 4). Plus another one "Whose Life..", Stimulus Booklet and one of my own choosing.

Again, there is no word limits for the extended responses. As long as you have included everything that you wanted to convey, including an intro, body and conclusion, you'll be fine.

3. Since you only have 30 min for EACH response, the length of your essays should be shorter compared to your Journey essay. Usually your essay will be longer for the topic you know more or the question suited well with your knowledge of the topic. And you probably will attempt that question first. When I did mine, I wrote about 3-4 pages for each extended response for Paper 2 (HSC booklets which have big spacing).


Good luck.

 

[MarsBarz]

I think you misunderstood his first question. I believe that he was referring to the last question in the reading section of paper 1 which is usually worth about 7 marks. I think that you only need 1 to 1.5 pages for that one but I am not certain. I guess it would really depend on other factors. You could write 3 entire pages and not have answered the question thereby getting low marks or you could have a perfect one page answer. It all depends.

Survivor you look like you are knowledgable about the ESL course. My teacher has taught very poorly this year and I am a bit confused by what I am expected to do for the essay in paper 1. When studying the concept of Journeys, do I have to focus entirely on one area? What I mean is do I focus on physical journeys or do I focus on emotional journey etc..? Do I have to talk about the different kinds of journeys undergone in my texts? Can you please clarify what the paper1 essay should consist of?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Survivor39]

Ok, in that case, for the 7 marks question, 1 to 1.5 pages will suffice. Often students who wrote too much will be penalised in the sense that you have lost so much valuable time in doing a 7 mark questions, instead, you could have used the time to polish your 20 marks essay.

Our teacher used to make us write within about 100 to 150 words (this is usually given following the questions, on how many words the examiners are expect from you). If we wrote more, she would deduct 1 mark per 50 words over.


MarsBarz, although I did not studied Journey as a topic (Prior to 2004 we did Perspective), I had a look at the HSC exam questions from 2004, it seems they expect the same level of understanding of texts regardless of what the "theme" might be.

The 2004 questions asked the different types of journeys described by the composers and how these are communicated. Clearly you need to focus on all of the different types of journeys that you have studied - physical, emotional and intellectual journeys. You need to examine how these three journeys are conveyed to you, based on the techniques used by the composers, such as a variety of language techniques, types of language, text features, and visual techniques (for films and cartoons). You really need to focus on how these techniques relates to, and help the composer, to get their sense of journeys across, not just merely listing the techniques without real connection to the essence of the question.

The examiners will expect the same depth of understanding of you about your prescribed and chosen texts in the 2005 HSC Exam. Therefore, yes, you will need to know about all types of journeys. I hope this helps.

Good luck.