Studying for english (1 Viewer)

[Saintly Devil]

This is a question which has been hanging at the back of my mind for a long time now:

How are you supposed to study for english?

Do you make notes like other subjects? but then on what? there aren't any dot points which tell you exactly what you need to study.

Do you just write essays/stories/letters to the editor..etc. again and again (on different questions of course) and then hand them in for marking?

Or does it largely come naturally?

Because for some subjects, you can just make notes and go over past papers - sciences, sdd, ipt. for others u also have to write some practice essays - eco, social science. and for others you just have to do question after question after question - math.

but english??........

 

[lillaila]

I dunno, i guess it kinda comes naturally. In junoir high i was so good then came yr 11 and i fell from top to bottom'cos the type of english work changed.
Try was u suggested, 'cos that's all i kno.....lots of essays, try and predict some of the questions.
Some things u can work on are i dunno......basic little stuff like vocab and spelling.
Err.....what else? U gotta read a lot, practise reading fast, like your eyes zoom across the page but it must get stuck in ur head. To me english is just so boring....i guess.

 

[CHUDYMASTER]

Sogz, try posting up stickers around your bedroom with quotes and important facts.

Ask yourself obvious questions and write essays for them. eg. "The success of a transformation depends on a composer's artistry and vision. Discuss with reference to RnG are dead and Hamlet"

That one should cover everything you need for the module we did already. Whatever you do, DON'T read the stuff again. It's boring and useless.

 

[Butterfly_Wings]

Memorise quotes (not an excessive number...you should only need to remember something like 6 for each essay question, and they don't need to be long), and just practice doing different essay questions, in different text types. Make sure you know exactly how to set out all the text types they can ask. (like the correct way to set out a letter, and so forth...) Work out some wide readings you want to use in advance, but also work out a few spare ones in case you get into an exam and realise one of them will not tie in well with the question they've set), and don't forget the name of the composer!

Aside from the critical study, English questions pretty broad and predictable, (you'll probably notice your practice essays for each unit are quite similar every time you do them..) so there really isn't that much you need to actually know...it's just how you get it onto paper!
And time limits! You only get 40 mins to do a LOT of writing, so being able to write in time limits is the absolute key!

Another thing to do to score points with the marker is to memorise a quote from some poet or author or whatever to refer to...not a quote from the text, but just a quote referring to whatever it is the paper is on, like Change. These come in very handy for conclusions or introductions!

 

[ashwin]

I dont know how it works for others, but for me it comes naturally. I just do it. But for when u have to memorise quites and that, i just write down my quites, then a little sentence explaining the context. Its no good remembering a quotes if u cant explain context. Brush up on all the different text types, know them well. Sticking quotes on ur roof can be bad for your eyes if your roof is very high (hahaha). But different people have different way, you just have to find your own.

 

[elizabethy]

Originally posted by ashwin
I dont know how it works for others, but for me it comes naturally. I just do it. But for when u have to memorise quites and that, i just write down my quites, then a little sentence explaining the context. Its no good remembering a quotes if u cant explain context. Brush up on all the different text types, know them well. Sticking quotes on ur roof can be bad for your eyes if your roof is very high (hahaha). But different people have different way, you just have to find your own.

wat are Quites??? i guess u mean to say Quotes! am i right??

 

[CHUDYMASTER]

It's wrong to say english comes naturally, because it simply does not.

Perhaps the skill of reading and comprehending is a natural thing, but even it, like learning to speak english itself, can be a purely cultivated thing. If you weren't brought up to speak english, you simply won't be good at english. It's merely through reading and writing and trying to read and write accurately and precisely that you will get better at it. (hmm, look at all those 'ands'.)

Once you've mastered this, you are free to bullcrap your way through to course and be a successful english student!

 

[Rahul]

read ur text a couple of times.
research it on the net.
read more books abt ur text (excel, study guides, etc.)

 

[Minai]

The best way to study english for the HSC is to simply memorise essays. Theres no other way - who cares if it doesnt teach u anything, but in the HSC, they dont reward good thinking, they reward good essays, and the only way u can write a good essay is to have them preprepared.
However this isnt to say that if u memorise 1 essay for a module, that u'll be able to apply it to any question, rather, have 1 general essay memorised based on everything (hint: understanding the actual module is the key to knowing what they can ask) and study the module sufficiently to be confident in adding and taking out stuff "on the fly" during the exam to suit the question.

This may work for some, and not for others. It takes quite a deal of dedication

 

[ashwin]

Originally posted by elizabethy



wat are Quites??? i guess u mean to say Quotes! am i right??

Yes i mean "quotes". I was very tired when writing this, and therefore i was mistyping heaps! Sheesh! U gotta figure that much out!

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

Originally posted by MinAi
The best way to study english for the HSC is to simply memorise essays. Theres no other way - who cares if it doesnt teach u anything, but in the HSC, they dont reward good thinking, they reward good essays, and the only way u can write a good essay is to have them preprepared.
However this isnt to say that if u memorise 1 essay for a module, that u'll be able to apply it to any question, rather, have 1 general essay memorised based on everything (hint: understanding the actual module is the key to knowing what they can ask) and study the module sufficiently to be confident in adding and taking out stuff "on the fly" during the exam to suit the question.

This may work for some, and not for others. It takes quite a deal of dedication

hehe one of my friend memorises 10+ page essays for one exam that covers everything and cut paragraphs out in the exam depending on the questions He generally gets close to, if not full marks each time...

looks like we are on2 something here lol

 

[Saintly Devil]

Originally posted by Constip8edSkunk

10+ page essays for one exam that covers everything

How do you do that? What kind of question do you answer to in order make a "generalised" essay or an essay that covers everything?

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

well for each exam, where they give you the outcomes or topic and stuffs like that you can narrow down the field or area in which is going to be examined on. For example the comparative study module on hamlet and Ros+Guil is most likely going to be about the context of the 2 plays and the differing values over time or something like that. then you write everything you know about the 2 text in the form of an essay and perhaps prepare a few different intro/conclusions, though most likely you gonna do that during the exam as they depend mostly on the questions being asked.

 

[Minai]

yeah its all about understand the module, and wat they can ask. If u aren't good at predicting wat can be asked, then u are basically going in blind.

 

[parko]

I guess i study for english the same as any other subject, although usually before an assesment task, not all during the term. there's too much stuff to know about your material

Writing notes on the context, values, themes, devices etc etc in the text (not endles pages or anything. i do a little mind map with the title of the text in the middle and have a few spokes coming out of that. its good for quick revision as u can just look at it and find your major points)

I try and learn a few quotes here and there, i dont really bother with that until i know i have an assesment task coming up cos they take up precious space in the brain!!

gathering related material (which i havent done yet!!! my bad!)and making notes on that and knowing how it relates to your topic.

our teacher has given us a sheet of practice essays to do (there's about 8) which are handy. keeps your essay writing up, gives u practice etc etc (but they're sooooo boring!!) she marks them and gives us feeedback on them. If u get a chance write something like an essay and hand it to your teacher, or ask them for a question to write about.

uhhh, thats probably about it.

just revise now and then, practice, and know what your'e on about

 

[smegger_em]

what worked for me was making notes. i would go through notes from class and ones i had made myself whilst reading the texts in in some cases ones i has made while reading critical material. i would take all those notes and summarise and turn them into something more comprhensive. then i would use those notes and so the same thing again and agian.
also practices essays, while boring are very useful. as is memorising a few quotes, and sticking them up arounf the house does work well.
more generally, i found that if you have some intellignet sounding prases in your head (generally realating what ever you are talking about back to 'sociey') then teachers and markers got for that. also some humour doesnt go astray, specially in the creative sections, if you can manage that very select and warped branch that appeals to english teachers. after all they are marking a hell of a lot of work and if you can make them enjoy it a tad, thats bound to help.
also speacking of creative, go in there with a short story plan, a feature article plan etc so you dont waste time trying to brainstorm durring your 40 minutes.

 

[freaking_out]

Originally posted by MinAi
The best way to study english for the HSC is to simply memorise essays.

i completely agree with your method, . btw can you pls. upload some of your general essays i just wanna see it...

 

[Minai]

Originally posted by freaking_out


i completely agree with your method, . btw can you pls. upload some of your general essays i just wanna see it...

PM me on the weekend to remind me
I have to scan them all in and I dont have the time right now

and yes, memorisation - although not the optimal and ethically correct method, it is the most effective method for the HSC exam

 

[freaking_out]

PM me on the weekend to remind me

yep, i think its the weekend now . anyway i am interested in how you manipulated it for different txt types (like last years aos paper had a feature article instead of essay) and stuff like that

 

[f001error]

Originally posted by Minai
PM me on the weekend to remind me
I have to scan them all in and I dont have the time right now

and yes, memorisation - although not the optimal and ethically correct method, it is the most effective method for the HSC exam

i too would really really really like to have a look at these general essays so i can kinda get an idea on how to study for english