I've been told that taking ext 1 just for year 11 can be beneficial for your english skills in general. If I do take ext 1, I plan to drop it for year 12. However, the issue is that I have 13 units right now, as my school requires me to take atleast 6 subjects in year 11. Currently, I'm taking ext maths, chem, phys, geo and eco and taking ext english would bump that up to 14 units. Is this too much? I've also been told that there's a disproportionate amount of work for in ext english for a single unit. I'm definitely more of a 'mathy' person, and english probably my weakest subject (like top 75 idk out of 200 in a top selective school).
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Taking English Ext 1 just for year 11 (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter getmemed
- Start date
14 units is a lot, but perfectly fine in y11. y12 is when you want to drop that down to 12 units
All extension units have a disproportionate amount of work associated. 3u maths is a HUGE jump from 2u maths, and 4u maths is also a big jump from 3u. However, you are rewarded in a) scaling b) you are more focused on one subject, so theoretically, you doing 4u maths could bring up your 3u mark since you're doing so much more maths.
With regards to your specific circumstance, I reckon stick with 3u english for y11, see how you go. It's good practise for y12.
Remember, y11 does not matter in terms of marks, so take risks.
That said, you should definitely tryhard so you have good study habits for y12. Also, if covid strikes again, they might use it to predict marks lmao
All extension units have a disproportionate amount of work associated. 3u maths is a HUGE jump from 2u maths, and 4u maths is also a big jump from 3u. However, you are rewarded in a) scaling b) you are more focused on one subject, so theoretically, you doing 4u maths could bring up your 3u mark since you're doing so much more maths.
With regards to your specific circumstance, I reckon stick with 3u english for y11, see how you go. It's good practise for y12.
Remember, y11 does not matter in terms of marks, so take risks.
That said, you should definitely tryhard so you have good study habits for y12. Also, if covid strikes again, they might use it to predict marks lmao
I notice that you went to grammar too hahah would you say that i would struggle in extension if i was averaging a C, when they recommend it to people averaging D/HD?
black.mamba
Active Member
yeah, that's why i don't understand why we must do a minimum of 6 subjects, because i would've probably just dropped geo or eco to pick up ext english.
Yeah mate, go for it. It's honestly down to the teacher you have, but if you're lucky, you can improve greatly in y11 and turn y12 english into a strength
black.mamba
Active Member
half the yr 11 ext 1 eng cohort probably averaged a credit or worse
Well i got quinn for adv and i really wanna change. i'll probably get rejected if i ask for a move, but if i swap to ext, i'll get a change.
black.mamba
Active Member
yikes
damn, really? but i heard the comparative text study is really quite difficult, especially for me, who's bum at english
That's normal, HD is top 10%, D is next 20%, I forget the rest of the distributions.
Grammar gets like 100 B6 or something insane like that, so don't worry, just grind english out, make sure you ask your teacher for feedback (you're never getting that sort of continous feedback ever again) and look up secondary sources for english such as academic papers or lectures on youtube
black.mamba
Active Member
im not too sure (i didn't pick up ext 1 eng) so im probably not the best person to answer this
most of my mates that did ext 1 weren't that good at english though
black.mamba
Active Member
91 b6 in ur year but on average around 65-75 (~70 in my year)
but i fear that either:
1. i spend too much time on ext english, a subject that i know i'm dropping, and not enough on the subjects i'm taking to year 11
2. i don't spend enough time, and it's not worthwhile.
do you know how they found it? were they in the same position as me; ie doing ext for the extra practice etc
black.mamba
Active Member
they did it for the extra practice and dropped it in yr 12 (so same as u)
they found it very different to adv eng (and as dasfas said, there is a disproportionate amount of work)
1. A lot of people have that concern, but they rarely end up losing out on their other subjects. The thing about the hsc is that you're going to MAXIMISE your ATAR. This is by focusing on your WEAKNESSES not strengths. So really, ext1 is helping you out for next year
2. Even if you just show up to class and do the homework, you will still get some benefit. Try to push yourself to write at least 3 practice essays before the exams and you'll be sweet.
If you really are struggling, just drop it in y12, and you've gained all the benefits and there are no negatives. Sure you might've had a tougher year for english, but you should find the y12 course slightly easier afterwards
black.mamba
Active Member
don't think they did that well in hsc tho so it might not be the most efficient use of ur time
instead doing extra practice urself or going to a private tutor might be more effective (and certainly more flexible)
Agreed, private tutoring is a good idea for english. Try to get one on one and get them to go through your essays and point out all the good/bad.
Depending on your teacher at school, you might not need them for teaching the actual content, especially if they didn't study your texts in-depth. If they did study your texts, then try to see how they interpret the texts and if they have novel ideas that you haven't come across in class, then that's great
Also don't forget to practice unseen texts, they are easy marks for paper 1, but lots of people do badly (average was like 13 / 20 for trials lmao)
hmm yeah, i guess that maybe turning to a private tutor would be better, as black.mamba said ext is quite different to adv so maybe the advantages can't directly be applied, apart from general text composition etc. i'm just not sure if i'm up to ext english and the pretty daunting extra work (ie the comparative essay thing and dracula)