What's it like? (1 Viewer)

Alaranth

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What exactly do you DO for ext2? What can you choose from? How do you pick what project you do? How much effort and time do you put it? What kind of support do you get?

~A confused yr11
 

fuckfoot

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it's like falling into an extremely big hole. my recommendation; flit about for the next term and just sort your ideas out. there's no rush.

you can choose from quite a few mediums, but i can't be bothered telling you what they are. short story, critical response and poetry would be the most common (but this doesn't make them 'bad' choices). you can change between mediums and conepts until you hand the thing in, but it's always best to go towards something you will have a SUSTAINED interest in. it's not too much effort compared to a lot of other subjects but really requires that you don't slack off (even then, this isn't a huge dilemma).

in terms of 'support' this will really depend on your your teacher. i had a great teacher but our lessons were erratic, i was lazy, she was lazy. it was all nullified by the fact that our class was composed of two people. it was really scary handing over some of my stuff to her though. if you're not much of an exhibitionist, it helps that you trust your teacher not to laugh at you. i'm actually being pushed into doing writing after the hsc, so i ended up with a little too much support. but of course, you may get a teacher who will read through your drafts, give you a sticker and pat you on the head (although i've heard this is illegal?).

it's a really independent sort of project, but you'll be looking for opinoins and direction. if your teacher sucks, ignore them. get on with it and ask people to read through your work, they HAVE to be critical and sort of anal. there's no point handing it to your friends, because they will all tell you how talented and wonderful you are. while it's great to finally be recognised for the literary genius that you are, it is not constructive at all.

moral of the story; do the course. it won't kill you. if you're really unsure, have some back up units, but people rarely go completely crap in this subject anyway.
 

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fuckfoot said:
moral of the story; do the course. it won't kill you. if you're really unsure, have some back up units, but people rarely go completely crap in this subject anyway.
But there are people who get Band E1 aren't there?
 

fuckfoot

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band 1s do exist. if you're a truly crappy writer (i mean CRAP. it's hard to emphasise just how crap i mean. very few people could fit into here) then it's possible to get a band 1 while trying your best. (maybe you'd have to have a crap reflection statement too)

but if you put in any effort, justify yourself in your reflection statement and not seem like a stuck-up-little-snot in either your MW or RS, then you'll avoid it. oh, and don't plagarise- they hate that.

and just again with that stuck-up-little-snot thing. if you read the markers notes for 2003 the E range for short stories mentions something about 'superficial' major works and/or reflection statements. markers (all people) loathe a person who overestimates their so-called talents. if you're a crap writer, with a crap-ish RS you can make it into an e2 i'd say. if you're a crap writer with an arrogant RS, well you're screwed.

so i suppose when i say 'just do the course', what i mean to say is;
do the course if you're literate and you have some inkling of desire to do it. if you're not willing to do ANY work at all- get out. you're fucking up your fellow classmates. inconsiderate bastard.
 
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Alaranth

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That's really helpfull, thanks a lot.
I only know one person personally who's done it, and she's a bit better at writing than me. When I say "a bit", I mean she got 50/50, a UAI of 99.6, is doing creative writing at uni, etc etc. So ur point of view is probably helpful. Not that ur not going to get 50/50, of course!!! :)
 

MissSavage29

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if you are doing to do ext II make sure that u have a good support basis which you can draw upon and importantly teachers that will SUPPORT you otherwise it makes the whole experience alot harder...
 

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Hhhmm.
I don't know whether I could be bothered to do Ext 2 English. I already have 13 units (which in some people's opinions is too much), but there aren't any "official" classes at my school so there's no need to fit it into a timetable. Suppose I have to write an 8000 word short story + a reflection statement over 10 months?? Is it possible to "distribute" that evenly over the time so that it has little effect on my other subjects? Coz otherwise it's probably too much work and not worth the 50 marks in the end.
 

Monkey Butler

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I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but if you mean can you write the story over the course of the year, the answer is yes. The class time isn't meant to be your only time writing, it's just a chance to meet with your teacher/supervisor and do whatever. The majority of your work will be done in your own time.
 

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How short is a short story (possible word limits?)? And if it's too short, can I just make it a story (again, possible word limits would be helpful)? I've got a plot forming in my head...mmmm...*dreams*
 

ur_inner_child

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short story was like 4500-6000 words incl reflection statement which is 1500??? i'm hazey about that word count but definitley max 6000words... I did poetry so I don't know for sure. There isn't a "story" section.... and 6000 words is no short story to me lol. Check the board of studies guidelines hun.
 

Jezzabelle

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on the support thing.
I got nudder support, but still found the process beneficial and was happy with my end result. so dont let crap teachers deter you, after all, most of my support came from right here in the forums
 

mayhemily

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~ ReNcH ~ said:
Hhhmm.
I don't know whether I could be bothered to do Ext 2 English. I already have 13 units (which in some people's opinions is too much), but there aren't any "official" classes at my school so there's no need to fit it into a timetable. Suppose I have to write an 8000 word short story + a reflection statement over 10 months?? Is it possible to "distribute" that evenly over the time so that it has little effect on my other subjects? Coz otherwise it's probably too much work and not worth the 50 marks in the end.
Look, you have to be passionate about it to gain the most out of the course. If you already have 13 units it makes me wonder whether your interests really lie in this area. If they do, then do the course. From my experience i would say it takes up more time than other 1 unit courses as such but I only had 12 units altogether so it was cool. 14 units are a lot... it pretty much means that a third of all the work that you spend all your time on in yr 12 wont even be counted in the hsc. Whats the point? I was the only person to do ee2 at my school and the second person to do it ever. Basically, I did it because I love english, I love writing, I couldnt NOT do it you know? I would have regretted it forever. I dont like to say it, but if you do it just because you want to get a really high contributing mark to the uai for the course then perhaps this is the wrong attitude. Though by the same token, the course does scale highly.
 

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mayhemily said:
Look, you have to be passionate about it to gain the most out of the course. If you already have 13 units it makes me wonder whether your interests really lie in this area. If they do, then do the course. From my experience i would say it takes up more time than other 1 unit courses as such but I only had 12 units altogether so it was cool. 14 units are a lot... it pretty much means that a third of all the work that you spend all your time on in yr 12 wont even be counted in the hsc. Whats the point? I was the only person to do ee2 at my school and the second person to do it ever. Basically, I did it because I love english, I love writing, I couldnt NOT do it you know? I would have regretted it forever. I dont like to say it, but if you do it just because you want to get a really high contributing mark to the uai for the course then perhaps this is the wrong attitude. Though by the same token, the course does scale highly.
I'm stuck in between really. I wouldn't be doing it for the marks (I'm not so stupid to spend nine months creating a story worth 50 marks). I do all right in English and I'd enjoy the process but it wouldn't take preference over any other subjects and it'd more than likely be something that would be "shoved aside". So I guess I'll probably skip it. 13 units is probably more than enough, but I don't want to regret not taking an opportunity that was sitting right in front of me.
 

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One of the best things I did in school...It was really pretty stress free for me coz I was heaps well organised...thats all it is...if you have good time management & are reliable to do your job...you'll be sweet....it was heaps free at my school...no classes or anything so it was really independent...I loved it personally coz I hate being sat down to a class but some may not be able to work solidly without a boot in their ass....Just all depends on who you are...

Content wise...It was sweet...Do whatever you want...I reckon it all comes down to confidence...Don't go doing something you'd never done...I didn't grasp my concept till like January....but once I had it...I worked like a bastard whenever I wanted...I enjoyed doing it & therefore loved it all....Fucken GReAT Subject it was for me...I'd recommend it to anyone that essentially enjoys writing but also looking deep into their own creativity...You'll gain alot out of it....EnJoy!....
 
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I loved it because it was so independant and because I had free reign. I hate learning things by rote, so EE2 was really good for me.

As for "structuring" -

If you're the type of person that is going to plan how many words written by a specific date, I'd say don't do it. If you're going to write, you have to understand that there are moments where you just can't write. there are moments where it just doesn't work, and you have to work around it and talk to people to see how you can do it another way. And sometimes, you'll look at it and go "What the hell was I thinking?!?!"

In a lot of ways, EE2 is very instable and very touch-and-go. There are no guarentees about how good or bad it's going to be because you can't really compare your work to others. If you don't have the passion for doing it and giving it your all, no matter what the concequences, then you probably shouldn't do it.
 

ujuphleg

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ORGANISATION ORGANISATION ORGANISATION.

thats all.

there are people out there who write fairly mediocore stories and do alright in EE2. why? cos they stick to the timetable. by timetable i mean, assessments.

there are 3 assessments. all you gotta do really is fufill the requirements of the assessments. and that requires organisation.

the course is great, because you are independent, you are free to write what you bloody well want to write, but if you make the mistake of thinking you can bang out a 8000 word short story or 3500 word poem or a 30 minute screenplay or whatever after trials in august then you are mistaken. you just need to be organised and focused. I saw 3 people in my 5 person class this year get, well, to be frank, shitty assessment marks and have a lot of sweat and tears over this course because they weren't organised.

one other thing. If you are the kind of person who wants to have a teacher baby sit you, don't do this course either. Take the initiative for your own work!! You are 17/18, in Year 12 -- for goodness sakes take some responsibility. The other thing I hear all the time is, she didn't tell me this, i didn't know I had to do that. Why should you wait for your teacher to come to you all the time? Check for yourself what you need when and then pace yourself. I'm sorry if this sounds like a lecture, except that I've really had it with the rest of my EE2 class who whinged and moaned about the teacher, when in actual fact they were just crap full stop.

You will find that if you are generally an organised person and you like writing, this course will pay off. But only if you let it.

it takes discipline, it takes passion, but most importantly, have fun and let the freedom of it take you where you want it to go.

good luck.
 

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