How to get band 6 in English? (1 Viewer)

[Synchronised]

I am aiming for about 94 in English Advanced so can someone please give me some study tips. At the moment I am neglecting English and concentrating heavily on maths and science but I typed some numbers in the ATAR calculator and looks like English is really important, I can get 90 in maths ext2 and it wouldn't really affect my ATAR but losing one mark in English hurts a lot.
It's really easy to study for maths and science, just learn the concepts and apply them through past papers, with English I really need to know how top students study, is a tutor necessary?
Any helps is greatly appreciated!

 

[Dan895]

To get 94 in advanced english you'll need the combination of excelent ablity and hardwork. i.e. for the very top english students the essays come naturally to them with out much work. Whereas for people like me I'm not so talented and I have to put in lots of effort to get the same result. Also having a good teacher makes such a difference so if you've got an average teacher mabye a tutor could play that role?

 

[soloooooo]

You don't need a tutor.

To get 94 you need to have natural English ability.

 

[deswa1]

I am aiming for about 94 in English Advanced so can someone please give me some study tips. At the moment I am neglecting English and concentrating heavily on maths and science but I typed some numbers in the ATAR calculator and looks like English is really important, I can get 90 in maths ext2 and it wouldn't really affect my ATAR but losing one mark in English hurts a lot.
It's really easy to study for maths and science, just learn the concepts and apply them through past papers, with English I really need to know how top students study, is a tutor necessary?
Any helps is greatly appreciated!

This is a problem from an ATAR point of view if you're good at the sciences and maths' as you realised with the ATAR calculator. Everyone studies english differently, this is what I did (BTW I'm not a top english student so others would probs have better advice but I should get a B6):

- Read other people's essays on the module
- Wrote my essay on the module
- Made like a list of random quotes and stuff that could also be used
- Wrote up a few sample paragraphs on the main themes and issues
- Got a list of like 30 questions for each module and then just looked through them and tried to mentally adapt my essay to them. Some were easy, others I couldn't do. The ones I couldn't do, it meant I had to look at the text in a different way etc.

And I memorised essays but I also knew the texts -> like for Hamlet in the HSC I wrote the majority of the essay primarily on the spot whereas in the trial, it was pretty much my memmed one with just some small adjustments needed.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

I'd say the biggest thing to improve in English is always writing your own stuff, getting various feedback, applying it universally whenever you next write when it's good advice.

I can't think how many drafts I did of some of the essays during year, but you slowly mould out the awkward phrasing and repetition to get the best possible english essays you can right. The only problem is then lots of time essays with lots of different trial questions to be able to pool your knowledge of the text and the question requirements together. That's the time crunch of Adv English that needs to be practiced religiously. (Whole papers if possible, otherwise you will find yourself struggling on the the third essay of modules or accidentally skimping essay time by over reading texts in the AOS comprehension).

DISCLAIMER: I may not get a band 6 in English, but this did improve my results vastly.

 

[theind1996]

You don't need a tutor.

To get 94 you need to have natural English ability.

No you don't lol.

 

[iSplicer]

No you don't lol.

Haha so, so true.

 

[ahdil33]

No you don't lol.

Unless memorising and adapting is a natural English ability, lol.

 

[Spiritual Being]

Its all a memory game...

 

[someth1ng]

I'd go as far as saying that the majority of top English students memorise and regurgitated essays (obviously, reshaping it, to some extent).

With that said, it's a way to get the marks but it isn't a way to get the skills of English. That's why the English syllabus needs to be worked on.

 

[Delta Education]

I'd go as far as saying that the majority of top English students memorise and regurgitated essays (obviously, reshaping it, to some extent).

With that said, it's a way to get the marks but it isn't a way to get the skills of English. That's why the English syllabus needs to be worked on.

I don't think regurgitating is a good way to put it. Doing that will usually be noticeable and will result in a lower mark, as BOS questions tend to be specific on one or two points - could you really regurgitate an essay you prepared around sense of place/power of nature to this year's question? Of course to some extent many people will be memorising/'remembering', whether it be some explanation or analysis of a set of good techniques. Similarly, enough practice in Maths, and you will practically memorise how to do the questions - enough to get away with a decent mark in 2u at least. Questions might differ slightly, but you can just modify your technique accordingly. To be able to shape an essay well is not done easily - you still need to practice that and know what you're doing - and know it well.

To Synchronised, a tutor can come in handy in terms of marking your work, helping you understand the elective/module requirements and marker's expectations, encouraging you to practice, and simply being a mentor and guiding you in your work (of course, find a tutor who has the results and experience to prove their worth). It's not necessary to have a tutor, so to speak, but extremely helpful - they can personalise lessons around your individual needs, help move you along faster, ease confusion, and improve your confidence in your writing ability. It also allows you to get an extra perspective of your work, other than just your class teacher. In terms of study tips - I cannot stress this enough. Study smart. Take a look at the marking criteria and each module/elective's rubric on the Board of Studies website under English Prescriptions - that's where the questions come from, and what markers are expecting of you. Make sure that you work consistently throughout the year and hand in extra work to your teacher! Ongoing practice helps you remember and develop your analysis and sophistication over time. Also, find out what your teachers are looking for in essays, as they will be the ones marking your school assessments.

 

[Omed62]

Hey guys,

just a quick question, Hoe do you really get above 95 HSC Mark in English, if anyone have got above 98. Please post your comment on how did you get a band 6. So all of us can benifit from your tips and advice.

Thanks

 

[Omed62]

So guys, I wrote some essays and creative writing but I need someone who can perfect it for me.

 

[erckle999]

Hey guys,

just a quick question, Hoe do you really get above 95 HSC Mark in English, if anyone have got above 98. Please post your comment on how did you get a band 6. So all of us can benifit from your tips and advice.

Thanks

I graduated from a school that usually is in the top 3 for English in NSW. Although obviously not conducive to a an appreciation of literature or whatever and perhaps a flaw in the course (although a course that forced students to come up with 4 paragraph theses in 40 minuites would also be flawed) every student would memorise all their stuff with the better students adapting more than the weaker ones, who would adapt to the question but usually not in a particularly substantial or non-semantic way. The difference in ranks internally was probably decided by who had the best essay memorised and who adapted best in roughly equal parts.

In 2012 I would estimate that maybe 20-25 students got 95+ with about 8 on 97+. The difference between a 95 and a 98 is, in my opinion, not just cramming more syllables into each sentence. You could take a 90 essay, fix up the structure and vocabulary and get a 93. You cannot, however, take a 95 and brush it up to a 98. You can write a great belonging essay about social, cultural and spatial belonging, adapt it to most questions and get a 95. To get a 98+ however, you really need to have legitimately thoughtful and original ideas. You would be better served throwing it away and trying to be different, original and, for god sake, interesting. If you've nothing interesting to say, you will struggle.

 

[Omed62]

I graduated from a school that usually is in the top 3 for English in NSW. Although obviously not conducive to a an appreciation of literature or whatever and perhaps a flaw in the course (although a course that forced students to come up with 4 paragraph theses in 40 minuites would also be flawed) every student would memorise all their stuff with the better students adapting more than the weaker ones, who would adapt to the question but usually not in a particularly substantial or non-semantic way. The difference in ranks internally was probably decided by who had the best essay memorised and who adapted best in roughly equal parts.

In 2012 I would estimate that maybe 20-25 students got 95+ with about 8 on 97+. The difference between a 95 and a 98 is, in my opinion, not just cramming more syllables into each sentence. You could take a 90 essay, fix up the structure and vocabulary and get a 93. You cannot, however, take a 95 and brush it up to a 98. You can write a great belonging essay about social, cultural and spatial belonging, adapt it to most questions and get a 95. To get a 98+ however, you really need to have legitimately thoughtful and original ideas. You would be better served throwing it away and trying to be different, original and, for god sake, interesting. If you've nothing interesting to say, you will struggle.

Guys this is one of the best advice ever, if you really want to get above 95, just start reading this.

I hope every here has learnt something from you wonderful advice, I hope you the best my friend in your future career. Thanks for being so kind in help us. So guys now is the best time to post up your ideas/ questions to help one another here.

Thanks again, guys I hope I can get above 95 with all my hard work and dedication.

 

[Omed62]

hey erckle999,

yeah lol, I need help with my essay perfection. I have messaged you.

 

[monsta4lyfe]

I think a really important point is to be able to write the English language with great fluency and clarity. A big mistake a lot of people make is not allowing a flow to take place in their writing. A good essay, for instance, is one that reaches out to the marker and convinces the reader that what they are saying is credible, logical and synthesised. It is true that Advanced English is often a subject not suited for everybody because it requires a great deal of reading and patience, especially in your critical studies where an open mind is very, VERY important. Think of each English Essay you do as an artwork, you want it to look pretty and attractive to the eye but at the same time you want it to make sense and allow it to stand out from every other hundreds of thousands of essays that a marker will critique. A creative writing make take up the whole time in development from the beginning of the year to up until your trials until it makes sense and is worthy of top marks in your final exams.

It's important that you understand that a mark of 94 in Advanced English is not something that is given away like candy, we are talking about students who genuinely have a passion for literature and will strive to blow away a marker will their pieces of writing, so make sure that whatever task is thrown at you that you think strategically, "How am I going to get full marks in this task?" I'm sure if I was struggling at English I would want all the criticism I could get for my work so that when it comes to the final exams it is just a matter of speaking your mind. Advanced English, with the right amount of determination, can become second nature for anybody aiming for a mark of 94.

With that being said, I wish you the best for Year 12.