english advanced - memorise an essay or on the spot? (1 Viewer)

[ellejaypark]

guys, i was wondering what the majority will do for the coming HSC english advanced essays?
some people say you have to memorise an essay and mold it somehow with the essay question....but i have no idea...
is it better to simply go in with the knowledge of heaps of techniques and analysis? or memorise and mold?

 

[JT145]

There is a halfway house here.

Have a few pre-determined themes and know your quotes. If you know your quotes well enough you'll also have techniques and analysis.

 

[Crobat]

I'm an advocate of essay memorisation. I explain why in the link below, and there are some arguments presented for both there.

Good luck!

http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=307284

 

[nerdasdasd]

I'm not a advocate, the essay question might be totally different .... for example... HAMLET. Hamlet is a highly complex text with many issues and themes. They may specify a certain issue or perspective!

I say just know those quotes, be able to elaborate on the techniques and how it relates.

 

[Crobat]

I'm not a advocate, the essay question might be totally different .... for example... HAMLET. Hamlet is a highly complex text with many issues and themes. They may specify a certain issue or perspective!

I say just know those quotes, be able to elaborate on the techniques and how it relates.

I'd like to say, after memorising, I still got 19/20 for Hamlet even though the question was hard, and this was the same for many in my grade. In fact, I would argue that Hamlet is the one module you need to have a pre-prepared response to. Hamlet is hard by nature, but Module B encourages you to develop your own opinion on the text. How are you supposed to present a well-structure, developed and sophisticated response without having pre-prepared that argument beforehand? Writing on the spot with techniques/quotes only is only as good as the first draft of anything you write - and for many this first draft will be lucky to receive a high B range mark, much less an A range mark. Even if you argue that having that response 'well thought out' beforehand, the language use and structure within the essay is equally as important in contributing to the quality of the response. A polished essay is always going to be better than a spontaneous one, with the exception of those select few blessed with near-perfect writing ability. And of course, even if you practise your personal response, you will find yourself bringing up exactly the same examples and line of reasoning, so why not polish that to present the argument in the best possible way? Some quotes work better in certain places, which is what you discover in the editing process. Of course, you may even think of new things, and any decent English student will be able to quickly slide that new aspect into their essay during the exam - it's not like a memorised essay is entirely inflexible after all. A good generic essay should be flexible. I had to change my essay to argue against the Hamlet question last year, and also in one of my internal examinations, and it came out well for me. Imo going in with just techniques and quotes is significantly more risky. You simply won't be able to match something edited and polished up in one sitting under 40 minutes of exam stress.

 

[chris_power_96]

yeh memorize definitely

 

[ellejaypark]

i received a 10/20 for a hand in essay module A conflicting perspectives....but then, that was a truly horrifying bit of work haha...
and then for my trials i went in with plenty of quotes and analysis as the comments for my previous essay said i lacked techniques and received a 19/20 for it.
for module B orwell i memorised an essay and attempted to mold it with the question, but only received 14/20, with a comment saying i was only able to answer the question for parts of my essay
i'm afraid that if i go in with a memorised essay i wont be able to mold it well enough

 

[norwegianwood]

i prefer writing on the spot because i know if i try to write perfect generic essays i will just hype up the act of writing it and surround it with heaps of fear and pressure and it will never get done. compiling notes/quotes/techniques is my way of tricking myself into preparing without the pressure of it being perfect. the only thing i memorise word-for-word is my belonging creative piece.

 

[Crobat]

i received a 10/20 for a hand in essay module A conflicting perspectives....but then, that was a truly horrifying bit of work haha...
and then for my trials i went in with plenty of quotes and analysis as the comments for my previous essay said i lacked techniques and received a 19/20 for it.
for module B orwell i memorised an essay and attempted to mold it with the question, but only received 14/20, with a comment saying i was only able to answer the question for parts of my essay
i'm afraid that if i go in with a memorised essay i wont be able to mold it well enough

Do what works for you. Making memorised essays effective depends on your ability to mould the essay and your knowledge of the syllabus/modules overall. If you aren't confident in your ability to mould it then by all means go for quotes and techniques! There's no use not doing something that you've already proven to work for you!

And if you did do a hand in task for 'module A conflicting perspectives' yes I would say that would have been an absolutely horrifying piece of work

 

[ellejaypark]

whoops module C haha

 

[Spiritual Being]

Memorising doesn't guarantee high marks if you're not good at it, but it guarantees something if you've got an ounce of competence.

 

[Spiritual Being]

Think about it. What's the difference between memorising an essay and memorising technique + effect? The technique and effect thereof will make the bulk of your essay. Except what you're missing is the chronology of the techniques which work with each other. If you're trying to show the development of an individuals sense of belonging and you're sitting there in the English exam with the time ticking, "holy fuck, how does this guy develop his sense of belonging? How should I structure my quotes?" All of which can be eliminated through making a generic essay. Your generic doesn't have to be perfect and I'm a perfectionist victim. Just make it to the point, chronologically setting out the ideology and making it generally easy to read. The marker knows you're 17/18. They're not expecting a shakespearean masterpiece, refined over 50 generations. They're subjected to thousands of papers. They see a lot of rubbish. They see a lot of good stuff too. As long as you have a decent essay where you've manipulated your generic to fit the question, the marker, having 5000 other papers to mark, will give you a good mark and move on.

 

[koreafantasy]

half-way. Memorise your quotes+associative techniques and what you are gonna argue with them. Make up the intro, conclusion, topic statements for each body para.

Before you go in, have an idea of what each of ur paras are gonna be about. eg, for aos, para 1 can be about belonging to environment wrt prescribed, and para 2 can be relationships with others wrt prescribed, para 3 can be belonging to environment wrt Own text, para 4 can be relationships wrt Own text.