RFTG - Practice Questions and Discussion (2 Viewers)

[ujuphleg]

2001 HSC

Question 7 –– Elective 3: Retreat from the Global (25 marks)
Suppose you are a guest speaker on radio, TV, or in front of a live audience, on the topic of the
human spirit’s capacity to survive in all sorts of circumstances.
Write out what you would say on the occasion, making specific reference to at least ONE of
the prescribed texts.
In your commentary, reflect on the relationship between the local and the global, drawing on
what you have learned from your study of this Elective.

Question 8: Texts and Ways of Thinking (25 marks)
Note: This question is compulsory for Module B, and you must indicate in your answer
which Elective you have studied.
‘ “Ideas have legs” — and successful composers run with them.’
Consider how they do this in their texts.
In your discussion, draw attention to the imaginative use of scientific, religious, philosophical
and/or economic concepts in at least TWO of the prescribed texts and other related texts.

2002 HSC

Question 5: Texts and Ways of Thinking (25 marks)
Develop a piece of writing from the perspective of a character from ONE of the prescribed
texts, and which begins with the words:
Who says your way is right?
In your response you may be as imaginative as you choose, provided that you show your
understanding of the ways of thinking in the Elective you have studied.

Question 8 — Elective 3: Retreat from the Global (25 marks)
‘In one way or another, these texts account for a turning from the world, and celebrate the local
— sometimes, perhaps, sentimentally.’
How compelling do you find the ‘retreat from the global’ as a response to a difficult world?
In your answer, refer to at least TWO of the prescribed texts as well as other texts of your own
choosing.

2003 HSC

Question 5: Texts and Ways of Thinking (25 marks)
The texts in this module represent various forms of resistance to the mainstream.
How does this resistance make itself heard?
In your answer, draw on your knowledge of at least TWO of the prescribed texts from your
Elective, as well as other texts of your own choosing.
The prescribed texts for each Elective are listed below.

Question 8 — Elective 3: Retreat from the Global (25 marks)
Imagine you are the composer of one of the prescribed texts. You have been asked to write a
feature article for a magazine about modern life. The article is to be titled ‘Retreat? What from?
Where to?’
Write your article.
In your response, you should draw on your knowledge and understanding of the retreat from
the global.

If anyone has the questions from the Independent/Catholic Trial, please post them here....

In addition, i may post some of my school ones here when i get hold of them....

 

[Ziff]

CSSA Trial 2003:

Question 7 - Elective 3: Retreat from the Global (25 marks)

It can be a precarious choice to retreat from the global because problems are rarely absent from the environment identified as the "local".

Explore how composers of texts represent the ways people confront the challenges of the local.

Refer in detail to TWO prescribed texts and TWO related texts of your own choosing.
--

Question 8 : Texts and Ways of Thinking (25 marks)

Two students disagree substantially about which one of the prescribed texts each has found most valuable in studying this elective.

Write a series of FOUR letters in which they exchange views. In your letters, refer to TWO prescribed texts and TWO related texts of your choosing,

 

[ujuphleg]

Re: Practice Questions for RFTG

i THINK these were from CSSA 2002 but i'm not sure. Anyway, they come from school so here goes:

1. "People experience the world in time and space - that is, in a particular time frame, their life and in the particular place or places where they live out their lives. Hence, it is usually the outer world, the global, that effects the local rather than the obverse."

Examine this statement in relation to any TWO of the prescribed texts and ONE other text of your own choosing.

2. Compose a series of radio advertisements for travellers. The focus of your campaign should be this statement: "The comfort zone is local: The excitement zone is global."

 

[Living_Legend]

Need Help With Hard RFTG Question

Suppose you are a guest speaker on radio, TV, or in front of a live audience, on the topic of the human spirit’s capacity to survive in all sorts of circumstances. Write out what you would say on the occasion, making specific reference to at least TWO of the prescribed texts, as well as other texts of your own choosing. In your commentary, reflect on the relationship between the local and the global, drawing on what you have learned from your study of this elective. As well as a written commentary you are to orally present your commentary to an audience in class. Your oral commentary should take no more than ten minutes.

Bit of a hard question eh? My texts are Shipping News, Seamus, Castle. Maybe use Futurama episode but its hard to get it to relate to the question. Any ideas for material or the essay?

 

[Living_Legend]

CAn someone suggest any related material that could be suited for this question? There is a lot of RFTG material but some i cant get to relate to the question. Any help please?

 

[Lindy]

I was just wondering how you would approach a question lile 2.? Because i was trying a prac essay and do you need to talk about texts or what. lost very very lost and scared

 

[ujuphleg]

for question 2 from my last post, it would be a create task, which is elective focused. In all honesty, I'd just pray that I didn't get a question like that, cos it would be shit scary.

However, I would perhaps quote sections from your prescibed texts that support that phrase. For example, I'm doing the Lost Salt Gift of Blood and in the story "Winter Dog" there is a lovely quote which says "A sort of symbolic marriage between the old and the new."

So here I could base one of my radio advertisements about an enticing adventure to the heartland of Nova Scotia etc. etc. to get "away from the daily grind" etc.

Another one could be around a quote from "The Castle" like: "You can't buy what I've got!" or something from the final scenes of the film could lead you to a somewhat humourous radio advertisment for Boneedoon?

"The Shipping News" -- perhaps an actual Shipping News article written by Quoyle about the boats in the harbour? Or a personal endorsement?

hope this helps....

good luck!

 

[Atotoi]

Yahh, ive got my Extension 1 exam tomorrow - my final trial
I was looking at some Lonely Planet material, usually these guys are good for Retreat from the GLobal considering alot of the writers were reasonably well off , then just decide to go AWOL.

That "ideas have legs and composers run with them" was quite tricky, i had trouble with that :S , but the other questions seemed pretty cool.. the creativity part is great... plus being in Extension separates me from the Numbskulls in Advanced.

When we were going through Skzyrnecki's poem - Immigrants at Central Station, the teacher read out the part concerning the "guillotine".
IMMEDIately after, a girl in the back row (who is coming first - which amazes me) asked aloud - "whats a guillotine?"

BLEH!!

Can anyone help me with Heaney?
personally he seems a bit of a bore? How can you incorporate his work into your essay without mentioning the Catholic-Protestant troubles???

 

[glitterfairy]

Woop! Heaney- I actually know some stuff on this guy, bon appetite!

The use of extensive assonance and alliteration that appears throughout all of Heaney's poetry creates a steady rhythm that is subtle yet powerful. The irish accent of Heaney's heritage is something that Heaney could not integrate into his poetry without being aware of its precense. As such, his poetry is not only made of literary components (you can bring in palimsest here if you like- the irish people had no written language before they were colonised and Heaney writes poetry- a medium of colonisation/globalisation - hey! you can link this to post-colonialism too! - ok, run way off track now) but also of aural reflections and intonations of the human voice.

If you're doing any of the bog poems, thing about the bog- there are things preserved in there. I remember coming across something that said how the bog was a magical place that transcended time and linked today and yesterday because it's here in the present time, but objects and artefacts from past times are preserved in there. It sort of connects people of today to the people of centuries past- and there's a lot of time fragmentation in one of his poems that demonstrates this nicely.

As for problems with questions, my theory is this- no matter what the question is, it will ALWAYS be asking "how do your texts reflect the notion of Retreat from the Global". They just tack on this weird thing at the top. Simply shift everything you know so that it answers the question, but don't get too mind-boggled about it - all the questions are asking - and have to ask - pretty much the same question.

Best wishes!

 

[glitterfairy]

Now that one's quite easy.

This is my personal opinion, but I feel that Proulx has very black and quite characters in the Shipping News. Bad people are obsessed with materialism, good people want to stay in Newfoundland. Nice and simple.

There are lots of references in Lost Salt where protagonists come up against materialistic-obsessed relatives. There is a definate bias favouring the protagonists.

In Heaney, he really idolises his ancestors, particularly in 'Digging'. The others I've found are a bit harder than Lost Salt and Shipping News, as he doesn't really point fingers at too many people. With this (I know it's pretty wrong, but oh well) just link to "local culture". How does it link to the notion of "RFTG"? Aside from Heaney presenting it to a global audience as incredibly appealling (how bogs can be appealling escapes me, but oh well)...

I'd write more, but almost midnight! Have to go to bed! sleep! need sleep!

 

[hotcocoababe]

That "legs" question, we got for our ext1 exam last year.... i still remember the day... we all trooped into the exam hall, feeling quite nervous indeed. We sat down (we were up the far end of the hall, segregated from the rest of the examees) and opened our exam papers for the reading time - and all burst out laughing! it was contagious.... i was stiffling giggles, and the guy next to me had his hand stuffed in his mouth. The question seemed so ridiculous! We all felt so lost on how to answer it.

Anyway, turned out i got 15/20 - second in the class. Our teacher reckoned it was easy, she was giving us a 'gift' question, and she was very, very disappointed in us LOL

but to this day, we still laugh about it.....

 

[glitterfairy]

How on earth did you answer that "legs" question anyway?!?!?! I look at it, and I'm just baffled. Was it an attempt on the BOS's to be funny? hmm...

 

[smashingfoxy]

umm i did that question just the other day although it didnt have " As well as a written commentary you are to orally present your commentary to an audience in class. Your oral commentary should take no more than ten minutes." I think the question was taken from 2001 HSC, so perhaps you could look through the marking notes on the boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au site.

I thought that the question was reasonable, but that last little part that i didnt have to consider would make things hard. I talked about how human beings can stick up for what the believe in, made reference to religion, g8 summits and the like, and related it to the castle (although the shipping news, and heany would work well too.)

 

[smashingfoxy]

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/hsc2001exams/pdf_doc/english_ext1_er_01.pdf - question 7.

i would disregard my other comments because according to those notes i wouldnt have gone to well...

 

[dragons_girl]

RFTG - The Castle - Assessment Task Q

EDIT: thread formally known as "the castle assessment task" and was originally in EE1 main forum. Now merged in with other assessment task questions.

hey i got this assessment task for the castle in extension, can anyone give me an idea of where to go with it

the castle was an australian box office success and won the prestigious australian film institute award for best screen play

contrary to expectations, it was also a great success story overseas, it had been rejected by all the majour film companies in the usa because they believedit was too provincial. it was audience demand that changed ther minds

why do you think the film is valued?

can anyone give me a hand?

 

[ujuphleg]

Firstly, this thread has been moved to ways of thinking. please post module specific questions in the relevant subforums.

while the question doesn't specifically ask for a comparison between global and local, it is good to start thinking about it, to make the links.

you have to think about why it was rejected (global, money making etc.) why was the demand there? this is an example of the general retreat to the local by society, a differing in values etc.

 

[glitterfairy]

Ah! RFTG!!! My favourite!!! hahaha!

You'll end up covering three prescribed texts, of which you'll later sort of be able to pick two. It doesn't really matter which order you learn them in.

RFTG is a rather unusual module that is both blatantly easy (for the most part, Local = good and Global = bad) and at the same time, a bit tricky to digest easily. I would advise you stick it out for a while - my teacher wrote the RFTG module, and I didn't "get" it until a few months before HSC Trials.

Back to LSGOB (why oh why did Mr Eldridge pick texts with such long titles... we're only going to make them into anagrams anyway... BABOON!). The short stories I covered (know at least two in detail) were The Closing Down of Summer and The Tuning of Perfection. I'm not very familiar with the others, but a general point you can look at is geographical location - rocky cliffs, harsh conditions etc, and for a lot of it, there is lyrical prose which "romanticises such conditions" (stole that right out of my HSC Trial essay, you like?) Also look at the characters - there's often an older generation, which is "local", and a younger generation that is pretty "global". Culture, Values, Heritage... these are going to be your new favourite words until after the HSC!!!

 

[beverly]

i found RFTG quite tricky as we moved onto more indepth texts, and having to combine it all with related texts as well. there is hardly any help out there for it, but theres a book i picked up (the one and only one that exists!) that id be happy to pass onto someone

Larry Grumley- Retreat from the global Study Guide $18

 

[cameronS]

Retreat From the Global

Can previous students post their notes or something? Learning by example is a great.

im not exactly sure how "retreat from the global" is shown in the text, i dont even know what it means.

help?

 

[ujuphleg]

Notes

If you are looking for notes check out this

These are all the notes/essays/practice papers submitted by your fellow BoSers for your perusal.

Enjoy.