How to get higher marks in english! (1 Viewer)

[ballerinabarbie]

ok here are some simple tips on how you can make a better impression to the marker...
basically, if the marker gets a good impression from your paper, they'll be in a better state of mind to give you better marks!

* write clearly... if you have poor writing then leave a line (ie. write one line, leave one line blank)
* write in black pen (preferably) as it's easier to read than blue
* always leave at least one line between paragraphs (indenting is not enough)
* in imaginative responses (eg. Paper One, Section II) try to come up with an ORIGINAL idea... think about the type of things that everyone will be tempted to write about - then choose something different! you will stand out to the marker and immediately be rewarded for trying to do something different
* try to fill the writing booklet... i know for a lot of us (me included) this is really tough because we either can't write quickly, have small writing etc... but if you think about it, a marker will be more likely to give a band 6 to people writing 6-7 pages rather than 2-3
* PLAN YOUR ESSAYS!! i know its something teachers say all the time, but if you write a plan (it might just be 3 points on a piece of paper) then your essay is going to be structured better and flow better (but remember don't spend more than about 2-3 mins on your plan)
*read the rubric and answer it... eg. in King Lear - the question might not specifically refer to context, but the rubric will - so do it!!

good luck guys... hope that helped!

 

[Dubya]

my english teacher told me to lie about wat john donne's poetry means to me. If thats wat it takes to get a high mark then it really sux cos all that tells me is that ppl hu go good in english are liars. ok maybe thats a pretty big generalisation but ive got no chance of a band 6 so wat do i care

 

[Lundy]

hm...I've always indented instead of leaving a line and it's never affected my marks. I dont think that really matters either way, as long as it's clear that you've started a new paragraph

 

[Nick]

writing one line, then leaving one blank is not really suggested..

 

[Rahul]

unless its for effect

i'm talking about:

a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph

dramatic one-liner....

a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph a chunky paragraph

 

[ballerinabarbie]

Originally posted by Nick
writing one line, then leaving one blank is not really suggested..

well we've been told that if we have very poor writing (only 1 person in my class is doing it) that we should do that... just to make it easier for the marker to read

 

[carla]

Originally posted by ballerinabarbie
* in imaginative responses (eg. Paper One, Section II) try to come up with an ORIGINAL idea... think about the type of things that everyone will be tempted to write about - then choose something different! you will stand out to the marker and immediately be rewarded for trying to do something different

i was told to think of 2 or 3 ideas...and then not use them! because they are the same 2 or 3 ideas that everyone will come up with, and to do your 4th(ish) choice

 

[ballerinabarbie]

yeah that's what we were told - come up with an idea and chuck it
come up with another idea and chuck it
and use the 3rd idea!
i mean if you think about the question - whatever you think about 1st, chances are 70% of the state will think about the same thing... and when you consider how many ppl are in the state - the marker doesn't want to read the same story over and over! just make yourself stand out

 

[iambored]

it can be scary to choose one that stands out though because sometimes you don't know if you are going too far

 

[ballerinabarbie]

that's true... but what's better - taking the gamble with a good, original idea, or writing what everyone else writes?

 

[Skywalker]

Originally posted by Nick
writing one line, then leaving one blank is not really suggested..

Nor is leaving lines between paragraphs to artificially inflate page counts.

 

[AsyLum]

Originally posted by Dubya
my english teacher told me to lie about wat john donne's poetry means to me. If thats wat it takes to get a high mark then it really sux cos all that tells me is that ppl hu go good in english are liars. ok maybe thats a pretty big generalisation but ive got no chance of a band 6 so wat do i care

hahah english isn't about bullshit ? yeah id like to see that

that critical analysis of donne's poetry means that you can take whatever side you want, you dont like it, then fine take it to donne, just make sure you have the firepower ( quotes, reasoning ) to back it up, and in the process mention why you disagree and that too can get high marks, especially since it will be a rather different one to the common donne is good eliot, donne is bad johnson stuff

 

[DebuOfCourse]

So what's wrong with leaving a line between paragraphs? I've ALWAYS done it that way and have never had any complaints about it. On the contrary, I thought THAT was the standard procedure. In fact, I thought it was ettiquette. Is there some sort of HSC policy governing against it? Please fill me in.

ALSO....This is going to sound stupid....but....What Is The Rubrik?

 

[AsyLum]

rubrik = the little bunch of points in which the BoS tell you what they are looking for and will be marking

 

[grinnie]

how do u plan an essay anyway, wirte points on what the whole essay is about or points on what each paragraph will be about?

 

[tempco]

It's just the basic outline you'll base your essay on... I usually do little dot points of the major ideas my essay will deal with, along with the text that the idea applies to.

 

[ballerinabarbie]

yeah that's pretty much what i do - just to get a general structure - it's very brief...

and the whole leaving a line between paragraphs thing - i was just saying what my teacher has told me, and as an hsc marker i tend to take what she says pretty litterally - but hey, i'm not forcing you to do anything... so if you think it's wrong then don't do it!

 

[Inhuman]

I doubt it really matters much: 1 intro + 3-5 body + conclusion=a max of 8 lines spacing btwn paragraphs which is about a 1/4 of an HSC booklet page.

 

[hipsta_jess]

the rubrik is pretty much what they mark it on, it is between those two lines above the question.
and for leaving a line, it is ok to do so (esp if your writing is kinda messy) but dont do it to try and inflate the page count, remember the markers are all experienced teachers, you could leave 10 lines between each paragraph and they would still be able to tell roughly how many words you had written

 

[happy]

Thanks COW or BULL..............

I hope 2 do well....................