English

KaiserLu

PictureFrame wrote: »

:O, and moving swiftly on..
I'm in 5th year and would really really love an A in English. Every essay I give up gets a different grade each time. The level of variation in my English grades is surreal. I got 77% (B2) in my christmas test. So far we've done 2 poets (Kavanagh & Plath), Act I-3 Hamlet then comprehensions and general Exam paper questions. Does anyone have any tips on how to improve my English grades slightly?. Thanks.

Simply, make sure you are answering the question. This means highlighting the key words of the question being asked and including them in every point you make.

The question I always tell my students to ask themselves is "How can I use what I have to answer the question?"

For example, let's say you have a bit about Hamlet hating his burden of revenge.

If the question was "Hamlet deserves no sympathy from the reader" Discuss. You could say you agree as he knows he must kill Claudius but spends most of the play whining about it.

However, if the question was "Hamlet is a heroic character" Discuss. You could say that he is an ultimately heroic character as even though he curses his burden of revenge, he eventually manages to overcome this and kills Claudius.

Same info used to answer two completely different questions.

The same is true in poetry, or most of Paper 2. Don't panic when you get the question, simply take a breath and ask yourself how you can use what you have to answer the question. But ALWAYS INCLUDE THE KEY WORDS OF THE QUESTION THROUGHOUT YOUR ANSWER

Hope this helps.

Wolfe Tone

This type of thing pisses me off. I did all my own work, and got a HL B1, only thing I memorized was quotes.


Now who is better and has a greater understanding of English? Me or the guy who memorized everything and got an A?

PictureFrame

MUSSOLINI wrote: »

This type of thing pisses me off. I did all my own work, and got a HL B1, only thing I memorized was quotes.


Now who is better and has a greater understanding of English? Me or the guy who memorized everything and got an A?

They just played the game better to be honest. The whole Leaving Cert. is a memory game through and through..

Benicetomonty

aranciata wrote: »

No examiner is going to google a line from your essay, no examiner is going to recognise your essay from a local obscure short story competition. There's little difference plagiarising an english essay than there is plagiarising an answer to a geography question, or an irish debate from a revision book. QUOTE]


Afraid I have the agree with the majority of this. Anybody who's corrected a Leaving Cert English exam will know how long it takes, especially at higher level. An examiner will spot plagiarism almost immediately, but is not going to go out of his/her way to look up the probable source of this just so they can feel better about failing the student! If the material is in anway relevant, you can pretty much guarantee an honour.

But not a great one. As I've already said, the Leaving Cert titles change every year, and no pre-learned essay is going to be able to stand on its own as a perfect answer. It will need to be refined with your own knowledge and ability to write which will affect the coherency of the essay as you are essentially competing with your 'ghost writer' :P. As was also already mentioned, if it's not spotted in one specific essay, it definitely will be between different sections (poetry, comparative, single text) later on in the exam. Your own ability will always shine through which will get you the A or high B.

PictureFrame

Benicetomonty: Do you know if there is any re-occuring themes in the composition section? Do you have any tips on how to improve my essay writing?

Benicetomonty

PictureFrame wrote: »

Benicetomonty: Do you know if there is any re-occuring themes in the composition section? Do you have any tips on how to improve my essay writing?

The composition questions are accomodating. I don't think the paper 1 themes themselves are recurring but they are always very general and provide plenty of options for the essay titles. It's a real make or break question; in the context of this thread, I feel it is nigh on impossible to attempt to plagiarise an essay, so your individual skill and ability to write will be put on display!
Couple of basic things to remember: Always, always read the question carefully, and refer back to what you're being asked to do at least once every paragraph. Structurally, the 'beginning, middle and end' formula is a winner, cliched as it may sound; the easier it is to read, the more inclined the examiner will be to read back over it more than once to find you more marks. You will always be given 'free reign' titles in the form of personal essays and short stories; for outrageously fictional efforts, I would use one of these two options. Short stories carry their own traits: characterisation, plot, setting and resolution are terms you will come across before this time next year!

Elsewhere, many of the other essays will require a knowledge of certain types of functional writing; a magazine article or a speech needs to be accompanied by the appropriate register, which ought to be sustained throughout the composition. For example, if you are asked to give a speech on the importance of heroes (LC 2003), you should remember you're talking to an audience and not a wall - efforts to acknowledge and include this audience in your delivery will be expected.

Finally, one of the most valuable skills in compositions is to be able to entertain. Whether you are genuinely witty and humourous or are able to build suspense and drama with your writing, if you can entertain the examiner, you're well on your way to producing a quality essay.

Also, work on your time management and practice!

heyyjude

I got an A in the Junior Cert, i loved English and found it really interesting.
Then came TY and we didnt do anything in any subject, so everything went out the window.
Fifth year english was a real struggle and I'm in sixth year now and cant seem to get higher than a C1. We have an excellent teacher and she said that I had a flair for English and an excellent command of it but that she is quite worried as I seem to have lost my confidence.
Its not my confidence that I have lost, its the flair!
Writing is like torture for me now, it's like I have a mega writers block! I read alot as I did during the Junior Cert but I feel as if I have lost my intelligence when it comes to English?

How did this happen???

RMD

MUSSOLINI wrote: »

No, YOU didn't get an A.

What's the difference between learning points from the normal course book of a subject and then learning points from a revise wise style book? There is no difference, it's the same thing in essence. Going by your logic then nobody gets the grade they got for learning different points, the author of every book used nationwide in leaving cert classes get's that grade.

The leaving cert as a whole is a joke of an examination. It's based on who can learn the most and then transfer it onto paper in a coherent manner. It makes no difference what people did to get that grade unless they cheated.