A in HL English?

TehFionnster

Hey JC Forum'ers!

Does anyone have any tips for English HL?
I really wanna get an A in it.
So is it unbelievably difficult to get an A in or what's the story? xD

So any tips and advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
Don't know why i put "greatly in bold xD

Chuchoter

Write fast (really fast) and reasonably tidy. Plan all your answers (can't stress that enough, it takes 5 seconds) and don't get sidetracked. Don't go overboard on the quotes (ie you don't need to learn the entire poem off by heart). Don't pick mad questions you've never done before (I did a dialouge, why? God knows). Do the Shakespeare unseen, its easier than the other one. Read for leisure and try to analyse it as you go, it will help with your reading comprehensions

spurious

Read as much as you can and expose yourself to good writing of all styles.

SportsGreatest

Yeah, I find English very hard to get an A in. No matter I do, I can only get a B for my essay. I'm pleased with that though, as I'm consistently getting B's in that section, while most in my class get C's and D's.

blondyjim

the key thing is quality not quantity

i wrote 28 pages between both pages and only got a c grade so

TehFionnster

We don't do many essays, but generally I get around 62/70 mark but thats considering my teacher is a notoriously hard marker.

Thank God for quality not quantity because I write sloooow. xD
I know some guys who got A's last year but they weren't geniuses, So maybe its possible

Bbbbolger

It's definately possible! I got an A in mine 2 years ago. I was always pretty good at English coming up through school but for the junior cert I just learned all my quotes for poetry and Shakespeare really well. For the essay you can't really prepare. If you're a good English student you should get the marks in it. It's the poetry/text where people tend to fall down. Also make sure you know your time plan i.e. how long you're spending on each question. Your teacher should help you with that!

David1994

I got an A in English this year!!!.Using your time on sections is a key to doing well.Dont spend too much time on a question.
Also if you know pqes and do a good essay you should do fine!!.:D

suitcasepink

I got an A this year and it'll probs sound stupid and its not the "right" kinda advice but...
Learn one poem and one novel/pro very well but at the same time I didnt learn them until a week before the JC.
Also keep reading boards! Thats what I did, and I didnt read it to help with my english Im just addicted! I dont like reading at all and i was always terrible at english (failed my 2nd year tests, D in my mocks) but then A in the real thing..
But yea just keep exposing yourself to different writing styles, theres not really much learning involved for english (despite what people may say) but learn the little bit.
Other then that just keep writing as much as you can and its totally possible
Good luck!

Gaeilge-go-deo

I got a C in the mock and an A in the actual.. duno how i managed it but timing is the most important thing.. Writing fast and what not

johnmcdnl

Fluke a corrector who likes your style of writing.. English is very subjective...

Your B essays in class could be an A grade or a D grade for different teachers..


Just keep reading loads and know all your poems and stories etc etc really really really well...

believe it or not - your essay isn't the only thing that matters in the exam

implausible

johnmcdnl wrote: »

Fluke a corrector who likes your style of writing.. English is very subjective...

Your B essays in class could be an A grade or a D grade for different teacher..

believe it or not - your essay isn't the only thing that matters in the exam

That's why they have a marking scheme! You won't get marked down because a teacher doesn't like your writing style:rolleyes: The examiner has to follow CSEM- content, structure, expression and mechanics in marking your functional and personal writing.

The essay is worth the largest percentage of the marks, so it's worth while preparing for and spending time on.

Don't get bogged down in your studied play and novel. Know them well and answer the question you're actually asked. At the end of the day, your studied play is only 30/360 i.e. 8%

bluejay14

When answering questions on studied drama/fiction/poems, refer back to the question and the key words in it in each paragraph. e.g. question about imagery: say you liked the imagery, the imagery was very appealing, strong imagery etc.

Include a topic sentence at the end of each paragraph (a very brief summary of the whole paragraph, it should also lead into the next paragraph nicely). This is important when writing speeches, debates etc.

For questions on unseen drama/fiction/poetry: Use PAS. Point: what you are saying to answer a certain question e.g. I feel that the person in the drama is a very considerate person. Analysis: why you feel they are a caring person. Support: Include a quote to back up your point.

Check in the notes thread here too, there are some useful notes in there from us last year.

Good luck.:)

Nicole.

Yeah, I agree with what has been already said on this topic.

Know your novel: Key characters, key scenes, key relationships between characters, key themes, key quotes etc. Really read it, you will pick up a good few marks there just by knowing the book fairly well you can arrange your information around the question but only what’s relevant.

What I found VERY helpful was answering well the questions my teacher gave me about the book as we went along. They are your notes, but if your teacher doesn’t give you information about your key characters, write the information out for yourself, physical descriptions, characteristics of each, do they change during the course of your novel?

Unseen poetry, go through the exam papers, they will prepare you because sometimes this part can seem daunting; it did for me anyway. You get used to the format and what kind of questions that get asked. Make sure you have 3-4 relevant points of information for each question (generally) Quote are important, but don’t over use them.

Studied poets, know this well! That is where I picked up the marks. I knew my quotes, themes, tiny bit of background info (this is for your own sake, not the exams) It’s fairly basic for Jc, again look at exam papers.

Essay, this is a huge part of your exam, do your essay well and you will be rewarded! Practice your essay writing skills; when your teacher gives you an essay to write, do it well as you would in an exam. Don’t let spelling and grammar catch you out here, it’s a real waste of marks. Quality not quantity, don’t get freaked out if everyone around you is writing reams of paper, they’re usually going off the point etc.

Know your play really well, same info as novel really but the quotes are generally harder to learn but they must be known inside out. This part is less subjective than others.

Read a lot, you can tell who reads but the standard of their writing! You’ll also find the novel a lot easier, I read a lot of books during Jc and I could link up what information would be relevant if I was in an exam so you know what you’re looking for.

The comprehension isn’t that hard just highlight the things you think are important as you go along, just short quotes etc. Read it once, then read the questions and then read it again and answer the questions. This goes as a general tip in English.

That’s all I’ve got for you right now, sorry that it’s a bit all over the place, I did the Jc two years ago so it’s hard remembering the structure and what’s on the course etc and ues, I did get an A in Higher Level!:L:pac::pac::pac:

bigboy123

I got an A in higher level this year, without reading a novel (except studied novel) since first year. Although the essay carries a lot of marks, the difference
Between an a and a b is how you answer the questions on paper two. Exam papers and time management are the key to a high grade in jc English.

Coeurdepirate

It's verrrrry achievable, I got a B in 2009 without doing any study, and one of my best friends got an A and he didn't study either The JC is actually really easy to study for, learn your novel, play and learn a few quotes from around 5 poems (on different themes, 1 on war, 1 on love etc).
Write a lot of essays and get your teacher to correct them until they are of A standard. An A isn't very hard to get for the JC, I got 4 (2 HL, 2 OL) without doing too much study, just do your hw throughout the year and start doing a bit of study around Easter, but don't kill yourself!

DavidKelly1

An A in Higher English is defo not impossible in the JC. In my JC year (2009) 11 people out of my class of 30 got an A!. Study your novel and Shakespeare play as much as possible. And most importanly READ READ AND READ!!..

johnmcdnl

deemark wrote: »

That's why they have a marking scheme! You won't get marked down because a teacher doesn't like your writing style:rolleyes: The examiner has to follow CSEM- content, structure, expression and mechanics in marking your functional and personal writing.

which eplains why I never got more than a C in any class test for anything and then came out with an A in the exam :rolleyes:

English is a very subjective subject..

donvito99

I sat the JC two years ago and got an A in Higher English.

As said before, make the effort to keep your handwriting neat and tidy.

Write as much as you can. (I wrote circa 25 pages for both papers 1 + 2)

Start reading newspapers, books, magazines, watch the news etc. This is great for Paper 1.

Oh, and another thing. Don't take P1 for granted. Do study it!


Theres not much else to be said really without being very detailed. What I would say to you is that working at English will complement History and other humanties, and vice versa.

Good luck, and get stuck into the aul study, I should be, LC 'nd all! :P

Just Contribute

What can you do change a B to an A in the Personal Writing section?

I have got a B in every essay I've done in the past two years. In my last essay, there were no mistakes and my teacher's comment was "very good writing". I don't know how I can improve my essay any more.

johnmcdnl

Just Contribute wrote: »

What can you do change a B to an A in the Personal Writing section?

I have got a B in every essay I've done in the past two years. In my last essay, there were no mistakes and my teacher's comment was "very good writing". I don't know how I can improve my essay any more.

get another teacher to correct one of your essays... english is subjective... trust me I know from experience after getting 3 full grades higher than I expected too in the leaving cert...

maybe your missing that little spark of controversy in your writing... do you answer the same way as everyone else does or do you do something completely different and out of the box.. it's the different slant that examiners and teachers seem to like.. after all you want yours to be in the top 5% of the answers in the country or the class... you want yours to be so much better and different - different is important as it stands out and is a change for the examiner...

even if your writing isn't just as good being completely different to the rest of the class may make your teacher look at your answer a second time and may just make them give you the A over the B..

the B for the best of the "typical answer" whereas the A is going to need the "different answer or the astonishingly good typical answer"


and - ANSWER THE QUESTION AND NOTHING ELSE - the question is the question is the question - they don't want you to write anything bar what they ask for... don't ever try to fit something learned off into any answer... answer the question given to you... and don't try to fit your answer in... EVER...

just keep at it and maybe just ask your teacher what you need to improve to get an A - that is probably the best idea of all

storm2811

Read a lot, newspapers, books, whatever, it'll improve your vocabulary and give you some story ideas.

When you're doing paper two and you have to talk about a poet/poems then don't just describe the poem or talk about what it's about, talk about the techniques used, similies, metaphors etc.

Learn a few key moments in your play and book, obviously all the main themes too, how the characters interact and all that.

Try and write as much as you can, but don't waffle, I think it's alright to waffle in history & home ec, but not English, stick to the point, keep referring back to the question.

That's all I can think of for now, I got an A in HL English and I totally wasn't expecting it, I did really bad in the media studies section!

Azuraiii

Know sentence starters too ^^"
My teacher guts us if we dont start off with something fancy like..

"From reading the poem, In my opinion"

:eek:

Bbbbolger

I'd advise against writing the phrase "In my opinion." Who else's opinon is it going to be? You're writing the paper, its your answer. I've been told by a few teachers now that you're better off going straight into the answer as opposed to giving a clichéd sentence opening like that. The person correcting the paper will realize what kind of student you are based on your whole paper, not just the first sentence of each paragraph. You need to have a decent standard of expression throughout your whole answer.

Azuraiii

I think you're talking about a different subject there..

You get marks based on how good you're English is, not by you're answer.
Therefore you're answer needs to be well presented.
To answer an English question you need to have a clean writing, good introduction (hence the "in my opinion"), Conclusions, Grammar & ofcourse the body.
You will not get the marks if you just "answer the question" with maybe 1 or 2 lines.
The examiner is looking for a big chunky paragraph rather than a puny sentence.

But remember to look for quality not quantity.

toadpenguin

I know people have mentioned it before, but one point I can't stress enough is time management.

Especially for paper 2, spend an absolute maximum of 25 minutes on each section. I personally find it easier to do the modern unseen drama to save me having to wade through the middle English used, but if you are comfortable with the language and with Shakespeare then go for it. Be sure to read how a question is marked too, and spend your time accordingly. From my experience (my English teacher in JC was an experienced department corrector), a 15 mark question will require 3 separate points, in 3 separate paragraphs, each being marked out of 5.

For paper 1, something which I found works quite well is using some basic poetic and writing technique in your essay. Don't go overboard on it, just include some metaphors, symbolism and a small amount of alliteration in your essay, along with plenty of varied colourful vocabulary (get into the habit of using a thesaurus when writing essays for homework).

Sure, a certain amount of getting an A grade is luck and having a good corrector who understands your style of writing, but that bit's outside of your control. What's important is you try your absolute best to make it easy for that corrector to give you an A.

CornWallises38

Hey man I got a B in the JC last year. I was a little disappointed I didn't get the A as I consider English to be my strongest subject next to History.

But if I've learnt anything from my English JC experience it's that time management and a reasonable amount of study is the key to a good grade in English. I made the mistake of not brushing up on my time management skills during third year and it cost me an A. You need to be practicing exam questions from past papers throughout the year in order to perfect these skills as well as doing all your homework assignments.

Make sure you keep a cool head during the exams, that's real important too.

Good Luck!

Nic Neptune

In my mocks (2009) I got 83% in English HL. I thought I did better in the actual JC but still only got a B (Despite being out sick for five straight weeks before the exams and very sick doing them). Really, if I was well, I'd have gotten an A in it.

When reading the comprehension, make sure you read your title and most importantly READ THE QUESTIONS FIRST. Also, I find it a help to highlight (or underline, whatever floats your boat xD) what is actually being asked in the question. Always take notice of the when who where what etc. questions within the question and make sure you answer everything. Then read the comprehension, give a quick read through your questions and mark the relevant points when re-reading the comprehension again. That's what I did and it leaves a small margin of error. (Yeah, I know technically speaking there's no "wrong" answer in English but make sure you answer the question being asked. Also, it's no harm to use a couple of quotes in your answer.

I didn't finish reading the novel (as I didn't like it much) but I was lucky enough to get away with it but I'd reccomend reading it all carefully so you can answer the question asked. If I'd gotten a question about the ending then I'd have been in big trouble (although I did have the short story answer ready but you can expand more on the novel).

Know your poems and know them well. Two years later and I still remember some of the JC poems lol. It's so important to quote them and the best way to choose quotes is to know the poem.

There's not much you can do about the unseen poem except know your poetic techniques. (Puns, rhyming schemes, tone, alliteration etc.). They are so important. And make sure you always give YOUR OPINION when asked. Never ever, ever give a summary of the poem unless specifically asked.

The best thing for essays is to practice them. And be well used to brainstorming. Also, time yourself when studying so you don't have to rush yourself suddenly in the exam. Same with any creative writing in the exam.

Hope that helped! We're actually going out now but if I left out any points I'll post later.

Good luck!

Nic Neptune

Oh, just to add that time management is so, so important. Make sure you have a watch with you and plan out how long you intend to spend on each section (leave a few minutes at the end).

If your time runs out for a section, just move on, get the rest done accordingly and come back with your spare time at the end.

Even if you don't get one section finished, it's more important not to compromise every section of the paper just because of one. It's better to pick up marks universally; you'll get more for it.

braka of the wing

As it been said above time management is important, although don't stare at clock too hard or you'll miss out on the whole test.:D
Keep in mind that, as stated above once again extend your answers and make them detailed but don't overload them with detail or you'll waste valuable time.
READ THE QUESTION! That point can't be stressed enough. Keep up with the question and stick to it. And if someone starts acting the *&£*! DON'T answer them!

Remember the three points
1. Read,Read,and Read again.
2. Stick to the question,don't put in useless things you think'll impress the examiner. BAD IDEA!:eek:
3. Expand your answers.