How can I write 8 pages in an hour? HL English

naxmax9

We have a huge English test on Rich and we have an hour to do it and I did a practice run and only got 5 pages and a half in one hour discussing only 4 poems when I know all 6 perfectly. How can I increase my speed for the day?

refusetolose

bigger letters and gaps between each word?

Tropical.ing

My English teacher said to only write about 4-6 pages and only discuss 4-5 poems. Quality > Quantity

naxmax9

Tropical.ing wrote: »

My English teacher said to only write about 4-6 pages and only discuss 4-5 poems. Quality > Quantity

Yes I agree but mine said to use all 6 for a H1

spurious

Nowhere in any marking scheme does it specify a number of pages an answer must be.

Answer the question.

Your Examiner in the Leaving will prefer 4-5 pages of well stated clear argument rather than 8 pages of waffle and repetition.

randylonghorn

spurious wrote: »

Your Examiner in the Leaving will prefer 4-5 pages of well stated clear argument rather than 8 pages of waffle and repetition.

+1000 !!

nermal15

I am an English teacher and would be rolling my eyes if someone handed me up 8 pages for a poetry essay- there’s no need for it to be that long! Discussing 4 poems in depth is plenty.

Doctors room ghost

You could pretend you broke your writing hand if you know someone who will plaster it up for you.
They will have to give you someone to write out your answer then and you just have to sit there calling out the answer really fast and it’s up to them to keep up with you.
Shout out the odd hurry up to them aswell.
Sound

twiz

naxmax9 wrote: »

Yes I agree but mine said to use all 6 for a H1

Not true at all - it's minimum 4 but otherwise the number of poems won't determine your grade. 5 pages is pretty good, I think. If you feel like you have more to write but won't have enough time, consider where you could cut back in what you already have written - any extra, unimportant points you could do without?

hasdanta

I think I discussed 4 poems during my actual LC poetry question and got something like 42/50, so you definitely don't need to discuss all 6 to get a good mark in poetry.

A97

I'll refer to the marking scheme, that normally encourages the study of at least six poems. When I did my Leaving Cert, I chose to discuss at least six poems. Nothing explicitly states that you must mention six or more poems, but there is no way that the examiner can know that you studied all of them without referring to them in your answer.

Marking Scheme 2018 wrote:

“Students at Higher Level will be required to study a representative
selection from the work of eight poets: a representative selection would
seek to reflect the range of a poet’s themes and interests and exhibit
his/her characteristic style and viewpoint. Normally the study of at least
six poems by each poet would be expected.” (DES English Syllabus, 6.3)

Note that, in the case of each poet, the candidates have the freedom of
choice in relation to the poems studied.

Note that there is not a finite list of any ‘poet’s themes and interests’.

Note that, in responding to the question set on any given poet, the
candidates must refer to poem/s they have studied but they are not
required to refer to any specific poem/s, nor are they expected to
discuss or refer to all the poems they have chosen to study.

In each of the questions in Prescribed Poetry the underlying nature of
the task is the invitation to the candidates to engage with the poems
themselves.

I'll reiterate what others have said about quantity. Eight pages is excessive. Quality is more important, but it is unlikely that you can demonstrate both quality and depth of knowledge without writing about four pages.

Noveight

Discussed 4 poems over 5 pages and got 48/50.

As mentioned, quality trumps quantity every single time.