English

Term 3, as always, means that our senior students are embarking on examinations for their stage 6 subjects. Year 12 students will have completed their trials during this week, and will return from trials ready to prepare for their HSC examinations. Year 11 students will sit their end of course examinations beginning in Week 8.

Students are often unsure about how to best study for English exams but there are a number of ways that students can ensure that they are as prepared as they can be. At a simple level, they can be broken into:

Preparation 

Collating notes, familiarising yourself with the structure of the exam and the nature of different types of questions, creating flashcards, accessing questions.

Revision

Taking quizzes, remembering and categorizing quotes, reviewing techniques.

Reading

Review chapters and poems from prescribed texts, re-watch key scenes from film, categorise evidence into relevant arguments and technique categories.

Write 

Complete questions from past papers. This should be where the bulk of revision time is spent during preparation for exams. Seek feedback from your teacher as you complete these questions.

All years 7-10 cohorts will be undertaking essay writing during Term 3. Students will work through the planning, drafting and editing process both inside and outside of class before completing their final draft under timed conditions during lesson time. Students should spend time building and selecting evidence from their set texts, developing and refining numerous arguments, thinking about building connections between their ideas, and editing closely for spelling, punctuation and grammar. 

As always, students should also be cognisant of their set homework. They can also undertake the following tasks to ensure that their knowledge, understanding and performance of content in English sustainably sees improvement:

- Regularly revising the content covered in class (spaced repetition is crucial). Prepare for class quizzes.

- Reading your chosen novel for each term.

- Practice writing. Writing about key concepts, texts and ideas will help you articulate complex thinking and make it easier to write for exams and assessment tasks. This may include writing in your portfolio.

- Preparing for upcoming lessons. This may include watching a clip on Youtube, reading a text to be analysed etc. 

- Proactively work on any assessment tasks, including drafting, self and peer assessing.

- Catch up any work missed due to absence.

Mrs Sophie Munro | Acting English KLA Leader