English
As we move towards the climax of Semester 1, it provides a timely opportunity for our fantastic English Student Leaders to share their reflections on the year so far, and to offer some valuable advice to students preparing for their semester examinations.
As busy Year 12 students juggling the demands of ongoing School Assessed Coursework (SACs), who better to share their insights and strategies for making the best of your time and abilities? For our students preparing for English examinations in Years 9, 10 and 11, in their reflections below Siorcha and Lilly guide you through their top tips for exam success.
We also look forward to hearing more from Siorcha and Lilly in the coming weeks as we look to launch our Kilbreda writing competition. Watch this space!
Good luck to all our students as they prepare for the exams and use this period to develop effective study habits to support their learning and development in the years ahead.
Nicola O'Shea
Learning Leader:
Although it has been a bit of an adjustment, Year 12 English has been great so far. With two SACs already completed, everyone is settling into the new rhythm. The English unit has just finished our analytical study of Nine Days by Toni Jordan, an historical fiction novel based around a Richmond family and their journey across the decades. While studying this text, we were all encouraged to examine all features of the text to extract the intended meaning and Jordan’s views.
The weekly ‘Hour of Power’ sessions (Mondays, 3:30pm) have been a huge help this year for understanding and maximising our SAC performance. The initial sessions provide us with information and tips about our upcoming SAC, and following sessions allow us to practise our writing.
Examination Tips
With English exams for younger year levels fast approaching at the end of the term, it’s an important time to review study techniques.
To do well in an English exam, you really need to know your text. Read or watch your text as many times as you need to feel confident, but make sure to try to break it down into its main themes and elements.
A good way to make studying easier for yourself is to go through your book, chapter by chapter, and bookmark (with coloured sticky notes) any important quotes, themes, or actions. This way, they are much easier to find and study throughout the term and will make your book look cool when you're finished. Ultimately, practising writing and brainstorming ideas is the best way to improve your writing and confidence.
Plan out essay topics, write to time, create theme 'mind maps' to get the best results in your timed exam. Remember, exams are an opportunity to discover your strengths, and work on your weaknesses, so don't stress too much, just focus on doing your best!
Top 5 Tips for English Examinations
1. Use your teachers as they are there to help you!
2. Don’t compare yourself to others as everyone is at a different level and writes differently.
3. Practise writing with different questions and topics but you don’t have to do it to time. Then practise doing it timed because it will be just like the exam.
4. Re-read/view until you feel confident with your texts.
5. Memorise your quotes. Highlighting them in your book really helps, especially when you are going over the text when revising. Writing quotes and sticking them up around the house on the back of doors etc. helps to memorise as you see the quote every time you walk past them.
Siorcha Creaton and
Lilly Downie
Student Learning Leaders:
English