How to get a Band 6 in English Advanced

1. Understanding and analysing texts

Developing a complex and personal understanding of the texts that you study is essential to achieving good results in English Advanced. Markers will reward essays that suggest a deep engagement with course material, and instead mark down responses that reflect only a surface-level understanding of the text. Therefore, to write a high-scoring essay, you must first learn how to approach texts through a critical lens and engage with them in more meaningful ways.

Themes and context

It is important to pinpoint the themes, motifs and context that the text revolves around. This will help you understand the text more holistically and critically, and conduct textual analysis in a more ordered manner—it will allow you to construct essays that feel like meaningful, cohesive responses rather than disjointed pieces of analyses. Useful questions to ask, include:

• What main ideas are the composer/author trying to convey?some text
  • E.g. Is the text a commentary on a particular societal issue? Does it attempt to reveal something about human nature?
  • How does each element of the text (characters, setting, etc.) contribute to this idea?
• What is the historical/contextual background of the text?some text
  • How does this reflect the text’s themes? OR
  • How does this influence the text’s themes?
  • How does it justify the choices that the composer has made? 

• What is the composer/author’s purpose? 

• How does the composer serve this purpose? 
• Eg. If the author’s purpose is to warn against totalitarianism, they may choose to focus on the effects of oppressive governments on individuals.

For example, if you were analysing The Merchant of Venice for your Common Module exam, you may consider:

• The play’s underlying themes of racial prejudice, religion and self-interest.some text
  • The dichotomy between religious morality and human selfishness.
  • How the religious and personal motives of the characters contribute to these themes.
• The historical context of Elizabethan England.some text
  • Pro-Christian and anti-semitic ideologies that pervaded the period.

If you find it difficult to answer these questions, it may be useful to research critical analyses of the text online. If you want to go a bit deeper, looking at literary critiques on JSTOR and Google Scholar would also be helpful. It may seem like a tedious process, but it will help you A LOT in the long run.Literary/film techniquesEspecially for high school English, having a comprehensive knowledge of various literary and film techniques is essential. Although knowing WHAT the author/composer is trying to convey is important, a good essay must also explain HOW the text’s themes or ideas are being communicated.A common mistake students make in their essays is merely naming or identifying techniques in quotes/scenes instead of analysing how they are used. High-scoring responses will always delve into HOW a technique contributes to the importance of the quote/scene, and connect them to broader concepts that extend beyond the specific example you are giving. In her plea to Shylock for forgiveness, Portia states mercy to be “the gentle rain from heaven”. She glorifies New Testament teachings via metaphor, alluding to biblical ideas in a show of faith.Above is a good illustration of this. The analysis not only identifies the metaphor in the quote, but also explains how the technique is used by Shakespeare to convey religious concepts.

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2. Creating strong thesis statements

While most students have been taught how to structure paragraphs and essays throughout high school (through techniques like PEEL/TEEL), their essays are often disjointed and incohesive due to the absence of a strong thesis statement.Each paragraph and piece of analysis in your essay should revolve around and support ONE main argument/thesis (your answer to the essay question). This is essential for drafting an essay that reads like a coherent response and not 3 individual paragraphs randomly pieced together.The best way to approach your essay is to think of your body paragraphs as supporting arguments for an overarching thesis statement. For example, an essay arguing that The Merchant of Venice sheds light on conflicts/paradoxes within the human experience could be split into 3 supporting body paragraphs about:

1. Religious beliefs conflicting with human selfishness. 
2. The complexities and paradoxes of human nature.
3. The irrationality of religious privilege and prejudice.

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  3. Understanding the focus of the Module

A crucial element of HSC English Advanced that is commonly overlooked is the distinct focuses of each module. Developing an understanding of the modules will allow you to focus on the right themes/concepts in your essay responses. The easiest way to do this is through carefully reading the official rubrics for each module. For instance:

1. The Common Module focuses primarily on the human experience and how it is conveyed through storytelling.
2. Module A deals mainly with textual comparison. More specifically, a big focus is placed on the idea of resonances and dissonances between texts, as well as ways that texts can be reimagined over time.
3. Module B focuses on critical analyses of texts. This requires students to engage with texts on a more personal and critical level. It also requires more attention to be paid to historical context, the composer’s intentions etc.

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4. Revision and practise

As with all subjects, performing well in HSC English Advanced requires a great deal of study and revision in your own time. This involves writing A LOT of practice essays and paragraphs.Some good revision methods include:

• Adapting your essays and paragraphs to different essay questions.
• Thinking about how your draft essays and paragraphs can be moulded to answer different kinds of questions.
• Writing essays under time pressure.
• Memorising quotes to save time during your exam. 

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