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How To Do The Composing Section of The English Exam: Persuasive

How To Do The Composing Section of The English Exam: Persuasive

When it comes to the last section of your ATAR English exam, there can be some confusion as to what you are actually required to do. This section of the exam is testing your ability to receive a prompt and respond to that prompt in a creative way. 

There are many options of creative texts that you can craft in this section but essentially they are broken down into three subsections. These are interpretive, imaginative and persuasive. Most teachers now will teach you how to write a narrative response in response to these exam questions, however, you must be aware that you have more options than just to write a narrative. 

One strong way to answer this series of questions is through persuasive. Persuasive essay writing involves taking an opinion on the topic and writing a series of body paragraphs in response to the prompt. Persuasive writing will begin for you in year 3 or year 5 when you were required to do your NAPLAN test. Many of these ideas that you would’ve learnt at a young age should come back and be a part of your learning again as you reach ATAR. 

The best thing to do is actually pre-prepare some topics or problems that you are ready to write at a moment’s notice. Here at our top tips for success in writing a persuasive essay for your ATAR exams. 

1. Ensure That You Have a Variety of Ideas to Discuss. 

When it comes to the composing section of your exam, many students believe that there is no way they can study. This is unequivocally wrong. Being aware of three or four major topics in society and different ideas around those topics will help you actually have something to say. My past students have written about topics from diabetes to euthanasia to racism to bullying to anything else you could possibly write an essay about. The key is to have three or four different ideas that you could go to. The way to decide on these ideas is to brainstorm some of the key issues and topics that interest you and maybe have a look at your other subjects for ideas. Are you a history buff? Perhaps have a look at the efficacy of communism compared to capitalism and you could write or craft an interpretive response to the idea of communism. If you are interested in the sciences perhaps you could write about vaccinations or infectious disease control. There are many different topics that you could write about but the most important thing is to write about something that interests you, otherwise, you’ll find it difficult to maintain steam as the year progresses. 

2. Pre-Plan Your Answers and Try and Apply Them to Past Questions. 

There are often themes that emerge when you look at different exams over the past 5 to 10 years in English. Things like technology, issues that affect teenagers and issues that affect our society are often cited in the composing section of the exam. Choose three topics that you are interested in and research all of the negatives of these issues, the consequences of these issues and the solutions to these issues and try to apply them to the prompts from past English exams. 

3. Focus on Your Integration of Persuasive Devices. 

Persuasive devices are those handy little things that help us to understand that the text that you have written is persuasive. These include things such as inclusive language, rhetorical questions, facts and statistics, anecdotal evidence, personal voice, figurative language, emotive language and other elements that you are probably a custom to interpreting in your comprehending section. Please make an effort to remember these and then incorporate them into your text. Markers love to see when students have actually thought through the persuasive elements and try to make an effort to use them cohesively within the peace. A personal favourite of mine is inclusive language when you were talking about issues that affect the whole of society. Ensure that you include at least three of them in each body paragraph. 

For more information on how to write and then suasive text for your ATAR English exam, contact Perth English Tutor today.

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List of Narrative Conventions

The secret to doing well in your English essays, comprehension tests, and exams, is knowing which conventions to incorporate into your discussion. One particular type of convention is the narrative convention. Narrative conventions, or narrative techniques, are important to an understanding whenever you are reading a novel or a short story, and you need to analyse it after you read it. By understanding what narrative conventions are and why they are used in certain ways, you will be able to better answer your questions.

Here is an extensive list of narrative conventions and some examples of why they are used and how they are relevant.

List of narrative conventions
Posted on February 13, 2018 by perthenglishtutor

The secret to doing well in your English essays, comprehension tests, and exams, is knowing which conventions to incorporate into your discussion. One particular type of convention is the narrative convention. Narrative conventions, or narrative techniques, are important to an understanding whenever you are reading a novel or a short story, and you need to analyse it after you read it. By understanding what narrative conventions are and why they are used in certain ways, you will be able to better answer your questions.

Here is an extensive list of narrative conventions and some examples of why they are used and how they are relevant.

Narrative Conventions

Characterisation

Setting

Structure

Syntax

Tone

Style

Dialogue

Emotive language

Descriptive language

Narration

Metaphors

Similes

Personification

Hyperbole

Imagery

Allusion

Symbolism

Diction

Repetition

Characterisation

Characterisation is important to analyse in a text as it reveals a lot about the message of the text. The characters are usually the vessel by which the author tells the story. Are the characters typical of a genre? Do they fit a certain archetype? Are some characters good and some evil?

Setting

An understanding of setting will assist you with all different types of narrative texts. In certain genres such as western and horror, setting is very fundamental. However, no matter the text, setting is going to play a key role.

Structure

How has the text been structured? Is there a flashback? Does it loop? The structure of the text is important in identifying how the author wants you as a reader to uncover his message. This is highly important in short stories, also.

Syntax

The syntax is the way that words and phrases are put together in a sentence. Sometimes authors will adhere to syntax and sometimes they will play around with syntax, which is just as significant. Take a look at the syntax and try to understand what is going on with the author’s writing.

Tone

The tone of a novel or story is a big determinant of the message of the narrative. It is important to identify tone, whether it be serious or sarcastic.

Style

What style has been employed to write this narrative? This will require you knowing the key terminology surrounding style.

Dialogue

Dialogue is any time that someone speaks to your narrative. It can be very telling about a number of things and can reveal things about your characters, in a different way to your narrator.

Emotive language

The use of emotive language is very significant is it positions the reader to “feel” what the author wants them to. This is important when talking about serious issues.

Narration

First person, second person, third person limited and third person omniscient are all different methods of an author telling a story. Each of these is significant in their own right.

Metaphors

A metaphor is a useful language tool that compares two things that have nothing in common. E.g. Lost in a sea of nameless faces.

Similes

A simile is when something is said to be like something else. E.g. Her smile was as bright as a sun.

Personification

Personification is when an inanimate object is assigned with a human-like quality. E.g. The daffodils danced in the breeze.

Hyperbole

This is an exaggeration of the fact. E.g. She was so hungry she could have eaten a horse

Imagery

A great author can conjure up pictures in your mind through the use of imagery. This is very descriptive language that paints a visual picture.

Allusion

An allusion is a reference to something else. E.g. Bec was the Trojan horse to Marta’s social group.

Symbolism

Symbolism can be anything from a dagger to a colour and usually has a hidden meaning.

Diction

Diction is the choice and use of words in the writing and can be highly significant. Look for unusual word choices and anything that seems significant.

Repetition

When words or ideas are repeated in a text, it usually means that the author is trying to point your attention to that thing.