Hi guys,
Here is the link to the powerpoint we looked at the other day. I hope you find it helpful.
Miss Mac.
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Hi Year 11,
I just found this website which looks helpful for your unfamiliar text standard. The focus is developing your close reading skills (which is exactly what unfamiliar text requires).
I hope you are all studying hard but that you also feel prepared for next week!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/bitesize/standard/english/close_reading_texts/
Hi Year 11…
I just thought I would post with a helpful website you might like to visit which covers all the achievement standards providing you with tips and tricks for revision, writing essays, unfamiliar texts, pretty much everything! A great resource for you if you are needing clarification, advice or you want to do some more practise.
Hello Year 9,
I have inserted some resources on this post that you can click on and access from home. There are a number of resources here to help you with language techniques/devices for your literary essays, poetry and static image sections. There are also some handouts here regarding the PEDAL model and the power point presentation you were shown in class at the end of last week and the beginning of this week.
Make sure you write practice essays at home and study the terms for success in the exam. We have covered a lot of information this year and you have developed a number of skills. It is important for you to spend the time studying now so that you feel prepared for your exam.
It is time for you to step up the challenge and do your best in these exams. No one can make you learn, you must be a willing participant. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, but bear in mind the best thing you can do for yourself now is sit down, write essays, read the feedback you have received throughout the year and take it on board, and know your text and language techniques/devices very well!
Practice makes perfect.
LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES/DEVICES essential terms for Reading unfamiliar text
HOLES Language technique mix and match
POETRY language techniques mix and match
The PEDAL model for writing body paragraphs
9ENG steps towards success – power point presentation
Static images visual techniques
Labyrinth Film feature effects jumble
film techniques match and draw
Hi Year 11,
We are at the business end of the year and you should all be studying furiously in order to do your best in the upcoming exam. With only 13 lessons until you go on study leave I thought now would be a good time to provide you with some more useful links on the NZQA website.
Don’t underestimate how useful this website is as it is basically providing you with the recipe for success in your exams. My previous post indicated you can find past exam papers there and read exemplars which can be very useful. Not only that but you can read the national examiners notes on what students did in order to get to the achieved, merit and excellence levels. It is very descriptive and will help you understand what you need to do in order to get to the next level.
These gems are called “assessment reports”. You should definitely head to the site and check them out. The link is below, along with a snippet of the content available for the extended text literature standard you are sitting in the exam.
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=english&view=reports&level=01
ACHIEVEMENT WITH MERIT
In addition to the skills and knowledge required for the award of Achievement, candidates who were awarded Achievement with Merit commonly:
- developed a convincing answer in clear response to both parts of the question
- used a wider range of relevant text evidence than at Achieved level in support of arguments;
quotations were often integrated
- showed a strong sense of engagement with the text
- showed an awareness of writer’s purpose and that the text is a construction
- made connections within and beyond the text
- wrote fluently in a way that advanced their points.
ACHIEVEMENT WITH Excellence
In addition to the skills and knowledge required for the award of Achievement with Merit, candidates who were awarded Achievement with Excellence commonly:
- responded perceptively to the text
- explored and mined one idea thoroughly, using a central thesis, rather than touching on several ideas superficially
- “wove” relevant text evidence into their own argument
- showed a strong sense of engagement with the text; many discussed the relevance of the text to self and the wider world, showing insight, originality and consideration of how the writer had challenged their thinking
- wrote a clearly structured essay
- demonstrated maturity and fluency of expression, using sophisticated vocabulary
- discussed the writer’s craft, demonstrating awareness of the way they made deliberate choices for effect in the text
- wrote considerably more than 200 words.
Hi guys and girls,
I thought it would be timely to put up a couple of NZQA links so you can access the Achievement Standards, past examination papers and exemplars quickly.
Remember exemplars should only be used to give you an indication of the what is required for each grade level. The exemplars could be high or low within the NAME band. Often there are notes from the moderator on the papers so you can see what they were looking for and justifications for the grade it received. DON’T COPY THE EXEMPLARS!
When looking at the Achievement Standards and the criteria, be sure to read the notes at the bottom, as this is what markers use to deconstruct exactly what the criteria means. For example in the extended text standard, “convincing understanding” and “perceptive understanding” are explained.
1 Show understanding of … text(s) could include discussion of:
ideas such as narrative, description, theme(s), character development, context
techniques such as organisation, form, structure, layout, style, literary devices, language features and any other ‘methods or procedures used in crafting and shaping text’
Show convincing understanding of … text(s) includes making relevant and confident/ informed interpretations of specified aspects.
Show perceptive understanding of … text(s) includes making relevant and sophisticated/insightful interpretations of specified aspects.
Achievement Standard criteria: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=english&view=achievements&level=01
Past examination papers and exemplars: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=english&view=exams&level=01
Good luck!
Hi Year 11,
It’s really important that you put time into working on your understanding of language techniques and their effect on the reader. This will mean that in your exam it will be easy to identify and explain HOW the author has crafted his meaning into the text. We have done quite a bit of work on language techniques this year when you think back, from our short text study, through our static images (visual techniques), extended text, creative writing, speeches (persuasive techniques) and film study (verbal and visual techniques).
NOW… it’s time for you to put your knowledge to good use so that you begin to understand how to pick the BEST technique to discuss in terms of an example because as we know sometimes one example fits the criteria for two or more different techniques. You need to be discerning and have a vast knowledge of techniques so you’re not discussing colloquial language for every single text!
Find attached some worksheets and resource sheets we have looked at this year that will help you in your unfamiliar text standard.
Essential terms for Reading unfamiliar text1
Common issues with unfamiliar text diagnostics
Static image Terminology
Below are some links to resources we have used during our study of short texts you might find useful including “the matrix”.
Remember it’s really important to keep writing and rewriting essays to hone your skills. The more feedback you get from me the better when it comes to developing your skills. You only get out what you put in. The old addage “if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got” really does apply here.
See the bottom two links for general tips on essay writing.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
A wayof talking character development
…it is important not to PANIC!
But a little bit of stress can be a good thing because it can be used to motivate you to succeed. Congratulations on making your way here to find some additional resources.
If you scroll down my blog posts you will see some Animal Farm study notes that you can use. Remember with this novel there is a lot of information online that can help you, especially when it comes to developing your knowledge about the history Orwell has used to guide his writing. Remember you need to always double-check sources of information and formulate your own opinions. I certainly don’t want to read essays that are a rip-off of someone else’s ideas.
Over the next couple of days I will add further content to this page. It will be related to the other topics/texts we have studied so if you have lost some resources or need extra help you can look through them at your leisure.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have.
Good luck!
Miss Mac.
Congratulations on finding my blog! 🙂
This blog has been established to make it easier for me to provide information and additional resources to help you on your way to excellence in NCEA English.
My first post features the static images slideshow we looked at during class and an additional slideshow of exemplars to help you see exactly what you need to do in order to get to excellence level in your upcoming assessment.
All the best for a successful year in English.
http://www.slideshare.net/Kazmania/static-image-presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/guestf8d8f515/18-static-image-exemplars-from-nzqa
Miss Macdonald's Blog 