A study plan for English of any kind is very subjective as a student’s writing style and thought process’ is as unique as the fingerprint that adorns their hand, however, there are some common approaches to English which both my friends and I applied to improve our grades significantly.
Firstly, think just outside the box:
There is a very ‘cookie cutter’ approach to writing essays, comparative studies, communications studies, etc. however fine-tuning your method to bring a fresh and new perspective to an otherwise commonplace piece of assessment is a sure-fire way of standing out and usually, achieving a higher grade. That being said, I certainly don’t encourage that you stray from the assessment criteria and requirements rather, provide a new and innovative perspective. This is why I emphasise the ‘just’ outside the box.
Here are two examples of how I thought beyond the confines of our criteria in year 12 English Communications:
Our communication study required a written and oral component, with students commonly opting for a familiar written essay and class presentation to outline the literary techniques used in the said essay. I took a different approach, filming a ‘Ted Talks” style persuasive presentation and wrote a commentary on the literary techniques I used and how I applied them. This not only made me stand out from the rest of the class and to moderators, but enabled more control of the content I was creating as I did not have to present in front of my classmates, nor did I encounter the word limit confines that my fellow essay writers experienced.
An additional example of my ‘just outside the box’ English method was when I completed a comparative essay on two current affairs programs. Whilst a majority of the class compared similar shows from different channels, I compared completely different current affairs programs which used impartial views sourced by their government ownership as opposed to shows which framed their media coverage based on their shareholder’s agenda. In doing so, not only was the comparative essay more interesting to read but provided more content for me to write about.
In both instances, the necessary criteria were met however, a point of difference was achieved. I urge you to find your point of difference in your English subject.
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