English
Notes about these Notes
These notes probably have no relevance to anything at all as they are from the 2008 NSW HSC Syllabus which was changed the next year.Title: 18 October 2007 English
Date: 18 October 2007 8:53 PM
Category: School
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Beginning of Imaginative Journeys. I got moved up a class. Big list of what a journey is.
Title: 19 October 2007 English
Date: 19 October 2007 11:26 AM
Category: School
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More on journeys. Read a feature article; "Walk around the world" about people and their monumental journeys.
Title: 22 October 2007 English
Date: 22 October 2007 8:28 PM
Category: School
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Write about getting on a train to Wagga. Describe the physical, inner and imaginative journey.
Title: 23 October 2007 English
Date: 23 October 2007 6:19 PM
Category: School
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A poem about journeys. "Life is a Journey"
Title: 1 November 2007 English
Date: 1 November 2007 12:19 PM
Category: School
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The Tempest
Story summary so far.
Act 1
1: Big Tempest. Crashes boat on an island. The boat has royals on it.
2: Miranda; daughter of Prospero; a magician, worries about the boat people. Prospero says they are alright. Prospero caused the storm to wreck the boat. The royals on the boat threw him out of the Duke of Milan job. They put him on a boat with his young daughter and left him to perish however Gonzalo let him keep all his books. Caliban is a slave of Prospero and daughter of Sycorax. He hates things. Ariael is a spirit who helped cause the storm who wants his freedom from Prospero. He will get it in 2 days.
Title: 2 February 2008 English
Date: 2 February 2008 6:32 PM
Category: School
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Went over a response to the 2007 Trial HSC. It turned out to be A.W.’s
Glossary:
Denotative: literal, dictionary definition
Connotative: the associated meanings of a word or phrase that communicate value and attitude
When going through the response to the question, it became apparent that the structure of a paragraph in a response to that kind of question should be:
1. Topic sentence
2. Evidence
3. Explain evidence
4. Link this back to main thesis
Title: 6 February 2008 English
Date: 6 February 2008 2:14 PM
Category: School
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Analytical responses- structures
A common structure for a text is: Thesis, Text 1, Text 2, Text 3, Closing
A better one is Thesis, Conceptual area 1, Conceptual Area 2, Conceptual area 3.
In each area address the three texts.
Title: 8 February 2008 Enlish
Date: 8 February 2008 2:16 PM
Category: School
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A good way to write essays:
- Gather material and texts
- Brainstorm a a bit
- Organise your brainstorm into categories
- Fit your research into these categories
- Write body paragraphs.
- Redraft the paragraphs
- Reorder paragraphs
- You should be able to think of a thesis now
- Write your introduction with thesis
- Redo the paragraphs to fit your thesis
- Write conclusion
- Edit for spelling etc.
Title: 22 February 2008 English
Date: 22 February 2008 7:11 PM
Category: School
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A new module:
C: Representation and Text
This module requires students to explore various representations of events, personalities or situations.
The prescribed text here is ‘Front line’ a current affairs show satire.
Think of some synonyms and antonyms for ‘truth’
Title: 25 February 2008 English
Date: 25 February 2008 4:35 PM
Category: School
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Satire
Apparently satire ridicules the failings of humans and humankind. It also is intended to change these problems for the better. It is like a way of keeping the audience from making the same mistakes that it is highlighting. Irony is one way to do this but not the only way. There are also things like caricatures and parodies and sarcasm.
Humor is a good way to open the mind. It could also take us out of our comfort zone in order to think outside the box.
Title: 17 March 2008 English
Date: 17 March 2008 7:11 PM
Category: School Media File
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7:00 PM: ABC 7pm News
The Tibetan Crisis was shown after 2 stories about the discovery of the HMAS Sydney.
It was split into two stories, one directly about the violence taking place, and one focusing on what the Dalai Lama
The first featured footage from blurry camera phones, night vision cameras and vision from the Chinese News. It explained what was happening, in China and talked about how the Chinese people may not even know what is taking place. There were witness comments from people on the street, an important chinese leader and the reporter was on the ground in Tianamen square.
The second story featured mostly quotes from the Dalai Lama himself at a news conference in India where he has been exiled. There were shots of the media pack at his feet, all looking to get a shot. The reporter was on the ground looking over the town where the conference was taking place, providing a comment on the Indian’s attitude to the Dalai Lama being there. There was a graphic of where abouts the Dalai Lama is. The second half of this story was shots of Tibetans in the Indian town looking at photocopied newspaper articles about the crisis. The reporter told of how they got all their news from phone calls and texts. There was a witness who was being informally interviewed by the reporter. The reporter had to sum up what the man had said just to make sure everyone heard it correctly. This summary was confirmed by the witness.
Title: 18 March 2008 English
Date: 18 March 2008 6:37 PM
Category: School Media File
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6:30: World News Australia (SBS)
The story was split in to two different parts.
The first part dealt with what was happening on the ground in China. Once again there was plenty of shaky camera footage, either in the middle of protests, from a tall building with night vision on, or up above, following the fighting on the ground. It seemed to be more neutral than the ABC broadcast the day before but I don’t know why. The reporter simply stated what was happening, with no additional comment and no footage of them on the ground. There didn’t seem to be any new footage of the events since the ABC broadcast, just more of the same plus some footage from the Chinese news. Later in the story it was revealed that the media had been expelled from the area. This is going to have a significant impact on the truth that is reported as we will only get it from the Chinese Government and reports that leak out. The report seemed to be structured so that there was the main bulk of the new events at the beginning, then some explanation for the newcomers about what was going on, and then the rest of the news such as the media being expelled. Expert comments included a distressed man who’s wife was injured/killed and a US Government official commenting on the media expulsion.
The second story was based in Australia and reported on the protests outside the Chinese Embassy. There was plenty of footage of the camera from the middle of the protest, it was shaky and in the action. There were more witnesses than the previous story who yelled and screamed about their views on the matter. Unlike the previous report, the reporter stood in front of the camera talking about the situation.
ABC News Online:
The first segment of the online news was about 3 minutes in length and consisted entirely of an on the scene reporter talking by phone about his experience in China. He said that he was with a cameraman and they tried to get into a university to get vision of a silent protest by students. He outlined how they scoured the outside wall and snuck into the premises, recording the protest from up high. He continued to talk about how they snuck out footage before being thrown out by police. He went on to provide a personal look at what he saw as going on in China. This was accompanied by a graphic of where he was and old footage of Tibetan protestors.
Title: 19 March 2008 English
Date: 19 March 2008 6:38 PM
Category: School Media File
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6:30 PM: World News Australia (SBS):
The Tibetan story was second this time after a report about Chinese relations to do with mining industry. It’s cover image was a picture of the Dalai Lama waving and was introduced as the Dalai Lama is threatening to resign. They only got to this half way through the story however, and it was mostly more images of rioters. It began with a home video kind of recording of Tibetans in a town taking down the Chinese flag and putting up their own, then being attacked. It then cut to what they called what the Chinese Government want us to see. Like yesterday, they showed gruesome images of people who have gun shot wounds. They may be dead but we haven’t been told if they are. It got to the second half of the story which concerned itself with the political climate around China. It was much calmer than the first half. It had the Dalai Lama talking. Then some calmish protests somewhere, although this was accompanied by the voice over saying young people are sick of the Dalai Lama’s no violence approach. And then the Taiwanese (presidential/prime minister?) candidate saying how he would boycott the Beijing games.
7 PM: ABC News (ABC1):
The Tibetan story was second after the abolishment of WorkChoices.
There were exclusive pictures filmed by a tourist showing ‘what the Chinese Government doesn’t want us to see’ (tanks rolling through a Tibetan city). The footage was taken from a balcony somewhere and had a big ABC news logo on it, obscuring some of the vision to make sure other news outlets didn’t steal it as their own. The second half of the story, like the SBS one, was calmer and didn’t have so much angriness in it. They had a separate story again for the Dalai Lama but they didn’t make such a deal that he threatened to resign. The devoted a lot of the story to him and at the end had some footage of the reporter talking one on one with him. After the short interview, the reporter mumbled something and everyone laughed, ending the story on a light note.
Title: 6 May 2008 English
Date: 6 May 2008 7:18 PM
Category: School
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Huxley’s context at the time of Brave New World’s writing. (1920’s)
Economic depression, new technologies such as cars and luxuries being developed. Soldiers returning from the wars were ‘demobilised,’ every one else had taken their jobs.
Wages were being cut. Middle class was getting restless with their situation, this was scaring the upper class as they were trained to use guns.
There were riots and strikes and demonstrations. The government used the military to quell the violence, angering the returned soldiers.
An anti-strike government committee was set up. It didn’t work.
Title: 12 May 2008 English
Date: 12 May 2008 7:46 PM
Category: School
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BRAVE NEW WORLD: ALDOUS HUXLEY
Huxley’s context (London, 1920’s):
The role of women was changing. During the war women replaced the jobs that men left. They began working, smoking in public and didn’t have to wear restrictive clothing so much. Younger women were given the vote.
Consumerism and mass culture involved the mass production of luxuries and other items. Cars mass produced. Pulp fiction was produced for the masses. Upper class luxuries were becoming middle class cost.
Class was very important in Britain. Upper class managed finances while middle class managed businesses. Unemployment rose, salaries didn’t. There was talk of a working class revolution. Upper class was scared. Formality of dress broke down, angering upper class.
Technology advancements meant cheaper stuff.
Huxley himself was privileged in society. He had a family of artists and scientists. He didn’t like mass culture, or the drive of profit.
Eugenics: The study of human heredity patterns. Mainly to improve the species as a whole.
Behaviorism: The manipulation of the behavior of humans. =
Title: 20 May 2008 English
Date: 20 May 2008 10:38 PM
Category: School
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Brave New World: Nature is the World State’s enemy. Stability comes about through no unhappiness, no individuality and no vulnerability.
Everything is predetermined.
Title: 21 May 2008 English
Date: 21 May 2008 10:54 PM
Category: School
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Some questions to ask when writing an essay.
How effective is the composer at creating meaning.
What is the composers context?
How to engage with a text:
Find a quote. How does it make you feel? This should lead you to identify value judgements. Identify language techniques.
Title: 10 June 2008 English
Date: 10 June 2008 8:48 PM
Category: School
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YEATS
William Butler Yeats
Demonstrate that you know what is going on in the texts
How have people read the poems at different times, places, by different people? Do they conflict with your readings?
Write write write.
Title: 12 June 2008 English
Date: 12 June 2008 9:04 PM
Category: School
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Seems Yeats was up himself.
At the end of ‘When You Are Old’ he is trying to tell Maude Gonne that if she didn’t accept his love she would become an old hag type thing while he enjoyed success and general awesomeness.
When Yeats says ‘nodding by the fire’ and ‘bending down beside the glowing bars’ I think he is using an allusion to hell/gaol. No one else seems to think so though.