Presents
THE
BAND 6
FORMULA
The Ultimate Guide for Essay Writing Success!
www.savemyhsc.com.au
What’s inside this book? Letter from the founder
3
How to use this book
4
Examination
4
Practice
4
Planning your essay Research
5
Structure
6
Introduction
6
Body
7
Conclusion
8
Sample essay 1 Essay 1 analysis
Sample essay 2 Essay 2 analysis
Sample essay 3 Essay 3 analysis
Assessment of Learning Recap
2
5
English Essay Analysis
9 12
17 17
21 26
35 35
www.savemyhsc.com.au
Overview
Letter from the founder Paul Giannakis
Founder - Save My HSC An avid learner, Paul has dedicated himself to the improvement of others. Despite having little interest academically in his early youth, English teachers encouraged him to pursue his writing endeavours. This encouragement culminated in him eventually studying a Master of Publishing at the prestigious University of Sydney which honed his reading, writing and teaching abilities.
B
ecoming a great writer shouldn’t be a chore. Something
With special thanks to those who helped bring you this invaluable resource.
that is never really addressed is that improving your English
essay writing skills isn’t a question of talent or genetics. You aren’t necessarily an English, Science or Maths whiz or inherently stupid and
• Essay Analysis - Dianne Tan
incapable of learning something new. The primary mission of Save My
• Essay Submission - Anonymous
HSC is to assist students to unlock their potential and become masters
• Essay Submission - Andrej
of their craft - no matter what that might be.
Trbojevic • Design - Paul Giannakis
So why is English such an important facet of your craft? Well, should
• Editing - Paul Giannakis
you need to write a resume or cirriculum vitae, compile a report, dazzle
• Content - Andrej Trbojevic
a potential customer with an introductory email or file a tax return you
• Content - Jannat Dawra
are going to use some aspect of your English writing to convey your
• Content - Paul Giannakis
message. How well you communicate through text can be the tool that either opens a door to fresh and exciting possibilities or it can be what holds you back from achieving your own greatness.
Paul Giannakis
3
English Essay Analysis
www.savemyhsc.com.au
Getting Started
Planning Your Essay Starting an essay is devilishly simple... Research It might sound strange, but the best essays get written before your fingers start typing on a keyboard (or putting pen on paper if that floats your boat). Compiling a good stock of ideas and evidence, and then drafting a strong essay plan, will mean that most of the hard work will be done prior to the stage of actually writing your band 6 essay. In providing you with this timeless life wisdom, we want to help you avoid the worst-case scenario: scrambling together an essay with half-baked ideas
3 Tips for Essay Success
and poor supporting evidence the night before it’s due. We’ve all been there, but how do you avoid
Tip 1 : Read your core texts! The fact of the matter is,
this nightmare situation? The answer is simple:
plot summaries and online analysis are shoddy substitutes
good research and planning.
for doing your own reading. In any case, you won’t always have ready-made answers for you in life. So come up with
If there is one word you need to remember after
your own. Chances are, you’ll also be reading some of the
you’ve read through this book (and we won’t make
greatest works ever written, so enjoy them!
you forget it), it is: Thesis! Your thesis contains the main argument and your individual response to whatever module you are studying. Each module
Tip 2 : Secondary Texts. This should not be your focus,
explores certain themes, and requires proof that
however supplementing your reading with secondary
you’ve understood those themes by developing a
texts, such as articles or critical essays, will help you get a
well-argued essay.
deeper understanding of the texts, and appropriately citing them in your essay will prove to the marker that you’ve
We’ll deal with this more later on, but for the time
gone the extra yard.
being it is important to remember that all your research serves the ultimate purpose of drafting that thesis, so remember this crucial tip: always
Tip 3 : While reading, take notes! Your notes should
have it at the back of your mind when reading.
include info on themes and literary technique, and your
Don’t squander valuable reading time; always
own ideas and arguments. If you do the latter especially,
ask yourself if what you’ve just read will help you
you’ll see that your essay will already start to write itself.
develop your thesis or its supporting evidence.
5
English Essay Analysis
www.savemyhsc.com.au
Essay 1
Sample Essay HSC English Essay Why is reading other essays important? A psychologist called Benjamin Samuel Bloom coined an interesting term in the late 60s called Mastery. His basic idea was that you needed to show genuine understanding about a topic before moving onto another topic. Reading the work of others gives you a deeper understanding of what an amazing essay looks like. The purpose of this guide is to provide a platform for analysing material as well as excercises to test your knowledge and ensure that you truly understand the techniques being used.
Essay Question Analyse the ways in which a comparative study of Brave New World and Blade Runner invites consideration of humanity’s connection with the natural world. In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed texts. Man’s attempts to define his and his society’s
In Huxley’s immutable World State, the natural world
progress throughout history have often resulted in
and all that it brings to the freedom of the individual
his detachment from the profound questions of his
being has been interpreted as inherently inimical
relationship to both physical and internal nature,
to the “Community, Identity, Stability” and utilitarian
or the “Wild”, in preference for the attainment
“happiness” of its society-“No civilisation without
of a rudimentary material being. This pattern is
social stability, No social stability without individual
evident in Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New
stability.” The autonomy of individual nature and
World”, and Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”, two
expression, replaced as commodities by Pregnancy
texts that are separated by 50 years of history but
Substitutes and Violent Passion Surrogate, have been
nevertheless exhibit similar universal concerns for
channelled into the ultimate goals of consumption and
the negligence of that which constitutes our most
production under a system of economic rationalism-
intimate human experiences-the “Wild”, for the
“A love of nature keeps no factories busy.” In Ridley
assumed glories of a technological and economic
Scott’s dystopia, the state has instead been replaced
“civilisation.” In spite of the nihilistic depictions of
by the ubiquitous influence of the Tyrell Corporation-
these hypothetical societies, both texts affirm the
“Commerce is our goal here”, symbolic of the
presence of a “Wild” and irrepressible natural world
contextual concerns of globalisation and the “Greed is
that is vital for humanity and the fulfilment of the
Good” era of free-market “progress” and capitalism in
inner being.
dividing humanity from the natural world.
9
English Essay Analysis
www.savemyhsc.com.au
Band 6 Student Essay 1
Question : Analyse the ways in which a comparative study of Brave New World and Blade Runner invites consideration of humanity’s connection with the natural world. In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed texts.
Introduction Man’s attempts to define his and his society’s
Examiner’s Thoughts : Essay has a strong
progress throughout history have often resulted in
central argument (thesis) that directly answers the
his detachment from the profound questions of his
module emphasis on “The Wild”. As a comparative
relationship to both physical and internal nature,
module, the thesis argues that both texts have
or the “Wild”, in preference for the attainment of a
exhibited similar thematic concerns.
rudimentary material being. This pattern is evident in Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World”, and Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”, two texts that are separated by 50 years of history but nevertheless exhibit similar universal concerns for the negligence of that which constitutes our most intimate human experiences-
Paragraph 1
the “Wild”, for the assumed glories of a technological
In Huxley’s immutable World State, the natural world
and economic “civilisation.” In spite of the nihilistic
and all that it brings to the freedom of the individual
depictions of these hypothetical societies, both texts
being has been interpreted as inherently inimical
affirm the presence of a “Wild” and irrepressible
to the “Community, Identity, Stability” and utilitarian
natural world that is vital for humanity and the
“happiness” of its society-“No civilisation without
fulfilment of the inner being.
social stability, No social stability without individual stability.” The autonomy of individual nature and expression, replaced as commodities by Pregnancy Substitutes and Violent Passion Surrogate, have been channelled into the ultimate goals of consumption and production under a system of economic rationalism“A love of nature keeps no factories busy.” In Ridley Scott’s dystopia, the state has instead been replaced
Examiner’s Thoughts : The first argument,
by the ubiquitous influence of the Tyrell Corporation-
dealing with material production superseding
“Commerce is our goal here”, symbolic of the
individuality, is established and contrasted in
contextual concerns of globalisation and the “Greed is
both texts. Appropriate use of quotes backs
Good” era of free-market “progress” and capitalism in
each assertion.
dividing humanity from the natural world.
13
English Essay Analysis
