Context: Imaginative Landscape Exam Prep

Background information

You have one hour to complete this section in your exam (minus planning time, minus proof reading). You should not be afraid to spend around 5 to 7 minutes planning. Planning saves time and gives a better result! You should ALWAYS proof read carefully.  You would be amazed at the silly mistakes which are made under exam pressure.

This is a writing exercise not a text response, but you must use the text in some way. There is no rule about how much, this will depend on your writing style. You do NOT have to refer to the text in every paragraph — a key word or idea from the text need come up only once in the entire piece (perhaps an expository piece on oneof Kinsella’s major concerns, land salination, or a line from a Kinsella poem might be the only link to the text), or the text may be a  thread running right through the writing (for example the retelling of a story from One Night tthe Moon from the viewpoint of a another character from the film).

The Exam (but not the Study Design) says you may write in any style, imaginative, persuasive, expository (or a blend of these). In reality this means any style — try to find a piece that doesn’t fit one of these categories — I can’t. No one style gives an advantage over the other and you should aim to write to your own strengths. The bottom line is that the Assessors are looking for good writing that 1)incorporates the ideas of Imaginative Landscape 2) has some relationship to the text/s, in your case John Kinsella’s poems and One Night the Moon 3) a reference to all or part of the prompt. Please note that a prompt is not a question, it is a springboard for your own writing, so unlike a text question you do not have to deal with every part of the prompt, but you must incorporate some of the perspective on  the Imaginative Landscape raised by the particular prompt

You are NOT allowed a statement of explanation in your exam; last year the English Assessors were instructed to disregard any statements, so you are wasting your time if you chose to write one. This means that the link to your nominated text must be apparent within your written piece. Part of your preparation is to work out ways you can do this so that the link is relevent and flows within your writing. Good writing will use the ideas which have grown from the text as a springboard.

So how do you prepare?

The Basics:

1.  Consider what you know about the task. You will use your chosen text and the ideas about IMaginative landscape you have worked on in class and thought about on your own.
2. The exam will give you one prompt for this context only (There are no choices here)
3. The prompt on the exam will use the ideas of the Imaginative landscape and will have to be suitable for all four texts which are available in this context. This means the prompt must be broad.
4. There is an extensive list of Imagainative Landscape prompts in another post on this site. Have a look at the similarities and differences between them.
5. You have already written several essays for this context (even if it is only the ones you did for your SACs!). Use the essays you have already written and see how what you have done could be matched to a different prompt.  What changes would you need to make?
6. Find the prompts which do not fit what you have already written. Begin to plan ideas for these. You need a (small) selection of different pieces to match different kinds of  prompts.

The not so basic:

1. Look critically at the pieces you have written (and get others to offer constructive criticism). Which do you like best? What works well? How could the pieces be improved?
2. Check that you have some complex ideas to discuss. Do you need to do more research? What are your thoughts on the role of landscape (real or imagined) in our lives?
3. Avoid a formulaic structure, keep your writing fresh.
4. Start to improve the vocabulary.  If you have essays on computer don’t underestimate the value of highlight then shift F7 to find alternate words.
5. Play with different ways of presenting the same information. Turn an imaginative piece into an expository, an argumentative in to an imaginative. Experiment with blending two styles — for example use imagined scenarios to illustrate the points of an expository piece.
6. Keep trying; trial your ability to write a finished piece within the one hour time frame. It is like training for a sport, the more you do the easier it becomes. The only way to get up to speed is to train yourself properly.
7. When you get to the exam, you do not have to reinvent the wheel from scratch. Use the prompt and some ideas relating to your chosen text that you have already explored.
8. Think, consider, ponder, think and write, write, rewrite! You can do your thinking anytime, under the shower, on the bus, eating lunch, going for a run… Use those spare 5 minutes for something useful… and remember any “ahha” inspirations and have them ready to incorporate into your writing.