How to get a band 6 in WACE English?

It’s inevitable; you’re going to have to study English at some point in your school life since pretty much every University in Australia requires students to have a certain level of English proficiency. If you’re not a fan, it can seem boring and an all around waste of time in your already chaotic senior school years. So here are my tips on how to make it easier, and hopefully you find it helpful!

Why is English Important?

1. Writing Skills

In University and future employment, you’ll be making reports, analysing information, doing oral presentations - all things that high school English prepares you for!

2. Critical Thinking

English teaches you how to think. It teaches you to critically analyse and interpret information; which is really important in today’s world, as conflicting ideas and opinions are being thrown at us from every angle.

If you are struggling with the basics, a KIS Academics tutor can help you achieve your academics goals!

How is English Assessed?

English is assessed by both internal and external assessment:

• Internal (50%)
• External (50%)

There are 3 sections in the exams:

1. Comprehending (30%)
2. Responding (40%)
3. Composing (30%)

Find out more here. If you need extra support, an English tutor from KIS Academics can help you achieve your academic goals:

How to study for English?

1. Understanding the Syllabus

First things first, get a solid understanding of all of the terms in the syllabus:

• What’s the difference between a “convention” and a “language feature”?
• How does “voice” and “tone” relate?
• What do I do when a question asks me to “Discuss” instead of “Explain”?

Knowing how to navigate these will let you write straight-to-the-point instead of waffling on for ten pages about irrelevant stuff. The SCSA website contains the syllabus and a glossary of keywords used in questions. If you scroll down to the bottom of the syllabus you’ll find another glossary of terms specific to English ATAR (like “Stylistic features”).

2. Studying for Section 1: Comprehending

In this section, you’ll get two unseen texts (written, visual or multi-modal) and two questions. You have to answer in approximate 200-300 words. You should aim to spend 25 minutes on each question, and leave 10 minutes for proof-reading. Here is how I studied for this section:

1. Set a timer for 25 minutes and answer a question. I used the same format for each one: Thesis statement, then 2-3 body paragraphs. (No intro or conclusion needed - you want to be concise in this section)
2. Get feedback from your teacher/tutor.
3. Repeat.

The timer is the most important bit! It’ll prepare you for the quick thinking needed in an exam.

3. Studying for Section 2: Responding

In this section, you have 60 minutes to write an essay about one or more of your studied texts. Choosing the right question is the first part of the battle - some texts just aren’t as good for certain questions compared to others. You have to choose one question to answer to out of a list of 6. Here’s how I studied:

1. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Choose which text to talk about and break down the question by highlighting keywords. Then write an essay ‘scaffold’: thesis, then topic sentence and evidence for each body paragraph.
2. Repeat for as many questions as possible.
3. Turn a few scaffolds into full-length essays for feedback.
   

By scaffolding a lot of questions, you’ll train your brain to apply your texts to any concept the exam throws at you. I found this was more effective (and faster!) than writing out full essays for only one or two questions; it helped me to avoid ‘regurgitating’ the same essay for completely irrelevant questions, which is what examiners hate.

However, it is still important to write a few full-length essays - you don’t want exam day to be the first time you do this! Be smart about it, though. Every exam will have a ‘voice’ question, a ‘perspective’ question, a ‘genre’ question, a comparative question… if you write at least one essay for each main concept, you’ll be pretty well-prepared.

4. Studying for Section 3: Composing

There are three types of texts you can write here: narrative, interpretive or persuasive.

• Get familiar with each type through practice.
• Play to your strengths. I found it impossible to think up interesting narratives in the time limit, so I leaned towards interpretive and persuasive texts. Persuasive texts are easier if you can’t come up with ideas: simply choose a topic that can be applied to many questions (such as climate change) and practice writing about that.
• Read more in your spare time! Articles, novels, open letters… By exposing yourself to as much stuff as possible, you’ll subconsciously pick up what they do well and reflect it in your own writing.
• Seek feedback! Use it to improve with every text you write.

5. Practice Papers

• You can also find past exams on the SCSA website. These are your most valuable resources, even if you’re in Year 11. They are the number one source for practice questions to use when studying.

Exam Day Tips?

Before the exam:

• Make sure you pack a LOT of spare pens.
• Get sufficient rest! A well-rested mind and body is of utmost importance to performing well for an exam.
  

During the exam:

• The 10 minutes reading time is the most valuable ‘thinking time’ you’ll get out of the whole thing. Use your reading time to make a ‘mental scaffold’ for each section:
  • Choose a Responding question and get a rough idea of your thesis and what each paragraph will be about.
  • Read the texts in the Comprehending section. Break down each question in your head and think about what evidence you’re going to use.
  • Choose a Composing question and decide what form your narrative, interpretive or persuasive text will take.
• When it is time to start writing:
  • Responding is the most heavily weighted (40%), so don’t leave it till last minute - I’d complete this first, then Comprehending, then Composing.
    

Conclusion

Hopefully you find these tips as helpful as I found them. Good luck and have fun tackling WACE ATAR English! If you need any additional support, a KIS Academics tutor can help you achieve your academic goals.

FAQs

Written by Jhermayne Ubalde. Jhermayne pursued medicine at UWA.

Want personalised study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor can make the biggest difference!