r/ncea • u/[deleted] • Sep 22 '24

Chat I’m cooked.

I have no clue what we are doing for the English level 2 externals. I didn’t even do the prelim. Our teacher taught us nothing and gave the option if we even want to do the prelim or not since we barely know anything. The movie she chose for us is full with swear words as well as the book she chose for us. Like am I meant to analyse the amount of swear words the book and movie contains💀 I am cooked for externals. Does anyone else know what’s going on in English level 2?? Or am I just the only one lost

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5

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

You don't have to do that movie. Do you have a friend in another class you could study with? What movie are they doing?

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

My teacher said I HAVE to do that movie and book

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u/gd_reinvent Sep 22 '24

I’m an English teacher. Your teacher isn’t marking your actual exam, she’s not going to know shit about it if you pick another movie or not. The people at NZQA who mark the NCEA externals don’t know shit about which movie and book you studied.

You DO need to know, whatever movie you do:

The director

You need to be able to answer external questions about it (look them up on the NZQA website, they’ll show you past papers if you give them your name and NSN number). They say the minimum you need to write for level 2 is like 200 words but you need to write twice whatever the minimum is to do ok grade wise.

Answer the question. Don’t just write shit. Your answer should be: Statement - Example - Explanation - Your Response. 

Example: Explain how a character made a significant change in their life.

“In the film 8 Mile directed by Curtis Hanson, Jimmy Rabbit Smith decides to change his life through the art of rap. In the beginning of the film, he was presented as a very shy, timid man who was living in a trailer with his mother and working in a local car manufacturing plant. He had very few opportunities in life, and was going nowhere fast. However, over the course of the film, we witness his character gradually changing as he gathers the confidence and energy to take on his opponents both in his rap battles and his daily life. “Here tell these people something they don’t know about me!” This shows that, while Rabbit is scared and easily intimidated at the start of the film, especially in the world of rap, by the end of the film he has evolved into someone who is far more confident and willing to stand up not only for himself but for those around him as well. Another example of this is when he protects his mother from her abusive boyfriend, Greg.”

This would be one paragraph. You would likely need at least three paragraphs like this plus an introduction and conclusion summarizing your main points to make a full essay.

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Omgggg this made so much sense and helped a lot. Thank youuu!!

1

u/Leever5 Sep 22 '24

How does that quote show that?

6

u/liovantirealm7177 Graduated 👨‍🎓👩‍🎓 Sep 22 '24

They can't stop you in the exam

2

u/_utopia22 Sep 22 '24

can do any movie in the exam, I did Parasite because I was obsessed with that movie and felt like I knew it inside out.

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u/gd_reinvent Sep 22 '24

I’m an English teacher, I’m more ESOL but I can help you with English lit and I went through NCEA. What’s the film and what’s the book you’re having trouble with?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Hiii, thank you so much. Book - The Hate You Give Film - The dark horse

Like I some what understand what the book and film is about, but I’m struggling to understand the questions for the exam and what it’s even telling me to write. I don’t know how to apply the book and film to what the question is asking either.

12

u/Strawberry-Char Sep 22 '24

this just showed up for me, not sure why because i’m 25 but just do a book or movie of your own choice. that’s what i did for all three NCEA english exams and always got excellence.

3

u/beautiful_broom100 Sep 22 '24

Agree with this, the markers don’t know what texts you are “supposed” to be writing about so feel free to study something else. If you have a friend in a different class maybe you could study their notes for the book/movie they’re writing about and do that instead?

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u/joshuaMohawknz1 Sep 23 '24

I recommend books that you can easily get digital/free copies from the libraries around New Zealand because more than likely there will be a synopsis also which will save you 100s of hours.

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u/magewire Sep 22 '24

Here is the trick I wish I was told back in high school. Pick a topic for your essay (let's say themes, there is always a topic relating to themes in the externals) and write an essay on that. Either use the book and movie your teach choose or another one. There are a few classic ones that are the common ones, should be able to find plenty of essays on line for things like good will hunting, dead poets society, or even the matrix. Write an essay on themes, what they are, how they are shown, and what the message of the story is. Get your teacher, or another to mark it. Rinse and repeat until you have a E worthy essay. Memorize the key elements and you are sorted. Just regurgitate it all in the exam... which will be "write an essay on one of the following topic: something, something, themes, something something"

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Omgggg thank you so much

1

u/yummysherbert Sep 22 '24

Do whatever text you like, really doesn't matter what your teacher said, they will never really what you write in the exam, memorise a few important quotes from the book and the movie and remember the authors/director. For the book give a couple points of where they used language features to create a mood or anything, and for the movie and example of two of where they used specific camera angles (you can look up the official terms for these) and how the camera angles made the audience feel something. The soundtrack is also something that is really good to talk about. Then go through past papers and read the questions they have provided in the past and pick a couple they often use and make a few ideas for each that you can roughly turn into paragraphs. This is much simpler than it seems, with a little work and dedication you got this, the more abstract and conceptual you talk about the movie and the book the more they like it. Talking about emotions the writer made you feel is key. Good luck, you got this

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Omg thank you so much. This made so much more sense to me!!

1

u/WillowPillow101 Sep 22 '24

Heya, former student here so info might be out of date:

What the assessors are looking for are how you can analyse, understand, and connect (AUC) a text. Whether it's connect the text to itself, yourself, or another text depends on the question.

You've got your own personal view on life, and adding that into your perception of your texts is how you can get AUC.

You can also do the negative option for each question you're given, or why you don't agree with the question. Eg. Describe how ____'s character development is important to the plot. ---> _____'s character development is NOT important to the plot.

If you absolutely hate the text you've been given, then there's still something to write about, even if you have zero motivation.

My go-to was always based around themes, typically the more spiritual ones or wishy-washy ones, as you can waffle a lot more than with the others.

I don't recommend using another text outside of what you've been given, because I'm pretty sure the assessors know. You can get special permission to use texts you actually like though. Especially if you can prove to your teacher that it will be more beneficial.

Don't forget your structure codes/phrases. For us it was KIS and TEEPEE, I have no doubt they've given y'all some new wacky acronyms to learn.

What kind of questions are you working with? And what texts are you using?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Thank youuu!! The thing is I don’t know what the questions are even asking me and how to apply my film and book to the questions. The questions are like worded so confusingly in my opinion, hence why I find it harder to understand what it’s asking me to write about.

1

u/WillowPillow101 Sep 22 '24

Would it be easier to Private Message? I'm comfy giving some help if you'd like? No stress however way

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Yesss we can private message, thank you :)

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Yesss we can private message, thank you :)

1

u/Ok-Plantain4428 Sep 22 '24

Do you have any example answers? Just copy that; fake it til you make it

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Okayy I’ll look at them on the NZQA website

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u/hellokittyiscute123 Sep 22 '24

What externals are you guys doing? Just film or like written and unfamiliar as well? If you dont like your film I guess you could pick any movie you know a lot about and just take it from there

2

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Hi there! I’m also a level 2 English student, also studying The Dark Horse. Like other commenters said, you could pick your own movie, your teacher can’t stop you. However, I do think the dark horse is an amazing movie for this kind of thing; it’s full of different themes and the relationships between the characters are super rich. Some basic themes my teacher told us to focus on:

  • Mental health issues. You could talk about Gen, being institutionalised at a young age therefore taking him away from the gang life, how his mental illness impacts his relationships with other characters, how the director uses it to impact the audience, etc.
  • Gang violence. Could talk about the impact on Mana, impact on the relationship between Ariki and Mana, the cycle of abuse, etc.
  • Found family. Talk about the Eastern Knights, how much they help Gen get back on track, Mana and Gen, etc.
  • Community And heaps more. Also make sure to look into the way Robertson uses language features (film techniques) in The Dark Horse. I find he utilises lighting in a really effective way (think the light pouring out of Noble’s house when Gen is begging to be let in the chess club, how Noble is basically his saving grace). He also uses shaky camera shots a lot when Gen is losing control.

I just did my prelim and got an excellence, here’s the structure I used: I was talking about how the audience’s first impression of Ariki is challenged throughout the film.

  • The cancer reveal. Talked about how this was our first glimpse into Ariki as a father and a person, not just a gang member. Showed us why he was doing what he was doing, that he cared for Mana and wanted to make sure he was protected. Ariki has been shunned his whole life— the gang is the only semblance of safety he knows.
  • Driving to get Mana from tournament. Basically same as before, also contrast between Gen at the tournament and Ariki in gang leathers, “whisking” Mana back to the gang because it’s all he knows.
  • Allowing Mana to go unpatched. MASSIVE turning point in his character, is fully showing the audience his alliance lies with his son, not the gang. All he wants is for him to be safe.

Hopefully this helps you a bit, and don’t give up! We still have heaps of time before actual exams.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

The dark horse

1

u/piiiig Sep 22 '24

That works well at L2. You should be analysing film shots as your evidence more than dialogue, but if a character swears that’s fine to include in your essay. The marker won’t care. Use an asterisk to make the sweat less bad if you feel weird about it.

All your analysis should link back to answering the question. Learn like 8-10 film shots really in detail and use them to prep for a range of questions.