Sally asks: What do you suggest I could do to improve my marks in English and do some more interesting tasks. My teacher said that I should read the newspaper, but I do not know what sections.
Dear Sally,
One of my favourite articles is the Two of Us, in The Age Good Weekend (Saturday).
These articles feature interesting relationships from the perspective of two different people. Many of these are relevant to themes that you study in school such as identity, conflict, personal growth and whose perspective.
It doesn’t take much, but you must ensure that you do not get out of the habit of reading and writing.
Here’s a few suggestions:
- Read Two of Us, Good Weekend, The Age, Saturday-Sunday: summarise the story. How do people react to difficult circumstances? What is special about these people. See examples.
- Read Benjamin Law’s story: what is the moral to his story
- Learn a few tone words/adjectives every day; put them into a sentence. These are at the back of each workbook. See example, “tone test”.
- Do an exercise in the Red, Green or Orange Workbooks. Explain the author’s main point; their supporting reasons; what techniques stand out and what is their purpose. For the Red Workbook, click here. For the Green Workbook, click here. For the Orange Workbook, click here.
- Aim to read one or two extra books, even if you watch the film first (if there is one) to get you going.
