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View Full Version : Exam question just made me think.. What would be yours..


Hellfire
10-06-2004, 11:25 AM
One on my exam questions in my English 1900 Exam was "Decribe in your own words what would be your ideal school"

So people.. What would be yours..??

I'd write what I wrote in my exam but it was 4pages long:(

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 11:32 AM
Originally posted by BritJames
"Decribe in your own words what would be your ideal school"

You sure it was English? Or did you just typo some of it?

And all I can say is ... IF THOSE ARE THE SORT OF QUESTIONS YOU GET IN AN EXAM, NO WONDER ALL THE KIDS THESE DAYS ARE THICK AS SHIT :)

But my ideal school ... would probably be like the one in Harry Potter. Hogwarts innit.

god.. I can't remember the question iun full terms but it was basicly decribe what your ideal/perfect school would be like etc..

sorry.. I've just had a 1hr 45min English exams.. I had 4hrs sleep last night.. I'm not paying 100% attention..

Rocks
10-06-2004, 11:34 AM
It would have corporal punishment for a start.

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 11:35 AM
Hmm... is your exam board for english AQA?

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 11:41 AM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Hmm... is your exam board for english AQA?


NO it's OCR..

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 11:43 AM
Okay then, just wondering, cos I did an english exam just now too.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 11:45 AM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Okay then, just wondering, cos I did an english exam just now too.

Ahhh... cool.. *thumbs* how did u do?

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 11:46 AM
I think I did okay... misjudged my time a bit on the first questions but it should be okay.... How about you?

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 11:48 AM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
I think I did okay... misjudged my time a bit on the first questions but it should be okay.... How about you?

I did really well.. did u do higher.. what questions u do..

JsT
10-06-2004, 11:49 AM
Free pie.

Or no school at all.....

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 11:53 AM
Originally posted by Hellfire
I did really well.. did u do higher.. what questions u do..

That's cool :D Yeah I did higher. The first section was on american agricultural workers in the 1930s and the second section I chose to write a letter to the head to argue not to ban students from having saturday jobs... probably not the best choice of question for me but oh well....
what others were on yours?

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:09 PM
No comment. :)

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:11 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Okay then, just wondering, cos I did an english exam just now too.

oooh, ive just done that exam, i thought i was pretty easy tbh :)

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:12 PM
My first section - 2questions was on Schooling and why adults don't like/think teenagers these days are thick and the second section was on Describe your ideal/perfect school.

I did higher :) It was sooooooooo easy.. for the last question I did 4A4 pages..

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 12:15 PM
I only had time to do 2 on the last one.... but I'm glad you did well... wish I could be so confident about it like you :p

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:20 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
I only had time to do 2 on the last one.... but I'm glad you did well... wish I could be so confident about it like you :p

Lol.. me confident.. thats why I got 4hours of sleep last night.. Good.. I was nervous.. and I'm also crap at english.. as you can see from my typing... etc..

If you could see all the mistakes I just deleted you would wonder why I was doing higher..

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 12:25 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Lol.. me confident.. thats why I got 4hours of sleep last night.. Good.. I was nervous.. and I'm also crap at english.. as you can see from my typing... etc..

If you could see all the mistakes I just deleted you would wonder why I was doing higher..

Your teachers must think you're capable... at least that's something! Did you do well in the mock? I wasn't that nervous about this english one.... cos I mean there's nothing you really have to revise or know for it. But the other 2 english ones with all the poems and stuff.... that's a different story entirely!

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:26 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire

wonder why I was doing higher..

dont worry, your not special, a few of my mates are like you and they did higher.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:29 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Your teachers must think you're capable... at least that's something! Did you do well in the mock? I wasn't that nervous about this english one.... cos I mean there's nothing you really have to revise or know for it. But the other 2 english ones with all the poems and stuff.... that's a different story entirely!

yeah.. i know what you mean.. I got told I can get a B peace of piss...:chin: i dunno why though..

Originally posted by *TiNK*
dont worry, your not special, a few of my mates are like you and they did higher.

You saying I'm thick?

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:30 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
I did higher :) It was sooooooooo easy.. for the last question I did 4A4 pages..

Quality, not quantity.

I'm sorry but you did higher...?

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:31 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
Quality, not quantity.

I'm sorry but you did higher...?

YES i did higher...and I feel i did well I estimated the time right.. answered the questions to specification... and I left 10min at the end to go through it..

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:34 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
YES i did higher...and I feel i did well I estimated the time right.. answered the questions to specification... and I left 10min at the end to go through it..

why did they enter you for the higher paper? what kind of grades had you got in your coursework?

i never said anything about leaving the right time or whatever.

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:35 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire

You saying I'm thick?

:lol: no! im saying, some of my mates are set 3/4 for english and they did higher. what im saying is that some of em cant spell or cant phrase sentances in the correct way.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:37 PM
I got a high C in my coursework and a B in my oral.. my teacher said I'll a B in my gcse she's confident I will.. I'm not going to get anything less than a C in any class. I've already got 4-B's in my GNVQ and i'll prob get a few A's :)1

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 12:37 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
yeah.. i know what you mean.. I got told I can get a B peace of piss...:chin: i dunno why though..



Because you can! And finding it easy is definitely a good sign :D

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:37 PM
Originally posted by *TiNK*
:lol: no! im saying, some of my mates are set 3/4 for english and they did higher. what im saying is that some of em cant spell or cant phrase sentances in the correct way.

Well.. I was in Top class for neglish...

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:38 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Because you can! And finding it easy is definitely a good sign :D

thank you:)

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:38 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Well.. I was in Top class for neglish...

is it just on the computer that you have the tendancy to spell things wrong then?

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:40 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
neglish...

:lol: oh!

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:42 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
is it just on the computer that you have the tendancy to spell things wrong then?

suprisingly.. YES... it is.. as I norm touch type and my mate is here 1pressing ran1dom numb1ers on the nu9m keypad..

Sorry

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:42 PM
Originally posted by *TiNK*
:lol: oh!

Thought that'd make you giggle..

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:44 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Thought that'd make you giggle..

did u do it on purpous, did u?! :hyper: oh, wow.

BumbleBee
10-06-2004, 12:44 PM
Instead of bickering can't you people just answer the question?!

My ideal school would have been one in which you could choose your classmates. There would be more interactive learning.... none of this copying out of textbooks. The uniform would have been far less crap (no blazers but still a uniform 'cos I wouldn't want to have to pick what to wear every morning!) and there would be more fun lessons.... no formal PE lessons, just a group of friends playing rounders or netball. We would have done more food technology lessons ('cos I like my food, hehe!) and pervy old male teachers with beards would have been banished!

I actually quite liked school though.

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:44 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Thought that'd make you giggle..

oh yeh 'cause you did it on purpose.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:45 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
oh yeh 'cause you did it on purpose.

No but half my replys im not typing as I'm sharing a pc atm...:p

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:46 PM
Originally posted by BumbleBee
Instead of bickering can't you people just answer the question?!

My ideal school would have been one in which you could choose your classmates. There would be more interactive learning.... none of this copying out of textbooks. The uniform would have been far less crap (no blazers but still a uniform 'cos I wouldn't want to have to pick what to wear every morning!) and there would be more fun lessons.... no formal PE lessons, just a group of friends playing rounders or netball. We would have done more food technology lessons ('cos I like my food, hehe!) and pervy old male teachers with beards would have been banished!

I actually quite liked school though.

Nice school :)

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:47 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
No but half my replys im not typing as I'm sharing a pc atm...:p

Im jealous. I wish i could share my pc with someone ;(

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:48 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
No but half my replys im not typing as I'm sharing a pc atm...:p

oh what and you've been sharing a PC since july 2003 have you.

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:49 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
oh what and you've been sharing a PC since july 2003 have you.

Good point.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:53 PM
Erm yes.. I share my pc with my annoying twin brother..

I admit I have bad langague but it's normally only on the pc as when I'm typing I touch type and don't normally look at the keyboard as I watch Tv

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 12:56 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Erm yes.. I share my pc with my annoying twin brother..


Every second your on the computer?

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 12:57 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Erm yes.. I share my pc with my annoying twin brother..

I admit I have bad langague but it's normally only on the pc as when I'm typing I touch type and don't normally look at the keyboard as I watch Tv

Yes but some of your mistakes are clearly through you not having a good grasp of language, not through a typo. I'm not trying to offend here, but you really shouldn't go around telling people you're off to do your piss easy geography exam, you haven't taken it yet.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 12:58 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
Yes but some of your mistakes are clearly through you not having a good grasp of language, not through a typo. I'm not trying to offend here, but you really shouldn't go around telling people you're off to do your piss easy geography exam, you haven't taken it yet.

I already took 1 the other day..:p

and tink.. no.. I was pissing about.. :rolleyes:

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 01:00 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
I already took 1 the other day..:p


but, your foundation, not higher, so technically your not as "clever" as your making out to be, and its not as "easy" as you thought it was.

Originally posted by Hellfire
and tink.. no.. I was pissing about..

sorry. I forgot to laugh.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 01:01 PM
No.. i couldn't be assed.. Sorry.. my god I've taken one foundation paper out of 10or so GCSE's PLEASE SHOOT ME...

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 01:03 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
No.. i couldn't be assed.. Sorry.. my god I've taken one foundation paper out of 10or so GCSE's PLEASE SHOOT ME...

:mad:

There's nothing wrong with having taken a foundation paper, it's your attitude that's pissing me off.

I thought you had a geography exam to do anyway.

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 01:04 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
No.. i couldn't be assed..

Teachers dont just take you out of tiers because you couldnt be "assed"

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 01:05 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil


There's nothing wrong with having taken a foundation paper, it's your attitude that's pissing me off.



snap.

Hellfire
10-06-2004, 01:05 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
:mad:

There's nothing wrong with having taken a foundation paper, it's your attitude that's pissing me off.

I thought you had a geography exam to do anyway.

Just as you said that.. it's at 01.30 and Im off to eat before the Exams..

And sorry if i find courses easy.. god maybe if you wasn't so highly strung about my problems with grammar then I wouldn't have such a cocky attitude.

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 01:07 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
Just as you said that.. it's at 01.30 and Im off to eat before the Exams..

And sorry if i find courses easy.. god maybe if you wasn't so highly strung about my problems with grammar then I wouldn't have such a cocky attitude.

I've said I'm not meaning to offend, so don't take offence. I just find this whole thing hard to grasp.

Good luck in your exam. :thumb: :)

Olive
10-06-2004, 01:12 PM
Originally posted by BritJames
And all I can say is ... IF THOSE ARE THE SORT OF QUESTIONS YOU GET IN AN EXAM, NO WONDER ALL THE KIDS THESE DAYS ARE THICK AS SHIT :)



and they say standards aren't dropping ;)

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 01:19 PM
I don't think it really matters what the questions are like in english. I mean they're assessing your writing, not your knowledge. It doesn't really matter what you're writing about as long as you write enough for them to be able to work out what level you're on. But that only applies to english, doesn't mean every subject has got questions that easy. Unfortunately :rolleyes:

Olive
10-06-2004, 01:27 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
I don't think it really matters what the questions are like in english. I mean they're assessing your writing, not your knowledge.

they're assessing your grasp of english. and they're trying to stretch you. at least they should be. i would have thought it would be very hard to show the range of your abilities with a question like that.

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 01:33 PM
Yeah I suppose so.... not the whole paper is made up of questions like that though... there's some comprehension questions, stuff about structure and language in poems, characters in books, all kinds of crap.... basically I'm just saying it's not all made up of easy questions like that.

dave_lcfc
10-06-2004, 02:21 PM
i just did that AQA english exam about 1930s american farmers. but i made a balls-up of that section. i hate english exams!

as for my perfect school... all the teachers would have to be those who always end up talking about something thats got nothing to do with what they're trying to teach. and rugby would have to be banished and replaced with football.

*TiNK*
10-06-2004, 02:41 PM
Originally posted by dave_lcfc
i just did that AQA english exam about 1930s american farmers. but i made a balls-up of that section. i hate english exams!


Foundation or Higher?

lucifer devil
10-06-2004, 02:42 PM
Originally posted by *TiNK*
Foundation or Higher?

don't they do intermediate?

Doofay
10-06-2004, 04:32 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
I think I did okay... misjudged my time a bit on the first questions but it should be okay.... How about you?

Ahh, i did the same thing - wrote a couple of pages for 1A and then realised i was running out of time, and ended up having very little time for the last question.

And James - AQA give us decent questions about literary devices, have us examine texts and comment for pages on why the language used shaped the reader's conclusion etc. OCR is obviously a wank examining board, a question about what your ideal school would be? I'm sure i remember doing something about that in year 6, seriously...

Doofay
10-06-2004, 04:33 PM
Originally posted by lucifer devil
don't they do intermediate?

Only for maths. And thats pointless anyway, because that just means that the highest grade you can get on the foundation paper is a D, which is basically useless.

Lil Laura
10-06-2004, 05:24 PM
The describe questions are always naff. I can't remember what my actual exam question was, but my mock was 'describe your ideal home' and my brother's actual exam was 'describe the room you are in'.

If you just wrote 'my ideal school would have nice fun teachers and a big swimming pool and we would never get homework' and so on then you'd get hardly any marks, because you aren't using descriptive skills, and I think that's the trap that a lot of people fall into with that kind of question, and why they come across as a lot easier than they actually are - to get the highest marks you'd need to show good structure and planning, good use of literary devices like alliteration and metaphors etc, as well as showing that you have good control and style in your writing.

There's not a huge amount of scope to do that on the surface, but say you were writing about a Hogwarts type school, there'd be plenty of room to show off your descriptive skills.

That's my bit of input, anyway. :p

Psycho_Smurf
10-06-2004, 08:38 PM
Originally posted by Lil Laura
my brother's actual exam was 'describe the room you are in'.


Yeah.... I remember that one... my english teacher read out what someone wrote for that.... must've been really fucking boring for the examiners to have to read hundreds of those!

Young and sexy
10-06-2004, 08:43 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
One on my exam questions in my English 1900 Exam was "Decribe in your own words what would be your ideal school"

So people.. What would be yours..??

I'd write what I wrote in my exam but it was 4pages long:(
My English exam was so different, and my questions were alot harder. :(

paperBprincess
10-06-2004, 09:06 PM
Originally posted by Young and sexy
My English exam was so different, and my questions were alot harder. :( me too!

although the last question was real easy
write about someone who impressed you, this can be someone you have met or read/heard about.
g0g0g0!

my ideal school would be the one i'm at without the retards and with english speaking teachers.

Faith
10-06-2004, 09:11 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
That's cool :D Yeah I did higher. The first section was on american agricultural workers in the 1930s and the second section I chose to write a letter to the head to argue not to ban students from having saturday jobs... probably not the best choice of question for me but oh well....
what others were on yours?

Well that sounds slightly more intelligent that the papers they give the kids in Essex! :rolleyes:

My ideal school would be like Jamie's, I wanna go to Hogwarts! :hyper:

Young and sexy
10-06-2004, 10:17 PM
Originally posted by paperBprincess
although the last question was real easy
write about someone who impressed you, this can be someone you have met or read/heard about.

Yeh me too! - Writing to inform, explain, and describe. Although I answered the alternative: "Write the script you would use on the radio to tell an older generation about one of the following, and its importance to you." I chose music. Heh :D

Well that sounds slightly more intelligent that the papers they give the kids in Essex! :rolleyes:
Ahem. :impissed:

piccolo
10-06-2004, 10:47 PM
Originally posted by Hellfire
for the last question I did 4A4 pages.. Saying things like that can make people feel bad unnecessarily. I have tiny writing and a fairly concise way of making points when I'm under pressure so I write very little but I still do ok. I know a lot of people feel really bad when they see others writing loads and they aren't. That was for those people really, not you so much.

Olive
10-06-2004, 10:50 PM
Originally posted by piccolo
Saying things like that can make people feel bad unnecessarily. I have tiny writing and a fairly concise way of making points when I'm under pressure so I write very little but I still do ok. I know a lot of people feel really bad when they see others writing loads and they aren't. That was for those people really, not you so much.

concise writing tends to get better marks. you will get marked down for unnecessary 'waffle'.


i've never gone over a word limit in my life, and i've done ok.

burningwings
10-06-2004, 11:28 PM
I really liked that question!! I probably answered it all wrong and I didnt use similies or alliteration. I did use a list of 3..
I based it all on a song by the ataris that I had stuck in my head.. so I called it "the best days of our lives?" and began by asking how this could be so when we were under so much pressure and had so many exams, then went on to describe how stress could be reduced, these could be the best days of our lives whilst still learning relative things for our chosen career, it had a 4 day week, own clothes, punk music, induviduality was encouraged whilst maintaining a strong sense of community so that there was support for those who needed it (which allows teens to develop into the best they can be), class wasnt compulsary so that it wasnt disrupted by those who didnt want to learn, only subjects which you needed were taught (eg:no complex maths if you werent going to become a scientist or mathmatician or similar), I quoted an AFI thing "Through our bleeding we are one" at one point, just because I love that idea, I said there should be a strong bond between teachers and pupils, and I had time at the end so I did a table of things wrong with the school system and how it could be improved, labelled it as planning and did a line through it..just in case they wanted planning..
I really enjoyed it.
But then I probably failed and answered it wrong.
My mum said she was invited to go to Summerhill as a kid but her parents wouldnt let her...Id like it there I think.

The problem with my ideal school article is that it's implausable for the majority of the population and I wasnt sure if I was suggesting a plan or describing a dream, so I did both and explained how any problems could be solved and it was like a plan really..that I'd already got in my head before the exam because Im always dreaming about stuff like that!!!!! LOL!
Someone who's good at English tell me if I was meant to do something different please!!

paperBprincess
11-06-2004, 09:37 AM
Originally posted by Young and sexy
Yeh me too! - Writing to inform, explain, and describe. Although I answered the alternative: "Write the script you would use on the radio to tell an older generation about one of the following, and its importance to you." I chose music. Heh :D i was gonna do that, then i remembered how my supposed one page of script for drama ended up as five pages and was still unfinished and i just thought 'ahh screw that!'

dave_lcfc
11-06-2004, 10:53 AM
Originally posted by *TiNK*
Foundation or Higher?

higher. what did you do?

Girl_gunner
11-06-2004, 11:01 AM
Graeme it really isnt neccessary to post in every single remotely school related thread how you're getting all these great gcses. Some people try really fucking hard and get Ds or Es and are damned proud of them. And Rightly so. You're basically saying thats crap. So stfu.

My ideal school would be like mine, but without certain teachers :mad:

Doofay
11-06-2004, 07:03 PM
Hellfire: You really need to either:

A) Sort your attitude out
or
B) stop lying it would seem, your posts are littered with grammatical errors. Theres no chance of you having pissed all over that English exam with such atrocious spelling.

Okay, so that out of the way, bit of a rant about you being a complete moron here. And i'm sure i'm speaking for 3/4 of the site here when i say: your attitude needs sorting the fuck out. You act completely cocky about your exams, you fish for complements, you basically make anything less than a B sound like sheer idiocy.

Do you realise how hard some people try? Some people i know try so hard on their coursework, put a ton of revision into these GCSEs, get everybody and their mother to test them, get into incredible self discipline, and won't get a single C, but will be so proud of their results. Obviously however, these people are complete morons. You need to stop acting like revision is for pussies, because you're a complete moron if you do no prep, and inspiring this action into other people is moronic don't you think?

You've probably put about a millionth of the effort into these exams and yet will still act like you deserve your results. We've established that you like showing off about your exam skill, you don't need to show off to every second person and make yourself into the focal point of every discussion about anything to do with intelligence. People are more likely to think of you as intelligent if you talk about how much effort you put into your exams, rather than sitting on a website and quite possibly upsetting some people who couldn't dream of getting the marks you get. You're acting like a complete bigheaded moron, and it really has further lowered people's opinion of you. Did you slink your way back onto this site thinking if you showed off about your exams that we'd all love you?

Fair enough that you're doing well in your exams, but stop being such an inconsiderate cunt. Maybe actually listen to what other people have to say for once, rather than responding to everyone's questions about you with big headed nonsense.

Ignore this like you have done everything else if you want, but you'll just lose the respect of the few who've been sticking up for you.

Duffy

Olive
11-06-2004, 07:20 PM
well said doof.

just one point:

you're a complete moron if you do no prep

you're a complete moron if you didn't prepare when you really should have.

although you are totally right that encouraging others not to revise is twattish and irresponsible.

lucifer devil
11-06-2004, 07:28 PM
Well said Doofay. And Kaffrin.

What amazes me is how he claims to be doing higher paper in english and is predicted A's or whatever it was. Now my English is far from perfect, but it seems weird that I was predicted the same as him.

edited to say: not sure whether the above makes sense or not. : \ will explain if needs be, but otherwise i can't be bothered.

TheKingOfGlasgow
13-06-2004, 04:44 PM
My God, a higher English exam asking you to describe your perfect school? Really, I do believe they are dumbing exams down after this. In my exam, we had to write a reprt in a broadsheet style of writing, some literary questions and that was that. The imaginative writing was done in bloody standard grade... Sorry if this annoys people, but I thought exams were supposed to stretch you. At 16/17, asking you to write an imaginative story isn't exactly going to stretch your writing skills... As for writing and grammar, I think you do write better in handwriting than you do on the keyboard. I make loads of mistakes on the keyboard, like mixing up -ing in words like 'runnign' and stuff, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I always need to fix them before I post my reply. Just thought I'd say that.

piccolo
13-06-2004, 05:48 PM
Originally posted by TheKingOfGlasgow
My God, a higher English exam asking you to describe your perfect school? It's about atmosphere, about making the examiner being able to smell the gourmet cuisine from the canteen and see the vibrant wall displays. It's actually not so easy to get good marks on that sort of question. As someone said earlier, too many people fall into the trap of just saying "my ideal school would be small, with just my best friends and all the nice teachers but no horrible ones..."

Psycho_Smurf
14-06-2004, 03:47 PM
Mine today was " describe a shopping centre when it's open and describe a shopping centre when it's shut". It was quite fun actually :crazyeyes

burningwings
15-06-2004, 08:16 PM
Surely the question on an ideal school is designed to test you on your language skills, your ability to make something up, which can be backed up with reasoning, draw on wider knowledge.. I drew on random statistics I could remember, like the increase in stress, SI, suicide etc because of exams, and used that as a reason as to why exams would be decreased in my school, and I wrote reasons like "to allow the teenager to grow up into a well developed person, as they'd be able to help others, as well as being able to accept their support", and shit like that as reasons as to why punk music was compulsary!! (solidarity, unity, individuality, better thinkers therefore more developments in science, technology, etc blah blah blah) I really enjoyed that exam question!!!!!!! Im not sure if Ive answered this already, but people really piss me off saying exams have gotten easier, and I agree with the guy in the guardian article we had to analyse in the exam..
Exams are not getting easier, this did have scope to stretch people, and persuasive language, emotive language, anything could be used.. it was fun. :) i wish we could do english language a-level, but our school only does literature.. should still be fun though.

TheKingOfGlasgow
16-06-2004, 04:17 PM
Argh! Imaginative writing is not the domain of an exam though! Fair enough if it was for the portfolio, but not an exam. I do think exams are getting easier, because the last time I had to do any imaginative writing for Standard Grade English.... Higher English exams should be about testing how you can argue a case, back it up with examples, draw on a variety of texts from different genres, how persuasive your writing is from a litery argument pov, not how your ideal school would be! I mean, anyone can do that. The only thing you've said is
It's about atmosphere, about making the examiner being able to smell the gourmet cuisine from the canteen and see the vibrant wall displays.
Anyone with a half decent grasp of language and a good imagination can do that. It takes a certain amount of intelligence yes, but it doesn't really test how you can balance up the pros and cons of arguments, put forward a case and support it with evidence. Exams are getting easier, either that or kids are getting thicker...

Psycho_Smurf
16-06-2004, 06:12 PM
Originally posted by TheKingOfGlasgow


It takes a certain amount of intelligence yes, but it doesn't really test how you can balance up the pros and cons of arguments, put forward a case and support it with evidence. Exams are getting easier, either that or kids are getting thicker...

Testing that sort of thing is on a different paper... It's not all this type of stuff. There's 3 papers and only one of them has that sort of describe question. There's plenty of stuff that does stretch your intelligence, there's a section on analysing poetry and a book, and a whole section on persuasive writing . Testing your imagination and language in a question like the ones on this thread are just examples of questions from ONE section, the whole exam isn't made up of easy questions like them.

Lil Laura
16-06-2004, 06:26 PM
Isn't Standard Grade the rough equivilent of GCSEs anyway though?

*TiNK*
16-06-2004, 08:11 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Mine today was " describe a shopping centre when it's open and describe a shopping centre when it's shut". It was quite fun actually :crazyeyes

I did the holiday one.

Psycho_Smurf
17-06-2004, 12:22 PM
Originally posted by Lil Laura
Isn't Standard Grade the rough equivilent of GCSEs anyway though?

Yeah, roughly.... I'm doing my gcses atm and my cousin whose in the year above me is doing his standards grades now too.

Psycho_Smurf
17-06-2004, 12:24 PM
Originally posted by *TiNK*
I did the holiday one.

Yeah... I thought about doing that one but I wasn't sure I'd be able to remember much about the holidays I've been on seeing as they were years + years ago! Was that a describe one too? Or explain or somthing?

*TiNK*
17-06-2004, 08:42 PM
Originally posted by Psycho_Smurf
Yeah... I thought about doing that one but I wasn't sure I'd be able to remember much about the holidays I've been on seeing as they were years + years ago! Was that a describe one too? Or explain or somthing?

Yeah, it was describe a holiday place, why you would reccommed it etc. I could have written pages&pages!