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NSWEnglish Extension 2Quick questions
Reflection and Process
Quick questions on Drafting and refining the HSC English Extension 2 Major Work
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the first draft is supposed to be bad?Show answer
The purpose of a first draft is to exist, not to be good. Students who try to perfect the opening before writing the rest often never finish, because they are editing nothing. Get a complete draft down, however rough, so you have a whole to work on. Only once the shape exists can you see what the composition actually needs, which is almost never what you imagined at the start.
What is using feedback without losing ownership?Show answer
Feedback from teachers and trusted readers is essential, but it must be used, not obeyed. A reader telling you something does not work is usually right; a reader telling you how to fix it is often wrong. Diagnose the problem the feedback points to, then solve it your way. The Major Work is yours, and a piece rewritten to satisfy every comment loses the coherence that made it worth doing.
What is reading your work as a stranger?Show answer
The hardest editing skill is reading your own work as if you had not written it. After a draft, leave it for days so you return with fresh eyes. Read it aloud to catch what silent reading forgives. Better still, hear it read by someone else or, for scripts and performance forms, performed.
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