The Transition To High School English (In Alberta)

Despite comprising a quarter of my course load, English Language Arts accounts for at least half of my academic stress.

Your experience will vary depending on your teacher’s marking scheme, but I want to contextualize the notoriety of high school English. Timed writing assessments, the personal response to text (PRT) and the critical/analytical response to text (CRT) contribute to a large portion of your grade. The ideas you develop under a time constraint will naturally lack depth unless the topic resonates with you. Shakespeare’s work takes time to digest due to the archaic language, but the pace of high school classes requires you to read, analyze, and answer questions for several scenes a day. You also can’t rely too much on resources like SparkNotes because you need these skills for reading comprehension tests. Generally, an ELA average in the low 90s is celebrated like 98 to 100 percent in the sciences. I want to share some tips and tricks for transitioning to high school English from the much more lenient middle school English.

My English background: I am currently in ELA 10-1. English is my favourite school subject because of the projects, which are unrivalled in my eyes. Skits are so much fun.

Reading Comprehension

Commit literary terms to memory. That includes all the types of figurative language, elements of a narrative, and poetic techniques. While this won’t be enough to ace a reading comprehension exam with flying colours, there are bound to be a few questions that ask you to identify the simile or describe the author’s tone.

After eliminating the two blatantly incorrect answers, there are usually two remaining options that both seem viable. If you find yourself in this predicament, always consult the text again and ask yourself which answer has enough support. Always use context and deductive reasoning to your advantage. Even when you’re unsure, you can make an educated guess. If you can’t pinpoint what you’re struggling with, complete some low-stakes reading comprehension practice tests to narrow it down.

For novel study tests, takes notes and do some close reading. Focus on themes, characters, symbols, and quotes. Memorize the famous quotes, and observe the trends in each character’s speaking style to grasp the rest.

PRTs

The suggested time for a personal response to text is 45 to 60 minutes. You receive a picture, a poem, and occasionally a story, which you must tie to an oddly existential question. We would all be capable of nonstop writing in an ideal world, but it takes me anywhere from 80 to 90 minutes to produce a half-decent piece. However, there is one word that encapsulates the PRT. It’s “choice.” You choose whether you respond to the picture or poem, and you can use any prose form. Students can write essays, short stories, monologues, diary entries, or letters, anything short of poetry.

Say the assignment was, “What do these texts suggest to you about the interplay between satisfaction and regret in an individual’s life?” The exemplar that received an excellent score was a narrative about someone who talked behind their friend’s back for a brief moment of satisfaction before shame washed over them (another tip; check exemplars). My advice for PRTs is to make it as personal as possible. Your exploration of the topic, voice, and overall quality of the writing will benefit from having an authentic connection to the text.

CRTs

The suggested time for a critical/analytical response to text is one and a half to two hours. Unlike the PRT, the CRT is always an essay. Here are some essay pointers:

1. Stay in third-person by using “individual” and “one” to refer to people.
2. Use evidence to substantiate all your claims; nothing is self-explanatory.
3. The thesis is integral to the essay, along the lines of a roadmap. It takes a position that others may oppose. 
4. Basic thesis template: Through (how?), author’s “Text Title” develops (argument), which results in (why?)
5. Cite dialogue correctly. 
6. Consider themes and character motivations. 

So What?

I dreaded English for a long time, which put me at an instant disadvantage. In reality, it’s a rewarding course, even if improvement comes gradually. Communicate with your teacher and believe in yourself. You will find success.

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