Picking up Unit 3 Literature - VCE

fruitbean

Hello,

I am thinking of picking up Unit 3 Literature next year.

I am in year 11, and I am really good at English and have been throughout all of high school. I am doing mainstream English right now and would like to replace a current subject for Literature starting next year.

What are the pros/cons of this, will it be hard and do you have your own experience?

Thank you!

TSE-Tuition

Hi fruitbean! It's great that you're enjoying English so much that you'd like to do more of it!

I would describe the difference between the two subjects as a matter of breadth and depth. In VCE English, the focus is on breadth; students are asked to demonstrate a wide variety of analytical and communication skills across very different texts, purposes and audiences. In VCE Literature, the focus is on depth; students are expected to dive into the specific of each text, and build and defend a sustained interpretation.

So I would recommend you think about what it is that you enjoy in your current English studies. Do you enjoy writing in multiple modes, for varying audiences, to achieve overlapping purposes? Or is it that you really enjoy tearing apart each text for its symbols, meaning, and building your own interpretation? Do you enjoy reading many different text types like transcripts, articles, books, short stories and poems? Or do you mainly enjoy longer texts or collections of texts (eg a poetry collection)? In terms of your writing talents, are you able to sustain a discussion on one particular aspect of the text?

In the end, I think if you feel you'd enjoy VCE Literature, you should go for it! But my above questions hopefully give you a fuller picture of what the subject is like, and how it might be interesting (or not) for you.

Personally, I did the other way around, when I was in VCE, so so so so many years ago. I did Literature (as well as English) in Year 11 for fun - the marks didn't matter so I didn't feel the pressure and I really enjoyed it. In Year 12 I dropped it and just did English, because I was lazy and wanted to do the bare minimum study I could while still getting ok marks.

Whatever your choice, I'm sure you'll be fine if you apply yourself and give it your best shot! 🙂

Si

Hey,
Currently doing year 12 literature as well as English. For me there are many factors that affect picking this subject.
Firstly, do you want to get a good study score for this subject? Because if you don’t and want to do it purely out of enjoyment because you like writing and analysing texts go for it. But Literature is a very badly run vcaa subject. Our lit teacher gave us this lecture at the start of the year making me completely regret picking the subject. To put it frankly it’s hard to do well. Vcaa is very unspecific on what it wants and how they grade essays. Literature is expected to be marked more harshly than English simply because it’s lit. A pro and a con is the free rein you have over what you can but there’s minimal ways of knowing if that’s actually what vcaa is looking for or not.
I also joined lit because I was doing very well in English but the disparity in marks between the two subjects is always a shock.

In addition, idk about your school but mine only has one lit class since it’s a subject not chosen much. This means we have one single teacher deciding all the course work and changing their mind all the time on what and how the sacs are going to be like.

Another question to think about is do you actually like reading? Would you enjoy having to read 5 different texts and in depth analysing the most obscure symbolic devices you can find. If yes then lit could be for you. Personally, with the texts my teacher chose and the amount; I felt whiplash getting through all the books and honestly hated reading all of them. If you can, take a look at the booklist for next year and seriously think about whether you’ll like hearing your teacher droning on about them for a whole term.

In literature (from my experience) our teachers don’t give us much guidance. Classes consistent of literally just talking about the book and little to no writing or guidance on how to write. (This is just my experience it may not be the same for you but maybe do some snooping around and find out about the current year 12 lit classes and teachers.)

Think about your possible career in the future. Will Literature as a subject benefit you in that field? One thing I regret is not choosing subjects that could’ve educated me more on an certain aspect of my future job, possibly.

As well as that at the end of the year you’re going to have to write three essays and remember all the texts and structures you need to use in addition to the three hour English exam and all you have to remember for that. Personally I don’t know if I have that stamina for the end of the year…

I know that was a bit of a rant but I hoped it helped underneath all the negativity lol.

All the best for next year!!