Comments on: VCE English podcast with Ross Huggard

By: Heath McGregor

Heath McGregor — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:58:38 +0000

I recently emailed Ross Huggard to seek clarification about the use of past tense vs present tense. His emailed response is below:

” There is no absolute preference on the part of Assessors with respect to the most appropriate verb tense to use in exams. It is true that many students find present tense easier to manage. However, on occasions, this can be too informal and less controlled in style and voice as a result. Therefore, there are many students who elect to write in past tense. The clarity, precision, control and maturity of the language used, including the verb tense, remain the most important concerns in this area.”

Hope this helps to clarify,

Cheers, Heath

By: Matthew

Matthew — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:54:13 +0000

This was actually better than i thought it would be. Only problem is the lenght of it, i did listen to the whole podcast but i don’t think alot of people will. Thanks Heath and especially Ross.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:29:20 +0000

My teacher also told me to use the present tense. I think I will stick with what I have been doing all year.

By: Johnson

Johnson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:39:19 +0000

Did Ross say that our essays should be written using the past tense? Because I’ve been told by my teachers that essays should generally be in the present tense.

By: Avid Fan

Avid Fan — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:44:46 +0000

Fantastic material and a “must listen” for all budding VCE students. A veritable tour de force of VCE English Units. Of particular interest are the strategies for approaching the SAC; a crucial signpost in every students personal journey in VCE English.

Can’t get enough. We want more Ross Huggard!

By: sharon

sharon — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:03:48 +0000

Great podcast. very useful

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:51:36 +0000

Thank you for such an insightful podcast- it targeted specific areas rather than tackling English with a vague approach.

I went to an English lecture last week and it was utterly unhelpful because it was much too general.

Heath asked great questions, I found I kept saying to myself- oh yeah, I was wondering about that too!

Thanks for this and for answering my question

By: Khalil

Khalil — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:57:17 +0000

Instead of english cant you make a podcast about other subjects for us yr11’s such as psychology

By: Rabiya

Rabiya — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:24:52 +0000

Thankyou so much for this podcast is was very beneficial. It helped to clear up many question marks i had in my head regarding the new VCE English Curriculum. Cant wait to hear the next podcast..

THANKYOU AGAIN!

By: Carol

Carol — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:02:46 +0000

I found the podcast boring. The length of the poscast took away from the content.
sorry
Carol