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help with essays
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I've got some english essays to write for homework, and i really don't have a clue how to write one! I have no idea what kind of level i need to work at or how to structure it or anything. I've tried looking on the net for guidelines but can't find any.
I'm really stressed because my english exam is in january and i have to write an essay and i really don't have a clue. I'm contemplating dropping english because i just can't do it. It's not my kind of subject.
Can anyone give me some guidelines on how to go about writing A level essays?
I'm really stressed because my english exam is in january and i have to write an essay and i really don't have a clue. I'm contemplating dropping english because i just can't do it. It's not my kind of subject.
Can anyone give me some guidelines on how to go about writing A level essays?
Post edited by JustV on
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I did English lit A-Level and managed to pass (along with a couple of degrees), the key is to plan the essay before you start. Brain storm the question, what is it asking you? What words does it use? eg evaluate, critically analyse etc. Be clear in your mind what they mean. Plan each paragraph and what you will say, remember conclusions only ever sum up your essay and never introduce new ideas. Also think about your vocabulary for extra marks, if you are typing it up, make full use of the thesaurus option. Always make sure it makes sense though!
I'm seriously thinking about dropping it because i just can not do it - and we're not being taught very well. The lesson is 3 1/2 hours long and we just switch off.....it's just a load of ideas being chucked at us, no solid information. I do better when i'm just given the facts, not farting around talking about a shitty book.
It's Wise Children by Angela Carter and it's terrible.
Sorry, had to rant.
http://www.themodernword.com/scriptorium/carter.html
http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?CurrMenu=searchresults&scheme=546
http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/english_literature/as_a2.asp
BTW i may still be able to help you with the layout if you post the question.
'To what extent might wise children be described as a comic novel?'
'Consider the presentation and importance of Goregeous George in the novel.'
It's a closed book exam too.
Brief introduction explaining the pertinent narrative of the text. One paragraph max.
The main body of the essay should be critical analysis. You should firstly state what you believe the purpose of the text is, what the writer hopes to achieve, and use relevant examples of this. You should draw examples of where the author has tried to show these themes, and some where the themes have been missed. This should probably be about 2/3 of the total word length of your essay- in a 45-minute essay you should be looking at about 3 paragraphs. Be sure to keep referring your examples back to the original question, e.g. the appropriateness of the opening chapter.
You should then evaluate as a conclusion, and always be sure to answer the question.
Always be aware, though, that the answer to the question is not the relevant point in an essay, so long as you can back your answer up wit evidence. You have to show you have understood the text, and the question, and the most important part of the essay is to critically analyse the text.
A common pitfall is to simply provide a narrative to the text, stating what happened without explaining why it happened and what you believe the author's intentions to be. This will result in poor marks.
:yes:
if you've got time after xmas and before your exam, ask your tutor.
you can also get books on writing a good critical analysis which might help you.
From this comment I'd say you might actually be better off dropping English Lit, because by A level the level has gone beyond facts, ie. what happens in the book. It's all about 'interpretation' of why the author has written what he/she has, and why he/she has used a particular style or technique, etc... and there are no factual answers to that because unless you go and talk to the author, you're not going to know for sure, so any answers you or anyone can give are going to be just conjecture.
Basically, English Lit is about how well you can blag. You can take the fact that there are no facts, no right answers, and use it in your favour really well if you practise a bit and get the skills - because anything you think is right! You just have to present it to the examiner with quotes from the book (or in the case of a closed book exam, a sentence or two summarising the relevant part) to prove why you think what you think.
Let's take the question "How appropriate is the opening of the novel?" What it's asking you is how good you think the opening is. As you hate the book you're going to have to lie about this and think why the opening might be considered good, since the general opinion is that the books is good otherwise you wouldn't have to study it! Ok, so does the opening make you want to read on? Why - what techniques does the author use in the opening page to grab the reader's attention? Like Kermit says, you want to make approximately three points - more and you're not going to be able to write enough detail about them. So pick three ways in which the author makes you want to read on. I haven't read the book so I can't tell you what to put, but you're looking for things like clues as to what might happen in the plot (which whet the reader's appetite), things that are unusual (which grab the reader's attention), and a point about the style of writing is usually good too (ie. you can say it makes you feel involved in the plot, especially if it's in the first person).
As for essay structure, for this question you need:
- An introduction which sums up briefly what happens in the opening. The examiner already knows this, so you just need to show that you've read the book and know what you're talking about. You don't need to go into detail and tell him what happens - just jog his memory a bit with a summary.
- One way in which the author makes you want to read on. State simply what it is (eg. "The author includes several unusual details on the novel's opening page"). Give a couple of quotes or moments from the book which back up what you're saying (eg. examples of these unusual details). Explain why this makes you want to read on.
- A second point, following the model above.
- A third point, following the model above.
- A conclusion which sums up briefly the three points you've made, and concludes that the opening is appropriate for the novel.
You can adapt that structure for other questions. Hope that helped you a bit!
Trouble is, one of my english teachers is head of 6th form, so she's probably going to be biased to me dropping it.
I'm quite distracted atm too because things at home aren't great and things with my dad and his girlfriend are bad too. It's just annoying that they try and mould us all into doing the same thing when it just isn't for everyone
p.s how long should i make my essays?
About dropping subjects and picking others up - I think now would be too late. Many subjects would have exams after the Christmas holidays so it would be impossible for you to go back say you want to do a subject then do the exam in January. Altyhough I think with some subjects, you may have the choice of taking the exam in January or June.
I just had a look for essays I wrote at A level and the three I found were between 1,700 and 3,500 words. I loved English though and always had loads to say. As long as you cover three points in adequate detail I don't think the length really matters, and as it's practice for ones you'll be writing in exams, you'll be limited by how much you can write in the time limit anyway. If you want a word count I'd say try for something between 1,500 and 2,000 words.
I'd believe it's better for her to see her tutor, things like these can be quite specific. But if they haven't provided one, I'd guess it's up to you to make a personal decision. Use your judgement to decide how much you think is reasonable because they could take this point into consideration. If you're feeling word count x is restraining you and you aren't getting your message forward fully, consider raising it a bit.
ETA: It is a skill to cut the fat off the bone. I absolutely hate re-writing essays but I always find myself allocating a lot of my time at, after the completion of the essay, re-writing maybe 2, even 3 times. But lately I got a bit arrogant and left that part out of my essay, but still got an excellent mark. I guess these factors are very individual and I'd say aroun 1,500-2000, as mentioned previously, of bone, not fat. :thumb: