extract-based english lit question

hey there,

just a question: i've chosen to do the extract-based question for the literature paper, and was wondering- is my whole answer supposed to based entirely on the passage given?

or am i allowed to quote/refer/link it in anyway to other parts of the book?

thanks!

Reply 1

supercat

No! You should use it as a starting point and explore the rest of the text using it. What's the question? For example, if it was "This extract is the beginning of the text. How representative is it of the text as a whole?" you would pick up on points in the passage and then relate it to bits later on in the text (including quotations and all that malarkey).

Reply 2

jerusha

crikes.

are you sure? because my teacher forbids us from going linking the text to other parts of the story, but i doubt i should be listening to her...

here's some e.g.:

a.comment closely on the following scene, showing how Churchill establishes both character and theme here.
b.with particular reference to the passage below, show how Churchill explores contrasts between characters' public and private lives in the play.
c.discuss the dramatic effects and significance of the following passage, paying particular attention to the presentation of relationships here.
d.how effective do you find the following extract as the conclusion to the Glass Menagerie?

say we're to focus completely on the passage, that limits the scope quite a bit, but if we're given allowance to add bits of info from the whole story, where do the boundaries lay?

Reply 3

yorkshirelass

These questions actually demand you link to other parts of the play. Yes, you're supposed to include a substantial amount on the passage mentioned, but that is only half the essay.

a.comment closely on the following scene, showing how Churchill establishes both character and theme here. - Yes, you're writing about this scene, but you're commenting on character and theme, which you can bring in knowledge and examples from throughout the play as well as this scene.

b.with particular reference to the passage below, show how Churchill explores contrasts between characters' public and private lives in the play.
- This is the most obvious kind of question phrasing. 'With particular reference to' just means 'Write about this first, but then pick other parts to address your point'.

c.discuss the dramatic effects and significance of the following passage, paying particular attention to the presentation of relationships here.
- 'Significance' is the key word. You're looking at the importance of the passage in the WHOLE play.

d.how effective do you find the following extract as the conclusion to the Glass Menagerie?
- Again, it's asking you to compare the conclusion with the whole play, and what you know about it.

Sometimes the phrasing of questions might throw you. Once you know that the entire point of any Literature question is to focus your attention on a particular event / theme / character and then relate it to the wider context, it's a lot easier to pick out what you need to write for an essay.

Reply 4

jerusha

whoa.

thank goodness i didn't have to find this out through my AS results!

really, thanks a very, very lot! =)

Reply 5

Eskimo Melon

There's a choice of two questions so you dont have to do the extract question if you don't want to. But anyway, we were told that your essay should be around 1/3 on the extract, 2/3s on the rest of the novel. The best way to do it is to use bits of the extract that link to themes in the rest of the book and do that for each paragraph.

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