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English Literature NEA

Hi!!
I have recently begun writing my English NEA on 'unequal relationships between men and women' in pride and prejudice and the worlds wife
I've read the books and I know what points I want to make in my essay however we received no help on what structure we should use, and how to implement critical perspectives
I'm really scared that this will prevent me from getting a good mark so if anyone has any advice on how I could write it I would appreciate it so much!
Thank you <3

Reply 1

That sounds super interesting! I did mine on Austen’s Emma. I used a comparative structure (one paragraph on one point for one book, then another for the same point on the other book). For critics and sources academia.edu is really good, there are lots of free papers you can access and cite. My main tip is to plan so you don’t waffle, keep it concise so you can write purposefully. Let me know if you have any more questions :smile:

Reply 2

what exam board are u doing? i would be happy to send u mine so u can have a look at the structure as i got an A*

Reply 3

Lots of people feel stuck at the start of their NEA, so you’re not alone. Try building each paragraph around one clear point with a quote, then add a critic’s view to support or challenge it. Once you get into that pattern the structure feels easier, and I’ve got a simple outline I’ve used before that I can share if it helps

Reply 4

Original post
by Isabellaw535
That sounds super interesting! I did mine on Austen’s Emma. I used a comparative structure (one paragraph on one point for one book, then another for the same point on the other book). For critics and sources academia.edu is really good, there are lots of free papers you can access and cite. My main tip is to plan so you don’t waffle, keep it concise so you can write purposefully. Let me know if you have any more questions :smile:

thank you!!

Reply 5

Original post
by girIgenius
what exam board are u doing? i would be happy to send u mine so u can have a look at the structure as i got an A*

aqa

Reply 6

Original post
by Tilda:)
Hi!!
I have recently begun writing my English NEA on 'unequal relationships between men and women' in pride and prejudice and the worlds wife
I've read the books and I know what points I want to make in my essay however we received no help on what structure we should use, and how to implement critical perspectives
I'm really scared that this will prevent me from getting a good mark so if anyone has any advice on how I could write it I would appreciate it so much!
Thank you <3

Hey! I wrote mine on Frankenstein and Yellow Wallpaper and got one mark off full marks, so hopefully my advice is good.

I had 3 main points and wrote a paragraph about each one, so 6 paragraphs in total. I structured my points in a way that I was moving roughly chronologically through the texts, showing the progression of how my main theme (isolation) was presented in the texts. You don't need any counter-points.

Within my paragraphs I didn't have a set structure and just wrote however made sense for the argument. I did have a strong topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph, and in every other paragraph I would make sure to directly link the texts at the begining to show the comparison.

For critical perspectives, I would use them in one of two ways:

1.To introduce a new idea. For this I would write something like "[critic] suggests that "[quote]"(citation), which is evident in text as....." For example:
-Groom suggests that the world in Frankenstein is "a world that is forsaken by God" (Groom 2018), suggesting a similarity between Frankenstein and God, both abandoning their creations.

2.Just embedding it in the middle of a sentence, without really commenting on it being a critical opinion. Just if you like how a critic phrased something, you can use that in your essay. For example:
-This violence and anger are a complete contrast to the "childhood innocence" (Cluley 2009) of the creature that was first introduced.
-Perhaps the women in the paper represent past generations of women who suffered the same fate as the narrator does, and she inevitably becomes "the ghostly figure that once haunted her," (Leslie 2010) continuing the cycle.

Also make sure to not just put critical perspectives at the end of paragraphs, but incorporate them into the argument

Make sure you have a solid, detailed plan before you start writing so you don't start waffling about irrelevant things and stay focused.

I also found it helped to read other people's NEAs to get an idea of how to write it, so maybe try to find some online

Hope this was helpful, good luck with writing your essay.

Reply 7

Original post
by Tilda:)
Hi!!
I have recently begun writing my English NEA on 'unequal relationships between men and women' in pride and prejudice and the worlds wife
I've read the books and I know what points I want to make in my essay however we received no help on what structure we should use, and how to implement critical perspectives
I'm really scared that this will prevent me from getting a good mark so if anyone has any advice on how I could write it I would appreciate it so much!
Thank you <3
Hi

I just helped film my daughter do a really comprehensive u tube video on the aqa nea that covers everything you need to get top marks (she got 100%). It covers structure in detail along with everything else. Good luck!

https://youtu.be/AhZ80fzyQqU?si=Dtph9YVUfzcKQ-3h

Reply 8

[quote="nikiiiiiii;100857075"]Hey! I wrote mine on Frankenstein and Yellow Wallpaper and got one mark off full marks, so hopefully my advice is good.
I had 3 main points and wrote a paragraph about each one, so 6 paragraphs in total. I structured my points in a way that I was moving roughly chronologically through the texts, showing the progression of how my main theme (isolation) was presented in the texts. You don't need any counter-points.
Within my paragraphs I didn't have a set structure and just wrote however made sense for the argument. I did have a strong topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph, and in every other paragraph I would make sure to directly link the texts at the begining to show the comparison.
For critical perspectives, I would use them in one of two ways:
1.To introduce a new idea. For this I would write something like "[critic] suggests that "
"(citation), which is evident in text as....." For example:
-Groom suggests that the world in Frankenstein is "a world that is forsaken by God" (Groom 2018), suggesting a similarity between Frankenstein and God, both abandoning their creations.
2.Just embedding it in the middle of a sentence, without really commenting on it being a critical opinion. Just if you like how a critic phrased something, you can use that in your essay. For example:
-This violence and anger are a complete contrast to the "childhood innocence" (Cluley 2009) of the creature that was first introduced.
-Perhaps the women in the paper represent past generations of women who suffered the same fate as the narrator does, and she inevitably becomes "the ghostly figure that once haunted her," (Leslie 2010) continuing the cycle.
Also make sure to not just put critical perspectives at the end of paragraphs, but incorporate them into the argument
Make sure you have a solid, detailed plan before you start writing so you don't start waffling about irrelevant things and stay focused.
I also found it helped to read other people's NEAs to get an idea of how to write it, so maybe try to find some online
Hope this was helpful, good luck with writing your essay.

thank you so much this is amazing!

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