Hi all,
In 2013, I got 50 and a Premier's Award in Literature, and have been tutoring Literature and English all through this year. I know the course extremely well and, because of my experience writing my own essays and correcting the essays of my students, I feel that I can give valuable and thorough help both to people who are struggling to get a decent mark and to those who want to move from a 40 to a 45 or a 45 to a 50.
If you are confused about structure, interpretations of texts, how to discuss language, how to use all three passages, or even about what pen to use and how much to write in the exam, please throw me a question on the thread below! [or PM me if you would rather keep it private]
Best wishes,
Kandinsky
THE FOUR COMMANDMENTS OF LITERATURE:
1) ‘Thou shalt not repeat ideas or interpretations unless thou wouldst bring disaster to thine mark’
2) ‘Thou shalt make language the basis of all thy interpretations’
3) ‘Thou shalt link between all three passages in every paragraph thou writest, even if the reference be only short’
4) ‘Thou shalt enjoy Literature, and make it a subject of humour and exhultation, rather than fear and sweat. Herein lies the path to the examiner’s heart’
PART 1: HOW TO APPROACH THE YEAR
‘Some things we can control, but other things we can’t’ (Epictetus)
Everyone can do well in VCE Literature if they follow one simple rule: consistent, methodical, and targeted work. It is better to do 1 essay every 2 weeks than to do none at all. It is even better to do 1 essay every week than it is to cram in lots of practice essays before the exams. The main thing is this: you have control over how much work you do in VCE Literature. From personal experience, those who do consistent work always do better than those who do lots of work at the last minute.
You want to put yourself in the best possible position for the exam. You can’t control what passages you get on the exam or the conditions in the exam room. You can, however, control your whole preparation for the exam. What prepares your mind best for the exam?
I found that it was really helpful to have some things ‘concrete’ in my mind. That is, I had most of my big ideas about the texts memorised by heart because I felt that at least, if I had some sort of panic attack and couldn’t think straight in the exam, I would have something to say! I call these ideas ‘interpretations’ because they should be the big all-encompassing ideas about the text that you can weave in and out of your language discussion.
Another thing that prepared my mind was being relaxed and interested while doing my study. This may sound odd. But I find that lots of students are actually anxious when they study – they worry about marks and end up thinking about things they can’t really control instead of the one thing they can control. I feel like this is a mistake, even if it is a natural kind of stress. If you can, try to engage with your subject as something that interests you, rather than as something that you have to do to get x-ATAR score.
Something else that helps to calm your mind is to learn things about the texts in fun ways. I don’t actually condone reading the texts a ‘gazillion’ times. I found that I learnt the most when I watched a remake of the novel or a staging of the play. I could relate far more easily to the characters that way. (For reference, I only read both texts through twice – once in the summer holidays, once in class. If you write your notes/essays/ideas properly, you don’t need to do more, and active revision – going through the text while exploring a single idea, is always better than passive reading) Also, plays are MEANT to be performed – reading a play is not even half the full experience: you have to know how the settings are constructed, and how the playwright’s imagination unfolds in a physical space. Whatever you do, make sure your mind is ACTIVELY ENGAGED with your texts for at least 5 or 10 minutes a day – you might linger over a certain line of Shakespeare or a verse from Blake. This might lead to more ideas about the texts.
I must stress that even if you are extremely well prepared, the exam might not go so well. This is possible for every subject. It is not, however, a reason to avoid doing work or to aim for a low mark. Yes, you may have done all the work necessary to get over 40 – but you could stuff up. But on the other hand, you might not. You might do far better than you expected! I remember reading Plato’s Phaedo, where Socrates is talking about the nature of death. He says something like ‘ We all fear death, even though nobody really knows what death is. Yes, perhaps it is terrible. But on the other hand, since nobody knows what lies on the other side, isn’t it possible that it could be the most wonderful thing of all? For this reason, I do not fear death, since that is not rational, but see it as a possibility’. Bizarrely, I feel like this could apply to Literature and to all studies in general. Yes, even if we work extremely hard, we might not get the mark we want. But if we didn’t work that hard, we wouldn’t do anywhere near as well anyway; we might even do far better than we ever expected! It is an even chance. So I don’t want anyone to aim low in Literature. Aim for greatness, aim for brilliance!
PART 2: HOW TO PLAN YOUR STUDIES
First: Work out how much work you can achieve every week in Literature – if it is only possible to do 15 minutes a night, then do 15 minutes a night! It is better to do 15 minutes every night than to do 2 hours on the weekend (although both would be great!).
Second: Differentiate between SAC work and EXAM work. I used to do my SAC work and then, once I had done that and felt like I would do sufficiently well, I would continue with my exam prep. Even on the day of a big important SAC, I would return home to work on exam prep. This helped me enormously, and put my focus on the exam – which is, after all, the most important assessment of the year.
Third: Don’t leave it all to October. Don’t! Just don’t! Try to give yourself some space to do your other subjects. You need breathing room for a subject like Literature. If you leave it too late, your teachers won’t have time to mark your work properly, and you won’t have time to do all the proper corrections. You won’t have the time to actively improve. And time is the only thing that allows you to improve.
PART 3: WRITING THE ESSAYS (HOW?)
i) Language: *Everyone is always asking me about how to incorporate language discussion in the essay and how to tie it to bigger ideas. So I thought I would demonstrate an example of how to do this best in the Literature essay. Below is a paragraph I wrote last year in preparation for the exam. This is the sort of standard necessary to get a high mark, and everyone should be aiming high in Literature. I hope this example will also prove to people that you don't need big fancy Greek and Latin terminology to do well in the language analysis aspect of the Literature exam* :
But even such an understanding has its limits. Mrs Smith throughout Passage Three refers to the importance of “acquaintance” not only in the sense of it being between individuals, but also between social groups and classes. And the centrality in her dialogue of Bath – “coming to Bath”, “came to Bath” – reflects the importance of social gatherings in a Georgian world where one’s acquaintances are the only modus by which to acquire news. And the repetition of vocabulary denoting social obligation throughout the first and second passages – “domestic habits”, “maintaining the engagement”, “he had distinguished himself” – connotes the authorial approbation of those who pursue lives with a dual commitment to the necessities of selfhood and the obligations of society. In Persuasion as a whole, Austen suggests that existence must be crafted not only by duty to the self, as is evident in Elizabeth’s self-centred dialogue in the Passage One, but also a duty to the community and by extent the nation. Much of the novel revolves around the notion of service to others, and Anne in Passage Three rejects her father’s desire that she attend the Dalrymples’ function in favour of her visit to the socially inferior Mr Smith. Austen moves then to capture how it is not mere duty that gives an individual worth, but the underlying values which give that duty substance; truthfulness and reason such as that of Mrs Smith and Nurse Rooke are required to ensure not only the integrity of the individual, but also the reliability of civilization itself. We can easily renounce our obligations to others, but Austen suggests that in so doing we would lose touch with reality – our lives would become as meaningless as our own social irrelevance.
Underlined Section: Link to previous paragraph. Essay must flow swiftly and comfortably from idea to idea. There should be no repetition of ideas in the essay, so you need to be able to link different ideas logically and clearly.
Bold Section: Close Analysis of the linguistic features of the passages. Note that I refer to ALL THREE PASSAGES. This is the ideal method.
Italicised Section: I offer an interpretation of the linguistic features analysed and show how they reveal A BIGGER IDEA in the WHOLE TEXT. This is very important – Literature is all about SMALL DETAILS illuminating LARGER AND MORE PROFOUND IDEAS.
ii) Interpretations : Literature is about the SMALL ILLUMINATING THE LARGE. You might discuss a few separate ideas when analysing the language (e.g. about a character/setting/particular verb) , but then use these to lead into a bigger interpretation of the text. These separate ideas do not necessarily need to be similar TO EACH OTHER, but they must be linked TO THE OVERALL INTERPRETATION contained in the paragraph. Here is an example of what I call an ‘interpretation’:
“Austen considers that the quintessence of humanity resides beyond the realm of words; our hearts know what they know, yet cannot feel nor ever express it. Certain qualities are ineffable; silence is essential to a felt existence. Persuasion, however, illumines this powerlessness of expression not as a failure, but as the triumph of the puissance of intuition. The world, Austen suggests, should not be apprehend with empiricisms and certitudes alone; the utmost profundities of our universe must be limned through reflection and introspection.”
PART 4: THE ESSAY STRUCTURE
Please Note: this is the structure that I suggest and the structure that worked for me. However, you can probably change it by writing shorter paragraphs and having lots of paragraphs, or writing larger paragraphs and writing only 4 or 5 paragraphs. It is up to you. But I do suggest that it is important to display a minimum of 5 different interpretations of the text in your essay.
Ideally: 6-8 paragraphs, each discussing language, each focussing on a separate idea.
N.B THERE MUST BE NO REPETITION OF ANY IDEAS IN THE ESSAY. If you have one paragraph talking about love, you cannot talk about love again anywhere else in the essay. AIM FOR 6 DIFFERENT IDEAS IN THE ESSAY. 6 PARAGRAPHS = 6 DIFFERENT IDEAS
Para 1
* Go straight into first passage -> language devices (The [lang device] at the outset of Passage One depicts…). Make comments on the effect of each device and its significance within the text. Also comment on setting and characterization.
* Name the text or author within first few lines.
* Quote 4-5 times
* 3 language devices
* Finish with an interpretation of the language you have analysed.
(Note: Either in para 1 or para two there should be a pan out to passages 2 and 3)
Para 2
*Linking sentence - give the essay fluidity.
* Start with a language device
* Keep using a large number of short quotes (no more than 5 words)
* Small pan out to broader ideas in the text. 'In Hamlet as a whole, madness is thus a result of the entropic decline of the universal values of society'
Para 3
*Link
* 1-2 Language devices – in this paragraph focus on one passage, rather than all three.
* references to other passages necessary
* Big argued reading/interpretation. Must impress examiner.
Para 4
* Link
* Try and find a language device or something original in both passages and show how they convey different messages to the audience in the two different passages
* Try and make the bigger pan out in this passage by also naming the text again
Para 5
* Link
* Quote 4-5 times
* 2-3 language devices
* Little pan at end of para
Para 6
* Language device
* Mini pans where possible
END WITH A BIG IDEA – Try to make your idea conclusive, substantial and meaningful! MUST impress examiner.
Notes:
- 1000 words or more (about four pages of your handwriting). If you want to get a really top mark, aim for 1400-1500 word per essay.
- 4-5 references each to the audience / reader and author
- At least three allusions to the whole text often introduced with phrases like ‘In a more profound sense”, “At a deeper level” or “At another level” (watch out for repetition) (ideally one of these should be used in para one to show the marker that you are dealing with the entire text)
- Use of the title by name at least twice.
- If you decide to write an 8 paragraph essay, put big ideas/interpretations in both paragraph 6 AND paragraph 8. But always finish the essay with what YOU think is your best interpretation of the text!
That's all for now. If anyone has any requests, let me know.
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