I have a few questions regarding text response essays:
1. How much background information needs to be included in the essay. In a recent essay I wrote, I basically included a plot summary in the introduction. My teacher said that this was unnecessary, and that I should try and condense the amount of summarising. How can I condense this, and much much of the plot (if any) should be summarized throughout the essay?
2. Should "controversial" themes in the text be discussed in an essay? My teacher told me that a recent essay included some discussion that may offend certain readers, and that I should leave that sort of discussion out. Of course, in a SAC, I would do what the teacher prefers, however I fail to understand why this is wrong; as long as I am providing relevant references to the text.
3. When writing paragraphs, is it okay to break them up into smaller paragraphs for sub-ideas, or should this be avoided? I feel that some of my paragraphs are becoming too long, but my teacher has said to try and use one paragraph per "broad idea" from the text.
4. How to I write about different ways that the text can be interpreted? I know what to write about, I just on't know how to insert it into my essays without disrupting the flow.
Thank you in advance
Hi!
1) You shouldn't be summarising at all in your essays, you should be providing evidence and quotes to back up you argument;
For example,
Topic sentence: Harry Potter's constant need to eat chocolate reveals the importance that food has in shaping our identity and sense of self. Harry's declaration, "It is chocolate! chocolate which feeds the soul" articulates the powerful presence of chocolate in providing not only physical nourishment but also food for the soul. Chocolate thus xyzxyzxyz
so like, there's no summary AT ALL it's just "quote" and then "how quote sheds light on topic sentence"
it's the same with intro: contention on topic, brief allusion to central ideas. no summary at all, though you may have a brief contextualising sentence, like, "J.K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chocolate explores the trials and tribulations of young baker, as his interaction with food through the saga acts to shape the landscape of his identity and the relationships he experiences.
2) If the argument, though controversial, sheds light on the prompt in an insightful and clever manner, then you won't lose marks. cater to your teachers needs for the sac, then if your discussion fits the prompt, write what you'd like on the exam.
3) i'm not 100% sure what you mean? 1 paragraph = 1 idea + nuances of that idea for me. if your paragraph changes ideas then you should split paras them.
4) Erm, yeah, i'm not sure how to explain this. kind of like say your prompt is "Harry Potter is a hero"
and so in para 1 you go:
paragraph 1 = harry potter is a hero
but then in para 2 you say:
paragraph 2 = Harry's repeated indulgences in cake show his flaws as human being with selfish desires and therefore is a flawed hero
so i guess you've showed an alternate interpretation of his personality through addressing a different dimension of the prompt. this is a really kind of easy, broad way to do it; and you can manage it in the body paras and stuff through just explaining different ways things can be viewed.
i think it's also kinda nifty to end off on this note, through concluding on a broader/more expansive point. like, in my conclusion sometimes i'll say how the central understanding of the meaning of the text has changed through time in accordance to the reader/viewer's interpretation, and how modern interpretation differs from old interpretation.
so yeah! hope that helps.