Getting started on context essay?

[knightrider]

Hi guys we were asked to write a context essay on "How did you get your identity"?

what would be some good ideas to use and also what are some ways to write this essay piece?

What are some good ideas that can be included?

[literally lauren]

Hi guys we were asked to write a context essay on "How did you get your identity"?

what would be some good ideas to use and also what are some ways to write this essay piece?

What are some good ideas that can be included?

Since the question is explicitly asking how YOU got YOUR identity, I'm thinking your teacher expects a personal/ reflective response. A VCAA prompt would be more like 'Gaining identity is a complicated process' or 'We cannot know ourselves without an awareness of others,' ie. statements instead of questions.

In this case though, try to give your piece a holistic focus. So rather than simply writing multiple paragraphs on how your family/ school/ friends informed your identity, see if you can come to some conclusion about the nature of identity based on your experiences.

Simplistic approach:
Intro/ Contention: I get my identity from many sources
BP1: Ways in which my parents and family give me identity
BP2: Ways in which my friends and peers give me identity
BP3: Ways in which I shape my own identity
Conclusion: See, I get my identity from many sources. Therefore we can conclude that people get their identities from many sources

Better, well-thought-out approach:
Intro/ Contention: Identity can never really be obtained or defined, since it is in a constant state of flux
BP1: Instances of your 'past selves,' (assuming you're not the same person you are now as you were at 5, or 12, or yesterday?) --> discussion about how you 'got' these identities, but continued to change
BP2: Examining what you believe to be the most impactful factors that shaped your identity. Did these revolutionise yourself, or just change an aspect of your personality or lifestyle?
BP3: Are you aware of having 'got' your identity at some point? Does your awareness of this mean anything? Are we always aware of such developments, and can we actually consciously construct our identities?
(essentially just as questions x ∞)
Conclusion: Therefore, although our identities are undoubtedly a product of our environments, to say we simply 'obtain' them would be a reductive view of the process... etc. etc.


How exactly you fill in the blanks is a matter of personal preference (and in this case, the subject matter is pretty much up to you)

[knightrider]

Since the question is explicitly asking how YOU got YOUR identity, I'm thinking your teacher expects a personal/ reflective response. A VCAA prompt would be more like 'Gaining identity is a complicated process' or 'We cannot know ourselves without an awareness of others,' ie. statements instead of questions.

In this case though, try to give your piece a holistic focus. So rather than simply writing multiple paragraphs on how your family/ school/ friends informed your identity, see if you can come to some conclusion about the nature of identity based on your experiences.

Simplistic approach:
Intro/ Contention: I get my identity from many sources
BP1: Ways in which my parents and family give me identity
BP2: Ways in which my friends and peers give me identity
BP3: Ways in which I shape my own identity
Conclusion: See, I get my identity from many sources. Therefore we can conclude that people get their identities from many sources

Better, well-thought-out approach:
Intro/ Contention: Identity can never really be obtained or defined, since it is in a constant state of flux
BP1: Instances of your 'past selves,' (assuming you're not the same person you are now as you were at 5, or 12, or yesterday?) --> discussion about how you 'got' these identities, but continued to change
BP2: Examining what you believe to be the most impactful factors that shaped your identity. Did these revolutionise yourself, or just change an aspect of your personality or lifestyle?
BP3: Are you aware of having 'got' your identity at some point? Does your awareness of this mean anything? Are we always aware of such developments, and can we actually consciously construct our identities?
(essentially just as questions x ∞)
Conclusion: Therefore, although our identities are undoubtedly a product of our environments, to say we simply 'obtain' them would be a reductive view of the process... etc. etc.


How exactly you fill in the blanks is a matter of personal preference (and in this case, the subject matter is pretty much up to you)

Wow this is awesome
Thank you very much Lauren

[knightrider]

Lauren do you have any idea on how i should go about preparing for my text response sac for this boys life?
I have the SAC in about 5 weeks.What should i be doing now?i have already read the book once.Also when do you recommend writing practice essays on this boys life and getting them marked prior to the SAC on this boys life.

Thanks 

[literally lauren]

There's no real list of the activities and practice exercises you should be doing, it's more dependent on your abilities and what you think you need to work on. If you feel like, having read the text once, you're on top of the content, then great! You can focus on furthering your understanding of the more complex/ less obvious themes, and practice a variety of prompt types. Whereas, if you think you know the text well enough but don't really get what a Text Response essay should look like, then focus on the structure of your essays. This might be in the form of reading other people's approaches, (even if they're not on the same text, you can still read for structure) or just get constant feedback from your teacher about how to improve your focus.

It also depends on what kind of learner you are. Some students find talking about the text to be the most helpful activity, because it gives them a chance to articulate their thoughts and interpretations. I'm in the 'reading' camp, meaning I'd need to read the text multiple times, go through supplementary materials, and go through essays and criteria before I'd feel confident enough to write an essay myself. But I know others who'd rather continually write and redraft practice paragraphs or whole essays all throughout the year, because they need to demonstrate knowledge as soon as it was acquired.

So do whatever you think would help; plan for the worst, hope for the best; write essays when you're ready

[knightrider]

There's no real list of the activities and practice exercises you should be doing, it's more dependent on your abilities and what you think you need to work on. If you feel like, having read the text once, you're on top of the content, then great! You can focus on furthering your understanding of the more complex/ less obvious themes, and practice a variety of prompt types. Whereas, if you think you know the text well enough but don't really get what a Text Response essay should look like, then focus on the structure of your essays. This might be in the form of reading other people's approaches, (even if they're not on the same text, you can still read for structure) or just get constant feedback from your teacher about how to improve your focus.

It also depends on what kind of learner you are. Some students find talking about the text to be the most helpful activity, because it gives them a chance to articulate their thoughts and interpretations. I'm in the 'reading' camp, meaning I'd need to read the text multiple times, go through supplementary materials, and go through essays and criteria before I'd feel confident enough to write an essay myself. But I know others who'd rather continually write and redraft practice paragraphs or whole essays all throughout the year, because they need to demonstrate knowledge as soon as it was acquired.

So do whatever you think would help; plan for the worst, hope for the best; write essays when you're ready

Thank you very much lauren for your kind response