Writing an English Advanced Module A Essay

[J.B]

Hi, I have prepared an essay for my Module A exam, but I have only included 2 themes. My teacher has told the class to use 3 themes, but when we have been given example band 5/6 responses they have only used 2 themes.
Should I be changing my essay to have 3 themes? As I don't know how I would cut back my 2 themes to include a 3rd?
And my exam is on Monday.

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi, I have prepared an essay for my Module A exam, but I have only included 2 themes. My teacher has told the class to use 3 themes, but when we have been given example band 5/6 responses they have only used 2 themes.
Should I be changing my essay to have 3 themes? As I don't know how I would cut back my 2 themes to include a 3rd?
And my exam is on Monday.

Hey! I've seen killer responses for Module A with two themes, so there is no reason to change beyond the fact that you need to do it to meet your teacher's requirements. Was the 3 theme thing advice or was it a requirement?

[J.B]

It was more advice, but suggesting that we should do 3 themes.
But thank you this gives more confidence in case I do continue to stick with two themes

[jamonwindeyer]

It was more advice, but suggesting that we should do 3 themes.
But thank you this gives more confidence in case I do continue to stick with two themes

I'd say stick with two - Especially this close, trying to change now would probably hurt you more than benefit you! best of luck with the task!

[Mary_a]

Thank you so much! This was really helpful, in regards to the social and historical context of Pride and Prejudice, do you recommend discussing the Romantic elements within Austen's work of Pride and Prejudice?

Thank you,

Mary x

[sudodds]

Thank you so much! This was really helpful, in regards to the social and historical context of Pride and Prejudice, do you recommend discussing the Romantic elements within Austen's work of Pride and Prejudice?

Thank you,

Mary x

Hey Mary!

Within your Mod A P&P/LTW essays it's really important to establish the contexts in which they were written, and how this affects the ways they portray certain issues, and how said issues are received by the responder, so drawing upon the romantic elements of Austen's work (and how Weldon re-imagines/re-contextualises these to her more contemporary audience) would be definitely be a fantastic inclusion!

Susie

[Mary_a]

Hey Mary!

Within your Mod A P&P/LTW essays it's really important to establish the contexts in which they were written, and how this affects the ways they portray certain issues, and how said issues are received by the responder, so drawing upon the romantic elements of Austen's work (and how Weldon re-imagines/re-contextualises these to her more contemporary audience) would be definitely be a fantastic inclusion!

Susie

Hey Susie,

Thank you so much for that advice! I will definitely transcend this into my essay!

Mary x

[bholenath125]

Would you happen to know a specific contextual link i could embed that is about how German population under Hitler's rule had a greater tolerance for the government's mistakes???

[elysepopplewell]

Would you happen to know a specific contextual link i could embed that is about how German population under Hitler's rule had a greater tolerance for the government's mistakes???

I'm not sure what you mean by contextual link? Is there a particular text you'd like to link to or are you just looking for a way to describe the situation? Perhaps passivity is the best word for this!

[f_tan]

A composer’s context is the strongest influence on their creation of texts.
Evaluate this statement with reference to the intertextual connections between The Hours and Mrs. Dalloway.

What does it mean by intertextual connections? I thought I got it but my teacher keeps saying that I need to weave in intertextual connections into my paragraphs. I'm doing separate paragraphs for Woolf's Mrs Dalloway and Daldry's The Hours, so not going to synthesise my paras. Where do I put in those intertextual connections? Into all my paragraphs, or just make connections in the Daldry paragraphs?

Thanks!

[Snew]

My thesis for my half yearly mod A question in response to:
Discuss which one of these two texts you feel evokes a more sympathetic response to the human desire for meaningful relationships

Texts can be treated similarly in their interpretation of the desire and struggle for meaningful relationships, however the Sonnets of Elizabeth Barrett Browning that explore the attainment of love and it’s transcendence of physical and contextual constraints ultimately evoke the sympathetic response of a contemporary audience, in comparison to the destructive pursuit of love centred on hedonistic and material values in The Great Gatsby. 

any feedback is deeply welcomed (I know its a very very long sentence!  and do you think I should include more stuff about context or can I just expand on that in body paragraphs?

Cheers! 

[elysepopplewell]

A composer’s context is the strongest influence on their creation of texts.
Evaluate this statement with reference to the intertextual connections between The Hours and Mrs. Dalloway.

What does it mean by intertextual connections? I thought I got it but my teacher keeps saying that I need to weave in intertextual connections into my paragraphs. I'm doing separate paragraphs for Woolf's Mrs Dalloway and Daldry's The Hours, so not going to synthesise my paras. Where do I put in those intertextual connections? Into all my paragraphs, or just make connections in the Daldry paragraphs?

Thanks!

Intertextual connections are essentially just things that connect two texts. It may be the treatment of themes, or the representation of ideas, or the manipulation of textual style. So, the representation of women in both texts could be an intertextual connection. Or, the treatment of the theme of love, or grief, or war, etc. You can still do separate paragraphs for your two texts, but I'd be making sure you're comparing the same themes (intertextual connections) for both

To give an example, the intertextual connection you'd like to focus on might be representation of gender. So, in your first text you might like to focus on the representation of men as powerful members of the patriarchy, as according to the context of the author. Then, in your second text, you might be focusing on women being liberated through education, as part of the context of that time. I have no idea what the themes of your two texts are, but hopefully this gives you an idea!

My thesis for my half yearly mod A question in response to:
Discuss which one of these two texts you feel evokes a more sympathetic response to the human desire for meaningful relationships
any feedback is deeply welcomed (I know its a very very long sentence!  and do you think I should include more stuff about context or can I just expand on that in body paragraphs?

Cheers! 

Heya!

Texts can be treated similarly I don't know what this means? Readers can treat texts similarly? Or are texts treating desire similarly? If its the former - I don't know what that adds to the overall sense of the question. in their interpretation of the desire and struggle for meaningful relationships, Perfect spot for a full stop however the Sonnets of Elizabeth Barrett Browning that explore the attainment of love and it’s transcendence of physical and contextual constraints ultimately evoke the sympathetic response of a contemporary audience, in comparison to the destructive pursuit of love centred on hedonistic and material values in The Great Gatsby. 

I think this is wonderful, but there's no rush for it to be one sentence. This can be two sentences quite suitably! In fact, I'd beef this up to become an introduction. So, I'd adjust your first sentence because it isn't very precise right now. Then I'd consider a sentence that talks about the importance of context of the reader and context of the text - something about the way time changes the way you perceive something. This introduces your marker to your understand of context (important for Mod A) and it ties into what is yet to come. Then I'd have your next sentence as you already have it, the comparison of both of the texts. Then you can finish your intro there or you can have another sentence if you feel it's necessary

What do you think?

[sophiemacpherso]

Hey!! For Module A, I'm finding it hard to balance the amount of discussion of context with the discussion of various techniques... Should I basically just link every technique to the context?? Ie. Fitzgerald uses the didactic nature of this metaphor to negatively connote the hedonistic values of the Jazz Age..? )

[theblackswan]

Hi, when you're preparing an introduction and a conclusion, how do you do it if you don't know what the question is going to be? Thanks!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey!! For Module A, I'm finding it hard to balance the amount of discussion of context with the discussion of various techniques... Should I basically just link every technique to the context?? Ie. Fitzgerald uses the didactic nature of this metaphor to negatively connote the hedonistic values of the Jazz Age..? )

Hey Sophie! I never linked every technique to the context - Basically, you should do it wherever the link is clear and obvious. It is perfectly okay to have a technique that just conveys the theme - As long as the context is still appearing regularly! And the example you gave is exactly what you should be doing

You can check out this exemplar to get a feel for the balance! I wrote it under exam conditions in my CSSA, and it got 20/20, so I think it's a good model of what the markers would expect in a HSC exam