English Advanced Question Thread

[:3]

Hi, what is meant by dramatic treatment

The question is
‘Shakespeare’s Hamlet continues to engage audiences through its dramatic treatment of struggle and disillusionment.’

Basically the way its represented through characters/techniques.

[:3]

Hi, quick question about word counts in exam essays, we have been told we should be writing 1000 words but i'm averaging about 800 in practice timed responses, is this something that will impact marks much/something to worry about?
Thank you and good luck to everyone 

If you're succinct in your ideas/analysis, then you should be sweet with 800 (try aiming for 900 minimum if possible).

Quality over quantity.

[justdoit]

Thank you   

[elysepopplewell]

Basically the way its represented through characters/techniques.

With particular reference to the dramatic effects known to theatre

[Celeriac]

Hi 
I'm not sure if this should go in the Area of Study thread or here - sorry if it's the wrong place.

For Section 1 of Paper 1, it's been recommended to me that for the 2/3 mark questions that I split up my answers to make examples more evident to the markers. Example:

a.) Discovery is conveyed in various ways in Text One.
i.) A simile is used to...
ii.) The metaphor...

I was wondering if this kind of thing is conventional? Could we lose marks over this structure?

[elysepopplewell]

More of an AOS question, but I know I can ask quickly about quote breakdown here, and I couldn't find an appropriate thread on the AOS topic, but could someone help with breaking down this quote for me? I just want to expand on it a little more

"Let him dream of a child / Obedient, angel-mild"

I currently am discussing the use of enjambment and the word choice of angel-mild. Is there a technique related to the first part? Thanks

I'd talk about the "angel-mild" in contrast to the "horny fiend" earlier in the stanza. "A" in "a child" is an indefinite article which is different to a definite article (the). If it suits your analysis, you could talk about the indefinite article because it suits the dream like state, and it confirms that the "angel" child is not THE same person as the horny fiend - "a" indicates a lack of placement and identity. So in other words, the indefinite article implies that the child the father dreams of is not the same person as the horny fiend - it's all an illusion. Hopefully that makes sense! I always struggle to explain definite and indefinite articles - but it is a powerful thing to discuss

A/An = indefinite article. ... indicates lack of precision, non-confirmation of existence/presence.
The = definite article ...indicates definitiveness, precision, identification.

[elysepopplewell]

Hi 
I'm not sure if this should go in the Area of Study thread or here - sorry if it's the wrong place.

For Section 1 of Paper 1, it's been recommended to me that for the 2/3 mark questions that I split up my answers to make examples more evident to the markers. Example:

a.) Discovery is conveyed in various ways in Text One.
i.) A simile is used to...
ii.) The metaphor...

I was wondering if this kind of thing is conventional? Could we lose marks over this structure?

Are you intending to do the dot point style approach? I advise against it because you're in English, where you are marked on your cohesiveness of ideas. In saying this, I've never come across this and can't tell you the exact way a marker would receive it. By all means, if you're running out of time and you want to try secure some marks, then dot point. For the mean time, I'd be trying to write sentences. You can definitely use that structure, but write it in a paragraph, just by putting the sentences one after another instead of dot pointing it. I definitely think there is a huge need to be precise in your short answers, but I think the best approach is still a paragraph structure. What are your thoughts?

[Celeriac]

I'm definitely going to be writing ordinary paragraphs. I'd rather not run the risk of the marker not being too happy about that kind of structure.
Usually the points would be right next to each other so it was still essentially a paragraph, just with i.) and ii.) to indicate where a new example/technique is being discussed. But still, I feel like it might be safer to go with an ordinary paragraph.

Thank you for the reply. 

[isaacdelatorre]

Hi English Gods,

For AOS, I'm not exactly 100% sure on what the human condition is and how to integrate it into my essay. I've been told this is a must but not sure if my usage of the word is correct. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you guys!!!

[thecuttlefish]

Hey quick question for anyone doing Yeats for module b. I've been writing an essay for the 2015 paper but I only have two poems that I've related to "uncertainty in changing times". I've already written about Wild Swans at Coole and Easter 1916 and I was going to do An Irish Airman Foresees his Death, bc I thought I could talk about mortality in reference to the changing times part. When I went back over the poem though, I didn't find much I could relate to uncertainty.  Does anyone know of any techniques I could use to build a paragraph or another poem that would be better suited?

[Sssssrr]

About how long should the discovery creative be?
thanks!

[elysepopplewell]

I'm definitely going to be writing ordinary paragraphs. I'd rather not run the risk of the marker not being too happy about that kind of structure.
Usually the points would be right next to each other so it was still essentially a paragraph, just with i.) and ii.) to indicate where a new example/technique is being discussed. But still, I feel like it might be safer to go with an ordinary paragraph.

Thank you for the reply. 

I mean, it's such a tiny little difference that I hardly think you'd get marked down, but I don't know that there is a benefit to doing it either. Was it a teacher that suggested it to you before? I haven't seen this so I feel a bit out of my depth giving you a definitive answer, I'm just trying to weigh the pros and cons.

[ladyofathena]

Hi, quick question about word counts in exam essays, we have been told we should be writing 1000 words but i'm averaging about 800 in practice timed responses, is this something that will impact marks much/something to worry about?
Thank you and good luck to everyone 

I have never written more than about 950 words in essays but throughout the year my marks have ranged from 17-20, so like :3 said, quality over quantity. Are you only writing about 800 words because you find yourself to be a slow writer?

[elysepopplewell]

Hi English Gods,

For AOS, I'm not exactly 100% sure on what the human condition is and how to integrate it into my essay. I've been told this is a must but not sure if my usage of the word is correct. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you guys!!!

That's funny you've been told it's a must - I kind of think it's overused. The human condition is basically a term used to describe the collective experiences and emotions of humans that will be relatable and experienced through epochs - they aren't context specific. So, we could say that if Shakespeare plays on the experience of yearning, he relates to the human condition in a way that means his work is accessible through time, not just in his context.

It's my personal pet peeve when people say, "The Tempest is relatable through time because of it's treatment of the human condition" - and then they NEVER EXPLAIN what the human condition is according to their perspective. Unlike my example above, where I identified yearning as an aspect, some treatments of the human condition look like it's just thrown in there.

Is the human condition a necessity for discovery? No. Is it necessary for any module? No. Is it helpful in the modules? Yeah! Is it possibly a good route for discovery? yeah!

So use it if it adds something to your work, and not just because it sounds nice. The rubric doesn't specify it after all, so you can't be marked down for not talking about it

[elysepopplewell]

Hey quick question for anyone doing Yeats for module b. I've been writing an essay for the 2015 paper but I only have two poems that I've related to "uncertainty in changing times". I've already written about Wild Swans at Coole and Easter 1916 and I was going to do An Irish Airman Foresees his Death, bc I thought I could talk about mortality in reference to the changing times part. When I went back over the poem though, I didn't find much I could relate to uncertainty.  Does anyone know of any techniques I could use to build a paragraph or another poem that would be better suited?

I did this for my exam last year From memory, I talked about the Second Coming. I talked about the uncertainty of the world which has culminated in a occult-style approach from Yeats in his understanding of the world. The Second Coming is essentially allll about changing times - the renewal of life and the way it all comes back around again in a frightening way. I definitely recommend this poem for this question

An Irish Airman Foresees his Death - good one. So my thesis for this question was actually about how experiences of uncertainty in changing times is also met with certainty of identity. So for the Airman poem, I talked about how Yeats was certain that he didn't want to glorify war, but in uncertain times of the death of the Airman (I forget his name now, Gregory? Something like that?), there had to be a response. So I talked about his personal context a lot and his certainty of self as a poet and his vision, but this was met with the uncertainty of the war around him which he strived to NOT glorify (also seen in Easter 1916).