Howdy!
So, I'm about to do my literary essay on Fahrenheit 451 and Blade Runner 2049.
Last time I did a literary essay, it was quite trash.
Could someone please tell me how to do a literary essay? How should I structure it? What are the teachers looking for? Any general tips?
Thank you!
- jinx_58
Hey Jinx_58,
When I did this task in English I had to write a feature article comparing Macbeth and Blade Runner - so, feature articles are slightly different to essays but there are some key details that you will find in both.
Generally, for these comparative tasks in English, we are interested in asking a certain question or trying to comment on a particular point/idea, and in doing so compare the concepts (relating to the question or point of interest) presented in two distinct texts. In particular, this task is assessing your ability to analyse, interpret, and examine these concepts.
So a good place to start is by familiarising yourself with the texts and then coming up with some idea that you find interesting that both texts comment on. They might not take the same position on this idea and that is entirely ok - if the texts were produced at different times you could simply state that this is a product of the different cultural norms of the time (or something like that). Then once you have this interesting idea that you want to write about, you need to come up with a strong thesis statement. After coming up with your thesis statement, you will want to sign-post your arguments (each section of your essay should have a purpose, so these "sign-posts" in your intro will roughly map to one per paragraph).
How to structure
1.
Intro: should include a couple sentences introducing the idea and the texts, your thesis statement, and sign posted arguments.
2.
Argument 1: should include evidence for the position of each text - link your argument back to the thesis
3.
Argument 2: should include evidence for the position of each text - link your argument back to the thesis
4.
Argument 3: should include evidence for the position of each text - link your argument back to the thesis
5.
Discussion: this is an overall evaluation of all the evidence you have found
6.
Conclusion: basic conclusion, link to thesis
What are teacher's looking for?
This is where the ISMG will become your best friend. It tells you exactly what you need to include to get top marks. However, some key details are:
- You must analyse the representation of a concept, identity, time, or place that is shared between texts
- You must reference the personal, cultural, historical, social, or contemporary significance of these representations
- You must talk about how the authors positions readers to think/feel about the concept/identity/time/place
- You must add to the conversation about these representations (i.e., come up with new ideas or combine ideas)
General tips
Don't forget to mention aesthetic devices (I would say around 2-3 times per paragraph) and make sure every argument you make links back to the thesis (this is how you show that your arguments are "discerning" - which is necessary for top marks).
I hope this helps!
Katelyn