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Should you give background information on a quote?

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rirerire:

--- Quote from: Justin_L on October 14, 2020, 07:57:06 pm ---Another HSC student here, I would actually disagree and say that contextualising your quotes is helpful in many cases. Personally, I think that where in the novel the quote occurs is particularly important to signpost as characters change over time, as well as the fact the marker may not be familiar with that particular quote so giving a few words of context is always safer.

For example, in 1984 Winston says "Sanity is not statistical" early on in Mr Charrington's shop, yet changes his view later on in the novel when he convinces himself that "Sanity is statistical" after his torture in the Ministry of Love. Without context, this can get confusing for a marker who might not have been familiar with those exact quotes.

This is just my opinion though, and both s110820 and rirerire also have excellent points for and against contextualisation.

--- End quote ---
good point!! I actually agree with that, especially since characters are constantly developing throughout a text...
just keep it very succinct and if possible use textual evidence to describe the context.

I used a very similar quote/analysis in my trials however the critique was that there was no quote to back up the 'his torture in the Ministry of Love', so try to see if you can replace "discovers a potential uprising against the court" from option 1 with the quote from the play.

angewina_naguen:
Hey, BakerDad12!

To add to all the great points raised above, I sit somewhere in the middle. Many students fall into the trap of providing more accounts on a text’s context and giving excessive amounts of background information, rather than analysing the text itself. Context is important to all levels of English but it is not a substitute for techniques and quotes. Too much background information will result in you potentially retelling the text more than analysing it to respond to and engage with the question. Basically, think of it as a way to enhance your arguments, not to be your arguments. If you provide context or background information, it should always forward your analysis and contribute to your overall argument  :D

Angelina  ;D

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