clare's teaching blog

Thursday, 13 February 2014

A2 Literature - comparing context video

Now updated, complete with cheesy music:

AS LangLit / All My Sons: the ending

'The truth is revealed'

What does Miller reveal about Joe and Chris in this scene? How?
How has their relationship changed compared to the start of the play?

Of Joe Keller's death, Miller says: 'I began the play with that idea and everything in the play moves like the bow of a ship towards that point'. Do you agree - and if so, how does Miller achieve this?

Of Chris and Annie, Miller says: 'They are victims of this disaster.' Do you agree? How might you counterargue?

Monday, 10 February 2014

A2 Literature coursework - some advice

Some advice

Go through each of our texts with a toothcomb & with the question you have chosen in mind. Identify key moments ripe for textual analysis; extract key lines that would work well in terms of quotations
Create a mind map of the key ideas emerging from each text - use arrows to show where the connections could be made. Add social & literary context (relevant) in a different colour
Remember that 'compare' also means contrast; examining differences can be illuminating
You are unlikely to be spending a lot of time comparing all three texts at the same time - most of your connections will be between two of your texts
Look again at the example openings we looked at in class - note the things you must include. Draft an opening (you might not be able to include a thesis (or an especially strong one) at this stage)
Start writing where you feel comfortable - no need to start from the 'beginning' of the essay
Make sure that your register is relatively formal and detached; the odd 'I would argue', 'I think', 'What I find most interesting' is fine, but also remember 'It can be argued', 'One counterargument might be...', 'Another interpretation could be ...'
Avoid using contractions
Use the first sentence of each paragraph (the topic sentence) to set up the paragraph and relate to the question / overall argument. Don't allow your paragraphs to drift off in a different direction
Use comments from critics, don't just include them. Bounce off them, comment on them, create new arguments out of them
Be painstakingly careful about not plagiarising
Use the texts to anchor your analysis - don't slide across the surface of them
The first draft you submit on 3 March should not be your first attempt at writing the essay. Have a go, then go through it and play with it, reshape it, rethink it, refine your thesis
Make sure that you cover the three texts fairly evenly
Make sure that you have proof-read & run a spell check before you submit the first draft; keep sentences controlled
Please doublespace (or space & a half) your 1st draft & block paragraphs clearly

GOOD LUCK!

A2 Literature Coursework questions

A2 LITERATURE COURSEWORK TITLES

Remember that there are materials to support you on Moodle, in the folder labelled with my name.

First draft due: 3^rd March 2014

1. “How we see the world defines our experience of it.”

Compare how Toni Morrison, Philip Larkin and Arthur Miller explore the power of perception in their texts.

2. “It is the inability to reconcile our hopes and dreams with the reality presented by everyday life which makes our suffering inevitable.”

Compare Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Larkin’s Collected Poems and Miller’s Death of a Salesman in the light of this statement: to what extent do you think it is valid?

3. “All relationships are selfish.”

Compare the ways that Toni Morrison, Philip Larkin and Arthur Miller present relationships: do they draw the same conclusion as the opinion offered here?

4. “Time is a promise, a threat and a burden.”

Compare the ways that Toni Morrison, Philip Larkin and Arthur Miller present the effects of time passing on both the individual and society.

5. “All writing is a form of social commentary.”

Compare the ways that Toni Morrison, Philip Larkin and Arthur Miller use their texts to comment on their respective societies.

6. “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” (Albert Camus)

Compare the ways that Toni Morrison, Philip Larkin and Arthur Miller use their texts to explore the ways that we attempt to create meaning for our lives.

7. ‘In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act’ (George Orwell)

Compare the ways that Toni Morrison, Philip Larkin and Arthur Miller use their texts to explore our negotiation between truth and deceit.

First draft due: 3^rd March 2014

Final deadline: 31 March 2014

Friday, 31 January 2014

A2 Literature - The Whitsun Weddings & Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Whitsun Weddings

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Monday, 27 January 2014

AS COMMS - Reminder: no lesson tomorrow

Hi - just a reminder that I am out at a Comms & Culture meeting tomorrow so there is no lesson. The work in place of the lesson is to work on your scripts: aim to have them finished (draft) for our next lesson on Thursday. See you then.