1 / 14

Mastering Literary Analysis: Strategies for Effective Passage-based Questions

This guide offers valuable insights into literary analysis, emphasizing the significance of understanding key words in questions and recognizing the writer's methods. It outlines effective strategies for tackling passage-based questions, including planning your response, focusing on central themes, and quoting relevant text to support your arguments. By following these guidelines, you can deepen your analysis of character motivations, atmospheric qualities, and thematic elements while avoiding common pitfalls. Enhance your writing skills and engage critically with literary texts to produce compelling essays.

beryl
Télécharger la présentation

Mastering Literary Analysis: Strategies for Effective Passage-based Questions

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Literature Revision

  2. BEFORE WE BEGIN… • Although there can be a variety of interpretations on a piece of writing, it is possible that answers can be WRONG.

  3. Key words in questions • Vividly / strikingly/ Powerfully (evoke personal response) • Portray/ Convey/ Create (writer’s methods) • Humorous/ Amusing (writer’s wit – pun/sarcasm) • Tense/ Dramatic • Significant / Important • Your feelings for / about – empathy/ sympathy • Upsetting/ disturbing / horrifying (provocation) • Impressive/ admirable

  4. Questions may focus on: • Character / role /motivation • Incident/ Event • Atmosphere / Mood • Theme / Issue • Writer’s effects/ attitude

  5. Writer’s methods • Structure • Plot • Characterisation • Setting • Dramatic tension • Imagery • Rhythm • Language (diction)

  6. Passage-based questions • Read the question and extract the key points carefully. • Focus on the extract. • Decide what is central and what is peripheral – plan • Refer closely and quote significant parts when necessary (avoid huge chunks of quoting) • Consider language / writer’s effects (desired) • Address all parts of the question (but it is not necessary to give equal attention to each part).

  7. Passage-based questions • (i) • Focuses on passage. • Looks for exploration of the writing. • Looks for details in the passage. • (ii) • Leads outwards from passage. • May ask about theme, character, writer’s methods.

  8. DO • Read the question carefully • Plan • Keep to the point (explain your arguments clearly) • Quote/ Refer (concise quotes and reference)

  9. DON’T • Reproduce learnt notes/ depend on other people’s ideas • Digress into personal experiences • Engage in polemic/ controversial issues • Speculate based on groundless assumptions.

  10. ADVICE • Don’t repeat in (ii) what you said in (i) • Don’t worry about 50/50 but do not neglect either part. • Try to refer to something at the end of the passage (there is usually some significance) • Focus on the words and images (what are their intended effects) • Do not merely paraphrase/ narrate/ quote large chunks to make your essay seem longer.

  11. Helpful Essay Writing Phrases • The author’s diction makes the _______ in the passage extremely dramatic. For example, he uses the words … • The excitement/ tension escalates, making ____________more dramatic. • The author also uses conflict (could be inner conflict or conflict with others) to dramatise the __________. • The author uses imagery to _______________. For example, (explain the imagery and the effect it produces). • Characterisation is used to intensify the ______________. (Describe the special/ unique qualities of the character that makes him stand out and crucial)

  12. Helpful Essay Writing Phrases • The author also uses irony to intensify the _____________ . (Proceed to explain clearly the irony) • The dramatic effect/ tension is heightened by _______________ • The author creates suspense by ___________ . • The suspense is maintained/ intensified/ reaches its climax…

  13. Helpful Essay Writing Phrases • The ending is made powerful and dramatic by ________________ • _________________ evokes strong emotions of curiosity/ mystery / sympathy / empathy etc.

  14. Helpful Essay Writing Phrases (For comparison) • … is in stark contrast to …. • … it is juxtaposed with …

More Related