English Question Thread

purpleunicorn

Did Macbeth in y10, so I’m not too much help on that side of things… but the gist of English is actually quite simple. I really wish someone told me this wayyyy earlier.

You want to come up with 3-4 big statements the author is making about society. Lit calls these ‘views and values’ (v&v) - but I like to call them arguments.

U then use these for each paragraph. So instead of talking about characters, or things that happen, u make the first sentence the overall argument. Then use the events/characters as evidence…

Eg.

Point 1: Masculinity is considered desirable in society. Shakespeare presents this notion through the actions of Lady MacBeth. As she is realistically powerless, she becomes more masculine to become powerful…. Etc Expand on the idea a bit. Fit Macbeth in here too.
Thus power, associated with masculinity in patriarchal society’s, is held by men, but can be adopted through the actions of women.

Point 2:
So on and so forth….

Hope this helps!

It’s weird. It’s not ur opinion. But it’s ur opinion on what the author’s opinion is…. (I think shake spear thinks society should…. Except it’s in formal writing)

P.S: I can’t remember what Shakespeare actually says about masculinity, nor do I share these views. I’m just rambling about structure. (Women don’t have to be masculine to be powerful)

Ahhh... sorry

Also I should add I'm writing from the VCE perspective (so I may be barking up the wrong tree so to speak) - but is ur 'thesis statment' just a fancy way of saying ur contention/point of view?

If so - then that seems ok. Unfortunately you have a 'how prompt' which makes things harder (eg, we're doing a film in y12 - so we have to talk about how X uses point-of-view shots to immerse the reader in the film blah blah blah...)

Demonstrates isn't a great verb - as how can one 'demonstrate the concept of masculinity'? It doesn't really mean anything...Kinda just filler..

How about this:

A microcosm for belief's in the Jacobean era, Shakespeare's 'MacBeth' (underlined) explores the multifaceted aspects of masculinity. Through the play, he accentuates (highlights) the relationship between power and masculinity, and emphasises its desirability. However, he also warns of the consequences masculinity - how it can corrupt one's identity. Ultimately, Shakespeare contends that one needs a balance of both the masculine and feminine ideals to maintain their integrity.

Sor ur args are:

• masculinity, is desirable (because it provides power)
• it can corrupt ur identity (stepped in so far that should he wade no more.... can't wash blood clean from these hands, etc..)
• U need a balance of both masculinity & femininity.

Hope this helps ; )

jinx_58

Lmao…. That sounds about right. Imo, English teachers are just one rung above PE teachers…. But don’t tell anyone I said that.

I’m not a fan of the character based approaches. Sometimes they’re unavoidable…. But I reckon they take away from the complexity of the price. Like it analysis has to be twice as complex to get the same mark. (More or less)

So if it’s something like; Does MB condone ambition?

You have one part disagreeing, one part agreeing, and then one part saying ‘despite this, it is really….’

Eg. Ultimately ambition is essential, but in moderation.

That way u can challenge the prompt as well.

You still use characters, but u don’t mention them until the second sentence in each paragraph….

Hi everyone,
im new on this forum, and Im currently heading into IA1, but im really confused.
We have to write a 1000-1500 word opinion column (but moreso analytical) on the book the great gatsby, and the documentary, Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream and base this column on the question, "How does the film and novel explore the best or worst of humanity?"
Using this, we have to explore one of the main concepts present within both pieces (e.g. Money, Happiness, Greed, The American Dream, Class, Honesty, Consequences, Power etc.)
I was hoping somebody could help me with this, since my teacher said that this will be the hardest assessment piece we will have to do in Unit 3 & 4 English.
Thank You!

DumbNerd
Hey DumbNerd,

I haven't studied To Kill a Mockingbird (I did MacBeth) so I wouldn't be able to give any specific advice about the book. However, in the 15 mins of planning, the first thing I did was write down all the quotes that was relevant to the topic from all the 30-40 quotes I remembered. I then planned all 3 points of the analysis with the quotes I would use in each paragraph as well. By that point, you shouldn't have that much time left but if you do, I would probably start crafting the first part of the introduction on the planning paper so all you have to do is rewrite it in the real paper when its time.

As for how to remember the quotes, I used a program called Anki. It was extremely effective for me to memorise 30+ quotes because it only required just over day to memorise which was not much time at all. I used the cloze deletion feature so I would close/hide the first half/bit of the quote and I would have to write the rest of it out. Let me know if you need any more info on Anki.

Hopefully, that helps and feel free to ask any more questions!

• PP

jinx_58 PhytoPlankton

Thanks to both of you so much - I got my results today and it was a 16/20, B+ !!!! I honestly did not expect to do that well since I only read half of the book yet I still pulled it off.
Sad thing is my overall grade is 69%, when going into Lit next year requires a 70% , but I'll speak to my teacher about that.

Anyways, I still really appreciate the advice that both of you gave and will remain positive. P.S. I had already finished my essay with 30 minutes left lol.