Writing a body paragraph (PEE)

Exploding a Paper 2 Question

Every year, examiners point out how candidates sometimes fail to answer the set question or answering only addressing one part of it (if it is a multi-part question).  

One whole criterion (Criterion B) is devoted to just this aspect, so learning to unpack and interpret a Paper 2 question is a crucial part of exam success and a vital skill to develop.

Below we give you a snapshot of what that “unpacking” might look like. Remember that in all cases, nothing can replace consistent practice over the course of a term. If you need this, contact us.

 “The theatre brings into the open important issues of the time.” How have dramatists presented "important issues” in plays you have studied?

1. Identify the key words and instructions in the question

‘brings into the open’: makes public, suggests that theatre can examine difficult topics, reveals what is hidden ; taboos?
‘important issues’: things that matter to society, themes and messages conveyed to an audience
‘of the time’: issues that were important at the time the play was written that may or may not still be important now
‘presented’: how do we see these issues explored in the play? – characters, actions, events, dramatic techniques etc.

2. Define exactly what the question wants you to examine and explore.

I should identify the issues that are important in the play and discuss the various techniques (dramatic and literary) that the writer uses to reveal these issues (themes). I should also discuss the writers’ message in relation to the issues.


3. Which plays fit this question best?

Sizwe Bansi is Dead and Death and the Maiden OR Streetcar!

3.1. What aspects of the plays will you write about? (Brainstorm.)

• Sizwe: A play that centers on the Pass Laws and the oppression of South African Blacks under Apartheid. Central purpose of the play is to show what blacks must do in order to survive. The play was inspired by two photographs and contains autobiographical elements from all three co-creators of the play

• Death and the Maiden: Deals with issues of justice and morality faced by a nation that has recently become democratic after a period of harsh, oppressive dictatorship. It forces the audience to examine who is to blame and what can be done to recover from past memories. The ambiguity in the play is quite relevant for countries that must try to sort out the truth of what happened but also move on and heal as a nation.

4. How are these aspects similar and different in the two plays? (Organise ideas)

Both plays are designed to hold a mirror up to society and to examine issues of oppression and morality. Both plays use the alienation effect to force the audience to examine themselves. This is a clear plea to consider an important issue of the time. Both plays also have universal truths that extend beyond one particular time and place. That is, Sizwe is about how human beings oppress others all over the world and how inequality and oppression is something that the human race will always need to deal with (even after Apartheid) DATM is not just about Chile (as it states in the opening of the play but is about any newly democratic country or a country healing from past abuses (Rwanda, South Africa, Argentina, Uganda for example)

Sizwe deals with a specific law and centers around the pass book. It also is about a regime that is/was CURRENTLY oppressive. DATM is about the past and past abuses. The country is no longer suffering under dictatorship. It is mostly about how Paulina must recover from her past and learn to move on. “Isn’t is time we stopped?”

5. Construct a thesis statement

Both texts bring out into the open issues concerning human rights abuses and what human beings must do to overcome these obstacles. However, although the themes are similar, the writers employ different techniques to develop these ideas in the play.

Paper 2 Questions (Literature, May 2019)

Many of our students ask us for help with writing high-scoring Paper 2 exams. Two essential steps must be taken before attempting to write anything: the first is identifying what the question requires, so that your answer is seen as "pertinent". It is easy to miss the point of the question or its embedded nature. The second, and often hardest step, is deciding how the questions apply to your works, even when they appear not to. To learn more, ask for a free trial session.  

Answer one essay question only. You must base your answer on at least two of the three part 3 works you have studied and compare and contrast these works in response to the question. Answers which are not based on a discussion of at least two part 3 works will not score high marks.

Drama

1. Comparing at least two plays you have studied, discuss the presentation of order and disorder and the effects created.

2.   Referring to at least two plays you have studied, compare the ways in which visual elements of a play can reflect the inner thoughts and feelings of characters.

3.   With reference to at least two plays you have studied, compare the means by which the central conflict of the work is made clear from its opening.

Poetry

4. An important aim of poetry is to make the reader think. Compare how and to what effect this is achieved in the work of at least two poets you have studied.

5. Referring closely to the works of at least two poets you have studied, compare their use of literary devices in presenting loneliness or isolation or both.

6. Comparing the work of at least two poets you have studied, explore the means by which the speaker or persona is created.

Prose: novel and short story

7. In the works of at least two authors you have studied, compare the ways in which children are presented, and to what effect.

8. Place can assume so much importance in some works that it almost becomes another character. In the works of at least two authors of prose fiction you have studied, compare the presentation and significance of such influential places or settings.

9. In the works of at least two authors you have studied, compare how and to what effect power struggles are explored.

Prose other than fiction

10. In at least two works of prose other than fiction you have studied, compare the means by which the writer's credibility is established and how important this is to the work as a whole.

11. Works of prose other than fiction take us from the known to the unknown. In at least two works you have studied, compare the means by which authors have presented and used this shift.

12. The shaping of events, facts or ideas into a work of prose other than fiction often involves incorporating elements that we associate with poetry. Compare how and to what effect this has been achieved in at least two works you have studied.

How to Write a Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay

How to write a thesis statement for an analytical essay

Sample P1 Commentary (Literature) : Chocolat

During your two years of English A studies, you should make a point of reading through as many, and as wide a range of, sample commentaries as possible. Not only read them, but discuss them critically, and analytically with your teacher or tutor so that you can advance in your own writing and thinking.  

For commentaries and discussion, contact us.

Sample Commentary (Literature HL)

Excerpt (from "We came on the wind of the carnival" to "This time it may even be true.")

This extract, the opening of the novel Chocolat by Joanne Harris, tells how a mother and her young daughter, Anouk, arrive at a small rural town in France with a possibility that they might settle there.

In the town, Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a carnival is taking place when the two arrive and it is interesting to see how some of the participants are described: “Rapunzel in a woollen wig, a mermaid with a Cellophane tail, a gingerbread house all icing and gilded cardboard ...” These descriptions are a mixture of the fantasy and the ordinary, even the carnival float is merely “A wooden cart, hastily decorated with gilt and crêpe”. They suggest a strong degree of transparency – perhaps a symbolic indication of what is to come further in the novel. Indeed, the carnival itself appears to be a weak attempt to impress when compared, by Anouk's mother, with other carnivals she and her daughter have seen: “a procession of two hundred and fifty of the decorated chars in Paris, a hundred and eighty in New York, two dozen marching bands in Vienna, clowns on stilts … drum majorettes with batons spinning and sparkling”.

 The small town itself is described in a less than favourable light. Some of the descriptions used, such as “a blip on the fast road ...”, “Blink once and it's gone”, rather than implying a quaint rural village appear to emphasize its insignificance. There is also the suggestion of something secretive and sinister about the place. For example, the “main street” is described as a “double row of dun-coloured houses leaning secretively together” and this is surrounded by “Farms scattered across the watchful land”. These descriptions are not only effective in portraying an isolated, tight-knit community but they also arouse a degree of curiosity in the reader as to why they might be considering settling there.

There is obviously a strong religious presence within the community, although from the way both the church and the priest are described, this appears to be a restricting, dominating force in the town. For instance, the church is described as being “aggressively whitewashed” and the priest himself a “black figure” who could be mistaken for a character from the procession, “the Plague Doctor”, appears to be not only a spoilsport but a dominant figure as he insists on making the playing children clean up carnival debris by just “a gesture”. Later in the piece the priest is described in greater detail, in a way that reinforces the idea that he is a dominant but unpleasant figure, with a “rigid stance”, “pale eyes”, and his “high cheekbones” suggest a degree of superciliousness, especially with his “fingers resting on the silver cross which hangs from his neck”. In addition, his look is described as “measuring”, which implies that he is somewhat judgemental in an unchristian way. 

The adult residents are also described in an unfavourable manner, which contrasts markedly with the descriptions of the children of the village. For instance, the adults are described as being somewhat insignificant: “They look much like all others we have known” and are “a little drab”, and the colours used to describe their clothing and hair project “dull” images: “brown, black or grey”. Their faces are described in an unfavourable manner, which contrasts markedly with the descriptions of the children of the village. For instance, the adults are described as being somewhat insignificant: “They look much like all others we have known” and are “a little drab”, and the colours used to describe their clothing and hair project “dull” images: “brown, black or grey”. Their faces are described as being “lined like last summer's apples”, which gives a wizened impression and suggests a sense of lifelessness which is also emphasized by their eyes being “pushed into wrinkled flesh like marbles into old dough”. The descriptions of the children, on the other hand, contain life and vivid colour: “A few children, flying colours of red and lime-green and yellow”. Indeed, they “seem like a different race” and they appear to inject a degree of energy in a town where even the dog is described as “sad”.

The residents seem to be quite insular and suspicious of “outsiders”, and although the mother in the story tells us that “No one looks at us” she gets the impression that “We are a curiosity to them”. This seems not to be surprising considering how the mother's appearance contrasts with that of the villagers, “her long silk scarf fluttering at her throat ...” and with her “exotic” clothes. However, it is interesting to see that the daughter's appearance, although she too wears “exotic” clothes, is as colourful as the other children in the village. Perhaps this is an indication that she will be accepted more easily than her mother. Indeed, the daughter appears to like the place: “I like it, I like it here. Are we staying?”

There is an indication that the unwelcoming fee of the place might alter later in the novel, in the line “Vines looking blighted and dead … but awaiting triumphant resurrection by March”. This appears to be supported by the sense of magic induced into the writing in the opening line “We came on the wind of the carnival”, the phrase being reminiscent of “the winds of change”. Indeed, it would appear that magic is needed if the rural town with its “strips of earth enclosed and regimented according to the strict apartheid of country farming” is to become anything else but “drab”.

Harris uses language to great effect in this piece. The many sensory inclusions, such as “hot greasy scents of frying pancakes and sausages and powdery-sweet waffles”, helps us to share the carnival experience, and the simile used to describe the confetti falling is particularly effective here: “like an idiot antidote to winter”, especially considering the weak attempts made to dress up for the carnival. She also uses and abundance of adjectives in her similes, which add a richness to the narrative. For instance, she describes her daughter's eyes as being “the blue-green of the Earth seen from a great height, shining”. Harris also includes a degree of ambiguity which succeeds in arousing curiosity. For example, at the beginning of this piece, the line “but at six the world retains a special lustre” seems a little out of place and its meaning is unclear. A little later, the line “At six it is possible to perceive subtleties which a year later are already out of reach” also appears to be unconnected, but the meaning will become clear later in the novel. In addition, some of the words are written in French and their meaning can be tentatively assumed. For example, the word “char” is unusual, but, through the reading of the passage, can be assumed to be a carnival float. This technique adds a degree of interest and colour to the extract.

The piece is definitely an effective opening. The ambiguity created and the curiosity raised by Harris makes the reader want to find out whether such a well-travelled pair who have visited Paris, New York, and Vienna will stay in such a “drab” town – indeed, why they have ever gone there in the first place.




Teacher comments:
 This is a perceptive commentary in which the student pays attention to
 • the vocabulary used by the writer
 • the effects of imagery in conveying the atmosphere of the town
 • the sensual descriptions
 • the contrast between the visitors and the people of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes
 • the narrative technique which makes one wonder what will happen next
 • the hints of conflict – perhaps between the narrator and the priest.

EE: Second Reflection (interim)

As part of your engagement mark (Criterion E), you will be required to fulfil 3 reflection sessions with your supervisor. Your reflection will be recorded in the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF) and submitted along with your extended essay proper.

In this article we look into what is expected in the second (interim) reflection session and how you can best prepare for it:

What is expected in the Interim session?

In this session you must demonstrate to your supervisor the progress you have made in your research. You must also be able to discuss any challenges you have encountered, offer your own potential solutions and seek advice as necessary.


During this session your supervisor might discuss

• your understanding of the academic writing requirements, including referencing formats

• whether an appropriate range of sources has been accessed and how you are critically evaluating the origin of those sources

• what you now have to do in order to produce the full draft of your essay

By the end of the interim reflection you should both feel satisfied that there is

• a clear and refined research question 
• a viable argument on which to base the essay 
• a sufficient range of appropriate sources 
• a clear vision for the final steps in the writing process. 

How shall I prepare for this session?

By the time you meet with your supervisor, you should have

• refined your topic into a focused and appropriate research question

• significantly deepened your research and recorded pertinent evidence, information or data in the Researcher’s reflection space

• reviewed and consolidated the methodologies you are using

• formulated arguments based on the evidence that you have collected

• added to the working bibliography for your research.