Poetry and short story

AWARM welcome to you as we continue to work together for your success. By now, you would have written a number of essays in this subject, as directed by your teachers. This week, even as I hope that you have been getting good grades, I want to quickly share some reminders of how to do this with you.

There are certain words which direct how you answer questions, and I want to be sure that you are familiar with them. You must become confident that when you see a question that asks you to comment on or compare something to something else, you know exactly what to do. Then, before you begin to write an essay, you should take enough time to understand what you are being asked to do. Read the whole question, before you say to yourself. I can do this. You do not want to waste your time starting a response to the question, only to find out that after two paragraphs you cannot proceed, for you do not have all the information you need to do so. This is one reason why it is a sound idea to make a plan, for in doing so you will find out if you know enough to do justice to the question.

Essays in literature are like essays in any other subject. You need, in writing one, a beginning, a middle and an end; in other words, an introduction in which you state your position and briefly outline your points of discussion; a body in which you discuss the three or four points on which you base the position you are taking, and the conclusion in which you sum up your arguments and restate your stance. You do not need to skip a line, or lines, when you start a new paragraph, nor do you need to itemise each section of an answer with the letters a), b) or c). In fact, I want you to remember that the itemisation, a), b) or c), is there only to help you to remember to deal with each part of the question in a separate paragraph.

You do remember, don’t you, that one poetry and one short story question that will be on your exam paper will require you to draw on two poems and two short stories for your answer? This is why it is a good idea to categorise the poems and short stories as you study them. In other words, if the theme or main focus is, for example, war or racism or religion in two or more poems or short stories, do make a note of this. You can also take it a step further by thinking about their similarities and writing them down for future reference.

In Paper 02 of your external examination, you will be writing three responses, to questions and I think that it is time for us to look at some of the terms which are frequently used in questions. I hope that they will be of help to you as you write essays for your teachers.

COMMENT: This means that you should give a judgement or opinion about something. You could be asked to comment on family relationships in The Tempest, in which case you would make an assessment of that which exists between brothers and fathers and their offspring. You would be expected to write on how this affects their roles in the drama.

COMPARE: This tells you to examine (look closely at) or judge one thing against another to show how they are the same or how they are different. For instance, you may be asked to choose two poems and compare the way a theme in each is treated by the poet.

CONSIDER: This advises you to think about a situation carefully, that is, to examine all the facts of a situation before coming to conclusions.

CONTRAST: Here the question requires that you examine or judge two people or things in such a way that their differences are made clear.

DESCRIBE: This wants you to say what someone or something is like. You would explain and give illustrations. “Describe the opening scene of the play” would demand that you say what the setting is, what is on the stage, how the characters dress, how they relate to each other, what is their physical appearance, and so on.

DISCUSS: This is to talk or write about details of something with someone else; that is, to share your ideas about something/anything in an organised manner. A question such as “Discuss what these actions reveal about the characters involved in the relationship” requires you to identify what the persons do and then say what is shown/revealed about them through such conduct.

EXPLAIN: This means to make something clear and easy to understand. In explaining, you must organise your ‘facts’ logically. If you are asked to explain the relationship between the ruler/master and his servants, you should include background information, promises made and kept or broken, and the results.

GIVE: This is simply asking you to supply or share information as required.

HOW: This is used when you are stating the way in which something happens.

IDENTIFY: This asks you to recognise and name someone or something.

OUTLINE: This requires you to share the main ideas or facts of something with no details.

REFER: This requires that you give an example or make a remark, mentioning or giving information about someone or something. You must, in other words, supply direct and precise information. If you are asked to make close references or refer closely, you are to give examples directly from the text.

PRESENT: This is to give information or show someone’s character to people in a formal way.

SAY: This is to express something about someone or something.

SHOW: This is to allow or cause something to be seen. STATE: This is to say or express. SUGGEST: This means to give someone an idea to consider.

Please familiarise yourselves with the above so that you can use your knowledge to write good essays. Remember to plan your answers, identifying suitable supporting points and relevant quotations to use.

Do not itemise/number your points as you move from the development of one idea to another. All you are to do is to begin a new paragraph in which you will develop each idea separately. You should write in standard English and get into the habit of reading over your work – making the necessary corrections and additions. Do sharpen your essay-writing skills.

Remember always to do your best, regardless of circumstances. God bless!

Beryl Clarke is an independent contributor. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com.