1. NO! If the poem doesn’t relate to the title, you can’t get the marks. Although in the worst worst worst case scenario you’ll have no other option. “Can you use a poem that does not “fit” the question so you can compare them?”
3. 1. R ead the question 2 . U nderline the key words - you’ll define / talk about these in your introduction 3. D ecide which poems you want to discuss 4. Make a spider diagram of the points 5. Now order them into paragraphs e.g. E xplain your choice “To start essays” Be R U D E
4. Being RUDE will only come with practice… Compare how ‘Search for my Tongue’ and one other poem from Cluster 2 uses imagery from nature Try to start writing this essay - use all the RUDE steps 5 mins
6. THIS IS A MATTER OF TECHNIQUE and down to the individual. If you analyse both in the same burger, it effectively becomes a double burger (with cheese), so PQEQEC - and this is the most impressive. However, two burgers with a clear link and then comparison is just as good! At the end of the day, as long as you’re communicating your point, it doesn’t matter “ When you write a burger do you analyse the comparisons in the one burger or do a burger on each poem and then compare them?”
8. We’ve just looked at how the way you structure your burgers informs how you compare and contrast your points. Remember, connectives are really useful here: “On the other hand…” “Conversely…” “Bhatt portrays this in a different light…” “Nichols uses a contrasting technique…” “Contrasting burgers”
10. The connectives we’ve just read can be used to connect / link paragraphs together. You can number points: “Secondly…” “Another issue…” You can also use them to finish your essay: “To conclude…” “Finally…” etc “How to link”
11. Have a go yourself… Using your essay plan, try to organise your points and link them together. Think about the connectives you might use and write them by the side. 5 mins
12. So now we’ve got a list of points - what do we do with them? Make sure each point is developed as fully as possible. E.G “In ‘Search for my Tongue’ Sujata Bhatt presents language as vital to her sense of cultural identity. The poet begins by explaining that she is afraid that she has lost her mother tongue, or first language, however, when it returns to her in a dream, indicated by the use of the Gujerati script in the poem, she realises that she can never really lose her ‘tongue’ as it ‘blossoms out of my mouth.’ Here, Bhatt’s use of an extended metaphor, where she compares her language to a flower, effectively reinforces the idea that, for her, belonging to two cultures has been enriching as well as a source of conflict. Grace Nichols also uses natural imagery to represent a connection between her cultural roots and the country where she now lives although in ‘Hurricane Hits England’ it is her experience of a hurricane which reminds the poet of her ‘homeland.’ “ Taking my points into more detail.” “ Expanding quotes.” “ A* burgers”
14. To expand quotes pick one detail from your quote and comment on it in further detail, analysing the word. Which are the words you’d pick to analyse in these quotes? “ I couldn’t rise up out of its fire, / half-English, / unlike Aunt Jamila.” “ Or there were beggars, sweeper-girls / and I was there - / of no fixed nationality.” What is the significance of them?
15. What are the main themes we’ve been looking at? “Main themes”
17. Pick up a sheet from me at the end of the lesson! “ Meanings to the poem words - definitions” / “Big words”
18. Some people have done this very well in their essays. Could someone share with us? “How do you write your own expression in an essay constructively?”
19. THIS IS GENERALLY A MATTER OF PRACTICE To evaluate properly, you need to take each point to its furthest conclusion, so you’re not wasting any material, or repeating yourself later. You also need to say whether it’s effective or not - so adding some personal opinion! Try doing this in your next timed essay… “How to evaluate properly and come to the final analysis”
20. THE CONCLUSION SHOULD GENERALLY DO THE FOLLOWING THINGS: 1. Sum up your argument 2. Demonstrate a personal opinion - whether one poem is better than the other, for example. 3. That’s it - so keep conclusions concise and brief. A maximum of 4 sentences really. “How to conclude the conclusion”
21. FOR NEXT LESSON: Write a timed essay putting into practice some of the things we’ve talked about today. Use the framework to guide you through the essay writing process. Spend just one hour on it. “ I don’t get ‘This Room’ and ‘Love After Love’”
