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outoftheseawishicouldbe · 10 years ago

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hello there!! how would you recommend studying for english literature? and being more sensitive to texts? is it just a matter of practice?

Hello anon! I am not sure if this is universal but for A’Levels English Lit we are tasked with writing essays that are analytical and discuss general themes (e.g appearance vs reality, individual vs. society etc) or characters within the text so Points 2 and 3 are largely geared towards that. The other points are more generic in nature :)

1. READ the book/text.

A surprising amount of people do not follow this tip. Relying on spark notes is not only inadequate but suicidal.

For book lovers out there, bending the spine of your book make be considered a cardinal sin, but when it comes to A’ Level Literature all bets are off. Bending the spine of your books allows for easier flipping = faster quote-finding (if you need it)

I also find loving the text you are reading, no matter how exhausting and idiotic the main character is (looking at you Othello), is helpful in making you more enthusiastic in looking at the quotes from a more empathetic point of view.

2. Essay arguments = Overarching ideas

Literature is like a lot of other subjects, requires critical analysis of the texts and while you don’t necessarily have to be very argumentative, (as opposed to History essays for example) each point and its paragraph needs to take on an argumentative slant.

For questions such as: “Discuss the role and characterisation of Iago in Othello, relative to his place in the society of the play.”

My three points would be:

1. Iago’s role as a man

2. Iago’s role as a servant/underling

3. Iago’s role as a trusted counsellor

And for each point I construct an argumentative paragraph based on the overarching theme, linking it for instance to how society expected him to behave versus how he actually behaves.

The main thing for this tip is to ensure the overarching points are broad enough to encompass enough evidence like quotes (2 - 3 quotes to support each point/argument) to be used from the text.

3. Ideas and connotations for Quotations

Taking again the example of Iago. My first point was “Iago’s role as a man” and my opening sentence was: “Iago’s role as a man in society exposes his misogynistic character.” To prove this point I used the evidence of where he tells Desdemona: “You rise to play and go to bed to work”

Using this quotation I developed it into a paragraph:

This is evidence of Iago’s role as a man simply exacerbating his wholly superior attitude towards women, in fact his direct addressing of Desdemona in the line: ”You rise to play and go to bed to work” seems like a direct attack towards her sexual privacy, insinuating the woman’s main purpose was to satisfy men. His direct target towards her, despite her elevated status as not only Othello’s wife, but a cultured and elite member of Venetian society highlights Iago’s misogynistic perception towards all women, no matter their social class or personal merits.

Of course, this is not the entire argument paragraph itself. You would probably need 1 - 2 more quotations, developed in a similar format.

4. Connotations are important (a.k.a The curtain is blue, thus the curtain is sad)

Some themes and ideas of certain words can easily be applied to various contexts. For instance the colour ‘white’ is commonly seen to represent purity and innocence, as opposed to ‘black’ being associated with corruption or sin. Words like “bright” or “light” gives the idea of hopefulness, while words like “tattered”, “crumbling” gives the idea of destruction and a feeling of despondency and death.

Granted these examples are not a one size fits all concept and you really need to see the context in which the word is being used before finding the ideas/connotations related to the word.

5. Post-its are your friend + two-timing is a bad idea

When I do notes for my lit texts, I always prefer putting down any ideas I glean from specific quotations onto post-its and paste them on the page itself. This ensures for easy revision as well as familiarises yourself with your text so you know roughly where exactly where each quote is located in the book if you need to refer to it during tests.

I know some people buy two sets of texts so as to directly copy notes on pages itself on the extra textbook but it’s insanely stupid in my opinion. Your text is like your lover, commitment is key. Two timing (in every sense of the word) is bad, be it in relationships or literature textbooks.

6. Highlighting is your best friend

My methodology for highlighting is I highlight quotes by their speaker. This is because when I need to locate quotes fast and I know the general vicinity of each quote lies and my eyes simply need to search for the colour I assigned to the character and voila! (I actually have a specific method to assign highlighter colour to characters but that is just a personal thing)

I know other people highlight via themes/ideas etc which is up to your own personal preference!

7. Practice

I don’t really practice what I preach but this point is important. Practicing sample questions not only develops your writing speed but it also allows you to generate a stock pile of quotes and corresponding explanations which you can simply take out and use during the exam.

Top students in any exam come to the test with a plethora of essays already in their brains. All they need to do is look at the question and tweak what they already know to suit the question.

8. Crash Course Literature

I would recommend Crash Course Literature with John Green if you want some supplementary stuff to your texts. Though what John covers in the show I can’t really use for my essays, the stuff he discusses does help me in understanding my texts a bit better from a more empathetic point of view.

Anyway I hope this helps anon! There is so much I can ramble on about lit, it is something I really love as a subject. :)

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outoftheseawishicouldbe · 10 years ago

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outoftheseawishicouldbe · 10 years ago

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outoftheseawishicouldbe · 10 years ago

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Why you should study almost everyday and do your homework the day it was given to you

Well, first of all: When the teacher teaches something new, this same day the best thing you should do it’s a revison. The new information it’s still fresh in your head, so to keep it this way, you need to review. Read your notes, the textbook and do some exercises and it will help you a lot. The subject will become even easier!

You guys already know it, but procrastination is the worst thing ever. I know when it’s finally Friday you wanna spend your weekend resting, hanging out, stalking people on facebook, playing ping-pong or whatever, but you probably have homework to do. Why? Because you didn’t do it the day it was given to you! So, when you have homework to do, just do it! Don’t be lazy, just think about all that free time you’ll have. Even if some homework was given to you on Friday, do it already after coming back from school, so the rest of your day and weekend will be free!

Also, studying everyday for 2 or 3 hours a day for one week and a half before a exam, it’s so much better than studying for 10 hours one day before! And it’s healthy; studying 10 hours straight (or trying to) will only give you a headache.

The feeling when you’ve done your homework and thinking “one less thing to worry about”. Isn’t it nice? The key to feeling better and doing well at school is being organized, so just scroll down the “studyspo” tags for a few minutes for some motivation and then finish your work!

Yooooo, these are my tips! That’s what I do most of the time, so I’m sure they can be helpful. Just stay focused, strong and don’t give up!

(I was a lazy student. Don’t be a lazy student. You really don’t want it.)

Good luck on your exams! xx (ノ・ω・)ノ･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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outoftheseawishicouldbe · 10 years ago

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