One of the chief purposes of literature is a means of exploring what it is to be human. It is also a way of communicating with others about a huge range of ideas and concerns. Put simply, Literature helps us to understand people, societies, events, culture. It is a chance to discover how literature makes sense of the world through stories, poems, novels and plays.
The beauty that is endowed to any piece of literature is manifested on how the writer logically arranged the details of the story hence; the readers can have a lucid picture of the main idea of the story.
Readers should appreciate the beauty of literature in order to have the benefit of knowing what life is all about. It also makes one more empathetic.
Literature influences us and makes us understand the every walk of life. Narratives, in particular, inspire empathy and give people a new perspective on their lives and the lives of others.
To determine what exists in the scholarly literature. To identify possible gap s in the scholarly literature for further research. To inform the research topic, theory if applicable , and associated methodology. To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic. To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address.
A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. Writing a literature review involves finding relevant publications such as books and journal articles , critically analyzing them, and explaining what you found. There are five key steps: Search for relevant literature. Using this approach does not mean that you have no direction of where your paragraph might end, it just means that you think the subtle ideas of the author can be used in culmination to prove their wider opinion.
The benefit of this approach is that if you are a student that finds that when you try and specify on a couple of key points within a large theme, you end up getting muddled up with the potential number of avenues you could be writing about, this style gives a bit of direction to your writing.
This approach is also helpful when you are trying to link your broader themes together. The main thing to remember in the structure of your body paragraphs — the link between your examples and the broader themes that you bring up should be very much evident to the marker. They should not have to work to find the link between the examples you are bringing up and the points that you are making. Be clear about your opinion, it matters! Here are some tips which will hopefully give you an edge.
Embed quotes from the passages into both your introduction and conclusion and of course, throughout the essay. A good essay evokes the language of the passages so well that the examiner should barely need to refer back to the passages. So, you can see that analysis of the language does not stop even in the conclusion and yet it still ties into the overall interpretation of the text that I have presented throughout the essay.
A good way to incorporate views and values of the author in your writing is to quote things they have said themselves. This may work better for some texts than others but if you find a particularly poetic quote that ties in well with the interpretation you are presenting, then make sure to slip it in. Dropping a relevant quote in from another section of the text demonstrates that you understand the text as a whole.
The originality of your ideas and the quality of your writing come first and foremost, but these are little ways in which you can add a little extra something to your essay.
Over it?! You might be thinking that they best way to study up until the exam is to just churn out essays after essays after essays. This is a common misconception, and may even hurt your chances for the exam. Here are a few tips on how to study for the exam while still keeping your mind activated about Literature! Google critical commentary on your text. These can help you inform your own original and individual interpretation of the text.
Rather than passively reading critical commentary, critique it yourself! Acknowledge and file away its good points, but also form your own stance with whether you agree or disagree with that point of view. Ask yourself why that is your perspective. Developing this critical analysis skill is extremely valuable, and will put you in the mindset for the exam to provide your own original interpretation that pushes the boundaries and the envelop e.
Close your eyes and pick a random a couple of passages from your text. Photocopy them, print them, however you like, but the most important thing is to spend time annotating them in as much detail as possible. Focus on analysing the language for how the author constructs the text to create meaning.
Note sentences that can link to the wider text. This really forces you to analyse the most random passage in the text in extreme detail, which you might have skipped over in class or in your own reading, because it might not have seemed important at the time.
Look through VCAA examiner reports for sample excerpts from high scoring responses. The biggest issue with every literature student in the exam is timing. Time yourself. Practice writing in timed conditions. Be disciplined with your time — going over time for the first essay to include maybe one more good point, is to sacrifice finishing your second essay.
Exams are without a doubt a stressful period of time for all VCE students, and it can be easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with expectations, wanting to prove yourself and balancing the workload of your other exams. Find time to do small things to benefit yourself for the exam without compromising your mental power after a very long marathon. Good luck and believe in yourself! In this guide, I will be explaining two of the key elements to be utilised to create a strong introduction.
Considering these points, your introduction should feature these 2 elements: your personal reading of the text and your interpretation of the passages.
Your personal reading is simply your perception of the text. Though the key facets of the text such as the plot and the characters are generally viewed by the majority in a similar fashion, each student will have their own opinions of the text. This can range from resonating with particular scenes or placing a greater emphasis on a certain concept or relationship.
Your interpretation of the passages is the way in which you view the excerpts given to you. Akin to your personal reading, the core aspects of the passages will likely be viewed similarly by most students, however your point of difference will come from how you perceive the passages suggest views and values and how features and moments contribute to an interpretation factors coming from the criteria.
In terms of structure, try to begin with a sentence or two explaining your personal reading of the text. The key to doing so in a manner befitting Close Analysis however, is to utilise quotes from the passages to supplement your assertion.
This highlights my personal reading of Pygmalion as a whole, supported by quotes from the passages I was provided. To build on this, proceed by writing a sentence or two that demonstrates your interpretation of the passages and how they discuss views and values and create meaning. In these sentences I have commented briefly on the events within the passages and utilised them to exemplify how they are utilised to delve into views and values and create meaning in the overall context of the text.
These factors encompass my interpretation of the passages. Introductions which contain these two key features will score well as they directly target numerous parts of the assessment criteria. This allows students to explicitly outline their overall reading of the text in a style which will efficiently show off your writing skills. Here's the introduction altogether:. This is your ultimate guide to everything you need to know to get started with VCE Literature. We will be covering all the sections within Units 3 and 4, and have included resources that will help improve your skills and make you stand out from the rest of your cohort!
Here's what the VCAA study design states Let's get into it! They investigate ways writers adapt and transform texts and how meaning is affected as texts are adapted and transformed. They consider how the perspectives of those adapting texts may inform or influence the adaptations. Students develop creative responses to texts and their skills in communicating ideas in both written and oral forms. Unit 3 School-assessed Coursework is worth 25 per cent of your total study score!
This task is designed for you to critically analyse and actively engage with the text, understanding its nuances inside and out in order to decipher its meaning. It is the insightful analysis of the subtleties of how meaning is altered that will help you stand out! Here are some important aspects to consider and questions to ask yourself while tackling this SAC:. Most importantly is to share your original interpretation of what meaning and significance you can extract from the text, and how you believe it changes once the form alters.
The most important part of this task is that you must have a highly convincing connection between the original text and your creative response. This aspect of the assessment counts for 10 of the 60 marks available for the Creative Response outcome. The study design further denotes that students must:. To induce the things needed to be included in the reflective commentary, we can look to the key knowledge and key skills points outlined in the study design:.
As you write, ensure you are discussing how the author uses point of view, context, form, elements of construction and stylistic features in their text. It is imperative that you describe how you have similarly used such device in your creative response. Ensure that you also discuss how you are involving the ideas and themes of the text in your creative piece, and how you are discussing them further, or exploring them in greater depth.
Obviously only talk about those that are relevant to your creative response! They investigate literary criticism informing both the reading and writing of texts. You will develop an informed and sustained interpretation supported by close textual analysis. Unit 4 School-assessed Coursework is worth 25 percent of your total study score.
Put simply, literary perspectives are various different lenses used for looking at all texts. Different lenses reveal, highlight and emphasise different notions in each text.
A feminist might look towards the role of women in the text; are they only supporting characters, or do they challenge traditional gender roles?
Cohesion comes from how well you can develop your overall argument. This requires a lot of research and critical readings of the wealth of criticism around the text.
When you read the text, a few notable themes and ideas should be jumping out at you right away, this will be the springboard into understanding the perspectives around the text. Control and effectiveness of language Having control and effective use of language is a criteria present in both sections of Literature. Here're 6 great tips on improving your expression you can watch.
Literary Perspectives Othello Literary Perspectives Essay Breakdown. In plain words, your teacher and eventually examiner in the end of year exam will give you 3 passages from your text.
You'll be asked to read each of these passages, identify key ideas or themes present in each of the passages, and write an essay inresponse. Your end-of-year examination is worth a whopping 50 percent! We've written on the VCE Literature exam before, so check out these resources to get you prepared for the final step before freedom!
Breaking down the VCE lit exam criteria. How to study for literature when you really don't feel like studying for literature.
Last minute study for the literature exam. That is through the reflective commentary, which you can totally score full marks on if you put in the effort. Historical novels are directly grounded in past events and circumstances, but historical context also encompasses how literature reflects or responds to the society in which it was written.
This can manifest as intentional criticism, in which an author addresses a social issue and perhaps argues for change e. However, literature can also unconsciously reflect attitudes or beliefs predominant at the time of composition. Gone with the Wind is a beloved classic, but modern audiences often criticize its sanitized portrayal of slavery.
Literature addresses age-old questions of metaphysics, ethics, and morality. It ponders the purpose of life, the nature of God or the universe, right versus wrong, death, time—the list goes on. Philosophies go in and out of style, and the great literary movements were influenced by philosophies that waxed and waned over time. Romanticism was followed by realism , which was followed by transcendentalism and then naturalism , modernism, postmodernism, and so on.
Allusion is a common demonstration of literary context, in which one text indirectly references another. Literary context also considers how a text fits into broad categories of literature, such as the aforementioned literary movements. Writers use context to engage, inform, and entertain readers. Like most literary tools, moderation is essential when it comes to context. Too much of it can burden a story, rendering it boring or incomprehensible.
Context can be conveyed through just about anything— characterization , setting, backstory, memory, dialogue, and so on. However, specificity is key. They can also incorporate specific details to better anchor a story in a particular time or place.
Spread the Word. Download a Free Poster. Download and print a poster to promote your titles in your school or library. The Editors at Salem Press. Introduction to Literary Context: English Literature provides richly detailed essays on significant works of English Literature. Coverage includes the most studied works of English Literature, both historical and contemporary, in high school and undergraduate college literature programs.
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