Nearly there...

The class just began at 7.15 and we looked at critical essays: the markers’ instructions from 2008 and some actual students’ essays. I gave out 10 essays and we looked at 2, finding ourselves surprised but (I hope) encouraged by the leniency of the marking. We’ll look at the rest next week; we'll also go over the marking of those close reading answers that was the homework for this week.

If you weren’t there yesterday – not many were – and would like these exemplar essays, do email me and I’ll send them as an attachment. I’d really like you to read them and think about them before the class rather than spending time reading them during the class.

I also, cruelly, made the class write a critical essay in 45 minutes. If you weren’t there, please do this for next week, again in a strict 45 minutes. If you were in class, you might like to do the other one at home; or any essay or close reading.

Here are the titles:

Choose a play in which a character is at odds with one or more than one of the people around him or her.

Show how the dramatist makes you aware of the character’s situation and discuss to what extent this led to a greater understanding of the concerns of the play.

and

Choose a poem which presents a character to whom you react with sympathy, dislike or laughter.

Show how the poet arouses this response from you and discuss how important it is to the overall impact of the poem.

Do come along next week if you can.

The final week, the 12th, I imagine you might prefer to stay at home and revise, but I will be there as usual at 5.45 and available for any tuition on request, so do feel free to come that evening too if you want. If no one turns up by 6.15, then I’ll go, but I’m happy to stay if anyone wants to discuss anything to do with English.

Vitamins and revision

Nothing interesting is going to happen from now on, I’m afraid, people!

This week we went over in some detail the answers to the 2008 Close Reading and I gave you out the workshop materials for the 2005 one, together with students’ answers (unmarked). We looked at the question on both passages and considered if any of them strayed from the “2 marks for turning up and writing something” rule. Please take on the mantle of a marker and grade the various attempts at the other questions for next week!

Also consider doing some critical (literature) essays – and do them within 45 minutes!

We also considered the language on the label of Allyson’s Vitamin Water bottle. Remember to practise your analytical skills as you live your life between now and May 15. Read adverts, labels, leaflets, newspaper articles – anything – and look at the sentence structure, word choice and so on.

Next week we shall be loking at some actual students' essays and the marks awarded to them by the SQA, and then doing a timed essays on literature. So come prepared! No more spoon-feeding…

However, the class doesn’t start till 7.15 because some people have to do reassessments. Do some revision….

Happy Easter

Sorry that this is rather a late post.

In our most recent class, we mainly looked at two pieces of writing: one on garden birds and one on Wikipedia. The first was humorous and the second more serious; but both used sentence structure, word choice, imagery etc. Do pause in your reading over the next weeks and ask yourself the sorts of questions that the SQA does – just to give yourself confidence that you do, indeed, know how the question setters will have been thinking.

Homework is the 2008 Close Reading, passage 2. But as well as that, you must revise – look at the Language Skills book if you’re at all uncertain about Close Reading, but also re-read the novel and the play and learn – well, I’d suggest four poems, ideally, off by heart and memorise what there is to say about them. Do also read my notes on the novel and the play and look up the internet – you’ll find lots of other things there, for inspiration and reassurance. Learn quotes: 10 per novel, 10 per play and lots and lots for the poems (which is why it’s easier to learn them off by heart, in my opinion).

Write some literature essays - you choose questions from the past papers and try to write answers in forty-five minutes. It's no good doing a wonderful essay in two hours... I'll happily mark anything you do.

See you on the 21st. Have a good Easter.