A2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND
LITERATURE
ELLA 4: Comparative Analysis through Independent Study
THE COURSEWORK GUIDE
The requirements for the coursework:
·
You
must compare TWO writers in your
coursework essay.
·
ONE of these writers MUST
be a poet.
·
You
may choose to compare two different poets OR
compare one poet’s writing with a prose fiction text (novel or short story) OR a play. When discussing a poet’s writing you should
aim to consider about 2 / 3 poems per poet; with prose fiction or a play aim to
consider about 2 / 3 key extracts. (NB
the aim is to write a close analytical comparison; you must write a lot
about a little!)
·
You
must write a minimum of 2000 and a maximum of 2500 words.
·
You
must submit a FIRST DRAFT to your
teacher who will then offer guidance and advice about how to develop and
improve your essay on a 1 to 1 basis.
This will include annotations to your essay and a discussion.
·
You
must then work independently on your FINAL
DRAFT. You may discuss an aspect of the texts you are comparing or an aspect of
your essay with your teacher but there must be no further written feedback or
advice.
·
Your
final draft must be submitted with:
1. the essay with a signed coversheet
2. the first draft with your teacher’s
notes /advice
3. copies of the texts discussed in the
essay (this can be your annotated copies of poems) including photocopies of key
extracts from fiction or play texts.
DEADLINES
|
DATE
|
Coursework
essay title decided
|
w.b. 9
December 2013
|
Completed
detailed essay plan, thesis, start drafting
|
w.b. 16
December 2013
|
Christmas Break
|
First
draft essay deadline
|
by Fri 10 Jan 2014
|
First
drafts returned and 1 to 1 appointments from
|
Between 17
– 24
Jan 2014
|
Coursework
deadline
|
Thursday 13 February 2014
|
·
You MUST meet the deadline for the final
draft. Late submissions will not be accepted without a medical certificate of
illness or other exceptional circumstances notified by your parent / guardian.
·
PLAGIARISM: you must not copy anything
from critical essays or study guides you may have read about your chosen
writers. You sign a declaration that the essay is all your own work. Coursework marks are cancelled if plagiarism
is found by AQA. If plagiarism is found
in your essay before it is sent to AQA (by your own teacher or by others
in the English team during moderation) you will have to rewrite your coursework
essay in examination conditions with the English Section Manager; you will only
have access to the texts and handwritten notes made in lessons.
The ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES FOR ELLA 4 COURSEWORK
AO1 select and
apply relevant concepts and approaches from integrated linguistic study using
appropriate terminology and accurate written expression. (you
need to be able to use appropriate specialist concepts and literary and
linguistic terminology to write about literary texts AND write clearly,
precisely and accurately.)
30 marks
AO3 use
integrated approaches to explore relationships between texts, analysing and
evaluating the significance of contextual factors in their production and
reception. (you need to evaluate and interpret texts using your linguistic and
literary understanding AND compare texts - which might include some relevant
social / cultural / historical contexts). 30
marks
Advice
for successful coursework:
Title: make sure that the title you
decide on (with guidance from your teacher) begins with the words: “Compare the ways in which …. “ and does not
have too broad a focus for comparison. A
good title has a clear/ sharp focus for comparison:
e.g. “Compare the ways in
which Heaney and Friel depict conflict in relationships in ‘Selected
Poems’ and ‘Translations’.”
OR
“Compare the ways in which Larkin and Blake portray
urban and rural environments in their poetry.”
Introduction and Thesis: You should name and introduce the key
writers you will be analysing. Make sure you
establish a clear and interesting thesis in the opening paragraph. A ‘thesis’ here means a proposition (or key
idea which links your chosen texts) which you intend to prove through your
argument. This will expand upon and
explain the title. You need to sustain a
logical investigation of that thesis throughout the essay i.e. refer back to
your title and thesis to build up your argument.
e.g. Both William
Blake and Philip Larkin offer portrayals of both urban and rural life in their
collections of poetry ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ and ‘The Whitsun
Weddings’. Blake presents the clarity and continuity of rural lives as
opposed to Larkin’s view of the complexity
of life and the powerlessness of individuals within large cities such as London
or Hull.
Relevance: Firstly, make sure the key theme of your thesis is
properly illustrated by the texts you have chosen. Then make sure to select a range of apt
quotations to illustrate the points you wish to make to build your argument and
support your original thesis. This will show clearly in your paragraph plan,
which will show a series of key topics and the key evidence you will
discuss
e.g. (just
2 paragraphs here – you will need several!)
Key point
|
Evidence to analyse and discuss
|
Blake
values dignity/ beauty of rural life similar to
Larkin
sees nature offering inspiration /. Freedom / tranquillity
|
The
Echoing Green: “the sun does arise etc
......’ - innocence / happiness. “green”
“skylark” etc -
Here:
“unfenced, out of reach” ... no
restrictions / endless space
|
Blake
– London as crowded and haunted contrasts with his Echoing Green
|
City
– “sigh” and “curse”
E. Green
“laugh away care”
|
Comparison: you need to sustain a balanced comparison of the
methods of the two writers and relate that clearly to the theme chosen. This
means that you compare the texts throughout the essay – don’t write about them
separately or one-by-one. Sometimes it will be
straightforward to link / compare an aspect of two texts in one paragraph. At other times you may need to devote a whole
paragraph or even two paragraphs to make some well-developed analytical points
about one writer’s choice and use of language and their effects. But you must regularly make
comparative links between the texts you have chosen.
e.g. a paragraph which compares 2 writers:
Blake valued rural
life and often writes of its dignity, as in the second poem from ‘Songs of
Innocence and Experience’, ‘Echoing Green’.
He portrays the idea of innocence reflected in nature within the village
with ‘The sun doth rise, And make happy the skies’ carrying strong connotations
of life, happiness and prosperity.
Blake, as in many other works, adopts a simple style of writing in order
to reflect his ideology that simple village life holds importance. The poem continues to evoke the innocence of
the natural environment through his diction such as ‘green’, ‘skylark’ and
‘bush’. The image of villages welcoming
‘the spring’ transfers the season’s connotations of growth, life and rebirth to
the villages themselves and sound imagery links the celebratory atmosphere and
liveliness of the village: ‘Bells sing louder’ and ‘cheerful sound’ with the
mood of nature. Larkin presents a
similar idea of nature offering inspiration and a chance to listen to your own
voice in “Here” through his description of outer coastal areas. “Here is
unfenced existence: Facing the sun, untalkative, out of reach.’ Larkin, unlike
Blake, emphasises silence as accompanying freedom and tranquillity in nature.
Larkin’s use of diction in ‘unfenced’ and ‘out of reach’ carry strong
connotations of no restrictions and endless space which is mirrored in rural
environments.
e.g. a paragraph which focuses on 1 writer:
Blake’s “London” employs
natural imagery but portrays the city as crowded and haunted by using sound
imagery such as ‘cry’, ‘sigh’ and ‘curse’ all of which suggest suffering. However, there is no such suffering in “The
Echoing Green” where ‘Old John with white hair, Does laugh way care, Sitting
under the oak’. The symbolism of age and kinship in the oak and the white head
convey dignity. John is retired and yet still part of the community. Blake presents village as places of natural
growth ‘Such were the joys / When we all, girls and boys / In our youth time
were seen / On the echoing green” portrays children growing up, leading that
same rural life and finally sitting ‘under the oak’ watching the next
generation themselves. This reinforces a
sense of unchanging community through the generations, resisting the pressures
of the ever changing materialistic city of ‘London’. Blake’s repeated epithet of “On the Echoing
Green” emphasises the importance of the ‘green’ to the community and its colour
as a symbol of growth and life.
Use of Frameworks: select from a range of literary and
linguistic terms in order to analyse the texts and demonstrate how the writers
have created their effects. (see above examples). YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THIS
DURING YOUR CLASS STUDY OF ALL THE TEXTS!
It is important to plan to use a
good range of analytical ‘tools’ – from exploring the ‘word’ level of the texts
to the use of metaphor / symbolism. BUT do not treat this as a
list to be ‘ticked off’. Every point made about linguistic / literary devices
MUST BE DEVELOPED BY A DISCUSSION OF THE EFFECT
- IMAGES AND IDEAS CREATED.
Context: you need to contextualise the material chosen
intelligently. Contextual comment should have a direct bearing on the argument
of the essay where the context has an important influence on the language
choice of the writer. You must avoid
unnecessary biographical detail about the writers which adds little to show
your understanding / analytical skill.
