Help! Smart people only! (1 Viewer)

[poisonshot]

Is this right or wrong? Like do i use past tense or present tense..?
"At the beginning of the novel, Billy DOESN'T belong at home... As the story progresses, he feels... At the end, he feels..."

So, do i use past tense like when i say " at the beginning of the novel, Billy didn't/ doesn't belong at home?
Should i use doesn't or didn't?

 

[nifkeh]

you can't come to the conclusion that they're telling the story immediately if you haven't seen the essay...

anyway I would use 'doesn't' instead of didn't, at least that's what I did in my belonging speech and generally what I would do in an essay

 

[girlworld_club]

bad idea to relate billy Elliot to belonging since it is a prescribed text in another module.

 

[nifkeh]

^ yeah, you shouldn't use a prescribed text in any module of english whether it's extension or advanced or esl or standard as a related because.. your marks will be really low because they think you didn't bother to find a 'proper' related text

so you should find a different one before it's too late

 

[poisonshot]

thanks. I thought 'doesn't' sounded gramatically incorrect.

 

[SanjoyM]

Instead of using "doesn't" or "didn't", I would suggest that you rephrase your sentence - Initially, Billy lacks a sense of belonging - something like this!
Also, in HSC English, NEVER EVER use "didn't" - write it out as "did not"! Markers can be VERY pedantic, so be very careful.

 

[SanjoyM]

Or you could use: Through the striking contrast between Billy's distored filial bond, against his newfound relationships with Old Bill and Caitly, the role of positive relationships in bearing fruition to the individual's sense of self-value is illuminated.

 

[Omnipotence]

you can't come to the conclusion that they're telling the story immediately if you haven't seen the essay...

anyway I would use 'doesn't' instead of didn't, at least that's what I did in my belonging speech and generally what I would do in an essay

I wouldn't use contractions in any essay.

 

[poisonshot]

Thanks for the advice. I will take that in mind.

 

[SanjoyM]

Yes, avoid contractions, be overt and formulate writing with stylistic finesse! Good luck

 

[Amaranth_]

Just a general pointer, without having looked at the previous posts.

Never use contractions, always use the full word. IE 'did not' instead of 'didn't

 

[Delta Education]

Another general tip - Try to keep the same tense throughout your speech/essay/etc. Regardless of whether you end up deciding to go with past or present, or the active or passive voice, just try to keep your style consistent!