Essay Advice (1 Viewer)

[indacribs]

If an essay question makes you focus on one theme, should you talk about that theme for the whole essay or can you talk about other things.

For example, I was doing a Hamlet question]

"Hamlet is about the moral dilemma of revenge."

Would i have to discuss the moral dilemma of revenge for the whole essay or can I discuss other things?

Also, if I am allowed to discuss other themes, how do I show the marker I am still answering the question and not giving a pre-prepared essay

 

[juicystar07]

In my opinion, in English, there is no certain structure or way to answer a question. It all depends on how the student interprets the question, as well as the prescribed book.
Considering this is Hamlet, this module is HEAVILY underpinned by the student's interpretation of the text and requires you to dwell a lot into the book, themes, characters, everything!

For instance, if I got that question, I would put emphasis on revenge (i.e revenge for his father) but I would also talk about Laertes revenge because it states "Hamlet" as a play.

Anyway, if I was going to write an essay for this, I would talk about the effect of Christianity in the context of the play and how it was morallly forbidden to kill which is Hamlet's form of revenge, I would talk about how Hamlet is philosophical, he dwells into the philosophical points of his dilemma instead of physically doing something about it --> resulting into his inactivity and dramatic comparison to Fortinbras who is actually doing something.

In essence, as this is from the advice of my teacher who is a HSC marker and who helped me get 20/20 in my trials for Hamlet, make revenge the foundation of your essay, but you can make references and links to other concepts that may bring out revenge, hinder revenge, forbid revenge, you get me?




In short answer for your last question, MAKE LINKS TO THE QUESTION. The more links and references you make to the question, the less it appears to the marker to be a pre-prepared essay.

Hope this helps

 

[Absolutezero]

If an essay question makes you focus on one theme, should you talk about that theme for the whole essay or can you talk about other things.

For example, I was doing a Hamlet question]

"Hamlet is about the moral dilemma of revenge."

Would i have to discuss the moral dilemma of revenge for the whole essay or can I discuss other things?

Also, if I am allowed to discuss other themes, how do I show the marker I am still answering the question and not giving a pre-prepared essay

I would state something like:

It is clear that revenge underpins Hamlet, however, it is evident that this is not the only idea expressed in this complex work, and in order to fully comprehend its power, X and Y must also be considered

 

[indacribs]

i get that, but then in your subsequent paragraphs which are concerned with different ideas/themes, do you need to compare/make mention of revenge.

Also, good sig block lol

 

[Absolutezero]

I'd make the first one about revenge and then the rest about whatever you want.

Then your conclusion is something like "while revenge is a key concept, other factors must be considered as they contribute just as strongly"

 

[Bobbo1]

You definitely have to address the question but feel free to argue against it or to what extent you think it is a play about the moral dilemma of revenge. You may say something along the lines:
-Hamlet IS a play about the moral dilemma of revenge because of...
-What Absolutezero said
-OR: Hamlet IS NOT a play about revenge but rather it is based on....(insert other themes which CONTRADICTS revenge!)

I've seen all lines of arguments achieving high marks and it just depends which direction of attack you choose.

 

[trishanguyen]

Hey indacribs,

I graduated from Ruse in 2011 and I'll tell you this now: Always relate and link to the question throughout your essay!!

What you're asking about ie linking revenge in your thesis and then discussing your other two themes without reference to revenge will not get you good marks and english teachers (especially ruse) know to look for this and call it top&tailing. Always try and link it to the question whether by linking to your pre-prepared themes or arguing that "although Hamlet explores the personal moral dilemmas of revenge, Shakespeare highlights how... blahblah work your own themes in". Make sure to weave this argument throughout your essay.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

I'd start with talking about range but make concessions in your thesis to talk about other things.

Your first thematic paragraph on revenge.

But then for the next ones, link it by saying something along the lines, "The moral dilemmas of characters in facing revenge is further elucidated by the exploration of theme Y etc." or like "Complementary to Shakepeare's exploration of revenge is the supporting idea of theme Z etc."

You're never completely limited to talking about the one theme they pull in a Q, but you should make it the focus of the thesis tying others in skillfully and the first paragraph you bring up to make sure it shows you are answering the question, and not writing your stock pre-planned essay.