50 in English, available for queries :)

[Vermilliona]

Hey Lauren, thanks for all your replies so far, they've been immensely helpful! Just a quick question, for text response, do you think it's advisable/helpful to describe the style of one write in terms of another's (in like the introduction or just mentioning it in passing when talking about a bigger point)? I'm studying Brooklyn by Colm Toibin at the moment, and he's heavily influenced by Henry James and uses a Jamesian style to bring out the moral ambiguity in the actions of his characters, so I just want to make sure it's ok to describe the style like this? I would probably go into more detail after using that description though, elaborating on what Jamesian style is. Thanks in advance!

[literally lauren]

Chang Feng:
Corrected L.A. is attached. I'd recommend consulting some study guides at this stage. Your actual analysis was quite good, but it got lost in the structure and phrasing. I've posted a general L.A. guide back in about the 2nd/3rd page of this thread, and there are other people who've had similar trouble with strategies that I've responded to, so maybe browse through those.

[literally lauren]

Rishi,
Don't stress too much about exam preparation. If you've done the SAC and are moving on in class then just go with the flow. BUT if retention is an issue, then maybe some summary notes would do you good. My recommendation is to have two different quote repositories: one ordered by characters (eg. one for Scrooge, one for Tiny Tim etc. Can be quotes from them or about them, or both) and then another for themes (eg. greed, kindness, charity etc.)
Once you're familiar with the text it's just a matter of dealing with prompt types. I don't know who's in charge of the Christmas Carol prompts at the end of the year, but they LOVE their Views and Values questions (eg. 'Dickens presents a negative critique of Victorian society' or 'The audience never truly dislike Scrooge.') Find what you're comfortable with (out of character, thematic, quote, structural, and V&V themes) practice a few of them, and then move on to the difficult ones. Hopefully by the time the exam comes you'll be prepared for whatever they throw at you
Like I said though, focus on what you're doing in class for the moment. These holidays will be good for revising and collating notes, but ultimately there's a reason schools do things in a certain order at certain times, and the other two tasks will require just as much dedication, so be sure to pace yourself

[literally lauren]

Photon,
I can't help if I don't know what the problem is 
Put simply: there is no structure for context, let alone for creative pieces. You sort of have to adhere to the general conventions of whatever form you're choosing (ie. starting a letter with 'Dear...') but beyond that there's really no guidelines. Experiment heaps to find what works for you, if you want to post some of your work I might be able to give more specific advice.

[Einstein]

Alright, thats fine. Its Holiday HW , so ill do one first week holidays give you something to look at. thanks

[literally lauren]

Vermilliona,
Yes that sounds fine, but make sure you make it REALLY clear who you're talking about. Maybe phrasing it like "Toibin appropriates/adapts a similar --technique-- as Henry James' novel ___" But only do this if you're making a larger point, like "however where James' hero is __, Toibin's is comparatively __ instead" or something. Basically don't just show off you're well-read, do so in a way that will earn you credit This could be particularly good for a Views and Values or even structural style prompt, but don't force it in where it doesn't belong.
Tbh it's hardly the sort of thing that would impact your mark at all, but if you do it badly it might annoy one of those rare assessors who doesn't read and resents people who do... yes, they exist.
Provided you explain yourself adequately and it's all relevant you should be fine

[Rishi97]

Rishi,
Don't stress too much about exam preparation. If you've done the SAC and are moving on in class then just go with the flow. BUT if retention is an issue, then maybe some summary notes would do you good. My recommendation is to have two different quote repositories: one ordered by characters (eg. one for Scrooge, one for Tiny Tim etc. Can be quotes from them or about them, or both) and then another for themes (eg. greed, kindness, charity etc.)
Once you're familiar with the text it's just a matter of dealing with prompt types. I don't know who's in charge of the Christmas Carol prompts at the end of the year, but they LOVE their Views and Values questions (eg. 'Dickens presents a negative critique of Victorian society' or 'The audience never truly dislike Scrooge.') Find what you're comfortable with (out of character, thematic, quote, structural, and V&V themes) practice a few of them, and then move on to the difficult ones. Hopefully by the time the exam comes you'll be prepared for whatever they throw at you
Like I said though, focus on what you're doing in class for the moment. These holidays will be good for revising and collating notes, but ultimately there's a reason schools do things in a certain order at certain times, and the other two tasks will require just as much dedication, so be sure to pace yourself

Thanks heaps Lauren.... we haven't had our sac yet so I just wanted to make these notes so that I could easily extract information when working on different prompts. But your advice was very helpful and I will definetly be taking it on board. Once again a big thank you from me and all the AN community

[Jason12]

what is a juxtaposition and could you give an example of how to effectively use it in language analysis?

[Yacoubb]

what is a juxtaposition and could you give an example of how to effectively use it in language analysis?

When you contrast two things.

E.g. The writer juxtaposes the living conditions of the rich with the living conditions of the poor, to reinforce how dire the circumstances of the poor truly are.

[darklight]

How would you recommend constructing a conclusion for a comparative analysis? Should we restate the contention or not? Thanks

[literally lauren]

How would you recommend constructing a conclusion for a comparative analysis? Should we restate the contention or not? Thanks

Conclusions are structural requirements, and realistically, you don't get any marks for it. BUT you might get an assessor who abhors anything remotely unconventional and will mark you down if you don't do one properly. It's also the final impression you'll make on your assessor, so best to nail down the structure early on. I wouldn't recommend restating the contention unless you have absolutely nothing else to say. A simple: "The author's palpable appeals to __ and __ are particularly effective for an audience of __ given the context of __" will suffice. But the best conclusions will endeavour to say something about how language is used overall. Try to summarise strategies without redundantly listing: "The author uses __, __, and __ to persuade us..." You can also comment on who is likely to be persuaded by a certain device or appeal. If you feel you need to quickly rehash the contention to do this, then that's fine, there's no hard and fast rule, but your essay should be constantly tying in the contention with your analysis, so you probably won't need to bring it up again.
That said, (and this goes for all advice I give on here) check with your teacher. Primarily because they'll be the ones marking your SACs, and its better that you buckle under their way for now, and just consider this advice as exam prep instead

[literally lauren]

Hey all,
I've collated the attachments I've put up so far in the very first post so they're in one easily accessed place to refer back to, rather than you having to trawl through all the other posts and comments.
Happy studying

[Einstein]

Hey Lauren, in regards to a LA how do you go about approaching it? What do I do/what not to do? Is their a specific template / way you like to structure it?

Thanks

[literally lauren]

aha! I knew this would start soon, refer back to the very first post, I've attached a basic guide there. But be careful with the formulae; this goes for all essays, not just L.A. By all means check some how-to stuff to help, just know that the assessors are pretty good at identifying a formulaic template response when they see one, so use the guides for now, but as you build up your confidence you should try to move beyond them. I've also written quite a bit on here about the to dos/don'ts of L.A. and advice on paragraph structures, so consult them first. Feel free to ask any more questions if you're still unsure

[zeiinaaa]

Hey, do you possibly still have any of the essays you've written? I just want to see what kind of level of writing a person should be at, in order to achieve a high mark in English!