Things to Remember!

 

When you are writing your essay there are a number of things that you must remember to do if you are going to achieve top marks.

 

PEE-ing

·         First and foremost – do not forget to PEE. You really must do this.

·         You must use multiple quotations to support the point that you are making.

·         You must try to explore in detail how the poet has made careful word choices to create a specific effect and explain how exactly those wors create the effect that they do.

 

Focus on the issue

·         The focus of your essay should be on the impression created of war. Your main points should all refer to this in some way.

 

Explain yourself

·         You must not just point out that certain poetic devices / word choices are used. You must go on to explain what effect these choices have and, most importantly, how these choices have the effect that they do.

·         Remember that Owen is in charge of the choices made in his poem and that he has made these choices to create a certain impression on us.

·         When you are explaining why Owen has made different choices in his poem you should talk about the impressions that these choices create about war.

·         When explaining why Owen has made a certain choice you should generally not give ‘to make it more exciting / interesting’ or ‘to capture the audiences’ attention’ as reasons. These are some of the reasons that influence poets but they do not tell us anything about war so they should not feature largely in your essay.

 

Choose good points

·         You should choose a small number (5 - 6) of main points and develop these in as much detail as possible. See the ‘Choosing Good Points’ document on this webpage for advice on how to create a well developed point.