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.