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Author Topic: QCE English Questions Thread  (Read 34151 times)

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s110820

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #60 on: February 17, 2021, 08:51:14 am »
+4
Hey Everyone,
I was just looking for some feedback on this paragraph I have written for my comparison of The Crucible and In the Name of the Father analytical essay. Any feedback on content or grammar would be greatly appreciated.
My draft feedback said that I lacked information on the cultural assumptions, so this is the paragraph I have written to try and address this.

The events at the time of the legal proceedings provoked the hysterical environment that influenced the legal proceedings. At the time prior to the Guildford pub bombing, the Irish Republican Army had been launching an array of terrorist attacks against England. The threat of the IRA at the time “struck deep into the British people’s sense of security”, placing immense pressure on the legal system. The film uses archival footage, footage of the real events occurring, to further portray the hysterical environment. Furthermore, the British government was losing the control of their people, causing panic within the members of the government, as was the case for Inspector Dixon. As well as this, the introduction of the Terrorism Act, provided Dixon with “quite extraordinary powers of democracy”. Likewise, in “The Crucible”, the Puritan beliefs of the townspeople lead to the convictions based on spectral evidence. In this Puritan society, governed by religious doctorination, the beliefs of supernatural beings were a reality. As a result, the threat of witchcraft applied increased pressure for the legal system to act. In both legal systems, the events and beliefs at the time contributed to the mass hysteria in the environment.

Thanks for the help

Hey Hermannm21,

Here’s my feedback for you:

The events at the time of the legal proceedings provoked the hysterical environment that influenced the legal proceedings.

As someone who has no context of what your texts are about or their significance, this sentence particularly confuses me as I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Don’t worry, a lot of students face this problem too so you’re not the only one but your topic sentence should consist of your thesis and your preview statement.

What “legal proceedings” are you talking about exactly? How was the environment “hysterical”? What events? Make your topic as specific and as relevant as possible to your preview point and your thesis.

And also, I would recommend only using the phrase “legal proceedings” once in your topic sentence as it makes it too clunky, and often confusing to read. I would recommend taking out the first “legal proceedings”

Try rewriting your topic sentence and make it as specific as possible to your thesis and preview.


At the time prior to the Guildford pub bombing, the Irish Republican Army had been launching an array of terrorist attacks against England.

There’s also a similar problem here - yes, you’re providing some context which is great but this sentence is supposed to further build (and support) a solid foundation to your topic sentence.

But currently, these two sentences are not flowing well. Try using a “connecting” word or phrase to smooth sail to your next sentence and tie in the context of your first sentence with your second sentence.

For example, how does the “legal proceedings” and the “hysterical environment” (first sentence) relate to “the Guildford pub bombing” and the “Irish Republican army” and their “array of terrorist attacks”?

The amount of context you have depends on the criteria of your task though - if your audience is familiar with the texts, then you won’t need to but if your audience is unfamiliar with the texts, then you may need to write one or two more sentences of context if need be.


The threat of the IRA at the time “struck deep into the British people’s sense of security”, placing immense pressure on the legal system.

As I’m assuming that this is the first quote you’re going to analyse, as your audience, I would really love to see more depth in this sentence as you’re introducing this quote.

For example, you could try flipping around this sentence and adding a little bit more nuance to this sentence to really engage the readers and maintain their interest. You could try this sentence:

Even so, immense pressure was mounted on the legal system as the threat of the IRA “struck deep into the British people’s sense of security” which essentially forebode their fate as a nation.


The film uses archival footage, footage of the real events occurring, to further portray the hysterical environment.

I get where you’re going with this but technically, you’re not actually analysing anything here. Rather than just stating that the film does this and that, you need to explore the aspects of the texts in a lot more depth.

Think about it like you’re going for a swim in the ocean - as you tread into the water, this first stage (introducing the quote and the context) is where you get comfortable with the rift of waves and maintain your balance.

Then, as you gradually move further into the water, the water itself will get a lot deeper (using your quote (or in the case, the rift of the ocean) to stay afloat and not drift away from where you want to be).

As I said more, rather than just stating facts, analysing texts is about getting into deeper waters - exploring the specific, often different places (or in this case aspects of the texts, the techniques that the film uses and their significance as well), most of which may be out of your comfort zone.

My point is, a film is a lot more than just “archival footage” - what makes films significant are their camera angles, mis-en-scene, authorial (or in this case directorial) intentions and types of shots to portray a particular emotion or thought.

So please talk more about camera angles, mis-en-scene, authorial/directorial intentions and the types of camera shots, as well as their significance more often in your essay.

But if you do choose to talk about the “archival footage” - please explore this in more depth, explain the significance/purpose of this feature and why the director may have used archival footage.


Furthermore, the British government was losing the control of their people, causing panic within the members of the government, as was the case for Inspector Dixon.

Again, for me personally, there does seem to be some discrepancy (and lack of understanding) when I read this sentence, as I’m not familiar with your text or the criteria of your task.

As I’m not sure whether your audience would be knowledgeable of your texts or not, I would usually say provide more context but I would recommend checking with your teacher first.

However, you (still) haven’t technically made a point yet. I hate to sound rude or anything, but at the moment, your paragraph doesn’t have a backbone yet. There’s nothing to support the foundation of your paragraph so at the moment, it kinda looks like a bunch of sentences squished together.

But my point is, even as I’m nearing the end of your paragraph, as a reader, I still have no idea what you’re talking about or what your point is.

Hence, I would recommend using my advice above, and tread into deeper waters with your analysis, as well as plan your essay from scratch.

I know it may seem like a bit of a hassle, but I really feel like that this would be the best step for you before you continue writing more.

Plan out each and every paragraph (including your intro and your conclusion). Step out each and everything you’re going to say using dot points. Trust me, it’ll help you in the long run.


As well as this, the introduction of the Terrorism Act, provided Dixon with “quite extraordinary powers of democracy”.

Similarly, I also have a few questions that I think you should answer in this sentence:

What is the Terrorism Act? Why was it created (and enforced)? Who does it protect?
Who  is this fellow Dixon that you’re talking about?
How does Dixon relate to the story and what’s his significance to the text?

Also, in terms of this sentence, I would also recommend shuffling this sentence around. Maybe it could look something like this:

Dixon, who according to [whoever said this quote e.g. the British public] was blessed with the “quite extraordinary powers of democracy”, which, without a doubt, was inherently due to the introduction of the Terrorist Act of [insert year here].

But also, what does this got to do with anything? What is the point you’re trying to make? Please elaborate as you can’t leave a child (in this case a quote) stranded in the middle of a supermarket (which in this case happens to be your essay).

Essentially, once you introduce a quote, you cannot leave it to fend for itself. You need to make a point out of it.


Likewise, in “The Crucible”, the Puritan beliefs of the townspeople lead to the convictions based on spectral evidence.

What is “The Crucible”? Who was it written by and when? You need to introduce these facts as you introduce a text. It’s like that “leaving a kid in a supermarket” analogy. You can’t just leave the readers hanging - especially if they aren’t familiar with a text.

What is a Puritan? What is their social and cultural relevance? How does this shape and influence the story?
Maybe you could give one or two sentences providing some historical insight.

Also, I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “spectral” - are you trying to say that certain people are oblivious to the evidence or something else?


In this Puritan society, governed by religious doctorination, the beliefs of supernatural beings were a reality. As a result, the threat of witchcraft applied increased pressure for the legal system to act.

This is actually a really good sentence! However, rather than saying that the “beliefs of supernatural beings were a reality” I would recommend saying that “the presence of supernatural beings in reality was a common belief within society.

Also, what legal system did they have in Puritan society? Is this similar to the one they have in your other text? Or is it different? Compare and contrast if possible.


In both legal systems, the events and beliefs at the time contributed to the mass hysteria in the environment.

In your concluding sentence, I would recommend using a connecting word such as “hence” or “thus” to really tie your paragraph together.

However, in your paragraph you never directly mentioned how the events and beliefs at the time contributed to the mass hysteria in the environment, which means that you can’t really conclude with your paragraph without discussing this first.


Hopefully, this helps :)
« Last Edit: February 17, 2021, 10:14:39 am by s110820 »
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JerryMouse2019

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #61 on: March 07, 2021, 07:14:41 pm »
+1
How long (as in days) should it take for me to memorise or at least rehearse a 5-6 minute speech properly?

If I'm going to use palm cards then how big should the font size be and how many sentences per palm card should I have?
QCE Class of 2021: English | General Maths | Business | Economics | Legal Studies | Digital Solutions

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s110820

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #62 on: March 07, 2021, 09:30:32 pm »
+2
How long (as in days) should it take for me to memorise or at least rehearse a 5-6 minute speech properly?

If I'm going to use palm cards then how big should the font size be and how many sentences per palm card should I have?

Hey Jerry,

Sorry for the slightly late reply but it ultimately depends on how confident you feel about your school. As an introvert with social anxiety (legit the worse combo imaginable), I would dedicate at least two weeks prior to my presentation day to practice my speech as practicing it for longer made me feel more comfortable on presentation day.

If you're a pretty confident person, I would recommend probably around a week before your presentation day. But do whatever makes you feels comfortable. As for flashcards, I would make the font pretty big (maybe one or two sizes above the standard size of "12" or "14") but again, I would definitely recommend experimenting prior to your presentation day.

Also, don't have huge chunks of text on your flashcards, do dot-points instead (maybe 3-4 lines maximum).

Hopefully, that helps :)

Good luck for your presentation and have a great week,

Darcy Dillon.
QUT 2021 - Bachelor of Education (Primary).

justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #63 on: May 20, 2021, 07:39:20 pm »
0
Hi, I was just wondering whether anyone could help me with FA1. My teacher had swapped FA2 and FA1 so we had done FA2 in term 1 already. I really struggle with English and apparently, this is the hardest assessment piece of the year. :((. My teacher also went on long service leave for 4 weeks and no one in my class knew what to do. Our assignment was also handed out a week late :((. We have to compare and contrast The Great Gatsby and another text, I chose The Greatest Showman to answer the question how are dreams and aspirations represented in the texts and for what effect? We also have to relate why the Great Gatsby is still a relevant novel to contemporary readers. I'm very confused at the moment because I'm not too sure how to structure the essay, especially the body paragraphs. Any help would be greatly appreciated :))

s110820

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #64 on: May 21, 2021, 09:52:43 am »
+2
Hi, I was just wondering whether anyone could help me with FA1. My teacher had swapped FA2 and FA1 so we had done FA2 in term 1 already. I really struggle with English and apparently, this is the hardest assessment piece of the year. :((. My teacher also went on long service leave for 4 weeks and no one in my class knew what to do. Our assignment was also handed out a week late :((. We have to compare and contrast The Great Gatsby and another text, I chose The Greatest Showman to answer the question how are dreams and aspirations represented in the texts and for what effect? We also have to relate why the Great Gatsby is still a relevant novel to contemporary readers. I'm very confused at the moment because I'm not too sure how to structure the essay, especially the body paragraphs. Any help would be greatly appreciated :))

Hey justsomerandom21,

First of all, I think that the texts that you have chosen would be a great choice for comparison as while these texts may not seem that similar on the outside, these texts do actually have quite a few themes in common! What I would recommend doing is to first be familiar with your texts - if you haven't done so already, take the time to read The Great Gatsby, recognise and understand the stylistic devices and the aesthetic features, find some interesting quotes and annotate those quotes. Then watch The Greatest Showman, note down the interesting mis-en-scene, camera angles, types of shots and the themes/morals of the film etc. and consider how these would relate to your question.

The two most important parts of this type of assessment are as follows: your ability to understand the texts and your ability to explain how regardless of the differences these main texts might have, how these texts may overlap and relate to each other. You need to make connections between the texts so try making a mind map and link as much as you can from both of the texts together (but do so meaningfully as it's pretty easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything is the same or nothing is similar). Try making a quote bank and analyse the quotes/film shots.

Hopefully, that helps but I would be more than happy to give you some more specific tips if you need :)

Have a great weekend and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.
QUT 2021 - Bachelor of Education (Primary).

s110820

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #65 on: May 21, 2021, 09:53:52 am »
+1
Hi, I was just wondering whether anyone could help me with FA1. My teacher had swapped FA2 and FA1 so we had done FA2 in term 1 already. I really struggle with English and apparently, this is the hardest assessment piece of the year. :((. My teacher also went on long service leave for 4 weeks and no one in my class knew what to do. Our assignment was also handed out a week late :((. We have to compare and contrast The Great Gatsby and another text, I chose The Greatest Showman to answer the question how are dreams and aspirations represented in the texts and for what effect? We also have to relate why the Great Gatsby is still a relevant novel to contemporary readers. I'm very confused at the moment because I'm not too sure how to structure the essay, especially the body paragraphs. Any help would be greatly appreciated :))

Hey justsomerandom21,

First of all, I think that the texts that you have chosen would be a great choice for comparison as while these texts may not seem that similar on the outside, these texts do actually have quite a few themes in common! What I would recommend doing is to first be familiar with your texts - if you haven't done so already, take the time to read The Great Gatsby, recognise and understand the stylistic devices and the aesthetic features, find some interesting quotes and annotate those quotes. Then watch The Greatest Showman, note down the interesting mis-en-scene, camera angles, types of shots and the themes/morals of the film etc. and consider how these would relate to your question.

The two most important parts of this type of assessment are as follows: your ability to understand the texts and your ability to explain how regardless of the differences these main texts might have, how these texts may overlap and relate to each other. You need to make connections between the texts so try making a mind map and link as much as you can from both of the texts together (but do so meaningfully as it's pretty easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything is the same or nothing is similar). Try making a quote bank and analyse the quotes/film shots.

Hopefully, that helps but I would be more than happy to give you some more specific tips if you need :)

Have a great weekend and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.
QUT 2021 - Bachelor of Education (Primary).

justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #66 on: May 21, 2021, 10:18:09 am »
0
Hey justsomerandom21,

First of all, I think that the texts that you have chosen would be a great choice for comparison as while these texts may not seem that similar on the outside, these texts do actually have quite a few themes in common! What I would recommend doing is to first be familiar with your texts - if you haven't done so already, take the time to read The Great Gatsby, recognise and understand the stylistic devices and the aesthetic features, find some interesting quotes and annotate those quotes. Then watch The Greatest Showman, note down the interesting mis-en-scene, camera angles, types of shots and the themes/morals of the film etc. and consider how these would relate to your question.

The two most important parts of this type of assessment are as follows: your ability to understand the texts and your ability to explain how regardless of the differences these main texts might have, how these texts may overlap and relate to each other. You need to make connections between the texts so try making a mind map and link as much as you can from both of the texts together (but do so meaningfully as it's pretty easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything is the same or nothing is similar). Try making a quote bank and analyse the quotes/film shots.

Hopefully, that helps but I would be more than happy to give you some more specific tips if you need :)

Have a great weekend and kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

Thanks so much Darcy. Do you have any tips on making my essay flow, I tend to write very explicitly and it doesn't really flow very well. Thanks in advance and have a great weekend as well.

Kind regards,
justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #67 on: October 06, 2021, 08:31:12 pm »
0
Hi friends,
I'm struggling with my FA4 for English. Our text is Macbeth and as you know we have to answer an unseen question in exam conditions. Does anyone have any advice on how to remember important quotes and to structure the essay? Also what types of quotes would I be looking for? I'm worried that I will only remember a few quotes that won't even be relevant to the question when I get in there  :'(.

Thanks,
justsomerandom21.

literally lauren

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #68 on: October 07, 2021, 09:25:46 pm »
+3
Hi friends,
I'm struggling with my FA4 for English. Our text is Macbeth and as you know we have to answer an unseen question in exam conditions. Does anyone have any advice on how to remember important quotes and to structure the essay? Also what types of quotes would I be looking for? I'm worried that I will only remember a few quotes that won't even be relevant to the question when I get in there  :'(.

Thanks,
justsomerandom21.

Hi random!

The unseen exam question is definitely the scary part of English, but there's lots of smart ways to prepare for it! Learning quotes, as you've mentioned, is one of the most important, but rather than feeling like you have to memorise half the play, go through your quote bank (or set one up if you haven't already - go through the play and any online/in-class resources, picking out the important lines. You can use things like Sparknotes or Quizlet to get you started). Find the quotes that could be used for multiple themes - e.g. Lady Macbeth telling her husband to "look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't" is a great quote for the theme of deception, but you could also use it to discuss guilt, appearances vs. reality, gender, power, cunning, and the characters of Macbeth and Lady M in general, as well as their relationship. That makes this one a great one to memorise, so going through a list and highlighting similarly multi-purpose quotes would be an excellent study tactic.

Another strategy I'd recommend (and this will hopefully help with your essay structure question) is to collect or make a list of possible exam prompts. Chat to your teacher if you need help with this, but the aim is just to cover a wide range of themes and major characters to make your practice more efficient. We're not trying to 'guess' the exam prompt, but if you write a handful of practice essays about these main themes/characters, you'll notice two things:

1) A LOT of the ideas in the text overlap - themes aren't like separate islands; they all connect to one another somehow! Hence, you don't have to treat your evidence and analysis like separate islands either. A quote that you use and analyse in one essay might also work perfectly in your next essay too, and the one after that. That's not to say you should only aim to memorise a few general examples; rather, try to learn ~30* quotes, for example, and then use ~12 in each essay.
Spoiler
* I just picked 30 arbitrarily; depending on how well you know the play, you might already know quite a few quotes off by heart already, especially the *iconic* ones like "fair is foul and foul is fair". If not, 30 would be a good goal between now and the exam, but don't use that as a hard rule! The quotes can be pretty short (e.g. "gory locks"), so hopefully you can go beyond 30 if you feel confident. And remember that you can talk about aesthetic techniques like the symbolism of the dagger or the motif of weather as evidence too!
They might be a different combination of 12 each time, but you'll notice that whenever you write about a theme like the supernatural, you can draw upon the same framework of evidence and just tie it to the specific question differently each time, e.g.
   - Witches: "fair is foul and foul is fair"
   - Macbeth: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen"
   - Witches: "in thunder, lightning or in rain"
   - Banquo: "have we eaten on the insane root / That takes the reason prisoner?"
   - Macbeth: "gory locks" [of Banquo's ghost] + "thy bones are marrowless"
   - Macbeth: "is this a dagger which I see before me?"
   - Witches: "Show his eyes, and grieve his heart; / Come like shadows, so depart!"
   - Macbeth: [about the line of kings apparition] "Horrible sight! Now, I see, ’tis true; / For the blood-bolter’d Banquo smiles upon me"

2) The more essays you write, the more you'll settle into a groove. Your intros can use the same lines to introduce the text (though you'll answer the specific question differently each time), your topic sentences will start to follow a similar pattern (e.g. 'Shakespeare explores the notion of ____ through the character of ____'), your quotes should be frequently rotated, as outlined above, and your concluding sentences about Shakespeare's overall messages will just vary slightly depending on the prompt. For example:

QUESTION 1: How does Shakespeare invite us to consider the notion of ambition in Macbeth?

QUESTION 2: Ambition is Macbeth's downfall. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

(obviously you'd never get these two prompts to choose from as they're too similar! And an essay written about the first question could be ~90% identical to one written about the second, but you'd have to pick the right moment to mould your discussion to suit the prompt - e.g. using the word 'downfall' at the start or end of your body paragraphs.)

TOPIC & CONCLUDING SENTENCE FOR BOTH QUESTIONS:
TS: Throughout the play, Shakespeare unpacks the dangerous allure of ambition through his portrayal of Macbeth.
CS: Therefore, Shakespeare's depiction of Macbeth underscores how ambitious desires can bring about one's downfall.

Then, obviously, if you got a prompt that instead asked about the consequences of [selfishness], or the [fatal flaw] of Macbeth, you'd instead use these key words throughout your essay instead of downfall and ambition. But hopefully you can see how by writing a practice essay for just one essay question, you're really preparing yourself for a whole range of potential topics!


Lastly, if you're feeling a bit of a time crunch, try to do some skeleton essay plans instead of writing entire practice essays. This is still good practice, and you can really hone in on whatever areas you find trickiest! For example, if you can't easily come up with three body paragraphs or arguments, focus on that when planning. Or, if you never know how to end your paragraphs, include concluding sentences in your plan.

I hope that helps - best of luck with the Macbeth prep, and let me know if you have any questions! :)

justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #69 on: October 09, 2021, 09:50:02 pm »
0
Thanks so much Lauren for the really informative advice. I really appreciate it!

K.Smithy

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #70 on: October 09, 2021, 10:29:00 pm »
+1
Thanks so much Lauren for the really informative advice. I really appreciate it!

Hey, Justsomerandom21!

Lauren's advice is fantastic and I'd highly recommend following it if you do wish to remember quotes.
I just thought I'd let you know that for the external exam you'll complete in year 12, you will not be expected to remember any quotes :) I don't know if your school has other plans for the FA4 and your teacher is expecting it for this internal assessment, but for the external at the end of your final year quotes are not an expectation. Indirect evidence is seen as just as good and you can get full marks using only indirect evidence. Though you'll probably find that some quotes might stick in your mind so you can definitely use those (but it's not a requirement) :)

I hope this eases you of some stress!
Katelyn
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justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #71 on: October 10, 2021, 11:07:03 am »
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Hey, Justsomerandom21!

Lauren's advice is fantastic and I'd highly recommend following it if you do wish to remember quotes.
I just thought I'd let you know that for the external exam you'll complete in year 12, you will not be expected to remember any quotes :) I don't know if your school has other plans for the FA4 and your teacher is expecting it for this internal assessment, but for the external at the end of your final year quotes are not an expectation. Indirect evidence is seen as just as good and you can get full marks using only indirect evidence. Though you'll probably find that some quotes might stick in your mind so you can definitely use those (but it's not a requirement) :)

I hope this eases you of some stress!
Katelyn

Hi Katelyn,
Thanks so much again for all the help! I'm still a little bit unsure about using indirect evidence. As far as I know, indirect evidence is explaining the scene and the action of the characters without using a direct quote, right? Would you please be able to provide some examples (if possible on Macbeth)? It would be greatly appreciated! :)


Thanks in advance. :)
justsomerandom21

justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #72 on: October 10, 2021, 11:12:32 am »
0
Hi again,
Sorry, I just thought of another question that I forgot to post in my last reply, but when selecting your evidence in the play and then constructing your response, would it be best to use evidence at the start of the play for your first body paragraph and then evidence from the middle of the play in the second body paragraph etc? How would you demonstrate logical sequencing of ideas within and between paragraphs?


Thanks again  :D :D
justsomerandom21.

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #73 on: October 10, 2021, 11:47:00 am »
+2
Thanks so much again for all the help! I'm still a little bit unsure about using indirect evidence. As far as I know, indirect evidence is explaining the scene and the action of the characters without using a direct quote, right? Would you please be able to provide some examples (if possible on Macbeth)? It would be greatly appreciated! :)

Yes, sort of. You're definitely on the right track. Indirect evidence would be things that characters do or beliefs they hold. Fortunately, I did a bit of study into Macbeth last year for my feature article, so I can recall one example of indirect evidence that I used. So, the argument that I made was the Lady Macduff wasn't quite the good person we've been made out to think she is. Now, this was quite a contentious argument I brought up and not a single person I spoke to supported my view. My teacher discouraged me from doing it when I first discussed it with her, but I thought it was interesting so I went with it anyway (by the time she got around to marking it, I had her support though which is good ahaha).
So, I'll share with you the section I wrote on it and then I'll break it down into how, exactly, I used indirect evidence:

"Shakespeare’s Macbeth shows us that fear is oftentimes followed closely by a loss of empathy – just as a loyal puppy follows his owner. In turn, this loss of empathy is followed closely by the loss of humanity. This can be observed in Lady Macduff’s one and only scene.

The murder of Lady Macduff – the slaughter of an innocent individual – symbolises the sowing of ruin. Through her murder, she is exposed to an ordeal that ultimately deprives her of her own innocence. Although she is positioned to be the female foil for Lady Macbeth, it is evident that even the best of us can be affected by fear. In the events leading up to her murder, Lady Macduff is unknowingly put through tests of moral and political judgement – of which she demonstrably fails. Furthermore, in doing so, she loses her humanity.

Lady Macduff learns of her husband’s departure – in search of allies – in her only scene. Characters such as Lennox admire Macduff’s choice; contrastingly, Lady Macduff responds to the news poorly. She fails to see the necessity of his departure and lets fly a torrent of accusations. Due to her own fear, her husband had fallen short of what he should have been in her eyes: All is the fear and nothing is the love.

Her reaction wasn’t simply a betrayal to her husband; rather it was a betrayal to Scotland. Not recognising her husband’s higher responsibility to the political order, it is in this moment Lady Macduff’s empathy waivers. So too does her ability to claim that she is human."


So, in this section here, I am pretty much arguing that Lady Macduff wasn't the good person that many people believe she is. I also tie it back into my thesis about how the loss of empathy results in a loss of humanity, though this isn't important for our discussion. The indirect evidence that I used was the description of her reaction to the situation - how her reaction made her selfish and that it was a betrayal to Scotland.

Sorry, I just thought of another question that I forgot to post in my last reply, but when selecting your evidence in the play and then constructing your response, would it be best to use evidence at the start of the play for your first body paragraph and then evidence from the middle of the play in the second body paragraph etc? How would you demonstrate logical sequencing of ideas within and between paragraphs?

You should structure your response based on the strength of your arguments (at least this is what my teacher told me to do). So, your strongest argument supporting your thesis should go first. Ideally, you will find arguments that can be seen throughout the entirety of the play - that way you could include evidence from different aspects of the play (this is where indirect evidence comes in handy because sometimes there won't be a quote that you can use, but maybe a character's behaviour).

For the logical sequencing of ideas within and between paragraphs, you want to make sure that all of your arguments tie in with your thesis statement. To do this, ensure that every paragraph makes a direct link back to the thesis. You also want to make use of cohesive devices between paragraphs and different ideas to make sure it flows nicely.
QCE 2020: Physics (92) || Psychology (96) || Biology (93) || Methods (79) || English (98) || SOR (91)
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justsomerandom21

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Re: QCE English Questions Thread
« Reply #74 on: October 10, 2021, 12:09:04 pm »
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Hi Katelyn,
Thanks again for all your help - it's a lot clearer now!



justsomedandom21.