Linking Sentences + Context in Module B

[brendan.johnsun]

Hi,

In the last sentence of a body paragraph is typically when you summarise your argument of that body and link back to the question (I think?). But I've gotten feedback that I should also be linking to my next body paragraph so it flows. How do I do that without writing one very long sentence?

And where would I incorporate context in my body (i.e. Mod B - rise of Thatcher England in 1980s in An Artist of the Floating World)? I seem to do it either in my Intro or first couple sentences of my body but not sure if its effective.

[angewina_naguen]

Hi,

In the last sentence of a body paragraph is typically when you summarise your argument of that body and link back to the question (I think?). But I've gotten feedback that I should also be linking to my next body paragraph so it flows. How do I do that without writing one very long sentence?

And where would I incorporate context in my body (i.e. Mod B - rise of Thatcher England in 1980s in An Artist of the Floating World)? I seem to do it either in my Intro or first couple sentences of my body but not sure if its effective.

Hey, brendan.johnsun!

A warm welcome to the forums  I have to say I disagree with the feedback you've received about your linking sentence needing to preface what you will be raising in the next body paragraph. I think that defeats the purpose of it being a linking sentence which is supposed to summarise your ideas of the paragraph and reinforce how your argument contributes to your greater judgement on the question. Perhaps you could provide me with an example of a linking sentence where you have received that piece of feedback for and I might be able to get a better feel of what they want to you work towards?

As for incorporating context, it really is a matter of what the question is. If the question is heavily focused on context, you will need to do it throughout the response, including in your analysis. A sample question where you would need to do this would be something like this; "To what extent is An Artist of the Floating World a product of its time?" This is to show the marker that you can draw connections between the language forms and features in the text and how they were shaped by and reflect the conditions that the composer produced it in.

However, if you have a question that has less of a focus on context, what you have going on will suffice. With a question like this, "How is unreliable narration employed in An Artist of the Floating World to generate and represent uncertainty?", your focus would be more so on the specified language feature and theme they want you to explore. You might want to embed context here and there in your analysis to strengthen your argument at times. For example, you could argue that the use of unreliable narration highlights the protagonist's resistance towards change and is reflective, as result, of sentiments shared by post-war Japanese society. In short, whether you emphasise context or not is dependent on what the question is asking you to present in your response. Context should only be the centre of your judgement and arguments if the question is requiring you to make a case for it; otherwise, it should solely be used to enhance your ideas which are already being developed to answer the question without it  Hope this helps!

Angelina 

[brendan.johnsun]

Hey, brendan.johnsun!

A warm welcome to the forums  I have to say I disagree with the feedback you've received about your linking sentence needing to preface what you will be raising in the next body paragraph. I think that defeats the purpose of it being a linking sentence which is supposed to summarise your ideas of the paragraph and reinforce how your argument contributes to your greater judgement on the question. Perhaps you could provide me with an example of a linking sentence where you have received that piece of feedback for and I might be able to get a better feel of what they want to you work towards?

As for incorporating context, it really is a matter of what the question is. If the question is heavily focused on context, you will need to do it throughout the response, including in your analysis. A sample question where you would need to do this would be something like this; "To what extent is An Artist of the Floating World a product of its time?" This is to show the marker that you can draw connections between the language forms and features in the text and how they were shaped by and reflect the conditions that the composer produced it in.

However, if you have a question that has less of a focus on context, what you have going on will suffice. With a question like this, "How is unreliable narration employed in An Artist of the Floating World to generate and represent uncertainty?", your focus would be more so on the specified language feature and theme they want you to explore. You might want to embed context here and there in your analysis to strengthen your argument at times. For example, you could argue that the use of unreliable narration highlights the protagonist's resistance towards change and is reflective, as result, of sentiments shared by post-war Japanese society. In short, whether you emphasise context or not is dependent on what the question is asking you to present in your response. Context should only be the centre of your judgement and arguments if the question is requiring you to make a case for it; otherwise, it should solely be used to enhance your ideas which are already being developed to answer the question without it  Hope this helps!

Angelina 

Thanks so much for the incredible insight! The question was: "Representation of human interactions in An Artist raise questions about individual responsibility. To what extent does this reflect your response to the novel"

My link sentence for body 1 (which was about unreliable narration) was: Hence, provoking we, as the implied listeners, to challenge the constructed narrative ‘truth’ and question the authenticity of Ono’s narrative that deflects his responsibilities as "having no idea".
Feedback was to bring in next paragraph about Intergenerational conflict: Hence, provoking we, as the implied listeners, to question the authenticity of Ono’s narrative through his conflicting perspectives and tense interactions with the new generation.

And to add onto my question, if a question is "To what extent..." would you recommend writing like "to a significant extent" or "to a great extent" in our response? What's the best way to answer this type of question? (sorry! I couldn't find a post on this) Would I answer the "to what extent" question the same for Economics too?

[angewina_naguen]

Thanks so much for the incredible insight! The question was: "Representation of human interactions in An Artist raise questions about individual responsibility. To what extent does this reflect your response to the novel"

My link sentence for body 1 (which was about unreliable narration) was: Hence, provoking we, as the implied listeners, to challenge the constructed narrative ‘truth’ and question the authenticity of Ono’s narrative that deflects his responsibilities as "having no idea".
Feedback was to bring in next paragraph about Intergenerational conflict: Hence, provoking we, as the implied listeners, to question the authenticity of Ono’s narrative through his conflicting perspectives and tense interactions with the new generation.

And to add onto my question, if a question is "To what extent..." would you recommend writing like "to a significant extent" or "to a great extent" in our response? What's the best way to answer this type of question? (sorry! I couldn't find a post on this) Would I answer the "to what extent" question the same for Economics too?

Hey again!

Great questions! Firstly, just be mindful that your linking sentence is technically incomplete  It's one extended dependent clause right now because it's missing the subject of the sentence. You should also try to use "readers" when addressing the audience's reception in relation to a novel (I have only ever used "listeners" for my university essays and that's because I study music and it's more appropriate to). That first one you've presented perhaps might read more accurately like this;

Hence, Ishiguro's skilful manipulation of unreliable narration provokes we, as the readers, to question the authenticity of Ono’s narrative through his conflicting perspectives and tense interactions with the new generation.

Whether you should bring in the ideas of the next paragraph or not is up to you. I personally feel like that modified linking sentence works well given that it still mentions the "authenticity of Ono's narrative" and, therefore, summarises the main discussion of the paragraph which is on unreliable narration effectively. I think it's okay for you to have your linking sentences flow into your next topic sentences with the condition that you remember to summarise the key focus of the immediate paragraph first. Otherwise, it might be like you've forgotten to link back and that you're just writing two topic sentences for the next paragraph

As for addressing "to what extent", I always tell students that it's worth clarifying "to a significant extent", "to a moderate extent" or "to a limited extent" once in the introduction so that the markers know what your stance on the question is  Doing it excessively, however, is not recommended. An effective response will demonstrate "to what extent" you agree with the question anyway, whether you mention it or not, through a well-structured, integrated discussion of the text and providing strong arguments with relevant textual evidence to support your judgement. Basically, if you forget to write it, it's not the end of the world but it's good to have it explicitly mentioned once for the sake of it. I'm not too sure what the rules are with this in Economics since I didn't study it but I would imagine that it's a similar deal  Let me know if that answers your questions!

Angelina 

[brendan.johnsun]

Hey again!

Great questions! Firstly, just be mindful that your linking sentence is technically incomplete  It's one extended dependent clause right now because it's missing the subject of the sentence. You should also try to use "readers" when addressing the audience's reception in relation to a novel (I have only ever used "listeners" for my university essays and that's because I study music and it's more appropriate to). That first one you've presented perhaps might read more accurately like this;

Hence, Ishiguro's skilful manipulation of unreliable narration provokes we, as the readers, to question the authenticity of Ono’s narrative through his conflicting perspectives and tense interactions with the new generation.

Whether you should bring in the ideas of the next paragraph or not is up to you. I personally feel like that modified linking sentence works well given that it still mentions the "authenticity of Ono's narrative" and, therefore, summarises the main discussion of the paragraph which is on unreliable narration effectively. I think it's okay for you to have your linking sentences flow into your next topic sentences with the condition that you remember to summarise the key focus of the immediate paragraph first. Otherwise, it might be like you've forgotten to link back and that you're just writing two topic sentences for the next paragraph

As for addressing "to what extent", I always tell students that it's worth clarifying "to a significant extent", "to a moderate extent" or "to a limited extent" once in the introduction so that the markers know what your stance on the question is  Doing it excessively, however, is not recommended. An effective response will demonstrate "to what extent" you agree with the question anyway, whether you mention it or not, through a well-structured, integrated discussion of the text and providing strong arguments with relevant textual evidence to support your judgement. Basically, if you forget to write it, it's not the end of the world but it's good to have it explicitly mentioned once for the sake of it. I'm not too sure what the rules are with this in Economics since I didn't study it but I would imagine that it's a similar deal  Let me know if that answers your questions!

Angelina 

Yes, thanks so much for your help!!