hi Lauren:)
what is the main difference between a text response and context essay?
thanks
In a Text Response, you're using the prompt to discuss the book/film. In Context, you're using a text to discuss an idea in the prompt Put simply, a Text Response essay should
always revolve around the text, maybe stepping outside occasionally to comment on the author's life, the historical context, or a relevant philosophical idea or something. With Context however, you can use the text in just one paragraph, then use external evidence for the rest of your essay. The text is just your starting point, the
context (ie. things around the text: the ideas it contains, the values it condones, what the author thought/wanted us to think etc.) is just as, if not more important.
If you were to go through and highlight a TR essay everytime there was reference to the text, a character, a quote or a theme, at least 90% of the essay would be highlighted. But if you did the same to a Context piece, it might only be 5/6 lines in one paragraph, and maybe another 2/3 later on.
The other major difference is that your TR piece has to be a formal essay, whereas your Context piece can be any of the forms/styles I've listed in my last post.
Hey Lauren, my teacher told me for language analysis to use the "ape" format- argument, persuasive technique and example.
However in the document you wrote, you told us to use the TEE format!
I'm so confused... Is it necessary to list the arguments on the issue we are analysing? Or do we only focus on the technique, example and effect?
If that's the format your teacher wants then do it. They'll be the ones marking your SAC; you can aly around with different approaches for the exam later.
'Listing the arguments' sounds a bit like summary to me. You can mention the contention, and you should always bring your discussion back to the contention at the end of each paragraph, but APE seems a little too simplistic. Mentioning the argument, device, and an example is all summary, not analysis. Think of APE as a subset of T. Rather than just stating: 'The author uses the technique of alliteration' try to integrate it better by linking their argument to the device, and then providing an example: 'To further purport the idea of the government being ineffectual and misguided, the author sardonically brands them with the alliterative 'cuckoo cabinet'. ' See how that goes into more detail and comments on the author's intention as well as the device?
But that's only the first step, you can't have an essay full of just APE statements, you need to actually ANALYSE what the author is trying to do, and how we feel as a result.
That's why the TEE or
what-how-why structure work better, in my opinion. Once you've discussed
what the author is doing/what techniques, move on to the effect on the readers. More importantly,
how does it affect us. It's not sufficient to say 'the picture of the sad child makes us feel sad.' Instead try: 'By including an image of a visibly distressed child, the audience is made to feel as though they are responsible for the child's unhappiness; our inaction has upset him greatly; thus appealing to readers' innate desire to protect the vulnerable members of our society from harm.'
Then you describe the
why. Why has the author done this? >link back to the contention< I've started to do this at the end of my 'how' discussion (after awhile the stages will just blur together) eg. 'The positioning of this visual therefore makes us more inclined to be support the new proposal for the sake of younger generations.'
Having said all that, be careful what you write in SACs. You're not trying to do it properly, you're just trying to write what your teacher wants. After you get the LA SAC out of the way, you can focus purely on exam tactics and use whatever strategy you feel is most beneficial, but unfortunately teacher bias plays a big role in VCE English. If you're lucky your teacher will be open to multiple approaches, and might even work with you to help develop your approach further. Maybe have a chat with them and see what their attitude would be. Careful how you phrase things though: 'I was considering a slightly different approach for structuring my LA paragraphs, since the one you've suggested isn't really working for me' is more likely to recieve a positive response than 'Hey, this structure is wrong. I've got a better idea!'