Explaining the examples is when you're discussing the text, or some external evidence eg. talking about the asylum seeker debate. Then, of course you have to link this to the context. But your essay should be more than 'example-link-example-link.'
You should also try to write some abstract/theoretical stuff about the context. Talk about the nature of conflict (for example) and how this is relevent to the prompt. You can't just point to an example and leave it at that, it's like writing a formula in maths and expecting full marks when
you haven't shown your workings!For example, the prompt:
'Our identities are always changing'My paragraph might begin by looking at the idea of change, rather than just assuming the reader knows what I'm talking about. Obviously you don't have to give definitions, but it can be helpful to clarify
eg.
'Change is an inevitable part of our lives, but that is not to say all things are changing all the time. Often there are parts of our personas that remain stagnant until external events prompt us to reconsider ourselves, or to react in different ways.' {I haven't used any examples yet, I'm just breaking down some theory. Then I'd work on linking it to a specific idea or piece of evidence}:
'Nowhere is this change more obvious than in adolescence; a time of transition when we are forced to consciously reevaluate our selves in relation to society. In Bruce Beresford's Paradise Road, the majority of the cast are adult actors dealing with adult concepts, and it is easy to forget the children and teenagers that were likewise subject to the harsh conditions of POW camps in WWII. Following one of the choir's productions, we see boys as young as 15 and 16 being sent away to the men's camp as their mothers cry in the background 'no, please, he's just a child!' {I'm paraphrasing here, it's been ages since I saw the movie
}
One can only imagine the irreparable psychological damage this caused the boys. The separation of a child from their mother is incredibly traumatic, and a further indictment of how the brutality of war pervades all aspects of life. Who we are is, of course, a fluid concept, but our identity as a whole isn't entirely self-determined - we cannot ignore the role of external factors.'Orange: abstract discussion
Purple: specific examples, from the text or otherwise
Like I said, aim for a ratio of roughly 50:50 since an essay with too much purple feels like just a list of examples with no purpose, and an essay with too much orange has no evidence to back it up.
With regards to using multiple examples to illustrate the same point: suppose I was writing on the prompt 'Conflict shows us who the real heroes and villains are' and my contention was: people who are heroes can never be villains, we're either one or the other. If I just wrote an essay filled with the different examples that all said the same thing, I wouldn't actually be exploring ideas, I'd just be exploring one idea. Put in colourful terms: I've got plenty of purple, but my orange discussion is always going to be the same thing, therefore I can't get many marks for it. Your evidence can support your contention, but it should support it in different ways:
eg. para 1 might deal with examples of flawless heroes who have done nothing but good for everyone around them
para 2 would talk about instances when heroes have turned into villains, then I could talk about how they were never truly 'heroes' in the first place
para 3 deals with villains who turn good, and why this makes them heroes instead
para 4: villains who will never change and beyond redemption
All of these paragraphs are arguing the same thing, but using different examples to talk about different ideas.
If you're still having trouble with deconstructing the prompt, go back through this thread and read some earlier posts, I've provided quite a few examples and explanations already.
[Edit] just realised I linked a conflict text to an identity and belonging prompt
<--incentive not to copy?
I hope this goes to show just how vague these contexts are; you could easily write an essay that deals with all four. And by the end of the year, with any luck you'll be so accomplished in linking ideas and discussion that this will seem completely natural to you