Literary genre and cultural context... WTF!?!?!

Slugs

Is it just me or is anyone else completely oblivious as to how to compose an essay for the above topics. I just don't understand A) What I'm being asked and How to answer the question. Could anyone enlighten me?

In Literary Genre you're being asked to compare HOW different texts tell their stories. Examples of points could be differences between genre(eg romance/gothic/comedy etc), use of narration, imagery, flashbacks, dialogue, action etc. This is a very good place to compare the differences between how novels, plays and films tell their stories ie. plays rely heavily on dialogue, films can use audio/visual, novels rely on description. It's very easy to lapse into paraphrasing the plots of each text in this mode, so be very careful to mention plot only when you're describing how it is created using various techniques.

In Cultural Context you're being asked to compare the different social settings within the text and how they affect the characters/plot or you as a reader (ie your understanding/enjoyment of the text). Examples of points include attitudes towards love/marriage, role of women, patriarchal/matriarchal society, attitudes towards violence etc. A lot of this will be conveyed by the actions or beliefs held by the characters in the texts, or by other means (eg a film can visually show poverty etc), so you'll need to ensure you know how to back up your points with quotations/reference key scenes.

For all English essays you need to do a brainstorm of your points, make sure you refer to the question with every point and link your paragraphs together logically. Specifically for the comparative you need to be constantly showing similarities/differences between your chosen texts under the modes. It's not necessary to compare every text in each point, but make sure you're comparing at least two, and not just discussing one aspect of one text and then moving on.

I prefer LG and CC because they're usually more focused questions that I know what I'm being asked to do, whereas I find the whole idea of General Vision and Viewpoint and the questions asked on it to be infuriatingly vague. Everyone else seems to like it, but it's so much easier to go off the point with it in my opinion.

Slugs

Thank you I appreciate your contribution

It's really really important not to just learn off essays for it though. The bones of essays can be learned, like what points you'd use in an essay for for LG/CC/GVV for each text, but when you're actually answering an exam question you have to ensure that you're doing just that- answering the question. There's no point in knowing the cultural context in depth of every text and discussing that if the question was if it added to your enjoyment and you didn't give a personal response.

If you look at the exam marking scheme it's marked under 4 headings- Clarity of Purpose (30%), Coherence of Delivery (30%), Efficiency of Language Use (30%) and Mechanics (10%). If you don't explicitly answer the question you're hit heavily in Clarity of Purpose, but not only there, as you'll automatically go down in Coherence of Delivery and Efficiency of Language use too. It doesn't matter how technically good your answer is- if it doesn't directly answer the Q you will not do well.

This is the crux of the English exam. Once you get the hang of how to effectively answer only the question asked and to leave out irrelevant material (ie waffle) then it's simply a matter of showing you interacted with the texts, being honest, being original and timing!

Dubs

A basic way of understanding them I was told for cultural context what do you notice thats both different and the same about a foreign country when you step off a plane. It can be anything from its location, the role of men and women in society, relationships, social classes and how these things affect the the characters in the texts. Pretty much anything that you can compare in the societies from 1 text to another.

The way I was told to think about litterary genre is imagine 2 people are telling the same joke. The way the first guy might tell it might just bore you, but the second guy telling the same joke could make you find it very funny. The way the story is told and what makes the way its told contribute to the story. Then compare the individual techniques to the other texts as piratequeen said above, she knows her stuff!

nash19

i would implore anyone to take this option as if done right it is so damn easy................. cultural conext refers to the world of the text ie what makes the society tick over........ i always find that the use of imaginary headings such as the role of women, attitudes to religion, marrige, social class realy make it look as if you have studued your texts in depth as it allows your answer to flow naturally for example in texts a and b women play a pivotal role in society ....... i found that in and text b the society was matriarchal...... as opposed to text c where women are seen as second class citizens in a mans world .............. the use of linking words is key to a good answer in this section such as opposed to... similarly .... like ....just as ect ..... while it may seem obvious the use of linking words and phrases can seriously boost your grades as it highlights your ability to compare and contrast and shows the examiner that you are engaging the question..