English - how to study?

00Shane00

So, I've my Christmas Test in English tomorrow (yay!) but I'm clueless on what to revise.

Basically; we've got a question on a play which we've studied (The Merchant of Venice) but we only finished the book Thursday so we had no time to get sample answers or anything like that.
-> She said something like 'describe two characters who engage in conflict with each other' I would presume this is Shylock and Antonio but I'm clueless on how to go about answering it.

Secondly; we've got to answer a question on a poem we've studied - the ones we studied that I can recite off by heart are

Mid Term Break The Conquerors Base Details

How would I go about answering either of these?
Urgent response would be great.

DublinArnie

Right, these questions are pretty straight forward.

I presume both questions are worth 30marks each (they are on the JC) for the Christmas exam. You basically start with an OP, containing the following:
-Name of book and Author
-Basic settling of book (place & time)
-Story background
-Name the protagonist(s)
-Relate to question (name the two characters that conflict each other and explain it slightly, the explanation should be one or two sentences.)
-Mention a few things you will talk about through out your answer (description of both characters etc, events that occurred between them etc).

After that, you will have to write at least 4 body paragraphs if you can. Each body paragraph should contain:
- Relate to question (example- Tom is a very fierce character. This makes him prone to conflicts between other characters, you see what I mean?)
- Explain what you said above.
- A quote from the text to back up what you said.
- Relate to question (example- That is why I believe Tom is an angry character.)

*Basically do this for all the body paragraphs, but make sure each one has separate points etc!*

For the last paragraph, just write 2-3 sentences concluding what you said in all the paragraphs.

If you want a small sample answer, I'll write one up.

00Shane00

Yeah, a sample answer would be incredibly helpful.

DublinArnie

Q: Highlight the characteristics of a character in a chosen play (I made this Q up!!!!!!).
Sample OP:

I have studied various of plays. However I'm using my favorite for this answer. The play I have studied is "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. This play is set in Fair Verona during the 13th Century. Romeo and Juliet are the play's protagonists. The story follows Romeo's love for Juliet, and the conflict between their families (forgot the name! XD). This play has meany universal themes such as love, hate and death, which make it appealing to many people. I learn many things about Romeo in this play. He is truly a thought provoking character.

Sample Body Paragraph:

Romeo is romantic. This is very clear throughout this play. At the start of the play he is in love with Rosaline and states that he will never stop loving her. However, when he spots Juliet at the masked party, he immediately says "insert quote here". He is now in love with Juliet and wants to marry her, despite claiming he will never stop loving Rosaline. Therefore Romeo is a romantic character, almost falling in love with every girl he sees.

Right, you can add more but this is the jist of it . Take note of the structure of it and never use the same word more than twice in the paragraph(besides the basics). .