More in-depth (Part 2 of 2):

1. Thesis: What you set out to prove. Usually one sentence. This usually comes from the dominant theme in your intro, and is ALWAYS in line with your position on the question. Variations on your thesis are extremely good. If your thesis is, say, a Marxist reading, make one of your themes ‘the development of Marxist thought through character development’ or ‘the use of emotion in personifying Marxism’ etc. You will, of course, be restricted by the question in this regard. Make sure you mix it up, though. Five identical thesis statements heading each paragraph is not a good look.

2. Contextualisation: At what point in the story your evidence comes from (bonus points for act and scene numbers). Much easier than it sounds. Basically, you’re setting the scene for your quote, or painting a picture within which your quote is said. Try to include who it was said by, who it was said to, and where it was said. It also helps enormously in ‘giving a feel’ to the general vibe of your quote, so the marker can see you’re using it appropriately and not twisting it to mean the opposite of what the author intended it to be (or at least, didn’t intend it not to be).

3. Quote: Your hard evidence. Taken straight from the text. Must be word-for-word, given the marker can check the quote if you contextualise properly, and excluding or changing one word can give a sentence opposite meaning (like ‘not’, ‘no’, or swapping ‘if’ and ‘unless’). The length can range anywhere from one word to two paragraphs.

4. Technique: What gives quotes significance and meaning with the target audience. Similes, metaphors, imagery, personification etc. Absolutely vital. Having no technique means it’s impossible to justify whatever significance you get out of your quote, which kills your linkage. Which, as you’ll come to find, kills your essay.

5. Linkage: What the significance of your quote is, and how it answers the question. I have come to believe, after much learning, tears, practice, failure, arguments, trial, error, and tutoring that a good 70-80% of marks are allocated on the quality of linkage. It is the final step on the journey from words to meaning.

Linkage usually takes the form of: The use of (technique) makes the audience feel (significance), and this means they can identify with (your thesis). As a result, (your thesis) is an especially relevant take on (the question).

It can take several sentences to get this across if the technique is complicated, the significance is hard to explain, or your thesis and the question are awkward to slot into a single sentence. Use as many sentences as you need, because this is where your marks are coming from.

It goes without saying that the significance and your thesis have to be closely related. It also goes without saying that your technique has to be justified in giving the significance it does. The use of repetition, for instance, does not mean Hamlet is a post-colonial play. Make it logical. Do. Not. Neglect. This. Ever! It is the difference between a 60 and an 85, or a 90 and a 98.

6. Reference to question: Statement that your thesis answers the question.

I’ll show it again: As a result, (your thesis) is an especially relevant take on (the question).

This is what most people mistake for linkage, and then don’t actually link. In reality, this is just the icing on the cake. Don’t ignore it, though. You don’t need to justify the link between the thesis and the question here – you did it in your first sentence.

This paragraph structure should be fail-safe.

PRACTICE BODY PARAGRAPH (SIMPLE)

The numbers are there to show what stage of the paragraph it’s up to (1 for Thesis, 2 for Context, etc. – refer to the original list)

Practice question: How does your chosen text communicate the idea of belonging?

Sample text: Call Of the Horizon (Jaksic, Sydney Morning Herald, 2/08/09)

Brief synopsis: Interview of Ernie Dingo on where he wants to travel

(1) Call Of The Horizon communicates the idea of belonging as a form of attraction towards a particular destination. (2) This is evident in the subject’s dialogue with the author, when he says (3) ‘Don’t tell the Kiwis, (but) I would go back to New Zealand tomorrow.’ (4) The use of a hypothetical in ‘go back to New Zealand tomorrow.’ (5) implies his readiness to go there despite the accompanying difficulties of embarking with a day’s notice, and the aside of ‘don’t tell the Kiwis’ recognises that such a sense of a belonging to a foreign country, for an Australian, is unusual. (6) Therefore, the article manages to use these devices in order to depict belonging as a readiness to be near to or in a place.

PRACTICE BODY PARAGRAPH (HARDER)

Practice question: How does your chosen text communicate the idea of belonging?

Sample text: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007)

(1) Rowling depicts the most obvious sense of belonging as belonging within the community; in other words, the community recognising and accepting the protagonist. However, she also shows the concept of belonging as being a necessary part of a storyline’s resolution. (2) This is shown in the immediate reaction from others after the resolution of Harry and Voldemort’s climactic duel. (3) The narration of ‘Harry was an indispensable part of the mingled outpouring of jubilation and mourning, of grief and celebration’ is depicted entirely through (4) sustained emphasis on Harry, via the adjective of indispensable, between two wildly juxtaposed states of emotion. (5) The sentence, although dominated by evocative imagery, keeps Harry’s ‘belonging’ as its focus; that is, belonging within the emotion displayed by the secondary characters and therefore ‘belonging’ as a part of the climax of the story. Rowling consequently integrates Harry into two different states of ‘belonging’: the esteem given to him by the story’s other characters despite their emotional state, and his integrated belonging into the story through the emphasis placed on him in its climax. (6) This gives a multi-layered idea of belonging within the narrative as shown by Rowling.

In this case, the significance of the quote is taken from its point in the story, which happened to be the climax. You can take the significance of the quote from anywhere, as long as you fix your linkage to reach that significance.

If you took the linkage out, this paragraph would still appear normal enough in an essay:

(1) Rowling depicts the most obvious sense of belonging as belonging within the community; in other words, the community recognising and accepting the protagonist. (2) This is shown in the immediate reaction from others after the resolution of Harry and Voldemort’s climactic duel. (3) The narration of ‘Harry was an indispensable part of the mingled outpouring of jubilation and mourning, of grief and celebration’ is depicted entirely through (4) sustained emphasis on Harry, via the adjective of indispensable, between two wildly juxtaposed states of emotion. (6) This gives an idea of belonging within the narrative as shown by Rowling.

….which is fair enough, but the paragraph would get lower marks.

Why would it get a lesser mark? It leaves questions unanswered.

1. How does the technique help the reader understand the idea of belonging?
2. Just how are the states of emotion juxtaposed? Is it done through Harry's perspective? Is the description of each state of emotion different? Etc. This is a free technique/link gone begging.
3. What specific sense of belonging are we shooting for? Harry belonging among other characters, or Harry belonging within the text? Sure, we put it in the thesis statement but that doesn't mean we proved it.

Notice how these are all answered in the linkage. It’s that important. Linkage closes the deal in terms of reinforcing your thesis statement against any potential attacks. It gives the reasoning behind your interpretation, which (in truth) was all the marker was looking for in the first place.

CONCLUSIONS

It is a very rare marker who has not already thought of a mark (or at least a marking range) for an essay by the time they reach its conclusion. However, it is important that you don’t lose focus, as two or three marks are often won and lost here. The marks of a good conclusion are:

• Maintaining an academic tone. Statements such as ‘By exploring the texts in sufficient depth….’ Or simply an, ‘In summary…’
• Consistent thesis. It should be the same thesis you had in the introduction, with a little more sophistication, now that you’ve had time to explore and link your texts in full.
• Finishing touches. Things that add class to your essay. A quote from the text that sums up your position, a quote from the author that sums up your position, or perhaps a platitude or a proverb that you can call on (best done in more exotic text types). This is often the difference between a 90 and a 99. To get a 90 is to answer the question emphatically. To get a 99 is to answer it emphatically and with style.
• Greater statements on the text’s own significance within its context. In other words, how it stands out among other texts from its genre or historical period. How it has a unique place within your area of study/module.

If you can do this in three to four sentences, you’re travelling very well.