SHORT TEXT ESSAYS
HOW??
• In short texts essays, you need to write about
ideas from both stories/poems, then show
some sort of comparison of the two.
• It is important to show the idea through
techniques that the author has used. So one
thing you need to do is make a note of
specific language techniques used in the
story/poem you’re looking at. Go through
and underline (in pencil!):
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similes
metaphors
alliteration
parallel structure
minor sentences
adjectives
listing
personification
onomatopoeia
hyperbole
circularity
accent/dialect
colloquialism
dialogue
imperatives
• These are just a few language techniques
often used in short texts. Why do we bother?
• Take this question: Describe at least one idea
in TWO short texts that you have read. How
do the authors show that the idea is
important?
• You answer the question of HOW by showing
techniques.
• Take the idea of appearance vs reality. In the two short texts The
Beginning of the Tournament and It Used to be Green Once, what
techniques are used to show the idea of appearance vs reality?
• The idea of appearance vs reality is shown in the story The
Beginning of the Tournament by the narrator tricking his friend,
Jerry, into playing in the hockey tournament by telling him he had
a good-looking sister. The author used descriptive language such
as adjectives to describe his sister. Find an example of this and
write down the quote. Explain how this helps us to understand
the idea of appearance vs reality. This is called TEE – technique,
example, explanation/effect.
• Now, try and find another language technique that shows this
idea.
Your Turn
• Here’s a sort of template you can use. It is a very
basic one and you can adapt or expand it as you
like. BUT – it has the structure you need in order
to answer ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Introduction: In the short stories It Used to be
Green Once by Patricia Grace and The Beginning
of the Tournament by Witi Ihimaera and
important _____________ is
________________________. The authors show
this through the techniques of ______________,
_________________ and _______________.
Context Paragraph
• This is a SHORT paragraph (no more than two or
three sentences) to give a little background to
each text. This can stop you doing a plot
description later on. For example:
• It Used to be Green Once is the story of a large
family of fourteen children growing up in a small
town in 1950s New Zealand. The Beginning of
the Tournament tells the story of a young Maori
university student returning to his home town
for a very unique hockey tournament.
First and second body paragraphs
• ___________________ is used in the story It
Used to be Green Once when
________________________________(this is
describing the idea/setting/theme, character,
etc.) One way in which this is shown is
through the technique of ________, when
the narrator says “(insert appropriate
quote)”. The effect of this is to
_______________________________.
Third Paragraph
• This paragraph compares the two texts. The
comparison paragraph can go here or earlier
but you should show SOME comparison
between the texts, related to the question.
For example, in both texts, the
setting/idea/characters are
________________ but the difference is that
_____________________. This has the effect
of _______________________.
Conclusion
• Therefore, in the two texts It Used to be
Green Once and The Beginning of the
Tournament, the (idea/setting/character etc)
of ____________ is shown by
_______________.