PEARLING for success
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
Essay: What is the
significance of Arthur
Birling in Act 1?
P
E
A
R
L
PEARLS are made from GRIT – it takes
time and does not always work. GRIT is a
synonym for hard work!
Make a POINT
Support it with EVIDENCE (a quotation)
ANALYSE the evidence
RESPOND to it personally/ as an audience
Link forward to next paragraph or back to the
question
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
Point
• Write a thesis statement that you go on
to evidence with a quotation. (This
statement can be lifted directly from your
introduction, or re-phrased.)
e.g.
“ In the play, Priestley is intending to
present Capitalists as evil or unpleasant in
order to promote his Socialist views.”
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
Evidence
• Your evidence must support the point you are
making!
E.g.
“He presents Birling as arrogant and ignorant
when he claims that “ the Germans don’t want
war” and claims that the Titanic is “absolutely
unsinkable”.
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
Analysis
You have a quotation. Analyse it by doing one or
more of the following:
•
•
•
•
Comment on the vocabulary used
Comment on imagery
Use of punctuation?
Is there a literary technique being used?
. Priestley has set his play in 1911 and it was
premiered in 1944. Since no one in the
audience will recognise any validity in his claim
about the Germans, Priestley has presented
Birling in a negative light. This dramatic irony
continues with the repetition of “unsinkable” with
reference to the most famous maritime disaster
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
in history
Contextual
knowledge
Let’s check that:
• Priestley has set his play in 1911 and it was premiered in
1944. Since no one in the audience will recognise any
validity in his claim about the Germans, Priestley has
presented Birling in a negative light. This dramatic irony
continues with the repetition of “unsinkable” with
reference to the most famous maritime disaster in
history.
Clear link to the text
and relation to point
Zoomed in on
key word
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
Technical
lexis
RESPONSE?
• What is the audience’s (or your) emotional
response?
Here, it might be:
• Recognising that Birling, and therefore all
Capitlists are ignorant and arrogant.
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013
P+E+A+R+__
In the play, Priestley is intending to present Capitalists as
evil or unpleasant in order to promote his Socialist views.
He presents Birling as arrogant and ignorant when he
claims that “ the Germans don’t want war” and claims
that the Titanic is “absolutely unsinkable.” Priestley has
set his play in 1911 and it was premiered in 1944. Since
no one in the audience will recognise any validity in his
claim about the Germans, Priestley has presented Birling
in a negative light. This dramatic irony continues with
the repetition of “unsinkable” with reference to the most
famous maritime disaster in history. The audience relate
Birling to all Capitalists and thus see him as a despicable
figure.
Write the linkJonathan
to complete
this2013
paragraph.
Peel UCGS
Don’t forget
your PEARLs,
girls!
But, boys: other
forms of analysis
are available,
such as Peeing or
Peeling.
Jonathan Peel UCGS 2013