A Time to Dance Textual Analysis
Critical Essay Writing
“A Time to Dance” is a short story and would come under the
prose section of the exam paper. Prose is a short story or novel
or non-fiction work that you have studied in class.
Success Criteria – What the examiners are looking for!
“Answers to questions in this section should refer to the text
and to such relevant features as:
 characterisation,
 setting,
 language,
 key incident(s),
 climax/turning point,
 plot,
 structure,
 narrative technique,
 theme,
 ideas, description”
You should refer to the text, which means use quotations.
The criteria asks you to write about features such as
characterisation, theme, key incidents etc – DO NOT TRY TO
COMMENT ON ALL OF THESE ASPECTS! Pick one or two that
would be relevant to your answer.
Exam Questions – Each Essay is worth 25 Marks!
To write an effective critical essay on this short story, we need
to work towards a question.
Here is an example from a Past Paper (from SQA Website,
which you can all access!)
“Choose a novel or a short story which gives you an insight into
an aspect of human nature or behaviour. State what the
aspect is, and show how the characters’ actions and
relationships lead you to a deeper understanding of human
nature or behaviour.”
How might we go about answering this question?
 You need to think about an aspect of human nature
that you can relate with Nelson.
 Nelson is a lonely little boy in this story, so we could write
about the fact he is lonely.
 What notes do you have on loneliness that can help you
here?
Essay plan
To structure your essay, it is always best to make a plan. This
does not need to be long.
An example plan could be:
Introduction – Name of the story and who wrote it. A BRIEF
summary of what the story is about. (DO NOT SPEND TOO
LONG ON THIS)
Paragraph One – Nelson is lonely. Talk about when we first
meet Nelson and what he is doing that makes us think he is
lonely, and WHY it makes us think he is lonely. Why does the
eyepatch make us feel sorry for him? Use P.E.E.
Paragraph Two – Nelson’s Relationship with his Mother is an
important part in his loneliness. What is this relationship like?
Use P.E.E
Paragraph Three – Nelson’s Relationships with other people.
Does Nelson have any friends to speak of? What is his attitude
to school? Use P.E.E
Paragraph Four – Nelson’s attitude to life. At the end of the
story, Nelson wishes he can go blind. Why does he do this? Use
P.E.E
Conclusion – A short paragraph summing with a personal
opinion on the story. Always keep your opinion positive (even
if it is a lie!).
Here are some other questions from past papers that you
could use.
Can you make a plan for these essays? Would you feel
confident in writing about this story in this way?
1. Choose a novel or a short story in which you feel there is an
incident of great importance to the story as a whole.
Describe the incident and go on to show its importance to the
development of the characters and the central concerns of the
text.
2. Choose a novel or a short story which has a character who
affects you emotionally.
Describe how you feel about the character, and show how the
writer leads you to feel this way.
3. Choose a novel or a short story with an ending which you
find satisfactory. By looking at the novel or short story as a
whole, explain why you find the ending
satisfactory in bringing to a conclusion the main concerns of
the text.
4. Choose a novel or a short story in which a character is in
conflict with his or her friends or relatives or society.
Show how the conflict arises and what effect it has on the
character’s fate in the novel or short story as a whole.
5. Choose a novel or a short story which deals with the effects
of evil or war or deceit or a
breakdown in society or a breakdown in relationship(s). Show
how any of these negative pressures affects the main character
in the novel or short story and go on to show whether or not
she or he tackles it successfully.
6.Choose a novel or short story which has a turning point or
moment of realisation for at least one of the characters.
Briefly describe what has led up to the turning point or
moment. Go on to show what impact this has on the
character(s) and how it affects the outcome of the novel or
story.
7. Choose a novel or short story in which you feel sympathy
with one of the main characters because of the difficulties or
injustice or hardships she or he has to face.
Describe the problems the character faces and show by what
means you are made to feel sympathy for her or him.
8. Choose a novel or short story in which two of the main
characters have a disagreement which is important to the
outcome of the novel or short story.
Identify the reasons for the disagreement and go on to show
how the effects of the
disagreement have an impact on the rest of the novel or short
story.
9. Choose a prose text (fiction or non-fiction) in which a
society or a person or a culture or a setting is effectively
portrayed.
Show how the writer’s presentation of the subject makes an
impact on you, and helps you to understand the subject in
greater depth.