National 5
Revision Tutorial 1
(January 2016)
Critical Essays
Paper 2: Section 2
Critical Reading: Section 2
• How Long?
• How Many Marks are Available?
• How Many Questions?
• Dos and Don’ts?
Process
• Selecting a Task
- Look through relevant ‘Genre’ Sections
DRAMA
FILM &
TELEVISION
DRAMA
PROSE
POETRY
LANGUAGE
STUDY
Deconstructing the Task
• How many parts are there to each task?
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…
3. Choose a novel or short story or non-fiction text which deals
with an important issue (e.g. social, political, moral, religious…).
Identify the issue and, by referring to appropriate techniques,
show how the author deepens your understanding of it.
Helps
Planning
Response
Helps
Choose
Task
Helps
Planning
Response
• What is the function of each part of the task?
• What decisions do you have to make and when?
Planning and Writing your
Response
• Good idea to do a quick/basic plan first
• Put a line through the plan when finished
• Could make a quick note of quotations you will
use
• Be clear about your line of argument – what are
you proving/arguing in your essay?
Your Response Should
Demonstrate (success criteria)
• UNDERSTANDING (What the text is about)
- of the text ‘as a whole’
- of the ‘central concerns of the text’ –
themes/ideas/details
- of the task
Your Response Should
Demonstrate (success criteria)
• ANALYSIS (Techniques/Effects/How created)
- ‘thorough awareness’ of the writer’s
techniques
- ‘confident use of’ critical terminology
- ‘very detailed/thoughtful’ explanation of how
stylistic devices create certain effects/meaning
- ‘a range of’ well chosen
references/quotations
Your Response Should
Demonstrate (success criteria)
• EVALUATION (How effective text & techniques
are)
- ‘very well developed’ commentary of what
has been enjoyed/gained
- genuine engagement with themes/purpose
- success of techniques and effects
- ‘a range of well-chosen’ references to
relevant features
Your Response Should
Demonstrate (success criteria)
• EXRESSION (clarity & sophistication of
response)
- clear line of thought through use of language
- spelling/grammar/punctuation/sentence
construction ‘consistently accurate’
- structured effectively – enhances
meaning/purpose
- paragraphing ‘accurate & effective’
REMEMBER!
A Critical Essay IS A Discursive Essay
Arguing/Proving something
about Text
Must have a clear line of
argument throughout
Clear & logical Structure
Must have Evidence to
support points
Introduction – set up line of
argument
Explain significance of
evidence = analysis
Conclusion – conclude line
of argument
Topic
Sentences/Linkage/Transitional
Markers
TITLE
Type of Text
(in inverted commas,
with capitals)
(‘genre’ – poem,
novel etc.)
Writer’s Name
(first time in full, thereafter
just surname – remember
caps)
INTRODUCTIONS
Reference to Task
(set up line of argument
which should be based
around words of task)
Some context
(demonstrate your
knowledge of text)
Evaluative Language
(show your engagement)
Reference to Key
Themes/Message/Pur
pose
(again show
understanding – might
be built into task)
‘The Veldt’, by Ray Bradbury, is a thoughtprovoking short story which deals with an
important social issue, which is society’s overreliance on technology and the damaging effects
this can have. Despite being written in the
1950s, a time when the television was enjoying
a Golden age and becoming more common in
people’s homes, Bradbury successfully delivers
a powerful and ominous message which is still
pertinent in today’s society. Through clever
characterisation, striking imagery and the irony
of the ending, Bradbury effectively warns us that
an over-reliance on technology can severely
damage our relationships and leave us unable to
do things for ourselves.
Topic
Sentences
Main Points of
Analysis
MAIN PARAGRAPHS
Subconclusion
Evidence – at
least one
quotation
Evaluative
Language
Create sense of
Linkage/Progression
= Transitional Markers
Introduce
Focus of
Paragraph
Link To Task
TOPIC SENTENCES
Use Writer’s
name to stay
analytical
Evaluative
Language
Furthermore, Bradbury’s effective use of
imagery helps to convey his warning by
creating a sinister and ominous
atmosphere around the technology in the
house and nursery.
Must be
introduced by
making clear
analytical
point
Must be
properly
integrated
QUOTATIONS
Evaluative
Language
Must be followed by
an analytical comment
– explanation of what
it suggests/shows and
how
Vary/avoid
‘This Shows’
Bradbury suggests the realistic nature of the nursery by
using the senses to create a vivid and overpowering
impression. We are told that George ‘could feel [the hot
sun] on his neck like a hot paw’. Here, the physicality of
the comparison effectively emphasises how real the
African Veldland seems, whilst the idea of the paw
cleverly conjures up the image of the lions and makes
even the sun seem threatening, as though it could
pounce at any moment.
Bradbury suggests the realistic nature of the nursery by
using the senses to create a vivid and overpowering
impression. Whilst in the nursery, George takes in his
surroundings:
‘That sun. He could feel it on his neck like a
hot paw’.
Here, the physicality of the comparison effectively
emphasises how real the African Veldland seems, whilst
the idea of the paw cleverly conjures up the image of the
lions and makes even the sun seem threatening, as
though it could pounce at any moment.
Sum up/bring
together the
points of the
paragraph
Refocus on
the Task
SUB-CONCLUSIONS
Use Writer’s
name to stay
analytical
Relate points to
theme/purpose –
may be necessary
to task
Evaluative
Language
By combining vivid similes and metaphors
when describing the technology within the
house, Bradbury creatively delivers his
warning and implies the potential threat
that an over-reliance on technology could
have within society.
Sums up main
line of
argument
Refocuses On
Task
Sums up main
points relating to
task/argument
CONCLUSIONS
Restate title,
writer’s full
name, type of
text
Evaluative
Language
Overall, Ray Bradbury successfully explores an
important social issue in his powerful short story
‘The Veldt’. Through a combination of clever
characterisation, vivid imagery and an ironic
ending, Bradbury delivers a stark warning about
the danger of relying too heavily on technology.
The story skilfully leaves us wondering whether
the seemingly exaggerated ‘Happylife Home’ is
in fact closer to modern living than Bradbury
could ever have imagined.
Varying ‘This Shows’
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conveys
Implies
Reveals
Indicates
Highlights
Illuminates
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Depicts
Embodies
Evokes
Suggests
Reinforces
Emphasises
Portrays
• Here Bradbury indicates…
• By comparing… Bradbury suggests that…
• The image of… embodies the idea that…
Evaluative Language
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Successfully
Effectively
Skilfully
Creatively
Cleverly
Imaginatively
Powerfully
Emotively
Evocatively
Realistically
Harrowingly
Disturbingly
Poignantly
• This successful portrayal of…
• The powerful way in which…
• The setting is effective in…
Revision Suggestions/Strategies
• Familiarise yourself with the main ideas/themes/message in your
class text(s)
• Make sure you know key details of text for introduction – (Title, writer,
type of text, context, themes/key ideas/message)
• Revise Key analytical techniques and points
• Rewrite revision notes in another format, condensing/transforming
information e.g. Mind-map/table form
• Identify and memorise a range of quotations (5-8) which are evidence
of key ideas/techniques in each text
• Practise introducing, integrating and analysing these quotations
• Practise writing example introductions/conclusions
• Practise essay planning based around a task (Past/Example Tasks)
• Review Critical Essay guidance sheet/pointers – rewrite as notes on
key hints/tips/points to remember in essay writing (identify the areas
you need to focus on from marked essays and concentrate on these)
English Blog
This Tutorial can be found on the N5 English post
at:
http://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/my/y11english
If you Google ‘Moray Glow Blogs’ and select first option
there will be a list of blogs – click on ‘Miss King’
Lots of other revision materials can be found on
the English Hub:
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/my/englishhub/