Higher English - Cultural Context

Rachael2009

Ok, this is one of the most difficult answers I have ever had to write. I have all of the information in my head, but I just cant seem to put it all into a good essay. My comparitive texts are Lies of Silence, Sive and Il Postino. If anybody has any help or knows where I could get helpful sample answers to help me would be greatly apreciated

amy.can.live

I found the notes on allhonours.ie by John Ryan http://www.allhonours.ie/leaving-cert-english-paper-2-comparitive-study/ (also has a website:http://ryjolc.weebly.com which has loads of english notes) are really helpful, the notes just give you four paragraph topics you can work with and give you an idea of what you should be writing for the question (it also has notes on Literary Genre and Theme and Issue)

Bucklesman

I'm not familiar with the texts, but I found this approach best. Start by writing down similarities and differences between the text under headings like the role of women, social class, religion, attitudes towards children, family etc.

Write a simple, no nonsense intro. This means the names of the texts and their authors and the fact that you are examining them in the light of the cultural context of their respective settings. Optionally, you can include a spiel about how important CC is regarding the texts but you don't have to.

Use what you have written down under the headings above to structure your paragraphs, and away you go. Once you start writing, you'll get into the swing of making frequent comparisons (between the texts, don't compare parts of the same story) and chalking up the marks. Finish with a strong conclusion.

Simple!

Rachael2009

Ok thanks, thats very helpful. Im going to choose 4 aspects, probably family life, love and marriage, the role of women, and possibly poverty.

Thank you