panicking right now..... tips on studying comparative study?

HonorRoller

There is too much learning in comparative studies and leaving cert is just two months away. I did lots of studying over the week but I feel that I wouldn't be ready for the exams, I failed this section during the Pre's. The texts my class is doing are Lies of Silence, Dancing at Lughnasa and Inside I'm Dancing. I'm worried because I don't have a clue how to approach comparative text questions.

GoldFour4

HonorRoller wrote: »

There is too much learning in comparative studies and leaving cert is just two months away. I did lots of studying over the week but I feel that I wouldn't be ready for the exams, I failed this section during the Pre's. The texts my class is doing are Lies of Silence, Dancing at Lughnasa and Inside I'm Dancing. I'm worried because I don't have a clue how to approach comparative text questions.

Hate to break it to you but leaving cert is just over 5 weeks away .;)

karkar athlete

well precisely 40 days, 14 hours and 5 minutes until the 2011 Leaving Certificate according to the http://lctimer.com/ :eek:

GoldFour4

Pretty cool website

HonorRoller

seriously guys...

DesperateDan

I would say try drawing up a list of points relating to each text, and learn off each list heading backwards.

As soon as you think of a heading I find my mind can usually do the rest. Once you have a set of the same headings for each text, work out ways to compare them then. Its been like 4 years since I did the LC, but the standard headings I can think of are things like:

Characters - Evil/Good, Anti-hero? What are their motivations etc.,

Setting - Time & Location, this is a great one for comparitives.

Culture - Customs, manners and social mores. Even dress, and how people communicate with one another.

The importance of family, friends. At social events for example.

The importance of religion. Do people vehemently obey it? Or deny it? Or is religion completely unimportant?

Morality. Are people moral, immoral, amoral? How important is moral standards to the fabric of society in the text?

Any power struggles in the text, maybe women are less powerful, or men have exagerrated power, Rich vs. Poor, or maybe the characters are distinctly middle class? Master vs. Servant.

Thats just a few standard things I can think of, if others think of any you should post them. So once you have a list, begin to look at easy ways to compare the texts. Like Time & Location, for example: would something fly in one setting but seem ridiculous in another text? Talk about that. Or talk about how despite the fact the settings are so different, [INSERT THEME/IDEA] is generally the same. Its definitely about comparing and contrasting, so maybe pick 5 of the headings, and for each one draw up points about how the texts differ or are similar regarding that heading. Hope some of that makes sense!

implausible

Firstly, have you got a good grasp of what the comparative is? This is your starting point. There are three modes of comparison - Cultural Context, General Vision and Viewpoint and Theme. There is no need to know all three, so figure out what two you are going to study.

Second, forget about going back over texts and learning notes; at this stage what you need to learn are essay plans. The cultural context is the easiest to begin with, you should divide it into headings such as gender roles, conflict, religion, money, marriage and how the characters interact with the cultural context. For CC, your plan should go something like this:

Paragraph 1: Introduction: List your texts, refer to the question asked and the mode of comparison and give a two-line summary of each text
Paragraph 2: 1st heading e.g. gender roles. Explain the role gender plays in D@L, then discuss its role in LoS and compare. Then discuss it in IID and compare the the other two. Give a personal response while referring to the question.
Paragraphs 3,4 and 5: Do the same thing with any other 3 headings
Paragraph 6: tie all your headings together, give a personal response and make sure to refer to the question

Your plan for Theme will depend on how your teacher taught it. I prefer to do it like this:
P1: Introduction: list texts, refer to Q, summary and explain what your theme is
P2: When do we first encounter the theme in D@L, LoS and IID? Compare and refer to the Q.
P3: How is the theme developed? i.e how do we learn more about it?
P4: What complication/obstacle/problem arises?
P5: How is the problem and theme resolved?
P6: Conclusion

Thirdly, a table is a very useful revision aid with the three texts going across the top and your paragraph headings going vertically. Draw/print out two of these and fill them in. They're very useful for giving you an overall picture of the comparative and making it look quite "doable".

HonorRoller

thanks