Why Is Historical Context Important in Reading

Contents:

1. What are Literary Perspectives?

2. What are you expected to cover? (Literary Perspectives criteria)

3. Approaching the Chore

iv. SACs, Exams, and Allocated Marks

five. How to Prepare/Meliorate?

What are Literary Perspectives?

This is the task that takes the longest time for all lit students to wrap their heads effectually. Not merely is it difficult to understand what a literary perspective is just also what the essay requires you lot to practice, so hopefully this article can help clear it all up for y'all!

Put merely, literary perspectives are various different lenses used for looking at all texts. Unlike lenses reveal, highlight and emphasise unlike notions in each text. To have a uncomplicated example, a Marxist might look at 'The Great Gatsby' how our capitalistic arrangement underscores the motivations of Gatsby? A feminist might look towards the role of women in the text; are they only supporting characters, or exercise they claiming traditional gender roles?  Perhaps an experienced literature pupil might think this is an oversimplification, but it'south a skillful way to first thinking virtually perspectives. We volition explore a picayune more of how to integrate and inquiry dissimilar literary perspectives in our 'Budgeted the Job' section.

In short, literary perspectives wants you to consider:

• How does a text change, to the reader and the writer, when we examine it through different backgrounds/perspectives?
• Can we understand the assumptions and ideas nigh the views and values of the text?
  

What are y'all expected to encompass/do? (Literary Perspectives Criteria)

one. Construction and Cohesion

The structure of the essay and the task itself is more familiar than the shut assay essay. You respond to a topic (yep, in that location is only one) and you take a more "typical" essay construction with an introduction, three body paragraphs and a determination.

Cohesion comes from how well you can develop your overall statement. The mode I like to think well-nigh information technology is: practise my paragraphs build/relate to each other or do they have nothing to practice with each other? Providing a cohesive argument and interpretation is essential, and not simply for literature, this is something that will definitely exist enhanced as you lot continue your literature journey!

ii. Develop an overall Estimation/perspective for each text

This requires a lot of research and critical readings of the wealth of criticism effectually the text. When you read the text, a few notable themes and ideas should be jumping out at you right abroad, this will be the springboard into understanding the perspectives around the text.

For instance, in 'The Swell Gatsby', Gatsby and Buchanan are greedy and money-hungry in a world of backlog and economic prosperity. Fitzgerald asks readers to consider the backbone that drives a blind devotion to the accumulation of wealth. This should remind yous of Karl Marx and his comments on capitalism and communism which will and then open a large wealth of research on Marxism!

Call back, that whilst VCAA specifies that one must analyse and answer to one underlying literary perspective of the text in Section A of the test, this isn't every bit narrow as you might think. So I lied a little, sunglasses every bit perspectives might be a scrap misleading. Because whilst you can't wear multiple sunglasses, you can have multiple interpretations that grade ane perspective. It's important to remember that what constitutes a perspective is non just one school of thought, it is your understanding, perspective and ideas. Which means that if you want to blend a Marxist and Psychoanalytic perspective, yous admittedly can, Just y'all need to make sure they are incorporated well together. This is considering perspectives and literary ideas don't be in a vacuum, they work together, bounce off each other and grow over time. Greed could be something that is perpetuated by a capitalistic, marketplace centered system only it could also be something ingrained in the human psyche. See! You've at present turned 2 perspectives into one blended idea, of form it needs a lot of cultivation but you can see how these ideas begin to coexist.

Furthermore, if you begin to sympathize how your text through multiple coexisting lenses', you'll broaden your horizon so you'll be ready to approach any topic. In 2017, VCAA gave the topic: "To what extent is Conrad's Centre of Darkness an indictment of colonialism?". What happens if you didn't choose colonialism/mail service-colonialism as your perspective and chose feminism instead? You would probably exist freaking out in the test. Merely if you understood that colonialism was motivated past the need for economical potency (Marxist ideas) or the West's hunger for power (psychoanalytical notions), the topic isn't so daunting later on all.

In sum, developing an interpretation is a rocky, complex and difficult ride but accept patience, it volition all pay off in the end. Stick effectually and we will give y'all a few tips below on how to interpret and continue to develop your interpretation! PS. Hither's a video that might be helpful if you need the actress advice: What are literary perspectives .

3. Understanding and assay of the text through textual evidence

This should be self-explanatory at this betoken; anybody has been taught this since twelvemonth 7: never say anything if you lot tin't back it up! It'due south like shooting fish in a barrel to go lost in your perspective when your writing, this is just a gentle reminder to never forget to utilise quotes and actual testify from the text. Here's a helpful video on how to incorporate quotes.

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four. Command and effectiveness of language

Having command and constructive use of language is a criteria nowadays in both sections of Literature (and in English)! I won't go into too much depth, simply this video provides 6 keen tips on improving your expression!

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Approaching the Task

And so how exercise you best tackle the exam and the SAC?

Aforementioned, the test will but requite yous i topic to respond to and your SACs will do something like (we'll get into this later). Here are some tips on handling lit perspectives on the exam and SAC.

When you first encounter the topic, there are a few things you tin can do to help approach the task.

1. Highlight cardinal words!

Once more, pretty self-explanatory. It absolutely essential that y'all respond to the whole topic. Information technology's so easy to get defenseless upwardly in the first half of the topic when you see a key word that yous like/don't similar. But pay attention to what the topic is actually asking yous to practise, not just the central theme/idea that is contained inside the topic.

2. Program!

Detect all the key shut textual examples that y'all'd similar to utilise. Brand sure to choose ones that raise your overall interpretation. Call up, that just because information technology isn't a shut analysis essay doesn't mean you shouldn't include close textual examples.

Planning is a very private task then it's upwardly to you to find out what works for you lot, but information technology is an essential part of the writing process. If yous desire a coherent interpretation, you need to know where y'all're going as you write. If you fail to plan, you plan to neglect!

3. Develop/Establish your interpretation in your introduction

By now, you lot know the importance of establishing a strong interpretation of your text. This needs to be established in your introduction (and that includes all the buzzwords of your interpretation).

What I mean is, a lot of perspectives take a lot of jargon that is non always easy to read… Function of your job in your introduction is precisely to clarify some of these central jargons, information technology does not have to be super detailed, just give a simple definition of some of the primal terms you are working with.

SACs, Exams, and Allocated Marks

This SAC comprises 50% of Unit of measurement 4 and in my stance, was the near difficult to wrap my caput effectually. The breakdown is as follows:

To simplify, it'south essentially similar the literary perspective essay in the last exam; still, you lot need to "compare and analyse two pieces of literary criticism reflecting different perspectives". Call up how I mentioned that one perspective can exist a mix and alloy of 2 different perspectives? Well this SAC is trying to teach you just that. You'll exist tasked with finding 2 different perspectives, just that doesn't hateful they take to exist opposing at all.  The example from earlier: "Greed could be something that is perpetuated by a capitalistic, market centered system but it could as well be something ingrained in the man psyche" is only ane manner in which you tin take two different pieces of literary criticism reflecting different ideas and bring them together in this SAC.

This SAC also asks you to inquiry rigorously the literary soapbox effectually the text, and so that volition be your first starting point. Discover what yous desire to talk about and then figure out how to talk about it!

This may be classified as 'Section A' on the test, but it does not accept to be completed first, this is up to you! Each essay in the test is worth twenty marks and will be double marked. The score that each examiner gives yous will be added together, so both your final essays will be out of xl.

How to Prepare (and Improve!) for your Shut Analysis SAC and Exam

Everyone's heard the phrase "do makes perfect", just nobody really tells you how to practice? What does practicing mean in a Lit Perspectives context? Here are a few recommendations and guidelines well-nigh how to ACE your next lit perspectives essay:

1. Read and Re-read your text (or re-sentinel your film)

You'll have heard this hundreds of times simply it's absolutely essential, who knows, you might alter your mind? Meanwhile yous can detect good quotes yous like and potentially spot techniques or language devices y'all might have missed on the first or fifty-fifty second read!

Each time yous re-read, go in with fresh ideas and perspectives and search for examples that either contradict or support your estimation. Critical reading is what u.s.a. lit kids do!

ii. Find buzzwords for your text or your perspective

Aforementioned, jargon and buzzwords populate the mod literature soapbox for whatever text and perspective. It'due south important that you lot accept a firm grasp of these words and phrases. Here are some examples of a few:

Marxism:

• Communism/commercialism
• Greed
• Superstructure
• Institutions
  

Psychoanalysis:

• The unconscious
• Desire
• ID, ego and superego
  

3. Talk to your friends and teachers, bounce ideas off each other!!!

Two minds are better than i. Non revolutionary, but unequivocally true. Whenever y'all are stuck in a rut, talk to your friends nigh what you think and perhaps they can aid challenge your ideas. Don't be afraid to argue your point and be open to criticism, challenging your ideas will just assist refine and enhance it. Information technology'll also brand y'all consider some ideas y'all might non accept thought about it.

4. Write specific examples

This is the same advice for close analysis (and any other essay for that essays). Exercise writing doesn't hateful you have to write a total essay every time, this can be both draining for you and your instructor to mark. Plus, most of the time, you lot'll make the same mistakes/the feedback will be aforementioned throughout the entire essay. Attempt petty snippets of examples, paragraphs or introductions instead.

5. Utilise all available resources

Teachers are a hub of intelligence, ask them for questions, advice and feedback. Have a look at online resources including critical articles on your texts (not just lit charts articles). There are a bunch of different articles linked throughout this article but here are a summary of a few more manufactures written by some very smart LSG tutors!

Resources

Breaking down the VCE Literature Exam Criteria

Common Mistakes in VCE Literature

The Dont'south of VCE Literature

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Source: https://www.vcestudyguides.com/blog/the-importance-of-context-in-literature

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