A gentle reminder that these are due after the holidays!
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Dissertation – First Drafts
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Category Archives: Dissertation
How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay
This is a really helpful document – actually from a university English Literature course – but will help with your literary study essays AND your dissertations.
Using critical reading in your dissertation and Literary Study Responses
At Advanced Higher level, it is expected that you will not only engage with the primary literature we are studying, but also with secondary critical reading, i.e. writing that explores literary theory and analysis. This type of reading can help deepen and expand your own analysis, but can also help support ideas that you have.
How it can be used
For example, this is how it can be used in a dissertation:
One of the similarities between the narrators in these novels is that they are both third person – albeit only occasionally in The Book Thief. This viewpoint can be both advantageous and disadvantageous compared to a first person viewpoint. Magorian’s use of third person narrative is advantageous in terms of him not having his own viewpoint – thus less likely to stray from the story of Willie. Chapman compares a first person narrative to someone telling a story about themselves explaining, “We leave out other facts altogether, ones which somehow spoil the story we are trying to tell. We perhaps even invent some ‘facts.’”[1] This is an effective comparison as it not only allows us to better understand the extent of the effect a first person narrative can have on the accuracy of the story being told, but also encourages us to consider the reliability of a first person narrative – highlighting how the stability of the neutral voice of the narrator of Goodnight Mr Tom can be seen as a more reliable viewpoint.
[1] Harvey Chapman, Advantages of Third Person Point of View, Novel Writing Help, 2008-2017
What this critical reading has done has allowed the student to increase their understanding of the particular technique they are exploring (in this case, third person narrative), and used it to support their own argument about the more ‘reliable’ nature of third person narrative.
Where to find suitable critical reading
It may sound obvious, but libraries are crucial sources of secondary reading. Anyone can gain a reference only membership to Edinburgh University library, meaning you can access texts within the library itself, without taking them out. You can also find a huge amount of literary criticism in the Central Library on George IV Bridge.
If you’re stuck in the house, however, a wide range of critical reading can be found via Google Scholar – simply put in a some broad search terms for your chosen writers or topics, and lots of articles and books will appear. If you need a login to access some of these articles, let me know.
How to search
Don’t be too specific – for example, if I was using a library database, or Google Scholar to search for writing on Sylvia Plath, I would type in her name and another key word, say nihilism. However, don’t be afraid to read AROUND your chosen writers – often, you can find helpful critical reading on the technique or topic you are exploring that does not reference your individual writer at all – but will discuss the approach they have taken. For example, searching for “the sublime” and “poetry” could lead to some interesting articles, which could then be applied to Plath’s work.
Hello, new Advanced Highers!
As ever, I’m looking forward to geeking out with this class over the next year.
Our texts this year will be:
- Poetry: Sylvia Plath’s nature poetry (booklet here)
- Prose: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
- Drama: A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
I would recommend you all buy your own copy of these texts – for the Ibsen plays, a good one is the Bloomsbury Student edition.
In the meantime, some reminders about deadlines (already, I know):
Dissertation
- Dissertation texts and topic decided on: before summer holidays
- Dissertation primary texts read: August 2019
- Dissertation draft 1: Friday 11th October 2019
- Dissertation draft 2: Friday 15th November 2019
- Dissertation draft 3: January 2020
Suggested texts for dissertation (very helpful):
SUGGESTIONS FOR DISSERTATIONS TEXTS
Literary Study texts
- Prose texts read: August 2019
- Drama texts read: January 2019
Portfolio
- Draft deadlines: throughout year
- Final draft: Friday 3rd April 2020
Below are the handouts given out so far, in case yours go astray:
Advanced Higher English Course Guide
Advanced Higher English Dissertation Guide
This week
Folks, please bring your USBs with your dissertations and folio work on them. We are booked into computer rooms this week to work on them.
Dissertations and Concerns
Folks, the latest drafts of your dissertations will be available to collect from me tomorrow. Please ensure you come by as soon as possible, as your next (and final) draft will be due in next Monday 29th January.
On the whole, it is becoming clear that some of you are simply not taking care to check over your work or pay attention to previous feedback. At this stage, I should only have to give very general comments – I find that is not the case for the majority of you. This work is your responsibility, not mine. If you don’t take the time and effort to improve, you will simply be throwing away 30% of your overall mark.
I will discuss individual feedback with you when you come in to collect your work.
Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines
Okay, when the next batch of your work is due:
Monday 8th January 2018
- Third draft of your dissertations
- Second draft of your first folio piece.
Friday 12th January 2018
- First draft of your second folio piece.
Monday 15th Janury 2018
- Prelim! Please have revised both Plath’s poetry and Jane Eyre/Rebecca, as well as textual analysis techniques.
Dissertation Deadline Reminder
Remember that the first draft of your dissertation is due in to me on Monday 23rd October 2017.
Here is an example dissertation from a couple of years ago, which received full marks.
You can also refer to the Understanding Standards website and previous handouts for guidance.
Any emergency questions or queries, just respond to one of the posts on this blog and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Structuring Textual Analysis and Literary Study Responses
A guide on how you could go about structuring your notes, plans and responses for Textual Analysis and Literary Study. This could also be a handy approach to take for your dissertations.
Dissertation Deadline Reminders
Reminder of your deadlines, too:
- Dissertation Plans due in Friday 1st September 2017.
- First draft of dissertations due in Monday 23rd October 2017.
- Final draft of dissertations due Monday 8th January 2018.
Read It In Your Own Terms 