Poetry from other cultures and traditions: planning and introducing your essay

Paper 2: Section A Worth 15% of the English Language GCSE

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Poems from Cluster 1

Limbo Nothings Changed Island Man Blessing Two scavengers in a truck Night of the scorpion Vultures What were they like?
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Essay planning
The experience of examiners and teachers tells us that essays written with plans are better than essays written without them.

Some tips about planning

Thinking time is NOT wasting time. Planning is NOT wasting time.

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It doesnt matter if you dont stick to your plan.

The process is more important than the product.

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How should you write a plan?

A spider diagram/ brainstorm is NOT a plan. Spider diagrams are useful as a way of generating ideas and getting ideas on paper but they do not help you to organize your ideas.

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An example of a spider-diagram type plan

You are about to see the plan one student began when asked to describe a park. How do you think his writing would be structured if he used this plan?

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swings

trees

slide

flowers
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Students who have created spider-diagrams tend to deal with each point in the clockwise order in which it appears on the spider-diagram.

This means that points are not grouped together and comparisons and connections are missed.

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So

If you do use a spider-diagram you then need to number your ideas or re-write them into a

structured plan.

You cannot even get a grade D unless your ideas are organised into paragraphs so your plan should indicate where you will begin each new paragraph.
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For example
THE PARK

Paragraph 1 where it is Paragraph 2 the playground area (includes slide and swings) Paragraph 3 attractive and good for wildlife (includes trees, flowers, animals) Paragraph 4 why I like it

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Planning a response to the question on poetry from other cultures

When planning an answer to the question on poems from other cultures do not consider one poem and then another and then try to make comparisons in your conclusion. You should be comparing (discussing similarities) and contrasting (considering differences) the poems throughout your essay.
This will also help you to ANALYSE the poems rather than simply DESCRIBING them. E.g. You dont get m(any) marks for saying, there is a metaphor in the first stanza but you will get credit for writing, the poet compares her language to a flower, which shows how she feels it is alive and growing.

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Your plan should be structured so that your essay ANSWERS THE QUESTION and EXPLORES KEY WORDS in it rather than explaining everything you have learned about about the poems or describing them line by line.

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An essay plan should look like this:

Introduction outline key similarities and differences between the poems Para 1 discuss how each poem handles the theme of .. Para 2 consider how the structure affects our interpretation of each poem Para 3 focus on language and key imagery in each poem Conclusion sum up arguments

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And not like this

Introduction say what Im going to write about

Para 1 - Write about what happens in poem 1

Para 2 - Write about what poem 2 is about

Conclusion write about similarities and differences

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You have 5-10 mins to write your own plan

In Blessing the poet uses imagery to express the importance of water. Compare this poem with another poem which also uses imagery to express its ideas.

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Writing an introduction
A good introduction: Addresses key words in the question Shows an understanding of the texts and topic that have been selected Introduces some key arguments (which will be developed in the rest of the essay)

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A good introduction does not:

Repeat the question Say what you are going to do List all the poems you are going to write about.

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Which is better?
A
In this essay I am going to write about how the poet uses imagery to express the importance of water in the poem, Blessing. I will also write about imagery in Island Man.

Or

B
The poets of both Blessing and Island Man use imagery to express their ideas and attitudes. In Blessing water is a precious commodity and Imtiaz Darker describes silver, crashing to the ground as the water flows from the burst pipe. In Island Man, Grace Nichols refers to the Emerald Isle another precious material, to emphasise the rich and fertile land and contrast the beauty of the Caribbean with the grey, metallic nature of London.
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Try writing an introduction for the following question:

In Island Man the speaker of the poem writes about feeling homesick and torn between two cultures. Compare this poem with another poem which also deals with this theme.

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