Y4 Paper 2 - practice essay + identifying structure

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Paper 2 -
Identifying Structure
+ practice essay

TTO4

The paper 2 essay

• Comparative essay (at least 2 novels read in class)
  
• At least 500-600 words
• This year this essay is 4 paragraphs long (the full IB essay is 8 paragraphs long)
• Mention stylistic features (characterisation, symbols, themes, etc.)
• You will get 4 questions - you need to answer 1 
  

Paper 2 essay structure

• Introduction: hook, introduction books, thesis statement
  
• BP1: DEVICE 1 / Analysis book 1
  
• BP2: DEVICE 1 / Analysis book 2 (+ compare & contrast)
  
• BP3: DEVICE 2 / Analysis book 1
  
• BP4: DEVICE 2 / Analysis book 2 (+ compare & contrast)
  
• BP5: DEVICE 3 / Analysis book 1
  
• BP6: DEVICE 3 / Analysis book 2 (+ compare & contrast)
  
• Conclusion: summary points, sweeping statement
  
  
  

BEWARE: IN THE UPCOMING TEST, YOU ONLY WRITE BP1-BP2 (+ introduction & conclusion)

What stylistic features could you use?

• Themes
• Symbols
• Characterisation
• Motifs (any object, element, subject or idea that is constantly present in the literary work)
  
  

But, you can also think about stylistic features that we have discussed in class:

• Flashback
  
• Foreshadowing
• Mood (feelings evoked in readers) / tone (attitude of a writer towards a subject)
• Juxtaposition
• Narrative viewpoint (first person, second person, third person)
  

Thesis statement 101

For a full Paper 2 essay, you choose 3 devices that you analyse in both books and compare. Per paragraph, you want to talk about 1 device connected to the chosen question/topic.

In (Name of Work) and (Name of Work), both (Full Name of First Author) and (Full Name of Second Author) (use, employ, utilize, rely on) (device/strategy/technique x 3) to (show, reveal, emphasize, argue, insist, point out) that (effect/purpose/answer to question).

Examples of good thesis statements

• The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut both show how soldiers struggle to deal with war and its aftermath unsuccessfully. The authors both use a disjointed and non-linear narration (device 1), the theme of pain (device 2), and motifs (device 3) to show readers how soldiers remember, experience and suffer from the horrors of war.
  
  
• A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen both use stage direction (device 1), music (device 2) and symbolism (device 3) to construct their social commentary and convey their feminist message.

Exercise 1: check the full essay given for structure.
(20 min)

1. Look at the printed document. Select 3 colors/markers.
   
2. First, check the essay structure: Introduction, BP1 (book 1), BP2 (book 2), BP3 (compare and contrast), and conclusion. Write the essay structure using comments. What do you notice? Where is the thesis statement?
   
3. Secondly, check the essay paragraphs for the PIE-structure. Look for:

• (P) Point (topic sentence) [mark this green]
• (I) information [mark this blue]
• (E) explanation [mark this yellow]

Exercise 2: Step-by-step essay

1. Together, we will go through this step-by-step paper 2.
2. First, think about 2 novels that you would like
   to write about and 1 device that can help you
   answer the given question.
3. The rest we will do together!
4. Homework: choose one of the questions on
   Google Classroom and write a 4-paragraph
   paper 2 essay.

Part 2:
your practice essays

Choose 1 of these questions:

1. Discuss the ways that writers have presented characters that feel alienated from their society in two of the works you have studied.
   
   
   
2. Tension frequently builds to a critical point in literary works. How is tension created in two works you have studied and for what purpose?
   
   
3. To what extent do the form and content of two works you have studied reflect the time and place in which they were written?

What question did you choose for your practice essay?

Question 1: alienation

Question 2: tension

Question 3: time and place

What is your thesis statement?

Exercise 2: Check your neighbour's essay
for structure (15-20 min)

1. Go to your neighbour's document.
2. Check their document for the PIE structure. Use:

• Yellow: point (topic sentence) (P)
• Blue: information/examples from the text (I)
• Green: analysis and/or explanation (E)

3. Give feedback as a comment.
What elements were you missing? Did they have all of the needed elements? What was done well?

4. After the feedback, start working on finishing your essay!

Mistakes made in practice essays

• Thesis statement: follow the structure mentioned and do not forget the purpose of the text (last part of the thesis statement). This is the answer to the chosen question. 
• Body paragraphs - topic sentence: In your first sentence, you always mention the chosen device and what it does (topic sentence). This is just like in paper 1.  (theme of fear, etc.)
• Body paragraphs - device: only analyse 1 main device per body paragraph. Do not analyse all of the devices that you mention in your thesis statement.
• Language - titles in cursive: the titles of the books are always in cursive. So, you write The Boys from Brazil and Maus in cursive.
• Language - contractions: you do not use contractions (don't, can't, won't).
• Language - pronouns: you do not use personal pronouns (I, you, we, she, etc).