repugnance, rather of a leap of welcome” Jekyll delights that he is no longer restrained by his moral obligations and he indulges in depraved behaviour against innocent citizens | Stevenson challenges the reader to consider if good and evil can ever be separated or if they are inextricably linked | “all human beings … are commingled out of good and evil” | The actions of Hyde are violent and grotesque and Stevenson’s ideas concerning the duality of man only fully emerge in the last chapter of the novel and raise ideas about what constitutes human nature |
Imagery of pain and sickness associated with the transformation to Hyde; the vivid account of Jekyll’s house; stylistic methods linked to the gothic genre |
society’s views and attitudes concerning respectability, reputation and shame; religious views and attitudes; ideas about what constitutes human nature |
Some other tips:
- You do not need to include a counter-argument (disagreeing with the question/including paragraphs which begin “On the other hand”)
- The questions have been designed to enable as many students as possible to write essays
- Examiners say that the inclusion of a counter-argument is often unnecessary and unhelpful
- It can affect your AO1 mark negatively
- Include evidence and analysis of the extract in the same paragraph as evidence and analysis of the rest of the novel
- Think of the extract as a stepping stone to the whole text
- Examiners prefer an “integrated approach”: paragraphs that include related analysis of both the extract and the whole novel
- Examiners dislike essays which treat the extract and the rest of the novel as “separate entities”: when students analyse the extract in the first half of their essays, and then the rest of the novel in the second half of their response
- This would mean your answer doesn’t cover the full scope of the question, and your AO1 mark would be affected
Given the time pressure of the exam, there is always a temptation for students to do without a plan, especially if they feel they understand the focus of the question well. However, this is a mistake.
The exam board states: “Where students have written a plan, there is often a sense of a coherent and organised response, for which references and quotations have been selected to support the student’s argument.”
What this means is that writing a plan not only enables you to achieve the highest AO1 marks (for organisation of argument) but also helps you select the most precise quotations and references, which will lead to the more relevant analysis of the writer’s methods (AO2).
Once you have read and evaluated the question, read and analysed the extract, and created a clear plan, you are ready to begin writing. Below is a guide detailing what to include.
Your essay should include:
- An introduction with a thesis statement
- A number of paragraphs (three is ideal!), each covering a separate point. It’s a great idea to start each paragraph with a topic sentence
- A conclusion
Introduction
- Your introduction should aim to clearly, and briefly, answer the question
- The best way to do this is to include a thesis statement
- You should include the exact words from the question in your thesis statement
- Examiners want to see your own opinion : your interpretation of what the author is trying to show
- A good way to think about this is to ask: what is the author’s one big idea in terms of the characters or themes addressed in the question?
- Include contextual ideas and perspectives to help explain the author’s intentions
- Including the author’s message or one big idea helps create a “conceptualised response”, which examiners reward the highest marks
- An example of a thesis statement:
![thesis statement about a novel the-19th-novel-structuring-the-essay-q7-2](https://cdn.savemyexams.com/cdn-cgi/image/f=auto,width=1920/uploads/2023/04/the-19th-novel-structuring-the-essay-q7-2.png)
Thesis statement:
“Stevenson presents good and evil as a constant duality throughout the novel and portrays it as a natural facet of the individual, which results in an ongoing battle between the two. Stevenson proposes that the inherent evil aspect of man is merely suppressed by society and he attempts to explore the consequences of attempting to separate one from the other.”
- Introductions should not be too long, or include all the details of what each paragraph will include
- You will not be rewarded for including the same information twice, so don’t waste time repeating yourself
- Write your thesis in the third person, not the first person (don’t use “I”)
- “I believe that Stevenson presents ideas about good and evil …. ❌
- “Stevenson presents good and evil as a constant duality through the character of Dr Jekyll / Mr Hyde … in order to illustrate …” ✅
- Try to include three separate paragraphs that cover three separate points
- This will ensure your response is to what examiners call the “full task”
- Start each paragraph with a topic sentence
- A topic sentence is an opening sentence which details the focus of its paragraph
- It should include the words of the question
- All topic sentences must relate to your thesis
- They should be seen as sub-points that provide a more specific and narrower focus than your thesis statement
- Everything that follows a topic sentence in a paragraph must support the point it makes
Example of a topic sentence:
“Stevenson presents Jekyll as a man with a respectable reputation within society which is juxtaposed with the depiction of Hyde as a manifestation of evil.”
- Paragraphs ideally include analysis of both the extract and the whole novel
- This is what examiners call an “integrated approach”
- Don’t separate your analysis of the rest of the novel into different paragraphs
- The examiners stated that the best students “dip in and out of both the extract and the whole text to select details which support their argument as appropriate”
- Beware of writing an overly structured paragraph which follows a set pattern
- You may have learned PEE, PEAL, PEED, or other structures for your paragraphs
- However, examiners often say that although these are excellent for learning what to include in essays, they can be limiting in an exam
- Instead, be led by the ideas in the text, and prove your own argument (both the overall thesis and your topic sentences)
- This can result in improved marks for AO1
- A conclusion for a 19th-century novel should only summarise the proof you have provided for your thesis
- It only needs to be two or three sentences long
- It should include the words of the question and your thesis
- Remember, you do not get rewarded for including the same information twice
An example of a conclusion:
“To conclude, Stevenson presents good and evil as two powerful entities which coexist within the individual. Through his characterisation of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson indicates their separation as an impossibility and he uses them to present a very powerful exploration of the complexity of human nature.”
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Author: Nick
Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.
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A thesis statement: tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself.
Note that the work, author, and character to be analyzed are identified in this thesis statement. The thesis relies on a strong verb (creates). It also identifies the element of fiction that the writer will explore (character) and the characteristics the writer will analyze and discuss (determination, faith, cunning). Further Examples:
This thesis focuses on the idea of social corruption and the device of imagery. To support this thesis, you would need to find images of beasts and cannibalism within the text. This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.
Table of contents. Step 1: Reading the text and identifying literary devices. Step 2: Coming up with a thesis. Step 3: Writing a title and introduction. Step 4: Writing the body of the essay. Step 5: Writing a conclusion. Other interesting articles.
The Literary Thesis Statement. Literary essays are argumentative or persuasive essays. Their purpose is primarily analysis, but analysis for the purposes of showing readers your interpretation of a literary text. So the thesis statement is a one to two sentence summary of your essay's main argument, or interpretation.
Literary analysis looks critically at a work of fiction in order to understand how the parts contribute to the whole. When analyzing a novel or short story, you'll need to consider elements such as the context, setting, characters, plot, literary devices, and themes. Remember that a literary analysis isn't merely a summary or review, but ...
The thesis (pronounced thee -seez), also known as a thesis statement, is the sentence that introduces the main argument or point of view of a composition (formal essay, nonfiction piece, or narrative). It is the main claim that the author is making about that topic and serves to summarize and introduce that writing that will be discussed ...
Thesis Statements What this handout is about This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, ... Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel. makes a claim that others might dispute. is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your ...
Note that the work, author, and character to be analyzed are identified in this thesis statement. The thesis relies on a strong verb (creates). It also identifies the element of fiction that the writer will explore (character) and the characteristics the writer will analyze and discuss (determination, faith, cunning). Further Examples:
Use Literary Terms in Thesis Only to Make Larger Points. Poems and novels generally use rhyme, meter, imagery, simile, metaphor, stanzas, characters, themes, settings and so on. While these terms are important for you to use in your analysis and your arguments, that they exist in the work you are writing about should not be the main point of ...
Step 2: Write your initial answer. After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process. The internet has had more of a positive than a negative effect on education.
The first thesis merely describes something about the poem; the second tells the reader what the writer thinks the poem is about--it offers a reading or interpretation. The paper would need to support that reading and would very likely examine the way Parker uses images of suicide to make the point the writer claims.
Literary analysis involves examining all the parts of a novel, play, short story, or poem—elements such as character, setting, tone, and imagery—and thinking about how the author uses those elements to create certain effects. A literary essay isn't a book review: you're not being asked whether or not you liked a book or whether you'd ...
The thesis statement tells your reader what to expect: it is a restricted, precisely worded declarative sentence that states the purpose of your essay -- the point you are trying to make. Without a carefully conceived thesis, an essay has no chance of success. The following are thesis statements which would work for a 500-750 word literary ...
A thesis statement is a sentence in a paper or essay (in the opening paragraph) that introduces the main topic to the reader. As one of the first things your reader sees, your thesis statement is one of the most important sentences in your entire paper—but also one of the hardest to write! In this article, we explain how to write a thesis ...
A thesis statement . . . Makes an argumentative assertion about a topic; it states the conclusions that you have reached about your topic. Makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of your paper. Is focused and specific enough to be "proven" within the boundaries of your paper. Is generally located near the end ...
Quick answer: One example of a good thesis statement for the novel Night would be that enduring ongoing cruelty can make people feel hopeless, can cause them to inflict cruelty on others, and can ...
Thesis Definition. A thesis is a statement in a non-fiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove.One can find examples of thesis statement at the beginning of literary pieces. These thesis statements are of utmost importance, as they provide clear indicators as to which direction the writer will follow in their work.
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Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement. 1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing: An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.; An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.; An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies ...
6 key steps to answer the 19th-century novel exam question effectively: 1. The very first thing you should do once you open your exam paper is to look at the question: ... Thesis statement: "Stevenson presents good and evil as a constant duality throughout the novel and portrays it as a natural facet of the individual, which results in an ...
I. Thesis Statement: In Kindred, the female characters of the antebellum South, both black and white, are contrasted with the modern character of Dana to highlight the significance of the progress ...