Skills Session 4 REMINDER crafting a suitable question Crafting an effective question

Creating an effective essay question – the process… To produce a ‘critical evaluative argument’, we must first produce a critical and evaluative question. But what does this mean?

The Task… By the end of Session 4 (4/5th July), you will need to have produced a mini coursework task in which you clearly compare and contrast two texts based on the key themes and ideas within them. Comparison of your chosen coursework texts begins in crafting the title itself. With this in mind, at the centre of your question must be a thematic focus. You should use the theories discussed to make analytical readings of the text. Questions must also allow scope to explore different perspectives and interpretations. Finally, they should be evaluative e.g. ‘how far do you agree…’, ‘to what extent...’

Examples of questions ‘Text 1 is merely a pastiche of the Gothic genre, established a hundred years earlier by Text 2’. To what extent do you agree with this view?   ‘Women are presented as passive victims of the patriarchy’. To what extent do you agree with this view of Text 1 and Text 2?     ‘The authors seem obsessed with presenting their conceptions of the ideal of youth and beauty at the expense of anything of substance – Author 1 in particular’. To what extent do you agree with this view of Text 1 and Text 2? ‘The fragmented structure of Text 1 and Text 2 leads to a lack of narrative cohesion’. To what extent do you agree? ‘Text 1 and Text 2 are merely products of the societies in which they were produced, and have nothing to say to the contemporary reader’. To what extent do you agree?

Task In pairs, look at the openings from The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.   What key themes do we see in the openings of these novels? Write down as many thematic focuses as possible that apply to both texts e.g. the past, or memory.

Crafting and developing a question Here we have a central theme that is applicable to both texts. However, the question stem is not evaluative. Central focus or theme established: memory But what now? Explore how the theme of memory is presented in The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Finally, also the question is ‘exploratory’ it does not prompt argument or engagement with different interpretations of the central theme. It also misses out the author’s name and the dates of the two texts. Text names for prose should be italicised.

Second attempt at editing a question Author name and date of texts. Key focus and mutual central themes to compare texts Tight thematic focus Scope to explore different arguments and interpretations Evaluative In The Kite Runner (2003) and A Thousand Splendid Suns, (2007) Hosseini presents memories as a central theme. To what extent do you agree? Focus here is too vague and does not give a clear indication that an interpretation is being formed.

What does an edited task title look like? ‘In The Kite Runner (2003) and A Thousand Splendid Suns, (2007) Hosseini presents painful memories of the past as a catalyst for moral change. ’ To what extent do you agree? Author name and date of texts. Key focus and mutual central themes to compare texts Tight thematic focus Scope to explore different arguments and interpretations Evaluative Task: for a central theme within the extracts, form a question / task title that meets all of the criteria above. Be ready to feedback to the rest of the class! NB Word count = c.400-500 words