English A1 EE

[jaffacakes97]

For my EE I want to compare the two books "I know why the caged bird sings" and "To kill a mockingbird". The ideas for the topic are looking and music as a symbol in both books and comparing them or broadening the topic to the theme of voice (so looking at the narrative voice, singing, the voices of different characters, etc). I´m really stuck on what exactly to do and how to start my research and could really use some help.

[bluedino]

I'm not sure exactly where you're at right now, but if you haven't already, then formulating your Research Question seems like the first step to take. Once you've done that, you can then focus on planning our your EE to answer the RQ. So, since you want to look at theme of voice -- definitely try and develop this more than just "looking at the narrative voice, singing, the voice of different characters" -- be more specific. What about the narrative voice, what about singing, what about the voice of different characters? What's the purpose of voice in both novels/the impact that they have on you as a reader?

I'm also under the impression that an English EE should be quite focused on literature analysis, so to start your research it could be a good idea to read through both books and pick out quotes/ideas that you could possibly use and analyse them. Hope this gives you an idea on where to go from here

[Thrashmaster]

Lol, if those are your two books, you can compare the symbol of birds too

The question is the most important part of the whole thing. If you don't have a perfect question, it is really hard to do well. Form your question, talk to others about it. Write an outline. If it feels forced, look at what evidence you have and adjust your question as necessary. Once you start writing, you can of course still alter your question, but I personally think it is a lot easier if it is solid by that time.

[mckenziefsg]

Look for quotations to support your comparisons. Make sure you can justify why these comparisons are important. Sources other than the two books may prove to be very helpful as well. What prompted these two American writers to write about prejudice? Looking at the political and social climate of the American south may prove to be helpful.