WL1 - Structure

[CommeDesEnfants]

I'm rather confused right now... The English Course Companion, many of the notes on this site and various posts have said that a structure for World Lit Assignment 1 Comparative Essay should look like this:

-Intro

-Point of Comparison 1

-POC2

-POC3

-Conclusion

Yet my English teacher, before school ended (we're supposed to get this done during our school's exam week, since we don't have any exams), told us to do it like this:

-Intro

-Work A

-Work B, with references to Work A but mainly focusing on Work B

-Conclusion

And the structure above is one that was listed under "Never use." Nevertheless, an essay that I saw used a structure similar to above:

-Intro

-Work A

-Work B

-Comparison between Works A and B

-Conclusion

All in all, I just wanted to know if whatever structure I use will actually have a direct effect on my mark, and if I should abandon my teacher and instead go with the first structure listed. When I did that for an in-class comparison essay for two short stories, I was "nailed" for it on Criterion D, Structure, so I'm not really sure now. I think he said he'd be looking it over and then giving us general feedback in September, but since it's externally assessed, he won't actually be marking it... I'm not sure. Help?

[Bishup]

Top one and bottom one in my opinion make the most sense. I don't see how any of the alternatives, apart from number 2 which can lead to narration, should be dissaproved of. Usually it doesn't make a difference as long as your actually comparing. But if your teacher or other people who have said otherwhise, do what they say or think twice about what you're doing.

Edited June 21, 2009 by Bishup

[sweetnsimple786]

Well what I did was

Intro

Work1

Work2

Conclusion

I believe it's what your teacher suggested. I hate doing a POC for a body paragraph because it can get really messy. You mention one work, talk about it, smoothly transition into the next work, talk about it, and set up a transition to the next paragraph. Ugh.

I used my intro, conclusion, and transition sentences to bring together the works. Some conclusions are like three sentences, so that won't cut it--mine was 207 words. I'm most comfortable with what I used. Also, I feel that if you talk about Work1, Work2, and Comparison in three body paragraphs, you may be redundant and wordy. You're not supposed to summarize the works anyways, so there's no reason to have a separate comparison paragraph as the entire essay is supposed to be comparing.

Hope that helped

[Sandwich]

Using the points of comparison means you get closer comparison and because of this can pick out more stuff, such a nuances in language leading to differences. Otherwise you'd have sets of quotes at either end of the essay being compared with each other and masses of text inbetween!

They are both comparative, but using points of comparison is more sophisticated than 2 lumps of text about each piece of literature and is more likely to lead to closer analysis. In terms of marks for structure, being able to integrate points, explanations and ideas and then set them off against each other in a coherent manner means you're guaranteed full marks. Making all your points in one and then pointing out some things in the other means you're either desperately testing the person's memory, or you're not going to be comparing so much as doing Essay #1, Essay #2 and then a brief conclusion of how they link up.

Part of english is being able to integrate things and write well

I dunno. It's up to you, but the way I see it, you're only setting yourself up for success (and it's easier to write, actually) if you do points of comparison all the way through. Otherwise it's a bit of a lottery.

[DeStijl]

I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference, and how you feel most comfortable structuring an essay. Different teachers are going to also have their indvidual preferences when reading and marking said essays, which makes English and World Lit so subjective.

My English teacher personally likes the POC structure, as it prevents too much narrative discussion and permits more analysis. After all...World Lit does present itself as first and foremost a comparative essay. If you discuss both books individually, the likelihood of doing a summary as opposed to a comparative analysis is that much greater. That's why I find it interesting that your teacher would ding you for structuring your writing in such a manner.

Like you said, it's externally assessed, meaning your teacher has no influence on your World Lit mark. Go for it!

[CommeDesEnfants]

Well, through it all, I decided to just go with my teacher's structure that he told us to do - I don't think he'd be too pleased if I turned in something else.

In terms of comparison, well... the points in the second part were all like this:

-Point

-Example

-Explanation

-Relation to Last Work

So in my paragraph on Metamorphosis, I often have to say "This is similar to the last work; Shukhov..." or something like that. I'm pretty sure it takes up more words than if I had done POC... sigh. Nevertheless, I tried to be as analytical as possible anyway. I'm just hoping it shined through in the end.

Edited June 22, 2009 by CommeDesEnfants

[Sandwich]

I often have to say "This is similar to the last work; Shukhov..." or something like that. I'm pretty sure it takes up more words than if I had done POC...

^^ That's kinda what I meant. You have to make backward referrals which make for inferior style and lots of awkward reading... and probably take up more room.

I'm sure it's great anyway, and there's no point changing it now after all that effort! I was just making the comment in case anybody reads this thread and is wondering how to write it themselves. There's no right or wrong way, but there is an easier way