HOW TO ANSWER LITERATURE QUESTIONS
HOW TO ANSWER LITERATURE QUESTIONS
RESPONDING TO LITERATURE QUESTIONS
It is very important to understand
the skills for answering literature questions because, more often than not,
students fail to respond to literature questions not because they don’t have
the right answers for those questions but chiefly because they fail to
interpret the questions appropriately and respond accordingly.
Therefore, to successfully respond
to literature questions, the following things should be taken into
consideration at least as the first step to start with:
a) Read the
question carefully
It is advised to read the question
more than once as it helps you to understand it. Re-reading the question twice
or thrice may help you to gain some additional insights on the requirements of
the question
b) Paraphrase the
question
At this point try to re-state the
question in your own words. This helps you among other things to see if you
have understood what you are asked to do. E.g.
“With reference to two plays
that you have read in class compare two female characters one from each play
and show how they differ”.
PARAPHRASE: The question requires me
to pick two female characters and show their similarities
and differences
c) Pay
attention to key words in the question
Questions have key words that tell
you what you are required to do. When you are reading the question note whether
it requires you to;- discuss, list, mention, compare and contrast, verify,
describe, comment, criticize, interpret, justify.etc.
d) Write an outline
of your answer
At this juncture try to frame how
your essay will look like and what you are going to put in the introduction,
the main body and conclusion. i.e. in the introduction you may show (i). The
key words to be defined, (ii) the books you are going to use. In the main body
you may jot down the points you are going to use from each reading. In the
conclusion you may show how you are going to conclude.
INTRODUCTION
Remember that introduction is the
key to your essay. It gives an impression on whether the reader should continue
reading your essay or not. Here you are supposed to do the following.
i. Define
key terms.
For example in our question above; you may need to
define: Character(s) this helps your reader to
understand your working definition. E.g. Characters are animate or
inanimate beings that play different roles in a literary work.
ii. Sometimes
there are no key words to be defined.
In such a case give some
background information on the subject in question. E.g.
“Women occupy different
roles in literary works. By using two readings you have studied in class show
the roles of women in your society”. Here you may need to agree with the
statement and show that women do really occupy different roles in different
societies.
iii. List
the readings you are going to use.
Of course you will have outlined
them somewhere, but this is the right place to include them in your essay. A
good choice of readings is also very important as it shows whether you are
going to respond to the question correctly or wrongly. E.g.
To prove the above statement my
discussion will be centred on Juliette of Three Suitors One Husband by
O. Mbia and Wanjiro of This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa
Thiong’o. or
In this essay references will be
made to Juliette of Three Suitors One Husband by O Mbia and
Wanjiro of This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
iv. Show
the readings you are going to start with.
In case of the questions that
need each reading to be treated separately. E.g.
In this essay references will be
made to Juliette of Three Suitors One Husband by O Mbia and
Wanjiro of This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. To start with Three
suitors one husband;
MAIN BODY
Here you need to be careful because
it is this part that answers your question.
a. Organization.
You should organize
your essay in paragraphs whereby each paragraph carries one point. That is to
say the number of points is determined by the number of paragraphs and vice
versa.
Each paragraph must
contain a topic sentence. A topic sentence is the one containing the argument
you are making. E.g. in our question you could begin each sentence by saying “Both
Juliette and Wanjiro are...”
Provide supporting
details. These are evidences from a literary work plus supporting examples.
Example if you say…
“Both Juliette and Wanjiro are
denied to marry men of their choices. Juliette is denied by her
family to marry Oko since he is still a schoolboy and has no money compared to
the other suitors like Mbia. Similarly, Wanjiro is denied by her mother to
marry Asinjo on the ground that he is a man from another tribe, he is poor and
has no job.”
b. Citation
Your citation will
largely depend on the nature of the question you are attempting. Different
questions call for different responses. Questions on themes for instance have
issues cutting across two or more readings. If that is the case it is possible
to refer to two readings in one paragraph. However this approach is used when
the point is the same. For example, “Literature is the product of the
society. It is used by artists to reflect social realities within their
societies. Use two novels you have read to verify the above statement”. In
such a case you may discuss a theme like HIV/AIDS which appears in both “Passed
Like a Shadow” and “The Interview”. Your citation will be;
One of the social realities
portrayed is the plight of HIV/AIDS pandemic. In “Passed like a Shadow” people
like Adyeri, Amoti, Vicky, David and others die of AIDS due to ignorance of the
ways it spreads and beliefs in superstition. Similarly, in “The Interview”
people like Georgina and the pastor die of AIDS or kill themselves due to Ignorance
without even taking blood test to confirm whether they are infected.
If the readings contain
different points it is advisable that you deal with one reading at a time and
then move to another.
If the question
requires you to compare and contrast two aspects in two readings you make
references to both readings at the same time using words like; whereas, while,
on the other hand, by contrast, or comparing by using words like also,
similarly, likewise.
NOTE:
Answering
a question is not the same as narrating a story. You should avoid
narrating what is taking place in the story but rather analyze and make
arguments.
CONCLUSION
This is the final part of your
essay. You are expected to write your position. Don’t conclude by saying;
What I have said/written
above are/is……………
The above points
are……….
It is advised that you conclude your
essay with expressions like;
In conclusion…..,
To conclude…….,
In summary…..,
By the way of
conclusion…….,
To sum up ……,
Generally it can be
said that….,
To capitulate…….. etc
E.g. “Generally it can be
concluded that, different characters from different readings may be alike or
different depending on the experiences they face in the societies they live. If
the experiences are the same the characters are likely to behave the same way
and vice versa.”
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