How can I improve my class comprehension answers on Of Mice and Men?

1. How can I improve myclass comprehension answersonOf Mice and Men? By Mr I Elkin-Jones Late November 2011 imej@cokethorpe.org

2. Be ready to…. • Engage brain • Read text examples • Answer questions aloud • Make some notes • Write down any sources used • Find the whereabouts of this presentation on the school website… • …for which you’ll have to wait to the end of this talk.

3. It starts with the author first – there is a sense of the text as a construct, not as reality. The topic sentence gets straight to the point (tells me ‘the big idea’): “contrast”…. Of two things – what are they? Uses P/E/E Doesn’t say “this shows” but “this demonstrates” = variety of synonyms = good expression Blends quotes Shows commanding knowledge (at small scale) of text ATQ! Why is this short answer effective?

4. Why is this a fairly good answer on character? • Opens with clear topic sentence • Directs marker’s attention to the point in second sentence • Blends quotes into own writing • Addresses the probably impact upon the reader • BUT…. • The expression isn’t so accurate here (see teacher’s marks in red).

5. Why is this good analytical writing? • Topic sentence tells me student understands question and will answer it • Second sentence compares characters explicitly • Uses a good connectives: “on the other hand” = forces her to compare • Good technical terminology used • BUT…. • Title of novel isn’t referenced correctly: underline it or “quote it” of use italics. • Minor printing error! And quotations not blended this time

6. Why is this good writing about language? • Topic sentence starts it off, again • Reference to the author, so acknowledging that we’re assessing a crafted art, not a story that happens to be on a page • Two simple, but effective, examples used • Accurate use of terminology to demonstrate the topic sentence’s point. • BUT…. • Quotes once again not blended – what a shame • A sentence starts with ‘And’ un-neccessairly • It should cross-reference to similar, or contrasting, occurances in the book between these characters.

7. Like this: How can I write meaningfully about the American dream? Just without the mistakes, please….

8. So where do I find all these resources?

9. Firstly, go to school webpage

10. Secondly, login

11. Not got password yet? Then register!

12. Secure Page Index will appear Click on it and you’ll see the following…

13. The Secure Page Index. So, thirdly, go to Pupils….….then English Resources

14. This page will come up Notice that lots of other subjects are here, too! (Look at the toolbar, left)

15. Lots of resources are here to select from. There are PowerPoints, MP3 recordings of the lectures, and notes, for many of the following: Language paper 1 exam (anthology Section A) Language poetry revision (anthology Section C) For the Literature Exam How to improve coursework Extension material Extra stuff And the site is growing all the time, for IGCSE, A level, Lower school and so on. If you don’t look, you can’t get ahead!

16. That concludes the presentation:“How can I improve myclass comprehension answersonOf Mice and Men?” By Mr I Elkin-Jones Late November 2011 imej@cokethorpe.org