Critical Essay Writing

1. Critical Essay Writing Body Section

2. Critical Essay - Body Purpose The Body section of a Critical Essay should attempt to answer the essay question that has been set. Content • The Body section should consist of a series of Points about the text which attempt to answer the essay question. • Each of these Points needs to be supported with Evidence. • This Evidence should be a brief Quotation from the text(s) being written about. • In order for the reader to understand the Quotations (remember, they may not have read the text(s) being written about), the Context of each Quotation in the texts(s) should be provided. • There should be an Explanation of how each piece of evidence supports the Point being made.

3. Critical Essay - PCQEs Like other sections of the Critical Essay, there are ways in which the Body section can be broken down into structural elements, or building blocks. One of these ways is called the PCQE. PCQEs are building blocks which can combine to form the body of a Critical Essay.

4. Critical Essay – PCQE Example Essay Question: Choose a novel which you believe contains sympathetic characters that are nevertheless flawed. Demonstrate how the author has made these characters likable, but nevertheless shows them to be imperfect. Text: “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck George is not perfect, as is demonstrated by his bullying of Lennie. This is shown in Chapter three when George is talking to Slim, the head ranch hand, about Lennie: “I’ve beat the hell outta him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus’ with his han’s, but he never lifted a finger against me.” Here, George is not perfect because he hits Lennie and bullies him. He only does this because Lennie doesn’t hit him back, which is very cowardly and takes advantage of Lennie’s docile nature.

5. Critical Essay – PCQE Example Heaney makes it clear that he is initially seduced by the agricultural lifestyle. This is evident when he describes the first blackberry of the season. Heaney refers to it as: “a glossy purple clot” The word choice of “glossy” and “purple” suggests the richness of the colour and texture of the berry, presenting it as extremely desirable. Additionally, the colour purple has associations with royalty, suggesting that the young Heaney sees the berries as being special and sophisticated.

6. Critical Essay – PCQE Example Carol Ann Duffy uses imagery effectively to suggest that the war photographer’s job is an important one. This is evident in the opening stanza of the poem, when Duffy uses a simile to describe the war photographer as he develops images of war in his darkroom: “as though this were a church and he a priest” A priest is usually seen to be an important figure in society, offering comfort and guidance to his congregation. By associating the photographer with a priest, Duffy suggests that that the war photographer’s job is similarly important.