Using theories in ee1 essays (4 Viewers)

meiyu

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I have my ee1 prelim soon and I was wondering if I could use philosophical and literary theories in my essay.

I asked my teacher and she said something vague. I know I can't mention specific books regarding it bc it says I can only talk abt one fiction text alongside my two studied texts.

But there are some ideas I would rlly like to link into my three texts that could be backed up via philosophical and literary theory. Just im afraid the teachers won't like me talking so much abt them. Tbh the only reason I've wanted to do ee1 is bc eadv is more restricted in that scope.
 

Bendwhat?_over

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I have my ee1 prelim soon and I was wondering if I could use philosophical and literary theories in my essay.

I asked my teacher and she said something vague. I know I can't mention specific books regarding it bc it says I can only talk abt one fiction text alongside my two studied texts.

But there are some ideas I would rlly like to link into my three texts that could be backed up via philosophical and literary theory. Just im afraid the teachers won't like me talking so much abt them. Tbh the only reason I've wanted to do ee1 is bc eadv is more restricted in that scope.
Linking philosophy sounds to be an excellent idea - My teacher encouraged we link to ideas of "academic theorists". In saying so, play it safe and only link. Don't make it the backbone of your point, remember to address the question clearly.
 

meiyu

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Linking philosophy sounds to be an excellent idea - My teacher encouraged we link to ideas of "academic theorists". In saying so, play it safe and only link. Don't make it the backbone of your point, remember to address the question clearly.
Could it be possible for it to come off as too brief and surface-level? Im afraid my teacher might say that im dipping my toes into too many different things.
 

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Could it be possible for it to come off as too brief and surface-level? Im afraid my teacher might say that im dipping my toes into too many different things.
I'm not too certain about that, honestly. If you ensure to explain the relevance of your link, I belieeeveee that should be enough. But ask your teacher, if you can - If they're vague with direct questions, write a sample paragraph with your philosophical links and ask them what they think of it.

If you can't turn in drafts currently, I know there are others who might be willing to mark for you here. @tigerian ?
 

Dzeeshr

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Could it be possible for it to come off as too brief and surface-level? Im afraid my teacher might say that im dipping my toes into too many different things.
It definitely can if you don’t do it right. People try to add in these academic theories/ quotes just for the sake of it, ending up making an isolated sentence of it and then their essay flow is sort of lost. If you are gonna mention it, I’d always mention it at the start then build off what they have said, to make it feel well integrated. In my opinion I would avoid quoting or referring literary theorists entirely ( but it sort of depends what the essay is on and the quote etc ) . You said you were doing a prelim so is that in class, unseen question? Be careful using them if it’s to an unseen question. So yeah, I personally wouldn’t use it since it’s YOUR argument , if it was a hand-in longer style essay it could definitely help

and also if your ext 1 teacher was quite vague in their answer, I’d avoid it. You have to play to what your teacher wants to read (in my last ext essay included alllll the little hints my teacher dropped throughout the year and got a great mark coz of it).
 

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This is admittedly for Year 12, but we're actually advised to use literary theory quite extensively in our ENX1 essays. However, our teachers have always emphasised that 1) You don't want to overload your essays with critics (i.e. use 1, maximum 2) and 2) You should paraphrase their theories so they fit your argument, rather than directly quoting. If you keep one critic and sustain those references throughout, it also shows that your understanding thereof is less "surface level"
 

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