Essay Clinic

Do you suffer from any of the following conditions? You may be

suffering from one or several. If so, seek advice immediately.
WANDERING
Symptoms:
You wander through the text, happily filling up the page without care or regard for the question or task at
hand. Some of your comments may even be insightful but unfortunately, they are not relevant to the
question so do not gain you any marks. Examiners state that students who simply offload everything
they know about a text with no focus on the question, will not achieve above a grade D. Very grave
indeed, says the doctor.
Cure:
Highlight the key words of the question before you start writing and stop after every paragraph to check
that you are answering the question. If for example, you are asked how a writer makes a scene moving,
all of your comments should be related to this, not what makes it exciting or entertaining. Every word in
the question is important.

LISTING
Symptoms:
You are addicted to literary devices and sprinkle these liberally throughout your essay to make it look
impressive. However, you never stop to comment on their effect and how they make the text
vivid/moving/dramatic (depending on the question!) This is the dirtiest of all habits and must be stopped
immediately
Cure:
For each literary technique you mention, you must comment in detail on the effect in relation to the
question. The doctor says: it is better to say a lot about fewer techniques than little about them all.

STORY-TELLING
Symptoms:
Once upon a time your great story telling powers were valued but there is no place for them in an English
Literature Essay. You simply describe/retell what is in the text without stopping to analyse or answer the
question. This is a very serious condition indeed and may be contagious.
Cure:
Turn around 3 times, holding your nose chanting the mantra: there is no place for story telling in essays.
Revise essay technique, particularly the PQC approach. Each of your paragraphs should begin with a
clear point related to the question, followed by a quotation and then a comment on how the language is
effective

DUMPING
Symptoms:
Like a bulldozer to a piece of concrete, you scoop up the text in big chunks and dump it on the page
without taking care to select the most careful or relevant quotations and embed them succinctly into the
body of your work.
Cure:
Take care to select the questions that are most relevant to the question and rather than copying out
whole chunks of the text, embed them into your sentences. Ask your teacher for advice on how to
integrate quotations

JUMPING
Symptoms:
You jump straight into the question like a dog at a bone without careful planning. Your essays are
therefore erratic and lack structure; darting from one point to the next and you often repeat yourself.
Cure:
You MUST make a careful plan before you start writing, deciding what your key points are and the order
you are going to write them in. Doctor says: planning is the best medicine

DELUSION
Symptoms:
You have the insane notion that you will pass your Literature exam without re-reading and re-reading the
texts. You think that you can blag your way through, without revising and consequently, your essays lack
knowledge, most points being vague and superficial
Cure:
Start re-reading the key texts one by one TODAY! Cure must be put into practice regularly.