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HOW TO WRITE A SCHOOL ESSAY IN LITERATURE?

 

Since the modern essay in literature has been part of the Slovenian secondary school curriculum (since the introduction of the baccalaureate in 1994/1995), this semi-literary form has provoked or is provoking a range of different responses, both written and spoken polemical.

 

Every year, there are many pages of instructions, explanations, and wise reasoning that buy thesis paper online tries to write for you on the literature that is the basis for writing your high school diploma essay and how to write it. 

 

The essay has not existed in the Slovene or Slavic context for as long as it has in the Western or Anglo-Saxon system. The famous Slovenian-American Noah Charney[1] has written about this, saying that the Slavic soul cannot bear to be constrained by structure and argument, and that its narrative flow is diffuse, associative, disordered or reflexive. And yet, every year, we try to guide our budding high school students into a pattern of thought and form that is not our own. We try to make our young people like other young people, through instruction, assessment and point-scoring. Those of our young minds who find it hard to bear the shackles therefore ask themselves every year, as they prepare for the essay, what is the need for us to do this. Many people on the other side of the cathedral also ask themselves the same question. There is nothing wrong with young people reading; on the contrary, they should read more. It happens, however, that the very act of writing an essay reduces the will and motivation to read, even though any young person of average ability is capable of writing a few pages on what he or she has read, which is what a school essay requires.

 

The essay has been adapted to the extent that students can choose between a discussion essay and an expository/interpretive essay. The expository essay guides the student through the essay by means of comparative instructions, which means that the writer draws a red thread by comparing two or more literary texts with each other. In the interpretive essay, the student is given a textual passage from one literary text to help him/her unfold the essay and then writes his/her own interpretation, also with the help of the instructions. Most students choose the former because it is supposed to be easier due to its greater objectivity, while the latter is chosen by those who read a lot and are close to literary art.

 

The basis for a good essay is a thorough reading of the work, followed by a good discussion, analysis and interpretation. There is a lot going on in the schoolroom, sometimes not much work is done on the essay, sometimes too much finesse. The final mark in an essay is made up of many layers. The essay requires knowledge of the literary-theoretical and literary-historical apparatus, typical structural orderliness (introduction, core and conclusion), spelling and grammatical correctness, that is, as far as the technical form is concerned, and, on the other hand, a literary affinity, an understanding, an experience of the literary text, which manifests itself as a subjective view of what has been read. Although the essay is primarily meant to express the personal views of the writer, the school essay is strictly formalised. If the writer does not follow the instructions and all the prescribed rules, the final mark will be accordingly.

 

So, how to go about this literary pastime?

  The literary basis for this year's Baccalaureate essay is two novels: the autobiographical novel Angel of Forgetfulness by the Carinthian writer Maja Haderlap and The French Testament by the Siberian-born writer Andreï Makina, who writes in French. This year's essay theme is The hardships of the family and the individual at historical turning points.

It is a good idea to make notes or annotations in the margins of the book as you read (if the book is a personal possession), and it is also advisable to underline or colour in what is interesting or unusual. Immediately after reading (when the memory is most vivid), write down your opinion, experience, update, associations with what you have read. If a topic has touched us, we think about it longer, so even after a few days we can write something down. For those who want more, after reading, we recommend looking online and sources. We also take notes on it.We analyse both novels for common features. It is best to make a comparative table with all the information that is relevant for inclusion in the essay (title, author, time and period in which the work was written, literary type, literary direction, external structure, literary figures, literary place and time, motifs, subject matter, theme, idea or message, stylistic features, socio-political context and historical features, interpretation or actualisation).

 

So what is necessary for successful writing?

 

Read both literary works, even several times.Make an analysis of the literary-historical, literary-theoretical elements and historical features.Observe the structure of the essay (introduction, core, conclusion). The individual parts must be coherently (logically) connected and divided into paragraphs.Follow the instructions or guidelines and the length of the essay (minimum 700 words).The essay must be written in the vernacular of the literature and follow the rules of spelling and grammar. How do we achieve "mastery" of the essay? Just by practising or repeating the essay, but mentally it is best to talk, debate or think about the topic as much as possible. Linguistically, we need to be particularly careful not to use colloquial words, to pay attention to appropriate sentence structure and not to make sentences too long, not to repeat ourselves too much, and to use appropriate professional literary vocabulary. Spelling is important, as is the correct use of infinitives and end punctuation, the correct spelling of words and the correct use of capital and lower case. The substantive claim developed in the introduction is proved by argument through the core, using instructions without obfuscation (mental entanglement and non-sequiturs), and in the conclusion we express our opinion. As most of us nowadays write on electronic devices, care must be taken to ensure that the essay is clearly written and in the appropriate format.

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