Doing well in Literature!

A disclaimer first - For my Express classes, I did not set your exam question, so I can only prepare you the best way I can and you'll have to give your best show when the big day comes on the 14th of May. For my 2N3, you know my papers are usually rather difficult, so you be prepared for it!

What I can tell you all is this - I will be marking more than 50%++ of all the Sec 2 lit papers, so that means chances are that I'll be marking yours. I have strict standards, and have no qualms about failing people who do not put in effort. I repeat - ignorance is most often due to a lack of effort to find out, and a lack of effort is inexcusable in the exams.

So, a few tips.

• Write as much as you can. Your marks depends on it. You wouldn't be penalised for writing wrong things, at this level anyway. The more you write, or the more your brainjuice flows, the higher the chances of you getting some points right.
• You can write as long as you want, but at the same time keep to the essay format. That means you use separate paragraphs when talking about each different point. If you confuse me by writing nonstop in a chunk of text...just don't confuse me la huh.
• Know your stuff. Know the names of your Shakespearean characters, what happens when, and how the stories end. These are the basics. If you get them wrong, your whole essay will be in danger.
• For unseen poetry, highlight key words and scribble related ideas/images/pictures to them. Use your imagination, and you will be able to understand the whole poem better. Put yourself in the poet's shoes, and try to imagine what the poet is thinking and feeling. Read the poem silently, and see how it sounds like. You got to live it!
• Finally, many questions will ask you for your opinion, and when asked so, you will not only have to 1) give your opinion, but also 2) list down the reasons why you say this, and then 3) have good evidence from the text/poem to prove that each of the reason is correct.
  

I hope none of these points are new to you; if so you were probably sleeping in class one time or another! Anything you need to know, always ask ok!

BTW, here's a good resource for studying Macbeth, which is arguably the more difficult play to read.