When progressing from A-Levels into higher education, it can be difficult to find your own academic voice and learn how to take your analyses to the next level. In this post, we explain how to formulate an argument in university-level assignments, some elements of literary analysis and the resources that are available to you.
Argument
One of the key differences between studying English Literature at A-level and in higher education is that when you write an assessment, we expect you to develop an argument. It can be difficult to get out of the habit of just thinking about an essay as a collection of interesting things we think about a text, but to really engage critically we want all those things to push towards one over-arching point you want to make about the text(s).
A main argument should demonstrate something (which is why we recommend including in your introduction a sentence that says “this essay will demonstrate”). This is more than just stating the obvious, like saying that George Orwell’s novels are political. An argument proposes a point that might be disagreed with; the rest of the essay then pushes towards explaining why your interpretation is valid.
Joining the Discussion
Studying at A-Level or GCSE might have led you to think that there is one correct interpretation of every text. But at higher education, and in wider scholarship, we work from the understanding that there are multiple, sometimes conflicting interpretations of a text.
When we talk about joining the discussion, we don’t just mean the out loud discussion we have in the seminar room. In your assignments, you will also be expected to engage with secondary material, theory and criticism. Depending on your subject area, secondary material could include materials such as journalism, interviews, historical accounts or promotional material.
Theory and criticism are the essays, books, and articles that specifically engage in literary theory surrounding your study texts. These might be new to you, and they can seem quite dense and intimidating at first. This is a great way to think about theory and criticism: not as a tool to prove if you are right or wrong, but as voices in a conversation which you are starting to join in.
What is Secondary Material For?
By having a good understanding of the secondary material around a text, we can gain a greater understanding through increased context, the interpretations of others, and how broader theories can be applied to it. While it can be tempting to pick and choose the quotes you use for your assignment to favour statements that flatly agree with whatever you are saying, these don’t always make for very interesting reading.
Rather than using secondary quotes just to affirm your existing point of view, try using a secondary quote to:
- Give historical context to your text – what did people think when it was first published or performed? How has that opinion changed?
- Compare the author’s intention with the result – what has the author said about writing this text? Do you think they were successful?
- Apply a bigger theoretical ideology to your text – how does your text interact with gender, genre, queer theory, political theory, postcolonialism, etc.?
- Give an opinion with which you disagree – why do you think your interpretation is stronger? What can you see that the critic missed? What have they used as evidence that you would interpret differently?
Elements of Literary Analysis
When analysing a text or some secondary material, there are a number of approaches we can take. When on a first or second read of a text, start to apply these elements of literary analysis to gain a deeper understanding, and as a jumping point for finding secondary material and building an argument:
- Themes – central ideas explored throughout a text, and that are expressed through patterns in the plot, key motifs, dialogue and description. For example, good vs. evil, life and death, change vs. tradition.
- Motifs – objects, images, sounds or phrases that recur throughout a text.
- Language – the vocabulary and grammar of a text.
- Structure – the organisation of a text’s plot, language, description or dialogue.
- Syntax – word order and sentence, stanza or paragraph structure.
- Tone – the mood or attitude of a text which is created by language, structure and syntax.
- Literary tradition – the convention of certain texts to explore similar themes, use similar motifs, or have similar meanings and purposes.
- Scholarly tradition – a point of view and/or use of methods among academics to present texts in a particular way.
- Historical context – the time period in which a text is written, including its events, ideas and other literature written at a similar time.
Swansea University Resources
There are a number of resources available to you on different parts of the university website to help you with the various requirements of your written assignments. Make sure to engage with your module’s Canvas page to find additional and specific resources – in particular, the module reading list will always be helpful! Here are a few general resources we think will help:
Key Databases to Find Secondary Sources
Although you can find a lot from a module’s reading list, you might want to start to look more widely and become familiar with the resources below for finding secondary material. Try using your elements of literary analysis notes to work out some key search terms, and see what different materials you can find in these databases:
