Exam Hints and Tips

Hello my dear, stressed students!

Writing your first University exam is stressful. it's also a very different skill to writing an essay at home. Here are some ideas to help you conquer the nerves and prepare yourself...

1 - Plan your time ruthlessly. If you're required to write an essay an hour, spend 10-15 mins planning and 45 mins writing. If you're not finished after an hour, MOVE ON. You can only ever get 50% of the marks for finishing 50% of the paper, no matter how beautiful your essay ends up being.

2 - READ THE QUESTION! There is no substitute. English is not a rote learning subject. Writing a beautiful essay you 'prepared earlier' isn't going to help get you marks - you have to answer THEIR question. Radical concept, I know.

3 - Invest 10 minutes to mindmap points you'd like to talk about. Make sure they're all relevant to the topic.

4 - Try to think of specific textual examples to back up your points. Remember, you don't have to reference in an exam situation.

5 - Try as much as possible to keep your spelling and punctuation crisp. You don't have to use big words or long sentences to be impressive. All you have to do is get your points across clearly and intelligently. I know we can manage this.

Most importantly: arrive in plenty of time for your exam. I believe you write on Tuesday 12th. Be there with loads of time to spare. Bring spare pens. Make sure you've eaten well (but not too heavily). Relax. No, really, relax!

Drop me an email and let me know how things went. I'm holding thumbs for you!

One-Stop Poetry Shop

As you know, UNISA prescribed a list of 20 poems for this year. You will be examined on 2 - one in ENN101 this semester and one in ENN102 next semester. A few extra classes and energy drinks later, we've broken all records and managed to actually go through each of those 20 poems. I hope you're as impressed as I am.

In case you couldn't make the last class (Danielle's Psych students had a clash), I will be offering a repeat extra class on THURSDAY 30th April at 12:50 in room 24.

In order to help you prepare for exams, here are brief reminders of each poem on UNISA's list. This is not a substitute for attending class, merely a reminder of some of the more salient points in each poem in order for you to complete a good general critical analysis in an exam situation.

*** This is a work in progress - keep checking back, as I post more on each poem ***

MATTHEW ARNOLD (1822-1888) - Dover Beach

Things to look out for:

Pathetic fallacy, religious allegory, the pulsing sea-like rhythm, 'sound effects' in alliteration and assonance.

SHABBIR BANOOBHAI (1949 - ) - When the First Slave Was Brought to the Cape

Things to look out for:

Form (particularly lack of capitalisation), positivity and tenses, blurring the boundaries between the possible and impossible through imagery, freedom of the spirit, the possiblities of refiguring the self.

WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827) - London

Things to look out for:

Mimesis in the endless, heavy rhythm, repetition, imagery, 'sound effects' in alliteration and assonance.

Seeing as they are only a couple of decades apart, it's particularly interesting to contrast Blake's representation of London with Wordsworth's in Composed on Westminster Bridge.

ROY CAMPBELL (1901-1957) - The Zulu Girl

Things to look out for:

Othering, association of women with the land/nature, foreshadowing of ominous future.

HART CRANE (1899 - 1932) - My Grandmother's Love Letters

Things to look out for:

Imagery and its implications, sense of female lineage and desire, sexual/familial positioning, the significance of line breaks, water/memory imagery.

ROBERT FROST (1874-1963) - Mending Wall

Things to look out for:

Rhythm and form as examples of mimesis, register, literal and figurative meanings.

FHAZEL JOHANNESSE - A Young Man's Thoughts Before June the 16th

Things to look out for:

Form (particularly the lack of capitalisation and punctuation), youthful, romanticised notions of martyrdom, the childlike - though not childISH - speaking voice, 'sound effects' produced by alliteration and assonance.

JOHN KEATS (1795-1821) - When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be

* Commentary coming *

PHILIP LARKIN (1922 - 1985) - Talking in Bed

This is Larkin's intricately structured examination of a dying relationship. Look at RHYME STRUCTURE, IMAGERY that reflects an uneasy relationship and the ironies of the title and FORM. Remember our discussion of the significance of the breakdown in rhyme and formal structure from the 'clean' first stanza through to the increasingly messy structure breakdown that occurs further on. This is can be seen as an example of mimesis - mirroring the breakdown in the relationship. Recall the significance of the number 3 in this poem - the odd number, three's a crowd etc. Also consider expectation ("should be the easiest") versus reality ("but more and more time passes silently"). Focus on those last, paradoxical "words at once true and kind/or not untrue and not unkind."

OSWALD MTSHALI (1940 - ) - Men in Chains

Do NOT get this confused with Sepamla’s The Loneliness Beyond!

Look at:

Dehumanising animal imagery vs humanising sun imagery (personification) and the implications of this, anticlimax of doomed prophesy in final line.

EDNA ST VINCENT MILLAY (1892 - 1950) - I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed

Things to look out for:

Subversive use of the sonnet form, line breaks, feminist perspective.

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674) - On His Blindness

Milton's sonnet addressing his encroaching blindness. Although it is never good to conflate poet and speaker, in this case we can say that the speaker IS Milton himself. This is a very personal testament to his struggle with faith and purpose after failing eyesight has called into question his life choices. Look at STRUCTURE (particulars of Petrarchan sonnet and its typical association with love), ENJAMBMENT and its effect on the sense of RHYME, IMAGERY (particularly dark/light) and PUNS/WORD PLAY. Recall the Biblical parable of the Talents.

ESSOP PATEL (1943 - 2007) - In the Shadow of Signal Hill

A short, yet powerful call for violent revolution against Apartheid laws. Look at the IMAGERYand its IMPLICATIONS, as well as the TITLE and lack of PUNCTUATION/CAPITALISATION. Remember our geography quiz? District 6 is associated with forced removals, Langa is a township near the airport (where many black evicted residents might have gone) and Robben Island (where the "heroes" call from) is easily visible from Signal Hill. Signal Hill itself is famous for the noonday gun - a military symbol of the passing of time. What kind of alternate militant symbols of passing time are being called for in the poem?

SIPHO SEPAMLA (1932 - 2007) - The Loneliness Beyond

Do NOT get this one confused with Motshali’s Men in Chains!

Things to look out for:

Look at IMAGERY (particularly animal/human contrasts and the themes of people's lack of individuality. Ask yourself whether, in the last few lines, there might be a subtle sense of forboding.

MONGANE SEROTE (1944 - ) - Alexandra

Things to look out for:

The speaker's inner child-voice that changes register, regression into childhood to parallel helplessness, imagery, continuous play between person/place (Alexandra as woman’s name and Alexandra as township).

PERCY SHELLEY (1792-1822) - Ozymandias

Look at form, as well as line breaks. Notice and comment on the 'story within a story' approach.

WOLE SOYINKA (1934 - ) - Capitol

A scathing political statement against the capitalist trade of a country's (and, thus, people's) access to basic natural resources. This poem is replete with PUNS ("germ", "dough", "tender", "sad"). Look also for basic contrast in IMAGERY (happy, smiling faces to sadness, embers to ashes etc).

STEPHEN WATSON (1955 - ) - The Rain That is Male

It's important to recognise that this poem is a poetic interpretation and translation of the Bleek and Lloyd Collections, whcih are, themselves, translations of !Xam narratives and myths. that means that the politics of this piece are pretty fascinating, given your course preoccupation with 'selves and others'.

Things to look out for:
Form, male/female binaries.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (1770 - 1850) - Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, Spetember 3, 1802

Things to look out for:

Unusual figuration of the city/culture as feminine (and nature as masculine), extended metaphor of London as a beautiful woman, use of sonnet form, unusual Romantic extolling of the virtues of the city as pseudo-pastoral space.

William Butler Yeats ( 1865-1939) - The Second Coming

Things to look out for:

Image of spirals, revolution and thwarted communication, apocalyptic religious imagery, 'sound effects' in alliteration and assonance.

The End is Nigh...

Hi everyone.

Phew! Things have really been heating up, with the result that blog posts have been few and far between these past few weeks. I'll be picking up the pace prior to your exam, though, so keep checking back.

This week marked our last official class together. As I mentioned to you, it really will be the last class, as I won't be returning next semster. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sad about that.

Never fear, though, I won't be dumping you in the deep end just yet! First, lets get through this exam period together. I'll be posting loads of tips, revision and some poetry reminders over the next 2 weeks - check in regularly to take advantage of this.

As a special offer to blog readers/students, I'm offering an EXTRA CLASS on Tuesday 21st April in LR 27 at 11:30. Be there with questions on the course and be ready to cram some of the poetry we didn't make it to. I'll also be posting one or two thoughts on Madonna of Excelsior on this site afterwards.

***

As an end-of-semester event, I suggested we go and see Decadence at the Intimate Theatre in town in the first week of May. It's horridly expensive - R60 - so not for everyone, but for those who'd like to join, I can guarantee it'll be a goodie. Here are details:

This naughty little number is a feast for all the senses. Sex, temptation, indulgence, and glorious extravagance meet desire and a touch of murder.

Steven Berkoff’s comment on British society traces the sensual exploration of two couples’ hysterical love affairs and unusual fetishes. DECADENCE comments on the complex dynamics of mans’ relationships not only with the opposite sex, but with food and copious amounts of money. Helen, Steve, Sybil and Les have seemingly nothing in common, except for their apparent inability to resist temptation...

This risqué story of love and obsession, written by infamously mischievous Steven Berkoff, is performed by Scott Sparrow and Emily Child, and directed by acclaimed comedic expert Christopher Weare. It runs from the 29th April – 16th May at the appropriately named Intimate Theatre on 37 Orange Street Cape Town.

Emily and Scott are ridiculously talented (and ridiculously hot). If you want to come, you should bring money to class on Tuesday and I'll book on the spot for you. The theatre is on the UCT drama campus in town (Orange Street, opposite the Mount Nelson).

Friends, Students, Theatregoers!

Whilst the fabled ides of March may have come and gone, Qaphela Caesar is still running at Hiddingh until friday. A combination of the schools of dance, drama, music and film, it's a pretty spectacular production. Hardly any of the original Shakespeare makes it into the show, with text being interpreted mainly through movement and music.So what can you expect? Half naked women in duct tape doing dances with fire extinguishers, full-body painted men doing choreographed dances with playing cards and black leather shoes, not to mention rather interesting combos of togas and high heels. And that's just for starters. Go and see it - it's a legal mind-altering experience.

Assignment Panic? Never!

I know a lot of you are starting to face the hand-in horror of Friday. Here are a couple of helpful hints; take a deep breath and read them through!



If you're writing on the Press poem:


I suggest that paragraph 1 should set up your understanding of the speaking voice - who is the speaker and what is their position on the refugees? Once you've explained some of the complexities around what is said versus what is implied in this poem, your analysis will flow a lot smoother.

Now, take my worksheet of questions that I gave you in class, and turn a couple of your favourite points into one paragraph each. Remember, whenever you're trying to make a point, it helps if you use a quote from the poem (properly referenced, of course!) to back up your ideas. Don't just drop a quote in cold - use it in a sentence. Make it work for you.

Above all else: don't rush your points. Take the time to do your ideas justice. You have 3 pages - use them! Remember my 3 critical analysis questions and APPLY them.

If you're writing on the Conrad:

This is a lovely, but broad essay topic - like Marlow, you will need to navigate your own path through the jungle of ideas. You HAVE to use quotes from the text in this! They will act like road signs and draw your reader back to the text, making your final mark that much higher.

Remember: one idea per paragraph. If you speak of the "heart of darkness" being the literaral geographical space of Africa as represented by Colonial Europeans, don't suddenly begin referring to the brutality that lies in the Coloniser's own hearts - it mixes ideas! You need to insert a nice, fresh paragraph break. That way, your marker won't get theme-claustrophobia.

Please remember to reference all quotes using Harvard conventions: ".....quote....." (Author surname, year of publication: page number).

Your essay will consist of three or four main points (ideas as to what the "heart of darkness" might refer to) and, for each one, one or two strong links to the text supporting your argument. It will mean re-reading several sections of the book to find the right quotes. Yes, RE-READING!

Remember, I am happy to look at drafts, but not on Thursday. If anyone asks me for help on Thursday, I may take payment in fingers.

We’re back!

…and I’m sure you missed me dreadfully. Unfortunately, we hit a bit of a snag these past 2 weeks, as hyper active VC internet filters cut our access to the blog. But, after fighting the good fight, I’ve managed to get us up and running. You can thank me in chocolate (or, better yet, first class essays).

Also, hello there to the little cluster of non-Cape Townian readers we’ve sprouted! I've had three emails from non VC students...and that's just this week. Although I unfortunately won’t be able to critique your essays and work like I do with my own students, you’re very welcome to work along with us. You're also very welcome to leave comments on the posts.

So, what’s been happening at VC Cape Town?

Macbeki, for one. Fifteen of us went on Tuesday night and watched Macbeth…SA style. It was many things – overly long and hard to hear, yes, but highlights included the disgruntled ‘previously advantaged’ porter, Macbeki’s overly-zealous verbal referencing and Lady Manto’s drunken “come, you spirits” speech. Let’s do it again!

On an academic front, boy have we hit crunch time, people. Midterms, essay deadlines and the pressure of reading the novels in time has taken hold. REMINDER: you are writing your English midterm on Friday 20th March, the same day your two UNISA essays are due. It's a lot to juggle, but please don't drop any of those balls.

On that note, come and talk to me if you feel things are getting to you, ok? I promise to only get slightly mad to hear you still haven’t bought the book, etc. Rather let’s fix it while we’ve got time than stick our heads in the proverbial sand. It’s only going to get crazier.

Of course, there are some things I can't do for you: attend class for you, read your novels for you, make your notes. If you're not doing that....eish, sweetheart.

I'll post a couple of assignment hints this weekend for you. Check this space!

Outbreak of Art!

Infecting the City '09

Great to see some of you today (hello Portia!). Remember...performances continue until Friday. My recommendation is 'Exile', every weekday at 1:15 in the Adderley Street Fountain.

Mmm. It was beautiful.

Hope for More than Just Refugees

First thing’s first. We have an ESSAY EXTENSION – your 2 essays are now both due on the 20 March. This means both your essay on Karen Press' Hope for Refugees and the essay on your choice of the three novels will be due on the same date.

This does not mean that you should leave them until then! Rather start them now and use the next week to show me your drafts (as some people already have). Remember, you’ll have a lot more work coming up around that time (like your midterms!). Speaking of midterms, come and fetch an exam timetable from me if you haven't already got one. You write ENN101 on March 20th - the exact same day your essays are due. Easy on the memory, hard on the execution.

We had a nice long chat about the poetry essay in class this week. You seemed to have a lot of anxiety over where to start your analysis, but I reminded you that you actually know more than you think about poetry. In fact, when it comes to understanding the subtleties of language, rhythm and sound effects, you already have all the ‘answers’ – you just need to identify the right questions to ask yourself. After I handed out some guiding questions for you, this turned out to be the case. Glorious! Remember to come and see me, though, if you want to run your essay by me…or if you want help coming up with more questions!

Some further tips for writing a first-class essay:

1 - Don't waste space talking about 'what the poem is about'. Even worse, don't spend pages talking about the context of the refugee situation in South Africa. Although you might want to reference both of these topics, keep them short and to-the-point. In general, your essay should be more focussed on the POEM itself - think of yourself as a scientist dissecting and tweezing apart each little word, sentence contruction and image and sticking it under the microscope. Your essay should be a CLOSE EXAMINATION of the text, first and foremost. If you follow the headings I suggested you talk about (form, rhythm, word choice, imagery etc), you should stay away from the pitfalls of going off topic. Use this extra time to really craft your poetry essay! I look forward to reading them.

2 - Don't confuse the POET (the fabulous Karen Press) and the SPEAKER (unknown person whose attidude and views are complex and worth investigating).

3 - Always follow through on your three golden questions of critical anlaysis (WHAT do I notice that is different and interesting? WHAT EFFECT does this create in me the reader? WHY might the poet have wanted to create this effect?). Stopping half way through will almost always undermine your argument.

4 - QUOTE from the text to support your arguments. If you're trying to show show how a particular line creates a certain meaning, quote it. It's hard to make meaning out of an abstract concept. Show it off, parade it about and, above all, make it work for you.

______________________

So, what else did we do?

Well, for one thing, we discovered that pretty much everybody needs to brush up on their Heart of Darkness plot knowledge.

Read. Read, or I'll throw more than marshmallows at you next time.

We chatted about the concept of Empire, power and representation. I asked you to get into the mindset of a white, British man at the height of Empire....temporarily. This was to understand the rhetoric (ways of talking) and world view that the novel would be set against. It's often hard for students to see just how revolutionary and before his time Marlow's perspective on colonisation is, so hopefully remembering this exercise will help to clarify that for us.

Hopefully I'll be seeing many of you on Saturday, at the 'Infecting the City' outing. Wear comfortable shoes - we'll be doing a lot of running between venues - and bring a camera!

PROGRAMME

At 9:30am, we will be meeting in Church Square (corner of Adderley and Bureau Streets – behind the Old Slave Lodge) to watch Limbo – a new collaborative work about today’s immigrants that dangles breathtakingly above the square where white slave-owners used to buy foreigners.

We will then move to Thibault Square (corner of Riebeeck and Long Streets, opposite the SARS tax office) where, at 10:30am, we will watch Amakwerekwere. “Amakwerekwere” is a derogatory South African term to describe African immigrants and, as such, this piece explores the issue of xenophobia.

At 11:15am, we move to the Adderley Street Fountains, where we’ll see Exile - a work about loss that haunts Cape Town’s iconic fountains while the traffic circles.

At 12 noon we will head over for the launch event in Riebeeck Square (corner of Shortmarket and Bree streets)– Turning into the Void. Sponsored by Red Bull, this vast animated sculpture hangs suspended from a crane against Cape Town’s dramatic skyline.

Have a great weekend,

C

PS 71 students have put their names down for Macbeki so far. SEVENTY ONE. (R28, March 10th). Just call me Ms Marketer.

Who are YOU? Identity, Othering and Difference

This week, we talked about REPRESENTING DIFFERENCE.

We used travel photography (mine!) and travel tales (yours!) to understand how we unconsciously construct cultures in terms of difference.






1 - Action snap in Vietnam as I see what the food stall at the side of the road is selling.

2 - Goth in Recoleta Cemetery, Argentina.

3 - "You shall not pass!" Immobile in India...

Look at the politics of representation in these pictures - what am I/the photographer unconsciously saying about difference, culture and meaning?

I introduced you to ‘othering’, which is a technical term for doing just that (representing people in terms of their difference to you). I suggested that, whilst othering is something we all do (often without thought or malice) it’s good to be as aware as possible of who we are and how that might affect how we represent others. In fact, our English textbook has a title that perfectly encapsulates our themes for the course – Selves and Others.

With this in mind, I asked some of you to write a short piece on yourself – who you are, what your influences have been – to try and start becoming self-aware about some of your own politics and influences. It’s the first step to becoming better thinkers and, by extension, writers.

The link to our first novel is clear. Heart of Darkness is one man’s travel tale of a journey through central Africa at the height of colonization.The European colonial period in Africa is well known for a particularly dangerous and derogatory form of othering, so keep an eye out for these sorts of things as you read.
HINT: look out for the different layers of language and perspective of Africa you get in the novel - Marlow the traveller's language and views, the Colonial officers' perspective, as well as Marlow's friends, relative and bosses back in Europe.

______________________________________________________________________

On a culture front, there are loads of exciting things afoot. We're heading to the Spier Performing Arts Festival ('Infecting the City' '09) on Saturday 21st. The theme this year is 'Home Affairs', with a focus on the concept of South Africans' sense of identity and 'belonging'. Strong themes of xenophobia, othering and identity politics will be explored - perfect for our course!

We'll be meeting in the morning at Thibault Square in town and moving from performance to performance over the next couple of hours. Best of all? It's totally free. I CAN'T WAIT!

Here are some scenes from last year's festival...

_____________________________________________________________________

We are also having a class outing to Pieter Dirk Uys' Macbeki at the Little Theatre in town on Tuesday 10 March. Tickets are R30 and it looks like loads of fun.

______________________________________________________________________

On Your Marks...

It was great meeting all of you this week.

Here are a couple of reminders of what we chatted about.

We began to tackle the concept of critical analysis - a new way of looking at texts (remember what a text is?). I gave you three basic rules of performing a critical analysis in poetry:

1. WHAT is different or interesting about this poem?
   


2. WHAT EFFECT does this have on the way we read, hear or understand it?
   


3. WHY might it have been done?
   

Follow this approach and you'll be well on the way to writing amazing poetry essays!

We also chatted about three important 'tools' that poets use to create meaning.

FORM (very roughly, the way the poem is laid out on the page)

RHYTHM (the 'beat' of the poem - this may be regular or irregular, but it's always done for a purpose)

'SOUND EFFECTS' (things like alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia).

Finally, I suggested that poems and songs are closely connected, which gave rise to some very unfortunate dance moves. Speaking of which, click on this link to have another look at Ani Difranco performing the magnificent 'Coming Up'. I prefer this simpler live version to the one I played you in class. If you like it, have a listen to Grand Canyon - another 'spoken song'. And, of course, check out her music too! (with Valentine's day just around the corner, you might enjoy this one).

FOR NEXT TIME...

Look out for a poem, song or lyric that you particularly enjoy this week and think about what makes it clever or interesting. Please bring it to class next time - I want to see what you enjoy....and why!

The Feb Frenzy

...don't let it get to you.

Buy your books (see below), find your venues, make it to class. We're diving straight in.

I'll be starting February off with poetry to give you a chance to read your setworks. Use it! You can find out what order to read your setworks by referring to the semester planner I handed out in the first class. If you missed out on this, come and fetch one from me. You can find me on the ground floor of Postilion House. Turn left at reception, through the door nearest the railway tracks. You'll hear me before you see me.

I want you to consider this blog as extra assigned reading. I'll be posting assignment hints, feedback and tips throughout the semester. Feel free to leave comments, questions and rants as we go. I'll also be pointing you in the direction of some great Cape Town cultural events - let me know of anything you think would be interesting to visit, or review the things I post. I really want you to get out there and make the most of Cape Town culture!

Speaking of which, there are a couple of exciting theatre events on at the moment.

Maynardville continues to play host to an awesome production of Shakespeare's As You Like It until Valentine's Day. I've heard they are reintroducing midweek ticket specials - 2 tickets for R100. Now that's a deal! If not, swing by any night at 7:45 with your student card and see if you can pick up a R60 student ticket.

Take a picnic, a glass of wine and a warm top and be entertained by a rip-roaring tale of cross-dressing, mistaken identity and misguided passion.

It also helps that the actors are hot.

***I am organising a class trip to this play on WEDNESDAY 28th JANUARY at R40 per ticket. Email me by Monday 26th if you're keen***

_______________________________________________


Don't forget to try The Baxter's Feb offerings. If you're quick, you can catch Sir Antony Sher in Shakespeare's The Tempest. It's an African spin on the play - many themes of which (disposession, control and slavery) lend themselves to this interpretation. It certainly is a sensory feast, with some amazing puppetry, costuming and sound effects. Despite all the pagentry, I found myself rather underwhelmed by the production. I'd love to hear what you thought...

________________________________________________

Something I can heartily recommend is Pictures of You, also at the Baxter.

It's a truly magical piece, combining actors in full facial masks, puppets and a very ingenious set. The Baxter write-up says it "explores the quirky lightness as well as the darker truths of undying love and obsession" and I think that sums it up better than I could. On Monday nights you get the show plus a full dinner in the restaurant for R55. They also have a Tuesday (twosday) special: Two tickets for the R65 price of one.

_________________________________________________




See you in class!
C