TU || Important model question for Essays and short stories

Subject: Essays and Short Stories || Level: B.A. 2nd Year || Code: 312

Approaching an Essay

After we have read the elements of essay, we should be prepared to deal with them. The techniques and methodologies to deal with essay is called approaching an essay. This is our encounter with the essay. It teaches us how to read the essay fruitfully, effectively and skillfully. It teaches some simple methods to approach (deal with) an essay. These, methods are:

1. First, we should read the essay in our own style for own pleasure. Then rethink about it decide what type of essay it is among four types (persuasive, narrative, meditative and dramatic).

2. If it is a persuasive (argumentative) essay, we should be more careful to find the arrangement of ideas. We must decide the main idea and its supporting materials. most of the, time, we should find the analogies (examples, data, anecdotes, comparisons, etc.) Decide the relevance of those analogies. And also decide the personality of the essayist in the text how he has presented his view. Finally, make your response to his view and evaluate the presentation.

3. If it is a narrative essay, give attention on its narrative elements. Look at the description, dialogue and commentary. Find the issue the essayist is focusing. Read the essayist's commentary of the story in the essay. It helps you decide the essayists idea. Once you have found the main idea, find the story as supporting materials. Finally, make your response to his idea. Evaluate how convincing it is and the way of narration.

4. If it is a meditative essay, we should re-read it paying attention to the image symbols and their suggestive ideas. The images generate and suggest some ideas about the main point. These images help us get the implied meaning. Look carefully how the writer goes one image to another image. So see the image and their suggestive meaning. Finally, comment on the persuasive dimension and writing style.

5. If it is a dramatic essay, our second reading should focus on the dramatic elements of the essay such as character, setting, dialogue and plot. Manly, decide if there is one character speaking with author's voice. If he is dominating character who brings others into conclusion, he is the spokesperson. Then, scene-setting is also important that can give some sense for main point. Finally, look carefully to dramatic movement to climax and resolution because it gives the author's persuasion. Lastly, write your response to his idea and presentation. 

6. Sometimes, essay may be written in the combination of all four forms. The longer it is, the more rich and complex it becomes. Be the more careful to them and write a good commentary on their mixed qualities.

7. When you read poetry, drama or a story, be careful to find the essay like elements in them because they can really be essays. The ability to analyze an essay makes you more efficient to analyze every form of literature.

In this way, we should prepare ourselves to encounter an essay. This method is really practical and helpful. If we use these methods while approaching an essay, we will be able to discover ideas of the essay and write a good commentary.

[If you are prepared, try to read and write commentary for the given essay below. Do exercise on these essays. If you are still not confident to use these methods to deal with the essays, look at the commentary I have written for you. Please, try yourself before you look at the commentary of the essays on this guide. If you try, your skill will surely develop. This is my personal request for you.]

[Note: In your exam, you will be asked to write short notes from the elements of essay as well as from the elements of fiction. These questions will carry 10 marks altogether. So, the elements are very important. Long questions from essay and fiction will carry 30 marks and the rest of the 30 marks will be asked from the important extracts.]