HOW TO ANSWER LITERATURE QUESTIONS. BY Samson Mwita.

RESPONDING TO

LITERATURE QUESTIONS

It is very important to understand the skills for answering literature questions because, more often than not, students fail to respond to literature questions not because they don’t have the right answers for those questions but chiefly because they fail to interpret the questions appropriately and respond accordingly.

Therefore, to successfully respond to literature questions, the following things should be taken into consideration at least as the first step to start with:

a)    Read the question carefully.

It is advised to read the question more than once as it helps you to understand it. Re-reading the question twice or thrice may help you to gain some additional insights on the requirements of the question

b)   Paraphrase the question.

At this point try to re-state the question in your own words. This helps you among other things to see if you have understood what you are asked to do. E.g.

“With reference to two plays that you have read in class compare two female characters one from each play and show how they differ”.

PARAPHRASE: The question requires me to pick two female characters and show their similarities and differences

c)    Pay attention to key words in the question.

Questions have key words that tell you what you are required to do. When you are reading the question note whether it requires you to;- discuss, list, mention, compare and contrast, verify, describe, comment, criticize, interpret, justify.etc.

d)   Write an outline of your answer.

At this juncture try to frame how your essay will look like and what you are going to put in the introduction, the main body and conclusion. i.e. in the introduction you may show (i). The key words to be defined, (ii) the books you are going to use. In the main body you may jot down the points you are going to use from each reading. In the conclusion you may show how you are going to conclude.

THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR ESSAY

INTRODUCTION.

Remember that introduction is the key to your essay. It gives an impression on whether the reader should continue reading your essay or not. Here you are supposed to do the following.

                          i.      Define key terms. For example in our question above; you may need to define: Character(s) this helps your reader to understand your working definition. E.g. Characters are animate or inanimate beings that play different roles in a literary work.

                        ii.      Sometimes there are no key words to be defined. In such a case give some background information on the subject in question. E.g.

 “Women occupy different roles in literary works. By using two readings you have studied in class show the roles of women in your society”. Here you may need to agree with the statement and show that women do really occupy different roles in different societies.

                      iii.      List the readings you are going to use. Of course you will have outlined them somewhere, but this is the right place to include them in your essay. A good choice of readings is also very important as it shows whether you are going to respond to the question correctly or wrongly. E.g.

To prove the above statement my discussion will be centred on Juliette of Three Suitors One Husband by O. Mbia and Wanjiro of This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.   or

In this essay references will be made to Juliette of Three Suitors One Husband by O Mbia and Wanjiro of This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.

                      iv.      Show the readings you are going to start with. In case of the questions that need each reading to be treated separately. E.g.

In this essay references will be made to Juliette of Three Suitors One Husband by O Mbia and Wanjiro of This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o. To start with Three suitors one husband;

MAIN BODY.

Here you need to be careful because it is this part that answers your question.

a.    Organization.

Ø  You should organize your essay in paragraphs whereby each paragraph carries one point. That is to say the number of points is determined by the number of paragraphs and vice versa.

Ø  Each paragraph must contain a topic sentence. A topic sentence is the one containing the argument you are making. E.g. in our question you could begin each sentence by saying “Both Juliette and Wanjiro are...”

Ø  Provide supporting details. These are evidences from a literary work plus supporting examples. Example if you say…

“Both Juliette and Wanjiro are denied to marry men of their choices. Juliette is denied by her family to marry Oko since he is still a schoolboy and has no money compared to the other suitors like Mbia. Similarly, Wanjiro is denied by her mother to marry Asinjo on the ground that he is a man from another tribe, he is poor and has no job.”

b.    Citation

Ø  Your citation will largely depend on the nature of the question you are attempting. Different questions call for different responses. Questions on themes for instance have issues cutting across two or more readings. If that is the case it is possible to refer to two readings in one paragraph. However this approach is used when the point is the same. For example, “Literature is the product of the society. It is used by artists to reflect social realities within their societies. Use two novels you have read to verify the above statement”. In such a case you may discuss a theme like HIV/AIDS which appears in both “Passed Like a Shadow” and “The Interview”. Your citation will be;

One of the social realities portrayed is the plight of HIV/AIDS pandemic. In “Passed like a Shadow” people like Adyeri, Amoti, Vicky, David and others die of AIDS due to ignorance of the ways it spreads and beliefs in superstition. Similarly, in “The Interview” people like Georgina and the pastor die of AIDS or kill themselves due to Ignorance without even taking blood test to confirm whether they are infected.

Ø  If the readings contain different points it is advisable that you deal with one reading at a time and then move to another.

Ø  If the question requires you to compare and contrast two aspects in two readings you make references to both readings at the same time using words like; whereas, while, on the other hand, by contrast, or comparing by using words like also, similarly, likewise.

Ø  NOTE: Answering a question is not the same as narrating a story.  You should avoid narrating what is taking place in the story but rather analyze and make arguments.

CONCLUSION.

This is the final part of your essay. You are expected to write your position. Don’t conclude by saying;

v  What I have said/written above are/is……………

v  The above points are……….

It is advised that you conclude your essay with expressions like;

Ø  In conclusion…..,

Ø  To conclude…….,

Ø  In summary…..,

Ø  By the way of conclusion…….,

Ø  To sum up ……,

Ø  Generally it can be said that….,

Ø  To capitulate…….. etc

E.g. “Generally it can be concluded that, different characters from different readings may be alike or different depending on the experiences they face in the societies they live. If the experiences are the same the characters are likely to behave the same way and vice versa.”