TACKLING DRAMA QUESTIONS GENERAL Remember that you are writing about a play intended for stage.

Call it a text, but not a novel. Dont speak about the reader, but about the audience. Imagine the text as a play in your head be aware of who is on stage, where (is this significant?), with whom, what is happening, what is being said as well as how it is said tone, language, diction, imagery, pace - what impact it has and what it reveals of characters and themes. Be aware of sound, lighting, costume, props, set, (look at stage directions, producers notes, clues to expression and movement embedded in the script) and how these contribute to meaning, to our understanding of the characters and themes. Plays are not a slice of life, of reality, even though the playwright may create the illusion that they are. Characters are constructed by the art of the playwright to raise important issues/themes. When you write about characters and situations, youre analysing the art, the way the playwright engages the audience, the means s/he uses. All good plays engage the emotions and intellect of the audience. Theyre meant to make us think, feel and respond. Develop a valid reading of each play. A valid interpretation is based on the text. For example, you can only tell what Gertrude thinks from the text ie, from what she says, what others say about her, what she does, what the stage directions indicate. Know the text well. Know key episodes very well so that they come straight into your head when you need them. Its alright to feel ambivalent about a character, to be in two minds, to be torn between two ways of judging the character. Explain by referring to the text how this is a result of the characters complexity as constructed by the playwright and a result of the complex issues the play explores. QUESTIONS Analyse the question. Identify exactly what the question is asking. Deal with all parts of the question. Dont let the question push you around or intimidate you: theres no need to slavishly agree or disagree with an extreme view that may be suggested by a question. However, remember that the question is on your side, that its designed to give you an entry point into the play. The question will enable you to say the important things you need to say about the play. All questions ask you to discuss THEMES and CHARACTERS. All questions ask WHAT as well as HOW = literary and dramatic features. All general questions EXPECT you to discuss HOW = literary/dramatic features, EVEN IF THEY DONT EXPLICITY ask you to do so.

Preparation Jot down the titles of the plays youve studied, names of characters youll mention. Jot down the criteria in short hand: I need to: A. know/understand works in detail B. respond to question C. appreciate literary/theatrical devices, D. organize ideas into paragraphs, E. write clearly, correctly. THE ESSAY: Aim to write 8-10 IB pages (fewer lines per page and margins on both sides about
5-6 A4 pages) Quality dont ramble on to fill pages)

Introduction Name plays/playwrights and get straight to topic. Make clear what you see the question is about. Dont go into detail. The essence of what youre saying is: Play a by A is about
XX, play b by B is about YY or XY.(=WHAT) The playwright uses TOPIC to develop character and explore/focus on issues. This is reinforced through the use of LIT/DRAMATIC features (=HOW).

Check: Am I on topic? Body Develop arguments: dont tell story make a point quote briefly or refer to specific examples to illustrate what youre saying discuss, explain, ANALYSE and EVALUATE . Check: Am I on topic? Write in paragraphs: a new idea = new paragraph. Create a sense of order and connectedness in your ideas: use topic sentences (they summarise the point of the paragraph: A key feature of both
plays is the set tells the marker that this paragraph deals with the way set is important to topic)

order you points move from the most important and convincing ideas to lesser but significant ideas aim for transitions, linking words/ideas between paragraphs: later, further, as well as, in contrast, while, on the other hand, however. continue to see the TOPIC and its implications. Check: Am I on topic? Conclusion Come to a clearly expressed conclusion about the topic/plays (without merely generalising or repeating verbatim what youve already said). Leave the examiner with the impression of having encountered a thoughtful, intelligent, sensitive, engaged student. Check: Have I A. shown knowledge/understanding, B. answered the question C. analysed effect of literary/theatrical devices, D. organized my ideas logically E. expressed myself clearly and correctly?

REREAD your essay: the/a, agreement, run-on sentences that have lost their point, clarity, punctuation, simple elegance.