You have made a good start — having researched your two texts, worked out a topic, found relevant critical readings and made notes, written a question that stimulates debate and had it approved by your teacher. All good so far. But what about planning and writing the essay itself? How do you create a convincing argument and keep to the word count, while still providing detailed analysis? How do you maintain a balanced comparison throughout? This article focuses on how to plan and complete your independent essay, allowing you to shine as a literary critic.
When planning your NEA, it is tempting to start with ‘themes’ — that is, areas of interest within your topic. This might be helpful when you are at the early brainstorming stage but when planning it is more helpful to think of how to create points within an argument, not headings. The ‘questioning method’ enables you to do just that.
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