Integrated Essays?! (1 Viewer)

[lilkatie]

Ok I've always being told to get over teh 85 barrier you need to write integrated essays. Now my understanding of that is pick a common theme and do one discussion on what each of your 4 texts say about that theme and then another theme for next para and so on. All the essays im reading from here are just mini essays, a paragraph on each text.
Argh im confused, comments welcome

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

personally i don't reckon you need to do a full integrated essay to get over 85.... only one of my essays was actually integrated (because there were only two texts!) but the others were just text, text, text, text etc.

The one that had two texts, i did it topic by topic, and what each text said about each topic. So that was nice.
But the others, it was a bit hard to fully integrate. Instead, i made sure to relate it all back to the common thesis, and also compared them to each other. So i'd talk about thesis, then text 1 and why that related to thesis, then text 2, and why that related to thesis and also how it compared to text 1, then text 3, and why that related to thesis as well as texts 1 and 2.

and i did get over the 85 barrier, so i don't think it's a bad approach.

 

[santaslayer]

Intergrated essays are the hardest to do...
if u dont know how to by now then i suggest u just do a normal essay which is reasonably well done! that way, u'll still get u 85......intergrated essays are band 6 material if it is done properly!

 

[Sarah168]

integrating involves synthesising information (one of the major syllabus points for AOS btw) and the arguments of your texts always have to either support or contradict each other. that is how to link them up. essays that are just a slab of this, followed by a slab of that are the most dull things to read and AOS is full of different texts (prescribed, BOS, related) for the purpose of synthesising anyway

 

[Ziff]

Integrating is easy once you get the hang of it. You basically link and connect the ideas and techniques of the texts.

The easiest way is to use the "yes, but" e.g.

'Kubla Khan' and '2001: A Space Oddessy' both explore a foreign concept but employ different techniques based on the message being conveyed and the medium used. In 'Kubla Khan' it is clear that Coleridge is conveying the pleasure and delight of creation, especially the creation of poetry, through another creative process, that of sex. (Insert more detail, quotes). The exploration of a foreign concept uses a different technique in 2001. In this, to convey the director's idea of humanity's place in the universe, rather than relating the conept to elements that the audience are aware of, he purposely keeps it ambiguous to let the audience make up their mind. Where as Kubla Khan was a written text and the author invoked the senses of the audience through visual imagery, Kubrick conveys his idea through a 22-minute extravaganza of colour, light, shapes and sounds created electronically to convey that perhaps there is no answer or that we are as yet still unable to comprehend it.

Something like that, we did the AOS ages ago and I'm not gonna go and look up my notes/quotes as I have other things to do

 

[ujuphleg]

Originally posted by *Katie*
my understanding of that is pick a common theme and do one discussion on what each of your 4 texts say about that theme and then another theme for next para and so on.

from what we've been told and integrated essay is one where you just have to find LINKS between your texts. this isn't always a theme. A technique which is used by all your composers can also be used in integrating.

the most useful thing to do is to make sheets on the computer with 2 columns and different headings. and example of such would be a themes sheet and a techniques sheet. on one side, identify the theme/technique and on the other side, get a quote from the text to back it up.

other sheets you should make should be links sheets and these are the ones important for integrated essays. it is very important to realise that the top essays in the AOS are the ones that not only relate to each other but, somewhat obviously, relate back to the concept which you must never lose sight of, in this case, Journeys, with the specific focus on whatever you are doing.

so long as you can find a link between texts, may it be in terms of themes, techniques, even plot structures, character parallels or setting and circumstance, it is important to identify ALL of them in study and use them appropriatley in accordance to your question in an exam.

good luck.

 

[lilkatie]

Ok that makes sense, ok now i think i'm getting my head around the structure for an integrated essay. Thankyou

 

[redslert]

practice makes perfect!

 

[santaslayer]

Originally posted by Ziff
The easiest way is to use the "yes, but" e.g.

'Kubla Khan' and '2001: A Space Oddessy' both explore a foreign concept but employ different techniques based on the message being conveyed and the medium used. In 'Kubla Khan' it is clear that Coleridge is conveying the pleasure and delight of creation, especially the creation of poetry, through another creative process, that of sex. (Insert more detail, quotes). The exploration of a foreign concept uses a different technique in 2001. In this, to convey the director's idea of humanity's place in the universe, rather than relating the conept to elements that the audience are aware of, he purposely keeps it ambiguous to let the audience make up their mind. Where as Kubla Khan was a written text and the author invoked the senses of the audience through visual imagery, Kubrick conveys his idea through a 22-minute extravaganza of colour, light, shapes and sounds created electronically to convey that perhaps there is no answer or that we are as yet still unable to comprehend it.

Something like that, we did the AOS ages ago and I'm not gonna go and look up my notes/quotes as I have other things to do

That is going to be a crazy long paragraph Mr Ziff! :uhhuh:

 

[Seraph]

IMO

if u have like 4 texts to write on
i would not integrate it ... its quite hard

but something like your comparative study essays
that would be great to integrate!!

 

[Ziff]

Originally posted by Seraph
IMO

if u have like 4 texts to write on
i would not integrate it ... its quite hard

Then prepare for a band 5...

 

[lilkatie]

Hmm the essay i'm doing has 4 texts and I was told if I wanted to not be 'average' I had to integrate it. Which means each discussion is 1.5 pages and I have an hour to do it all ARGH

 

[Toodulu]

hmmm
i thought integration was just having a thesis and relating all your texts to it

 

[iambored]

Originally posted by *Katie*
Ok I've always being told to get over teh 85 barrier you need to write integrated essays. Now my understanding of that is pick a common theme and do one discussion on what each of your 4 texts say about that theme and then another theme for next para and so on. All the essays im reading from here are just mini essays, a paragraph on each text.
Argh im confused, comments welcome

i got over 85 and i didn't do that. i wrote about each text seperately, it's too hard and takes up a lot more space to do integrated essays

 

[ujuphleg]

yeah getting over 85 in AOS if you are an advanced student is easy

but if you want to get over the 95 barrier then you have to be writiing FULLY integrated essays -- and by that i mean what i said in my earlier post -- integrated to the topic (Journeys) to each other, to their techniques and to their themes.