Here’s one of my favourite examination tips and it works for all levels of exam when students are writing analytical essays, doing close readings of texts and even writing creative, descriptive pieces.
As you may have noticed below there is a PARROT (let’s call him Henry) and like most parrots he likes to sit on your shoulder and repeat things.
So when you are writing in your examination, and you are trying to explain why your ‘evidence'(PEE) means XYZ, imagine a brightly coloured parrot on your shoulder repeating BECAUSE BECAUSE BECAUSE.
The parrot can help you attain much better grades because BECAUSE encourages you to WRITE MORE ANALYTICALLY AND to EXPLAIN FULLY what something means.
So if your essays have been blighted by short explanations and perhaps a breathless style ADOPT THIS PARROT NOW!!!
HEAR the voice of your parrot on your shoulder asking BECAUSE BECAUSE BECAUSE and SQUEEZE out every morsel of EXPLANATION from your PEE model!
I always suggest that the explanation should be THREE TIMES THE SIZE of your evidence.
3X
ADOPT A PARROT TODAY!
Works for undergraduate essays too and makes BREATHLESS, POORLY DEVELOPED ESSAYS a thing of the past!
Dr Janet Lewison