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Writer's pictureNicola Burkinshaw

Excelling at English: Just Write More!

I quite often encounter students who are achieving low or simply average grades and have no idea how they should change their writing to improve. The claim is often made that their teachers have told them that they simply need to "write more". This strikes me as unlikely but it does demonstrate the problem that some students have in understanding the purpose of their writing.


When writing for analysis, students are trying to demonstrate to the examiner that they both understand the impact of the language used and also the reason why that language choice has that particular impact. Many students will only talk about one of these things. For example: a student might say "This line may make the reader feel sad" without elaborating how it evokes that feeling. Equally a student might say "This is a metaphor" which may be correct but tells us nothing beyond simple recognition of a technique.


Students may not always be able to tell what is missing and I often suggest that they imagine a small nagging child stood at their elbow, endlessly asking "but why?" - if there are still elements of your writing which deserve elaboration (even if the point seems entirely obvious) then take the opportunity.


For an example of what this might look like, take a look at the file below which shows how a student can move from a reasonable answer to an excellent one.



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