which type of narration is used in the short story the secret life of waltermitty by James Thurber

Does anyone know how to write A Descriptive Paragraph about Victorian London ?

Could someone be able to give any examples of liminality in any of her work. Cheers.

How does Joyce create symbolic meaning out of natural imagery in Dubliners 'The Dead'?

Could someone explain what liminality is and what are some examples of it in these texts. Thanks.

This isn't specific to English lit. but does anyone know any real life examples of the voice coach in the film, 'The King's Speech'?

GCSE or A level. Remember to quote from the text you are studying, and give detailed explanation. No more than 500-1000 words

Useful Words and Phrases to Put in your Essays

In order for your essay to be great, you need to use the right vocabulary. To captivate your audience, you need to use the right level of formality and avoid repetitive language. You could have a clever idea, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered. The best thing you can do to help your essay to stand out is simply to improve your vocabulary. In this article, we’re going to share some words and phrases you can include in your writing to help your essays pop!

• Furthermore,
• Conversely,
• Illustrates
• Alternatively,
• In contrast
• Utilise
• In view of, in light of,
• According to
• Myriad (another way to say a lot!)
• Asserts
• Catalyst

How to avoid saying "makes the reader want to read on"

This is something that teachers see a lot of in English exams and quite frankly, it drives them nuts! The reason for this is that it comes across as though you have nothing to say about the text and that you are using this to fill space.  Instead, you need to be discussing the connotations of individual words and phrases, considering why the author/poet selected them.  This is a more advanced way of considering a text. If you have to use it, I would say: “The author included the phrase ‘…’, as it engages the reader and makes the theme of ‘…’ explicit.” If this is a particularly tense moment in the book, why is it so? What is happening at this point in the story and why is it significant? All writers want their readers to ‘read on’ and find their work interesting. The question is, why? What ideas and messages might the text contain? Instead of saying "it makes the reader want to read on" try some of these alternatives:

• It captivates or intrigues the reader
• Engages the reader
• Gains/holds the attention of the reader
• This invokes feelings of X in the reader.
• This brings about the emotion of…. in the reader.
• This further elucidates (disconsolate, sad, melancholic) emotions
• This connotes a sense of (melancholy, sorrowful) feelings for the reader
• this entices the reader due to…
• helping to maintain the reader’s interest or just the story remains engaging

What can you use instead of "like" in an essay?

Sometimes it is correct to use like in a sentence, for example as a preposition to demonstrate a resemblance between two things but if you feel like you are using it too much you can try:

• as
• as if
• as though
• such as

Linking words in Essays

Linking words or transition words help you to connect ideas and sentences and help to bring the reader along in the text. Some examples of linking words include:

• moreover
• comparatively
• not to mention
• as a matter of fact
• in the first place
• additionally
• in contrast
• conversely
• regardless

  What other words or phrases do you like to include in your essays? Share them in the comments and we will add them to the list!

How to avoid always writing " this makes the reader" all the time

This is a phrase that all too often slips out without much thought and it is one that teachers are sick of seeing in essays. The reason for that is writing "this makes the reader..." makes it look like you haven't put much thought into your writing and shows a lack of analysis of the text. Here are some better phrases to use instead of "makes the reader":

• This invokes feelings of X in the reader.
• This brings about the emotion of…. in the reader.
• This further elucidates (disconsolate, sad, melancholic) emotions to the reader
• This connotes a sense of (melancholy, sorrowful) feelings for the reader
• This results in the reader experiencing…
• This creates a sad, joyful, frightening... atmosphere
• This moves the reader
• This provokes the reader to believe/think/feel…
• The reader is compelled
• The reader is therefore made to feel sad, happy, stressed, anxious...
• This entices the reader
• This causes a sense of sadness, joy, bewilderment... in the reader etc…
• The writer is trying to infer that…
• The reader deduces from this that…
• The use of the (metaphor/repetition/syntax etc.) demonstrates/ establishes/ highlights/ reinforces that…

It is also a good idea to consider the various interpretations of different readers, as they will differ depending on their social and historical context. As such, you could say: A female reader in the 19th Century may respond to this by feeling…

What points can you include when writing about a fairground scene?

When writing a descriptive piece, don't forget to begin by setting the scene. This is a good opportunity to get in some detailed description so the reader can vividly imagine the setting. To start your fairground description off, close your eyes and think about sights, sounds, and smells you notice when you enter the fairground. Fairgrounds are busy places, bustling with activity so it should be easy for you to think of ideas…… eg the smells of chips, hot dogs, etc, the loud music and maybe announcements being made. You would probably hear children screaming and laughing. There would be lots of bright, flashing lights, big crowds of people...

What do you see in the fairground?

When writing about what you can see in the fairground, there would be the various rides – eg the Big Wheel, the Waltzers, etc. It would be a very colourful scene – the painted rides, eg maybe a carousel, flashing lights, and people’s clothes. There’d be a variety of people to see – family groups, teenagers, etc. You could begin your descriptions like, ‘Looking up, I can see the huge big wheel, spinning slowly around.’. (Then you could say a bit more about what it looks like), You could then look another way and see another of the rides, say the walzer, and say about what that looks like – maybe describe a couple of teenagers who are getting on it – what are they wearing, how excited do they look?

What do you smell in the fairground?

Then you could talk about the smells – maybe say something like, ‘I’m standing near the food stall and can smell the tempting aroma of chips’ and then talk about the other food smells mixing with that. Think about the other smells that stand out in the fairground such as doughnuts and candyfloss.

What can you hear in the fairground?

Then you could describe sounds like this; ‘I can hear snatches of conversation around me’ (and then make up something – eg is a child moaning and saying they want to go on another ride, or are people talking about the food they want to buy – just give two or three quotes. Then you could deal with the music, which rides is music coming from? You could say about it being discordant, maybe, if it’s coming from different rides, different tunes, etc! A good ending to your piece could be the fairground closing down for the evening – describe how it gradually goes quiet as people leave, the music stops, the rides stop etc, and then all is quiet.