Writing about more than one primary text
in a single essay
The essay
question you are answering may specify the number of
texts you are to write about or may be unspecific on this
matter. It is also possible that your course guidelines
state that you must write about a certain number of texts
in your coursework and exams.
Where the number of texts to be
discussed in an essay is not indicated, students frequently ask how many it
is appropriate to choose. This question is one to which it is difficult to
give a straightforward answer, other than 'it depends'. What counts as a suitable
number of texts to examine in an essay depends largely on the question that
you are answering, the length and complexity of the texts in question, and
the particular approach that you want to take in the essay.
The key issue is the depth of
critical analysis which your essay offers. If too many texts are attempted
there is a danger of critical superficiality. If the essay jumps from text
to text too rapidly and does not consider any at great length, your ideas
will not have the required space in which to develop and it is probable that
you will not be able to say anything but the most obvious things about the
texts in question; it is unlikely that the main issues highlighted in the
essay question will be fully explored. For essays where you are writing about
more than one text, you will probably need to be highly selective in what
you look at, and focus only on a few specific characteristics or thematic
concerns which they appear to share (in line with the question being answered).
It is also possible to cover an insufficient number of texts; this can occur
if you are answering a question which relates to a literary genre or historical
period. With this kind of essay tutors are looking for evidence of your having
some awareness of the genre or period in question. A 2000 word essay on the
subject of the Renaissance sonnet (for instance) which only looked at one
poem would probably be marked down for not having considered the topic broadly
enough. If you are unsure as to the number of texts to use in your essay,
it is likely that your tutors will give you advice if asked. As you gain more
experience of writing essays you wi’ll develop a sense of how many texts
it is appropriate and realistic to try to cover in the space available.
An issue for you to decide is
how far you are going to compare and contrast the texts directly within the
essay. The fact that you are writing about certain texts together strongly
implies that they are comparable to each other in some way: to ignore this
completely and write about each one completely separately, as if you were
writing a number of unconnected 'mini-essays', would probably affect the final
mark received. However, the extent to which you analyse each one in the light
of the other(s) is for you to decide - although obviously if the essay question
instructs you to 'compare and contrast', you will have to devote a significant
part of the essay to this task. Your choice on this matter may determine how
you structure your essay - you might organise your discussion of the texts
around a number of common features or themes, examining how each text deals
with these; or you might discuss the texts consecutively rather than 'simultaneously',
but with some comparison between them.
However, it is
always important - even in a 'compare and contrast'
question - that you do, to some extent, read each text as
a self-contained piece of writing, and that you consider
how it works and what it achieves in its own right. Do
not just focus on how it is the same as and different
from the other text - pay some attention to its
individual features and meaning.
