Activity

Unpicking the question

The structure of the main body of your essay is very much driven by your overall argument, and this very much depends on your response to the question. The previous unit showed you how to 'take a stance' on the questions and debates that you come across in your reading, and in the the questions you might be set in your assignments. This unit is designed to help you to create a draft plan from your response to the question you have been set.

Step 1

How could you approach answering this question if you had studied Jane Austin's novels?

Question: To what extent can Jane Austen’s novels be considered feminist?

What questions might you need to consider before you could form a response to this question?

Here are some suggestions

suggested questions
open	hidden
Click to see some questions that might occur to you arising from the title	what makes a novel 'feminist'? how many novels should I consider in order to illustrate my answer? did her novels become more or less feminist over time? is it OK to say 'Not at all'?

If you have studied feminist literature, and Jane Austin's novels, you may have some ideas about the answers to these questions, but even if you haven't we can take them as examples to think about structure

Moving on

Creating a draft plan p.2