HOW

TO DO A COMMENTARY

1. Identification: author, tittle, period and part of the play the text comes from
2. Characters and stage directions (acotaciones, que los personajes se vayam,
movimientos de personajes…)
3. Themes and relevance in relation to the play as whole
4. Figures of speech, language and any other significant aspect
5. Closing paragraph: summary of the main points

• Remember to include quotations from the text to support your points and ideas



HOW TO DO AN ESSAY

- Academic style
o Formal vocabulary, not slang terms
o Avoid contractions
o Suggested book to practice: write to be read, Cambridge
- Avoid plagiarism
- Organisation
o Importance of planning and scheduling
o Outline
o Structure

1. Outline
- Brainstorm: any idea / characters / concepts / episodes that you could connect
with the topic of the essay
- Choose the most productive ideas, and organise them (you should devote 1-2
paragraphs to each idea)
- In the organisation, try to find transitions for the diferent paragraphs

2. Structure of the academic essay: Circular
- Introduction
o General statement: 1-2 sentences linking the title of the essay with its
aim
§ “in the school for scandal, Richard Sheridan introduces
characters, props, and situations that articulate a contrast
between appearance and reality”
§ Aim / goal / Objective
• “the aim of this essay is to analyse the dichotomy of
“appearance vs reality” in Sheridan’s play, paying
attention to…”
§ The statement of the aim is crucial: it must be explicit in all essays
 § Introduction: general statement + aim
- Body (major sections)
o Each idea should be developed in 1-2 paragraphs
o Pay attention to the organisation of the essay, in order to avoid repetition
of ideas
o Be careful with the use of connectors
- Conclusion: going back to the Introduction. Remind all of our ideas to the reader
o Never include new ideas in the conclusion; ideas must be developed in
the body
o Remind the reader of your aim, and explain how you have managed to
achieve it
o Avoid general or personal comments:
§ In conclusion, this is a wonderful play which I like a lot
§ The play shows how interesting this topic is

TIPS TO REMEMBER

1. 1 sentence is not 1 paragraph, at least 2 sentences.
2. Be careful with your grammar (morphology and syntax) and expression
3. The essay must be written in an academic style
a. Formal vocabulary + avoid contractions
4. NO PLAGIARISM
a. It is a crime!!!!!

OBRAS LARGAS, PLAY OR NOVEL, SUBRAYADA
SHORT STORIES, POEMS Y COSAS CORTAS ENTRE COMILLAS