How do I include context in a relevant way?

Context is an important part of the mark scheme and therefore is vital in your essay. However, you don't want to randomly include context, it is better to see how context arises from the text. Begin by analysing a quotation for example, then see if that quote has anything which could relate to the broader social and/or economic context of the time; draw out the information from that quote and discuss it in further detail. Once you have introduced the context, relate it to your argument and use it to further your discussion on the question. Using a 'Point, Evidence, Explain' system, you will be able to develop a complex argument while including the relevant contexts. 

TD

Related English A Level answers

All answers ▸

'It is a tragedy that the journey is often more fulfilling than the arrival.' With reference to your wider reading, explore the presentation of illusionary love in Rapture and The Great Gatsby.


How does the poetic form of the poem Aunt Julia, by Norman MacCaig, present the idea of a happy home?


Explore the ways in which Shakespeare depicts familial relationships within Hamlet.


How do you incorporate critical views to make a high-level (A/A*) response?