4 Dos and Don’ts of Using Textual Examples to Ace English Essays | Year 11 and 12

Do you want to boost your essay marks but are unsure how? Well, in this article, we dive into 4 dos and don’ts of using textual examples to ace your English essays.

Table of contents:

• Dos:
  • Use a variety of examples
  • Create comprehensive notes for your textual examples
• Don’ts:
  • Randomly analyse examples for the sake of writing 4-6 examples per paragraph
  • Analyse simple low-order techniques or quotes on their own

Dos:

1. Use a variety of examples

One of the most important things students must learn about using textual examples is that you need a variety of different examples to demonstrate your depth of understanding.

If you analyse 5 metaphors in a row or if you only analyse literary techniques in a film, it will seem as though you aren’t confident with other types of techniques.

So, let’s go through the steps of how you can use a variety of different textual examples in your essays to show your knowledge:

1. Memorise and understand a wide range of techniques

The easiest way to get to know a wide variety of techniques is to be exposed to them!

Here is a list of different types of techniques you might find useful:

• Literary Techniques Toolkit
• Visual Techniques Toolkit
• Film Techniques Toolkit
• Poetic Techniques Toolkit

Take your time to read through the list of techniques and their examples and try to understand how they’re used. Try to do ‘Look, Cover, and Check’ to see if you memorise what the technique is and how to use it. Doing this will help you memorise the techniques so you can easily identify them when you’re breaking down your texts.

Remember, simply memorising the technique name is not enough, you need to also know how and why it is used.

2. Practise identifying the techniques in different texts

Once you’ve memorised a good amount of new textual techniques, it is time to practise identifying them!

Find some reading tasks in past papers and go through the different texts and see if you can identify all the different types of techniques. The more you practice identifying a variety of textual examples, the easier it will be!

Once you are confident, you can start identifying these textual examples in your prescribed or related texts.

3. Add variety to your writing!

Always plan out your essays before you jump into them! So, during your planning stage, ensure that you are adding in different types of textual examples to add variety.

Remember, you must always analyse textual examples that are specific to the form of the text!

If you are analysing a film, don’t simply focus on literary techniques like metaphors in the character’s dialogue. Focus on film techniques like lighting and camera angles too!

If you are analysing poems, don’t simply analyse symbolism. Remember to look at structural poetic techniques like rhythm, rhyme, and metre too!

This will show that you have a broad understanding of different textual examples and a deep understanding of your textual form. It will also make it a more engaging read for your readers!

2. Create comprehensive notes for your textual examples

You cannot possibly walk into an exam with your memory of a text you read 2 months ago and expect to recall every important textual example for your essay. This is simply impossible because you can’t possibly remember everything as you read.

On the other hand, if you have comprehensive notes of different textual examples organised into different themes and ideas, you will find that it is much easier to recall these examples.

This is because all of the important textual examples will already be selected from the whole text, so you have less to memorise! (Imagine trying to memorise a whole novel page by page, or every second of a 2-hour feature film? It’s impossible!).

Additionally, when you categorise your notes by ideas and themes, this helps you find the right textual examples to use for your different arguments and ideas. It will streamline your planning process and help you save precious exam time!

This is why it is crucial that you are developing your English notes over the year. So, let’s go through how to write your English notes and how to use them for your exams.

Continue improving your use of textual examples now!

At Matrix, we have HSC English experts who provide insightful feedback to help boost your marks and confidence!

1. How do you write English notes for your chosen textual examples?

Different people like to write their study notes in different ways. You can choose to write it in dot-point form, a table, or a split page. However, the content of these English notes and the way you find textual examples will remain mostly consistent.

Here are the steps you should follow to help you identify textual evidence after you’ve read your text at least once:

1. Familiarise yourself with a variety of techniques 

When you are familiar with a wide range of literary, visual, poetic, or film techniques, you will be able to easily identify them in texts. So, check out our articles to see a list of different techniques and what they are:

• Literary Techniques Toolkit
• Visual Techniques Toolkit
• Film Techniques Toolkit
• Poetic Techniques Toolkit

2. Read your text and focus on thematic ideas

If you notice that a particular chapter or scene focuses on a theme or idea, jot it down so you can come back to it later!

Some parts of your text will explore these themes more obviously than others. Some texts might even explicitly mention the theme.

3. Identify textual examples that embody these ideas. 

These can include quotes, particular scenes or episodes, images, metaphors, motifs, or any other textual techniques that embody these ideas. Go through your text and highlight them or jot them down in a separate document.

You should gather as many textual examples as you can find because this will help you sort out strong textual examples you can use in your exams and assessments.

4. Determine whether or not it is a strong example

It is important that you rate the value of your textual example once you’ve collected your lists of textual examples.

Different textual examples have different values.

For instance, a metaphor is much stronger than repetition because it has the ability to convey more meaning with more clarity. Let’s compare the two:

• “Sally was a cheetah in the school race. She came first.”
• “Sally was super speedy in the school race. She came first”

Which one do you think is the stronger textual example? The first example paints a clearer image of Sally’s speed in our minds. It is more meaningful.

So, take notes of textual examples that are strong or can support other techniques. Sometimes, it is better if you ignore some textual examples that are too weak. This will save you time writing your notes and revising your notes.

5. Take notes

Once you’ve rated the techniques, it is time to write down your notes! Jot down all of the strong textual examples you come across and write a brief explanation about it and where you found them (their place in the text).

Note: To learn more about different ways to write perfect study notes, check out our article: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Perfect Study Notes.

5. Organise your notes

Here is a brief outline of the things you should include in your English notes when you’re summarising textual examples:

• Themes/Ideas
• Textual technique
• Example (quote or description of example)
• Explanation/ Effect
• Research
• Connection to Module

We will put this in a table to show you an example of what your notes should contain:

2. How do you use your English notes for exams?

There are a few ways you can take advantage of your comprehensive notes of textual examples before your exams.

1. You should always read through your notes and try to familiarise yourself with the examples and analysis. Remember to also pay attention to the themes they embody.
2. Once you’ve done this, read through and highlight the most important textual examples of each theme. These are the strong, high-order techniques.
3. Prioritise memorising the important examples for your exams.
4. Try to go through the other textual examples and remember what you can.
5. Practise writing scaffolds and plans to different past paper questions and try to recall the textual examples without using your notes.

Don’ts:

1. Randomly analyse examples for the sake of writing 4-6 examples per paragraph

One of the most common student mistakes is that they analyse textual examples that don’t really support their argument for the sake of reaching 4-6 examples per paragraph.

It is much better for you to analyse 3 strong and relevant textual examples, than analysing 4-6 examples that slightly support your arguments.

Your essays are meant to convince your audience to see your perspective on the question. So, if your textual examples are weak, then it seems as though you don’t really understand the text or believe in your thesis.

How do you ensure that your examples directly support your argument and answer the question?

1. Directly engage with the text

If you find yourself struggling to find textual examples that support your arguments, the first thing you should do is to ensure that you are engaging with your text.

As much as it is helpful to read Matrix Ultimate Cheatsheets for different English texts, it is necessary to also read and engage with the actual text yourself.

These Cheatsheets and summaries are there to help you familiarise yourself with the text before you jump into your own analysis or to help you with your revision. They must not be your only source of analysis because they are generalised and don’t demonstrate individual mastery!

Instead, take some time to read through the text again… for the 3rd time or the 5th time. The more you read or view your text, the more you see! You might notice some new things about the text that you didn’t realise in your 1st reading or you might even change your mind on certain aspects of the text!

Reading your text multiple times gives you the chance to engage with it in a different way. This will help you find new textual examples or have a new perspective of different textual examples that will help you write your essays!

You can also form a small study group with your friends to discuss the texts. When you are discussing a text, you are consolidating your understanding out loud. You are given a chance to argue for your perspectives, challenge your peer’s perspectives and be challenged yourself. Discussing texts with others is a great way to engage with the text and learn new perspectives.

The reason Matrix students excel is because they know their texts, backwards.

2. Don’t have a “quota”

You shouldn’t aim for a “quota” of textual evidence in your writing as this limits your arguments. Too often, students aim for a certain amount of textual examples per paragraph which causes them to analyse irrelevant examples.

It is true that your paragraphs can be “too long” or “too short”, but this is not determined by how many examples you analyse. Instead, it is determined by the strength of your whole paragraph.

Sometimes, 3 pieces of textual examples are not strong enough to support your argument. (Therefore, 3 examples might seem “too short”). Other times, 3 textual examples are the perfect amount of evidence to prove your argument.

Remember, it’s not about length, it’s about quality.

So, instead of trying to meet a certain number of textual examples, you should take determine the strength of your paragraph. Ask yourself some questions to determine whether or not you require more or stronger textual examples:

• Is my message being conveyed clearly?
• Are there gaps or vagueness in my argument?
• How can I cover any rebuttals against my argument?
• Do my textual examples work together to support my argument?

Refine your arguments depending on your answer to these questions!

2. Analyse simple low-order techniques or quotes on their own

Another crucial mistake that High School students commonly make is that they analyse a singular quote or alliteration and believe that it is strong enough on its own. More often than not, analysing low-order techniques is not enough to push you through to a Band 5 or 6.

As we mentioned earlier, low-order techniques do not convey meaning with as much clarity or strength as higher-order techniques. This is because lower-order techniques lack the complexity in representing meaning.

So, to determine whether or not a technique is high-order, you should ask yourself how complex is the process of representation?

Here are some examples of high-order techniques:

• Symbolism
• Metaphor
• Motif
• Visual imagery
• Allusion
• Ambiguity

Here are some examples of low-order techniques:

• Repetition
• Alliteration
• Onomateopia
• Ellipsis
• Fragmented sentences

Remember, the rule of thumb is that you should analyse high-order techniques over low-order techniques.

However, we are not saying that you should totally ignore low-order techniques.

Sometimes low-order techniques work together with high-order techniques to create complex representations of meaning. In these cases, it is a good idea to also analyse the low-order techniques to add depth to your analysis.

For example, analysing repetition on its own is quite weak:

“Sylvia Plath uses repetition of “Daddy” in her poem to emphasise how her father’s absence deeply affected her life.”

Now, let’s tie in the analysis of repetition with auditory imagery, atmosphere and symbolism:

“The repetition of “daddy” in Plath’s poem creates a confronting auditory imagery as Plath slowly increases the usage of “daddy” as the poem goes on. In the beginning, “daddy” is repeated once every few stanzas, by the end of the poem, “daddy” appears four times in three stanzas. This increasing repetition creates an increasingly tense atmosphere which symbolises how her father’s absence led to Plath’s increasingly deteriorating mental health.”

As you can see from the two examples, when you analyse low-order techniques in tandem with high-order techniques, you will have a strong textual analysis. You must, aim to do this with your textual examples in your essays!