Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

P
RACTICE
Look over some past essays you have written. How could the continuity of
these essays have been improved by the use of linking words and phrases?
Use linking words and phrases at the beginning of
paragraphs to help your reader follow the development
of your essay.
THE USE OF CLOSE REFERENCES
In writing essays on literature, it is essential you back up the assertions
you make in analysing a literary text by using appropriate close
references. ‘Close references’ can be the mentioning of key incidents in
a novel or a play, things that key characters have done, said or thought,
or the author’s own comment on the narrative and characters. Close
references are your way of supplying the ‘evidence’ for analytical
statements you have made. They are not the same thing as ‘telling the
story in your own words’ or paraphrasing the narrative. That you must
avoid doing. Close references must be chosen carefully to illustrate any