How to Study or Revise a Literature Text (1) - Overview

by Michael Hartland

As an English tutor, I am often asked to help students improve their ability to study and write about literature text.

The first thing to do (after the student has read the text, of course!) is to get an overview of the text.

This means being able to stand back and see the wood for the trees by asking questions like:

• How does the text fit together?  
• What's important at the beginning?  
• How do things develop?  
• How does it end?

There are some very practical exercises I use to help students quickly get an overview of texts they are studying either at GCSE or A Level.

If you read my posts about Lady Macbeth, you will see how I have approached exploring this character by focusing on three quotations: here (1), here (2) and here (3)

Find out more about our tutoring services here.

Find out more about the free introductory session here.

Find out more about English ebooks  here.