Literature News
ALUMNI LITERATURE STUDENT WORKSHOP
On Friday 14 February, the Unit 1 and 2 Literature students had a guest lecture workshop, run by 2024 Alumni students Elena Sarandev and Nikini Perera.
An enlightening, educational but more than that a enjoyable experience, it was an honour for our class to have them come and speak to us about the delights of literature, delving into the essential skills that required in assessments such as the close analysis task, where we look at a passage and really questioned what we think, what we feel and how that connects to the text, where we discover the text on more minute level, looking at the finest details and drawing our own conclusions based off of our own perspectives.
Our alumni touched upon the importance of exploring the different perceptions of the text and examining and analysing the key values that the characters bring forward and how that showcases the societal norms and links into the sentiments of the author.
They also emphasised the importance of using versatile vocabulary and metalanguage to really provide depth in the analysis as well as being confident in employing certain devices and language choices as forms of evidence to support our arguments. We were also able to do an in class close passage analysis together, to really home in on those skills, and succeed in the application.
During this task we were able to express our opinions, thoughts and interpretation in class, and hear the valuable insights of our peers, which was a very transformational experience as a student, as it opens doors to the most unexpected ideas, that feels like that chilly breeze on a cold day reminding you of the essence of the topic itself and its manifestations throughout the text, where anything is possible and there is no right or wrong answer there is only the reasoning behind it that matters.
Overall, the experience inspired us to look at Literature as way beyond just a subject, but also as path to exposing the realities of life and opening us students up to explore all elements and to question each and everything we see; big or small.
By Ananya Syal