Essay skills · Higher
Context in Literature Essays
Context earns marks when it illuminates the text. It fails when it becomes a history dump disconnected from the question.
Good use of context
• Brief, relevant fact
• Linked immediately to a moment, character or method
• Helps explain why an idea mattered then – or still matters
Example pattern: [textual point] + [short context] + [effect on reader then/now]
Bad use of context
• Long background paragraphs with no quotation
• “Shakespeare lived in…” with no link to the line
• Assuming one context explains everything
Practice questions
1. When does context help?
2. What should you avoid?