Studying for this essay - Some advice

Ok people, here are the basic things which you need to keep in mind when you're writing this essay.

1. Don't be overwhelmed by it. All you need in order to complete a draft is a good knowledge of the play, and a good knowledge of what elements traditionally make up a Shakespearean comedy, and/or comedy as a whole. You have all had this in class, so you have the basics.

2. Keep in mind the word limit. Do NOT go more than 15% over the word limit, or we will have HUGE problems. This should bring you some comfort, as you will soon realise that 1400-1500 words is not much at all, and you will probably spend your time whittling down your points to make your most impressive argument.

3. Do not PLAGIARISE - EVER! I will go on to explain about researching online in a minute. This is a very useful study technique, but you must NEVER directly copy the words of another, or try to pass their thinking off as your own. If you read something really interesting and you want to include it in your essay, speak to me and I will tell you how you should include it/credit the writer.

4. The internet is, quite simply, full of useful stuff. The study guide which I linked you to in the last post will give you a fantastic overview of what you need to know. I'm sure that if you looked long enough, you'd probably even find complete essays that you could copy huge chunks from. Obviously, you aren't going to do that. The consequences of such actions are potentially disastrous for you.

Just do LOTS OF READING AND RESEARCH on the following things:

*The conventions of comedy - what makes a text funny?

*The conventions of SHAKESPEAREAN comedy - what are the usual signs and indicators?

*What was a Shakespearean audience like? What would their attitudes have been towards things like gender, courtship, power, class, marriage, death etc? (any theme which is relevant to 'Much Ado) In essence, you should feel like you 'know' the people who were watching the play first time around.

*If you are commenting on a particular scene, read the various online study guides which are available (such as cliffnotes). The best thing about writing about Shakespeare is that hundreds of people have been there before you. USE other peoples' knowledge - don't steal it!

*If you want to focus on how close comedy/tragedy can be, quickly read a summary of 'Othello'. This is a famous tragedy of Shakespeare which shares many similarities with the COMEDY which you have read. Isn't that weird? Unusual? Yes, it is. So it's worth mentioning at least once in your essay if it is relevant.