THESE ARE MOCK ESSAY QUESTIONS ONLY!

 

 

 

Write a 3000 word essay on ONE of the followiing:

 

  1. ‘Fassbinder’s Katzelmacher is less film than theatre, and not very engaging theatre at that’. Discuss.
  2. ‘Herzog’s Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit is neither documentary nor feature film – that is why it works so well.’ Discuss.
  3.  Discuss the relationship between images and filmmaking in Wim Wenders’ Alice in den Städten.
  4. ‘Von Trotta’s Das Zweite Erwachen idealises relationships between women for political purposes.’ Discuss.
  5. Discuss the formal aspects of Herzog’s Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen and how these relate to theme.

 

 

THESE ARE MOCK ESSAY QUESTIONS ONLY!

 

Write a 3000 word essay on ONE of the following:

 

  1. ‘German Cinema tends to be less entertaining that topical.’ Discuss.
  2. ‘Fassbinder’s Katzelmacher fails to use the possibilities of the film medium to their full.’ Discuss.

3. ‘Herzog’s Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit exploits its subjects for the sake of a political message.’ Discuss.

  1. ‘Wim Wenders’ Alice in den Städten is really about German national identity.’ Discuss.
  2. Is von Trotta’s Das Zweite Erwachen about women or terrorism, or both?

‘Herzog’s Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen is meant to be read as allegory.’ Discuss.

 

 

 

 

 

Hints on writing essays

 

Key to a good essay

The structure of your essay is extremely important.  Paragraphing is important: a new paragraph usually introduces a new or substantially different point.  You have about an hour for the exam essay.  Use five to ten minutes for planning.  You will not manage more than:

Introduction

Tells me what you're going to do (answer the question), sets the parameters of the essay, sets dates or identifies the significance of dates mentioned in the question.

Main body of the essay

About five or six paragraphs which make a point each, then illustrate it, expand on it, qualify it or whatever.

Reread the question after every point to ensure that you don't stray.  Keep telling me: look, I'm answering the question.

Conclusion

This is where you say: look: I've answered the question!

a          could be a summary of your line of argument: not bad if the topic is complex

b          could be a summary of your points PLUS some commentary and analysis not dealt with in the body of the essay: something which grows out of your arguments rather than something which contradicts your line of reasoning so far

c          could be just the commentary and analysis arising out of your argument

d          could qualify the stark lines of your essay and introduce a note of conciliation in what looks like a cut and dried case.  For example, if you have taken a rather negative line in an essay about the achievements of the bourgeois women's' movement, you could qualify this by making the point that not all progress can be measured in terms of laws passed or speed of change.  The women were working in difficult circumstances to change the climate of opinion and laying foundations for more radical changes in later years. 

e          could come down clearly and strongly on one side of the argument, especially if the essay is expecting you to weigh the merits of a point of view.

It really will be impossible to include all that you know: you will have to make choices.  It is better to leave out something from a well-planned essay than to bury your points under a deluge of irrelevant material.

Relevance

Make sure you answer the whole of the question by identifying key words before planning the essay.  Ask yourself: what am I being asked to discuss? In an exam, all your material must be relevant to the essay title!  Look back at the question after every paragraph.

Comment and analysis

The question is always asking for analysis and comment rather than simple description of what happened.  Sometimes this is explicitly stated, shown in phrases like 'comment critically', 'assess the effectiveness' 'to what extent' where you are being asked to make a judgement based on your knowledge of the facts.  Ask yourself: Why is this important?  What is the significance of this?  What conclusions can we draw from this?  How does this relate to the question?  Try throwing in a 'so we see that…' sentence every so often.