Choosing An Angle

Review of Personal Readin, - choosin& a line of investigation/angle Having selected and read a text of suitable literary merit, the next step is to choose an aspect of the book which interested you for your line of investigation/angle. there are various POSSibilitieshere. e.g.I) Some angles concentrate on character 2) Some angles concentrate on theme 3) Some angles concentrate on style and/or structure

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Candidates generally tend to find types 1 and 2 less daunting. Possible angles (examples) 1)A study of how the character of X develops andchanges in the course of the novel. 2) An examtnatlonof the writer's skill in creating a credible and sympathetic central character (or the reverse: a credible but unsympathetic character) 3)Astudy of the inner conflict experienced by the central character and how it is resolved. (It could be that your novel concerns one main event - a death/murder/attack etc.) Your angle would therefore focus on how the character is affected by this key event 4)An examination of the central character's resilience and his/her struggle to regain control of his/her life. 5) A study of the conflict which exists between X and Y and how it is resolved Often, a thematic angle is an obvious choice. ("TheHandmatd's Tale", for example, by Margaret Atwood Is a work of science-fiction set in a future world where the state has total control) 6) I intend to examine how the state succeeds in matntamtng total control of its population and the female population in particular. Angles which focus on an aspect(s) of style and/or structure often suit specific genres such as psychological and/ or crime thrillers. 7) I intend to study the writer's sk.1llin maintaining the reader's interest by creating tension and suspense throughout the novel. . Non-fiction (e.g. autobiography, biography is also possible. There should still be an ,obvious angle to investigate. .-. 8) I intend to show how the subject of the biography was affected by the pressures of fame / how a particular life experience became a turning-point in the life of X