advice needed on yet another english EE topic - orwell and bradbury

[Guest lienka]

i know this gets asked quite a lot, but i can't help it - need to hear the opinion of experienced EE writers.

my topic is: Government control and acts of rebellion in dystopic novels with specific reference to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984.

Do you think the scope is too broad? Also, I know Orwell gets done quite a lot, so... could that really lower my chances of getting a good grade? And generally, is the question posed well, in an IB manner?

Thanks to anyone who bothers and helps me ease the stress

[BBiswatching]

Your topic sounds interesting, though maybe not exactly the most original because, like you said, Orwell does get done a lot. (I think, according to the graders' reports, a few years ago one of the most popular topics was 1984 vs. Brave New World). I guess your grade really depends on how good your essay is in the end though - if you have something completely brilliant and original you'll get a good grade despite doing Orwell and Bradbury.

And make sure you drive your essay with a research question, so be sure to phrase your topic as a question if you haven't already. It definitely helped me, at least. And with your topic, I guess just be careful to stay in context of the novels and don't stray into talking about government control in modern society and stuff like that.

Not sure how valid my response would be... I just turned my EE in on 31 Oct., so no clue as to what my final mark will be *crosses fingers*. All the same, hope it helps a little... Good luck on your EE!

[Ruan Chun Xian]

my topic is: Government control and acts of rebellion in dystopic novels with specific reference to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984.

I think it's too broad.

What about government control and acts of rebellion? At the moment I think your question lack a focus of a literary aspect. You've named a theme in the books but I'm still wondering what you're going to talk about with them. How they are portrayed? or how they affect characters? or what? You might want to narrow the fields as you research.

But I guess as BBiswatching (appropriate username ) said, at least it's not 1984 vs Brave New World.

[snowday]

I agree with HMS, I think its too broad as well. In 1984, I would be as specific as something like "how the government controls language" in terms of a thesis. I have not read fahrenheit 451, so I don't have an example that is applicable to both books. However, I think you see how specific I think you should be. If your topic is too broad, it's really difficult to write a strong essay because its difficult to have one concise point that all your points can draw back to. Rather, you just have one big umbrella that everything seems to fit under, and in the end you read the essay and realize that you just proved the most basic point in the world (alright, so that last bit was from personal experience, but hopefully you get the gist of it).

Hope it helps.

[Guest lienka]

Thanks for your advice guys; so how about:

How does media control contribute to maintaining the status quo/totalitarian regime in dystopic novels with specific reference to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984

or

Comparison of the forms of rebellion committed by the main chracters in dystopic novels with specific reference to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984

I think I prefer the first one.

thx again

Edited November 28, 2007 by lienka