Self-study
P1
Wherever the crime novels of P. D. James are discussed by critics, there is a tendency on the one hand to exaggerate her merits and on the other to castigate her as a genre writer who is getting above herself. ███
Intro Topic ·
Disagreement over James' novels
Some exaggerate her merits; others castigate her as merely a genre writer
Author's Comment ·
Perhaps disagreement arises from an unnecessary tension in fiction
P2
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Supporter ·
Elevate James' to high literature
Critics ·
Find her pretentious and tiresome
Example of Critics ·
Waugh and Oakes
P3
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Author as Supporter ·
Good writing; convincing characters; pleasurable descriptions
Author as Critic ·
Distracting; thin plot devices; misplaced interests
P4
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Author's Explanation ·
James feels constrained by the crime-novel genre
Recommends that James move beyond it and into the mainstream novel.
Passage Style
Critique or debate
1.
Which one of the following ████ ██████ ███ ████████ ████ ███████████
a
Because P. D. ███████ █████████ ██ █ ██████ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ███ ███████ ██████ ███████ ██████████ ███████
This sums up the passage author’s support and conclusion: the way James writes suggests that the crime genre isn’t the best fit for her, so she should
b
Because the requirements ██ ███ ███████ █████ ███ ████████████ ████ ████ ████████ ███████████ ██ ██ ███████ ███████ ██ █ ███████ ██████ ███ ████ ███████████
The problem for James isn’t the requirements of the “popular” novel—the term “popular” novel isn’t even used in the passage. Rather, the problem is the requirements of the crime novel.
c
The dichotomy between ███████ ███ █████████████ ██████████ ██ ████ ███████████ ██ ███ █████ ██████ ██ ██ ██ ██████
The main point isn’t just a neutral observation like (C); it’s to make a recommendation. James should move beyond the crime genre and
d
The critics who ████ █████████ ██ ██ ███████ ████ ██ █████████ ██ ███ █████████ ██ █████████ ████ ██ ████ ████ ███████ ███ █████████ ███████████ ██████
The main point isn’t just to counter the views of critics; it’s to make a recommendation. James should move beyond the crime genre and
e
Although her plots ███ ███ ██████ ██████ █████████ ███ ██████ ██ ███ ███████████ ████████ █████████ ██ ██ ███████ ████████ ██ █████ ██ ███ ███████████ ██████
Anti-supported. The passage author argues that James’s plots and writing style justify moving