Commentary - That Dratted ... errm ... Engimatic Ending (to Nadine Gordimer's "An Intruder")

Nadine Gordimer -- An Intruder


That Dratted ... errm ... Enigmatic Ending

          So I said to myself one day, “When are you going to sit down and deal with what you fear the most – not being able to come up with a plausible interpretation for the “incident” or ending to Gordimer’s short story “An Intruder” that wouldn’t make readers laugh their socks off?”

          That dratted ending. It escaped me the first time I read the story, then again the second and third time, till I finally got pen and paper and jotted down all the facts in a manner that Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot would never have had the idiocy to acquiesce to, given their superior powers of recollection. At any rate, seeing the facts before me in note form did make certain words stand out above all else, enabling me to draw conclusions about what Gordimer may have intended for the reader to deduce. Let’s see what those facts are:

Speaking Strategies for Oral Exams

Whether you are preparing for a B2, C1 or C2 language examination in English, at some point during the test you are required to maintain discussion for about 1-2 minutes on your own. This is something students sometimes find difficult to do as they have very few ideas about what to say after having stated one or two basic points. 

Regardless of the awarding body and certificate you are sitting an exam in (IELTS, Cambridge CPE or FCE/ First for Schools, ECPE or ECCE, MSU CELP or CELC, LRN, TOEIC, ESB, PTE), you will have to find ways to expand your answers to show that you can speak English without needing anyone's help. To do this, you need to keep the examiner from having to ask you one or two follow-up questions in order to elicit a longer response from you. In other words, if a task requires a candidate to speak for about two minutes on a topic, and the candidate manages to speak for a minute and 10 seconds only, the examiner will have to ask another question to get more information from the test-taker.  

In the mind of the examiner, having to ask that extra question or two translates into one of the following two things:

a) the candidate simply doesn't have ideas to express (which can't be penalized)

or

The Latest Word: Herculean

The latest word is one found in the bottom half of the list of popular words used in English. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary places its first appearance in 1513, Dictionary.com in the 1590's, Oxford dictionary in the late 16th century, while Collins' (Collins Cobuild) online dictionary shows the popularity of this rarely used word peaking in 1860 at a frequency of 0.3.

C2 Sample Essay 29 (Failure)

Writing at C2 level (Proficient User) on English language examinations is the same no matter the awarding body when it comes to writing essays. If you are a candidate giving an exam in English (IELTS, CPE, ECPE, CELP, LRN, ESB, TOEFL), make sure you read my earlier post What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog? to get the most out of the sample essays provided on Argute Legacy.  

  The topic of this essay is to give your opinion about the statement "failure is proof that the desire wasn't strong enough." If you are not taking an exam but need to discuss this topic, then read on and note down what you deem useful. If you intend to use this essay as part of an assignment, remember to paraphrase so as not to plagiarize.

Naoshi Koriyama - A Loaf of Poetry (Overview Part 2)

This is part 2 of the analysis of Koriyama's "A Loaf of Poetry". Read a brief introduction of mine and find facts about the poet's life, the poem's structure (rhyme, meter, sounds, divisions, turning point), persona, and the first half of the poem here:

Naoshi Koriyama - A Loaf of Poetry (Overview)

This part completes the analysis of the poem's content and discusses the symbolism found in it as well as the title and overall message.

Naoshi Koriyama - A Loaf of Poetry (Overview)

Naoshi Koriyama deftly equates the poetic process with a commonplace procedure in his poem "A Loaf of Poetry," proving that in the end, poetry is open to anyone who has the persistence, experience and inspiration to dabble in it. Added to this is the idea that poetry, like a loaf of bread, is not an ornate affair like some gastronomical preparation, but one of the primary forms of sustenance crucial to our diet.

The fascination with this poem, often reprinted in textbooks and taught to students by way of introducing poetry to them, lies in its simplicity which conceals Koriyama's methodical approach. That, however, is what the poem actually wants to point out: great care and diligence to create such a piece of writing is required, no matter how modest the end product may appear to be. 

B2 Sample Writing 15 (Letter - Exchange Student Mentor Recommendation)

The following sample letter has been written so that exam candidates for a B2 level English examination (FCE now called First for Schools, ECCE, IELTS - 5.5 / 6.0, MSU-CELC, ESB, LRN) can get some ideas about how to organize and argue their writing.  First take a look at how to use the sample essays and letters that appear on this blog by reading the following post:

What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog?

Remember: such topics can also be used to start class discussions, so teachers might also want to read on to get ideas about a class activity they could set up to improve students' oral skills.

Oracle & Folly du Jour: On the Greatest Deception Known to Man

B2 Sample Writing 14 (Letter - Perfect Holiday)

The following sample letter has been written so that exam candidates for a B2 level English examination (FCE now called First for Schools, ECCE, IELTS - 5.5 / 6.0, MSU-CELC, ESB, LRN) can get some ideas about how to organize and argue their writing. 

First take a look at how to use the sample essays and letters that appear on this blog by reading the following post:

What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog?

Remember: such topics can also be used to start class discussions, so teachers might also want to read on to get ideas about a class activity they could set up to improve students' oral skills.

B2 Sample Writing 13 (Letter - School Uniforms)

The following sample letter has been written so that exam candidates for a B2 level English examination (FCE now called First for Schools, ECCE, IELTS - 5.5 / 6.0, MSU-CELC, ESB, LRN) can get some ideas about how to organize and argue their writing. 
First take a look at how to use the sample essays and letters that appear on this blog by reading the following post:

What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog?

Remember: such topics can also be used to start class discussions, so teachers might also want to read on to get ideas about a class activity they could set up to improve students' oral skills.