I'm a university lecturer of Drama and English Literature. On this page you'll find loads of powerpoint presentations filled with useful resources for teachers and students interested in English Literature, Drama, Art History, and Academic English / Research. Useful for all levels.
I'm a university lecturer of Drama and English Literature. On this page you'll find loads of powerpoint presentations filled with useful resources for teachers and students interested in English Literature, Drama, Art History, and Academic English / Research. Useful for all levels.
This presentation looks at Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband. It outlines the key themes of the play: suffrage, gender differences, sexuality, class conflict, Victorian society, and aestheticism. There are lots of sections for close analysis, as well as interesting biographical information relating to Wilde’s imprisonment. The presentation then explores the role of women in 19th century society, focusing on The New Woman in fin de siècle literature. The final slide contains a practice exam question with useful pointers and quotes from scholars and theatre critics such as Michael Billington.
This presentation looks at the history of the English Language in Ireland through the drama of Brian Friel. It contains several extracts for close scene analysis and discusses the play in relation to its major theme: the colonisation and dominance of the English Language (tradition vs modernity). The slides also cover the history of the Abbey Theatre and several quotes from the playwright himself (Brian Friel), the poet Seamus Heaney, and critics such as Desmond Rushe. The last two slides outline Claude Lévi-Strauss’ ‘hot and cold societies’ theory and then look towards Welsh identity, mentioning the play Mother Tongue by Roger Williams.
This bundle contains 3 examinations (2 hours each = total of 6 hours) in Academic English skills. The exams are divided into 4 sections: reading, source credibility, critical thinking, and writing. Students will be tested on the following essential skills:
Section 1: Reading and comprehension (multiple choice & true / false / not given questions)
Section 2: Identifying whether an article is peer-reviewed (comment on the main features of academic publications)
Section 3: Understanding & documenting findings from visual data (describing main findings of a graph)
Section 4: Essay writing, accurate source integration and correct referencing (final essay question with marking rubric)
All examinations come with a rubric (for the final essay question) and an answer key for Section 1. This bundle is perfect for students and teachers taking Academic English at A Level and Foundation level. It can also be used for high-level GCSE students. Students will gain exam practice, improve their reading and comprehension skills, and will develop their knowledge and critical thinking. The bundle can also be used for revision classes. The themes of the examinations are as follows:
Tourism in the Dubai
Sustainability and climate change in Abu Dhabi
The impact of robotics and AI on society in the UAE
**This bundle will lead to: better understanding of texts, confident use of academic research, improved fluency and accuracy in writing, ability to think critically about a range of topics. **
This presentation looks at Ibsen’s drama focusing on his major play: Hedda Gabler. The sildes offer detailed information on and colourful examples of the historical context, gender politics, and themes of Ibsen’s drama. The powerpoint then examines Hedda’s character with links to short videos of performers such as Ruth Wilson discussing playing the role and what makes Hedda tick. This presentation is useful for anyone interested in Ibsen’s drama, feminism in his work, and performing his tragic heroine: Hedda Gabler.
This presentation focuses on theatre during the 1960s and Postmodernism. It is useful for anyone interested in the artistic trends and socio-political events of the '60s. It refers to the work of Patrice Pavis to discuss the shift of focus from the actor to the spectator and then looks at ‘Off-Off Broadway’ performances. Jerzy Grotowski’s ‘Poor Theatre’, The Living Theatre, The Open Theatre, and Robert Wilson’s productions are looked at in turn. The Wooster Group moves the presentation forward to explain Postmodernism with reference to the ideas of Jacques Lacan, Jean-François Lyotard, Fredric Jameson, and Baudrillard.
Ideal handout for university and A Level students working on Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine.
The handout offers:
Questions to encourage discussion and analysis of Cloud Nine
An explanation of Mikhail Bakhtin’s Carnivalesque
**Carefully selected extracts from Cloud Nine **
**Scholarly readings of Churchill’s play **
Perfect for students writing an essay or preparing for a class/seminar on Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine.
This presentation outlines the shift in drama from Realist to Symbolist to Modernist forms of theatre. It uses work by Chekhov, Maeterlink, and Beckett to illustrate the differences between representational and Avant-Garde playwrighting and scenography. The explanation of Ferdinand de Saussure’s semiotics is supported by examples form Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. The presentation also covers the work of Ionesco and Tom Stoppard when discussing the Theatre of the Absurd (a term coined by Martin Esslin).
This presentation explores F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby. The slides outline its publication, reputation as ‘The Great American Novel’, and themes such as corruption, the American Dream, class, nostalgia, and love. An in-depth character outline depicts all of the major characters with reference to the themes associated with their actions/role in the novel. Three slides are dedicated to close textual analysis of important moments/themes in the novel. The scholarship of Sarah Churchwell is referred to and there are also suggestions for further reading. This powerpoint is useful for A Level and undergraduate students looking at The Great Gatsby.
This presentation is aimed at GCSE English literature students studying J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. It contains in-class activities as well as homework questions. It focuses on the idea of social responsibility in the play and also helps students to understand the importance of stage directions and set. A great resource for anyone teaching or studying An Inspector Calls at GCSE level.
This presentation highlights some of the major shifts in recent theatre history that have become significant moments for the recognition of women’s playwrighting and theatre making. With examples from Judy Chicago’s Feminist Art Program, the first Women’s Theatre Conference, critic Michelene Wandor’s influential study of sexual politics in the theatre, and women’s theatre groups from the 1970s, the slides trace the history of women’s playwriting. The powerpoint then focuses on the work and influence of Caryl Churchill, especially her play Vinegar Tom. Critics like Janelle Reinelt and Elin Diamond are also quoted in a clear, easy to follow manner. A final slide contains some recommended reading suggestions.
M. Butterfly , a play by David Henry Hwang is the focus of this presentation and handout. M Butterfly is explored alongside themes of gender, sexuality, Orientalism, representations of East/West.
The powerpoint and handout include:
Quotes from the playwright, David Henry Hwang
Quotes from the play, M Butterfly
Tasks, discussion questions, and thinking points
Extracts from Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble
Extracts from Edward Saïd’s Orientalism (and other texts)
Academic criticism with questions for students
Recommended reading
This is a very useful interactive powerpoint and accompanying handout for any course that covers M Butterfly and drama concerned with gender, performativity, race and ethnicity.
Suitable for A Level and undergraduate students.
This **Thinking Skills Assessment guide **answers all of your TSA questions. It tells you about the TSA, what to expect in both Section 1 and Section 2 papers, and how to prepare and improve your problem solving & critical thinking skills. It also provides you with lots of sample questions taken from past papers (with answers), and gives guidance on how to get the best result. At the end of this document, you’ll find a list of helpful further reading resources.
Essential document for teachers, tutors, and students preparing for the TSA.
Suitable for Oxford University, Cambridge University, and UCL admissions TSA exams.
For Section 1, there are 18 past paper questions with answers
For Section 2, there are 16 past paper questions and an additional 2 questions with ‘thinking steps’ and essay writing tips.
**This document also provides a breakdown of verbal and numerical reasoning skills. **
A helpful resource for any student who needs to submit an annotated bibliography or any teacher/lecturer wanting to explain how to put together an annotated bibliography. The PowerPoint goes through the following aspects of an annotated bibliography:
What is an annotated bibliography?
How to record research for your bibliography
A 3-Step Process to writing an annotation
Creating an annotated bibliography: what goes into each annotation
Examples for discussion / reference
Useful phrases for your own annotations
Further examples asking students to identify strengths and weaknesses in the annotations
Summary checklist for writing annotations
This resource can be used by students of any subject.
This presentation is on George Eliot’s novel Middlemarch. It gives an outline of George Eliot’s life and focuses on the themes of politics, feminism, and religion that Eliot explores in Middlemarch. This is an ideal resource for university and A Level students working on George Eliot, Middlemarch, and Victorian Literature. It includes quotes from literary critics and reviewers useful for essays on Dorothea’s feminist and political ambitions & constraints within the novel. This presentation is useful as an introduction to Middlemarch’s themes.
This bundle contains 4 resources on academic writing & English skills, focusing on:
Essay writing for cause & effect
Researching tips and source integration for academic essays
Annotated biblographies & referencing
Writing & structuring an essay - a step-by-step guide
**The bundle covers the basics of essay writing, researching, and referencing. It is a perfect tool for teachers who want to teach academic / essay writing and critical thinking skills. **
This presentation explores Postdramatic Theatre. It begins by defining ‘drama’, ‘theatre’, and ‘performance’, before giving a clear and detailed explanation of the Postdramatic. Hans-Thies Lehmann’s theoretical writings are quoted from and explained in relation to the work of Robert LePage, Robert Wilson, and Forced Entertainment. The presentation contains video clips, photographs of performances, helpful quotations from practitioners and critics as well as tasks for students to expand their learning. The Postdramatic is broken down into easy to follow slides that look at the aspects of the Postdramatic including textscapes, the visual, time, repetition, and the body. The final slide offers quotations from Tim Etchells about the notion of risk in the work of the Postdramatic.
This resource is aimed at undergraduate university students and A Level students aiming to gain high grades in English Literature. The question is focused on Dystopian Literature and takes George Orwell’s 1984 as its example. With a step-by-step guide, the resource answers the question: To what extent does dystopian literature reflect the society in which we live? By focusing on George Orwell’s 1984, debate the relevance of dystopian literature.
It includes guidance on how to:
** Write an introduction, main body, and conclusion
Develop an argument
Make detailed points
Quote literary critics
Use footnotes
Reference
Compile a bibliography**
The resource explains how to write an essay and also provides examples through a sample essay.
This presentation is on Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It is aimed at ALevel and undergraduate level university students exploring the work of Charles Dickens, the Industrial Revolution, and/or Victorian literature. The slides focus on how Dickens explores issues surrounding the Industrial Revolution in Hard Times. With particular focus on Dickens’s views on the rights of workers during Victorian Britain, this presentation draws on literary criticism to debate the two philosophies of that time: Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill) and Political Economy (Adam Smith). The is resource also contains: key quotations, discussion points, and quotes from literary critics (including Mikhail Bakhtin). Perfect for preparing an essay on themes surrounding Dickens’s representation of the lower-class workforce in his novels, especially Hard Times.
In A Guide to Public Speaking, you will learn how to successfully present your research / topic in front of an audience. The PowerPoint consists of over 50 slides of useful tips to presenting your knowledge / subject.
It goes through the fundamentals of public speaking:
Overcoming fear and anxiety about giving a speech
Nonverbal communication skills
Developing a speech
Vocal aspects of public speaking
Making PowerPoint slides
Keeping your audience engaged through audience analysis
This is a great resource for students and teachers. There are also practice exercises and further reading suggestions that will make you a great public speaker! Enjoy and good luck!
This presentation looks at theatre and nation, specifically the Irish Theatre tradition. It looks at the history of Irish theatre and focuses on comments by W. B. Yeats and the Abbey Theatre. Concepts such as gender politics and the mother nation are explored in relation to Marina Carr’s play The Bog of Cats… The powerpoint includes close analysis of scenes from the play, quotes from notable scholars, and comparisons between Carr’s work and that of John Keats and Samuel Beckett. This powerpoint is useful for anyone studying nation and theatre, Irish theatre, and Marina Carr’s drama.
