For 2T02, our paragraph on Cecil:

TS:

Cecil is constructed as a highly ironic character  to reflect the very contradictions of the Edwardian age and its sense of ‘progress’.

How:

(Feature / method)
- The disjunct between Cecil’s first line in the novel and the Honeychurches’ reaction highlights the polarity between Cecil’s self-perception and Forster’s portrayal:
- his Italian reference to a Manzoni novel (where English would suffice) may impress one as a mark of refinement and spirit…

(Effect)
- but it perplexes and distances his ‘anxi[ous]’ audience instead, as it does Forster’s reader.
- Asked to imagine Cecil as a ‘Gothic statue’ and representative of ‘celibacy’ a few lines prior to this, the reader sees him in a reverse light: Cecil’s use of Italian concretises his coldness and disconnection from people.

Why

(Purpose of comparing Cecil to Gothic statue)
The narrator suggests to the reader that it is only when Cecil is direct, speaking in simple English (not unlike George) that that he becomes ‘more human’.

(Link back to Edwardian England and progress)
- Cecil’s pretensions towards ‘Italian-ness’ and passion are his and Edwardian England’s precise failing: it is the true emotion of ‘flush[es]’ and ‘smile[s]’, rather than knowledge of Italian and Italian literature, that we should celebrate as ‘human’ progress.

To recap, we are briefly outlining our ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘Why’ in our topic sentence. For the body of our paragraph, we are presenting and analysing evidence / features, also taking into account the effect on the reader / audience (HOW). Finally, we can consider the purpose of these effects and elucidate the writer’s concern or.. ‘message’ (WHY).