Mini Essays www.misterconnor.com

Topic Sentences The topic sentence is the sentence which summarizes the main ideas of that paragraph. It is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. The topic sentence acts as a kind of summary of the main ideas for the following paragraph. These do not need to be complicated. E.g. Tess is connected to nature in many ways. Angel’s real character is shown when he rejects Tess. Alec is in many ways a cartoon villain.

Explain, please. A mini essay is a small section of writing which addresses a single aspect of a question. This could be the use of characterisation, symbolism, key themes and so forth. The basic idea is that each full essay should contain three or four mini-essays. These are an EXCELLENT way to revise.

Ticky-Squeak Okay, it’s not really an acronym but… T I Q E E S Q E E C

Ticky Topic sentence (summary of what the paragraph will contain) Initial example. Quotation to support this idea. Explanation of the techniques used in the quotation. Explanation of how the technique connects to the topic sentence.

Squeak Second example. Quotation to support this idea. Explanation of the techniques used in the quotation. Explanation of how the technique connects to the topic sentence. Closing sentence – how do these two points address the main question.

Which might look like… T John Proctor cannot escape his past affair with Abigail Williams. I In the first act, Proctor still shows signs of attraction to her. Q He says, “Ah, you’re wicked yet, aren’t y’!” E Here, Proctor is using flirtatious language with Abigail, although the affair is over. E This makes very clear the difficulty Proctor has in moving on from the infidelity.

Continuing on… S We further see the difficulty Proctor has in moving on, when Abigail tries to engage his emotion in the first act. Q She says, “You’re no wintry man, John. I know you.” E The use of the ambiguous word “know” suggests that she still has sexual desires for him. E This shows Abigail still wants the affair to continue. C Both of these examples show that the affair, while over, still has power in the present.

Have a bash… T I Q E S C