ESSAY WRITING A SIMPLE 8 STEP GUIDE

The structure is like a hamburger Introduction Main body Conclusion

You don’t necessarily eat a burger for the buns, but they hold the burger together… …in the same way the introduction and conclusion are not the most important part but they hold your essay together and stop it being messy!

INTRODUCTION CONCLUSION Always leave a line KEY IDEA ONE between paragraphs KEY IDEA ONE KEY IDEA TWO KEY IDEA THREE CONCLUSION

1 Read all the questions

Re-read the question you choose 2 Re-read the question you choose

Underline the keywords 3 Underline the keywords

4 Plan your key ideas

5 Plan your evidence

Write the introduction 6 Write the introduction

7 Write the main body

8 Write your conclusion

1 Read all the questions You need to read all the questions on offer. Reading all the possibilities allows you to make an informed choice. Some questions you will recognise, some you will not.

There will usually be a question on each aspect below: Character Issues/ideas Setting Structure (opening/incident/ending) Feelings and emotions

Re-read the question you choose 2 Re-read the question you choose Once you have made a decision on the question you should re-read this question. This is to ensure that you under stand all parts of the question. If there are any words you do not understand then choose another question.

Underline the keywords 3 Underline the keywords This is to ensure that you are focused on the important parts of the question

Describe an important character and explain why they are important. For example: Describe an important character and explain why they are important.

Describe an important character and explain why they are important. Becomes: Describe an important character and explain why they are important.

You should keep repeating those keywords throughout your essay…

4 Plan your key ideas This is the time that you decide how to answer the question. Usually the answers can be found from the box below. Just relate these to the question asked.

KEY IDEAS SHOULD COVER POINTS ON: 1. Plot 2. Characters 3. Setting 4. Themes 5. Feelings 6. Style 7. Language 8. Symbolism 9. Genre 10. Author 11. Society’s views 12. Comparisons

Describe an important character and explain why they are important. For example: Describe an important character and explain why they are important.

Possible answers: Plot – they are involved in key moments which can create suspense or moments of conflicts Characters – they help us to better understand other characters Setting – they help us to appreciate the setting more Theme – the character helps reveal the theme Feelings – through the actions and dialogue of the character they cause us to feel particular emotions

5 Plan your evidence At this point you need to be able to back up your key ideas. To do this you must provide detailed and specific information from the text.

EVIDENCE MEANS: QUOTES EVENTS ACTIONS ANECDOTES

Write the introduction 6 Write the introduction You should keep this paragraph as short and to the point as possible. You need only include the following. 1. The name of the text and the author 2. Clearly answer the question using key words 3. List your key ideas INTRODUCTION

Title – and underlines it!!! Answers question Uses key words Lists 3 key ideas 1 3 2 Gives Title – and underlines it!!! Answers question Uses key words Names author – uses capital letters!!! An important character in I Am Not Esther by Fleur Beale is Kirby. She is important because she reveals the themes the theme of personal identity, provokes an emotional response for the reader and is involved in moments of tension.

Let’s look at another question: Describe an interesting idea and explain why it is interesting.

Names author – using capital letters!!! Lists 3 key ideas 1 2 3 Answers question Uses key words Names author – using capital letters!!! An interesting idea in How Dare You by Jane Westaway is family violence. This is interesting because it makes the reader feel both sad and angry, gives the reader an insight into a world they may not experience themselves and provides moments of suspense in the text. Gives title – and underlines it!!! 3

Write the Main Body of you essay 7 For each key idea you have you need to write one paragraph. These paragraphs all follow the same format: 1. A topic sentence stating your key idea 2. Evidence from the text to support your key idea 3. An explanation linking your evidence back to the question clearly answering it MAIN BODY

TOPIC SENTENCES: state your key idea use the keywords from the question should be short and to the point are like a signpost indicating what your paragraph is about

The key idea here is that Esther is the important character Uses key words Firstly, an important character in the text is Esther. The key idea here is that Esther is the important character Short and to the point

Again, short and to the point Esther is important because she reveals a theme. Again, short and to the point Uses key words The key idea here is that Esther is an important character because we learn about a theme through her

EVIDENCE: Can be quotes, examples, actions details Quotes should only be 5-6 words long You must use “ ’’ around them They must be embedded

The quote is embedded: words before and after it to explain the context. This idea is shown when Mr Poata says “It’s private, isn’t it?” when she asks for help. Uses quote marks Short quote

The quotes are embedded: they flow into a sentence which is easy to read and clear. Uses quote marks I felt sorry for the Grandmother as she was described as being “frail with age”, lived in a “shabby room” and only has one “good brown dress”. short quotes

EXPLANATION Should refer back and answer the question Can include some personal response Will usually answer the second half of the question

This idea is important because it makes the reader aware of how we need to take action if we suspect violence even if it is in people’s homes. Answers the second half of the question: Why is the idea important? Uses key words from queston Doesn’t use I but uses ‘the reader’ instead

Answers the second half of the question: Why is the character intersting? Relates back to the ideas of the story This character is interesting because he reveals the idea of how people are too scared to interfere in domestic violence. Uses key words from question

8 Write your conclusion Once again this should be kept simple and to the point. You need only include the following 1. Clearly answer the question once again 2. State your key ideas again 3. Include a personal response

Clearly answers the question. Clearly outlines the key ideas again. 3 2 1 Includes a personal response In conclusion, Kirby is an interesting character in I Am Not Esther. She was interesting because through her the themes of courage and personal identity were raised. Finally she was interesting because she provoked an emotional response from the readers. I admired the way she dealt with the obstacles and hoped she would be able to sort her problems out. Uses the key words

And it’s that simple!