1. Writing a text response essay
Year 8

2. What’s it about? How long will it need to be?
Text response essays are written to answer a question or comment on a statement.
The essay will be at least five paragraphs long
Introduction
Main body (3 paragraphs)
Conclusion

3. Important information to remember
When making a comment about an event, character or setting you must link it back to the text.
You must include evidence from the text.
For example, if you are saying a character is racist you need to go back to the book and find an example of something they said or did and include it in your essay.

4. Our topics…you guys get to choose
How does Edmund’s character develop throughout the novel? Use examples and quotes from the novel in your response. (What challenges does he face? How does he deal with them?)
Courage can be shown in many different ways. How is courage shown by the characters in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’?
Let’s chat about the topics and decide on which one we will write about

5. Brainstorming Who shows courage? How? Where? When? Aslan
He sacrifices his own life in place of Edmund
Chapter 14 – The triumph of the witch
Mr Tumnus
Edmund

6. introduction
The Introduction tells the reader what the topic is, gives them all the information they need to understand the topic and what the essay will be about.
Before we get started…
What is your opinion? Do you agree? Do you disagree?
What evidence from the book can you use to support your point of view?
A good way to prepare your ideas is to collect your ideas in a table. Your teacher will help you with this now.

7. Get Writing your introduction
Information you must include:
Title and Author of the text (Eg. The novel Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins,…)
A very brief summary of the novel. This should be a one or two sentence overview, not a list of the plot. (Eg. …is set in a futuristic dystopian society and follows the challenges of Katniss Everdeen as she finds herself in a fight to the death, against other teenagers.)
A sentence that states your opinion/view of the Topic Statement or Question. (Eg. Throughout the novel the theme of loyalty is addressed, in a range of different ways.)
Define any key words (Eg. Loyalty is…)
A sentence or two that introduces the three main points that you will be using as evidence that your point of view is correct. ( Character and the way they showed courage. Not the specific example )

8. Paragraph 1 (main body)
T.E.E.L – Topic Sentence, Explanation, Evidence, Linking Sentence
Topic Sentence – Write a sentence that clearly states your first point. (Eg. Katniss shows that she is extremely loyal to her family, especially her sister Primrose)
Explanation – Explain a little about what you mean or how this was shown in the novel (Eg. At the time of the reaping, when names are drawn out to participate in the Hunger Games, Katniss insists on taking the place of her younger sister.)

9. Paragraph 1 Cont. – Main body
Evidence – Find a quote or event in the novel. There are many ways to do this – your teacher will share with you a ‘Using quotes’ reference sheet. (Eg. When her sister’s name is called, Katniss’ sense of loyalty is engaged immediately,  ’With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me.’) *It would be ok to further explain your point here as well.
Linking sentence - The job of this sentence is to link the point you have talked about in this paragraph to your original statement or the next paragraph. (Eg. As the plot unfolds, Katniss demonstrates loyalty to her friends as well as her family.)

10. Paragraphs 2 and 3 – Main Body
These follow the same steps as Paragraph 1 – Main Body, just with different points

11. Conclusion… nearly there
Purpose of the conclusion is to briefly recap the points that you have made, linking your points back to the Topic Statement.
Do NOT introduce new information
You may choose to include another quote here
Avoid repeating exact words/phrases you have used in the essay
Eg. Hunger Games explores in depth how far humans are willing to go to show their loyalty to others.