I spend a lot of time trying to make my teaching as simple as possible. At its most simple, it goes like this:
Here’s a top grade essay. Write one like that.
Then I play around with some more complex ideas: what made a good thesis? How were the paragraphs ordered? What does a good conclusion look like?
Again, keeping it simple.
What words will force me to think like a top grade student: although, however, therefore, consequently, because. Simple, use those.
What are the context words which will always get me marks: society, patriarchal, class, Christianity. Simple, use those too.
Every time you look at an essay, try writing your own version, concentrating on just a few simple things.
One parent has contacted me having found this very simple. But, her son is autistic. Simple is good. But specific is even better.
She has produced a simple and specific guide using my advice on essay writing. Let me know if you find it helpful.
LITERATURE ESSAY – OUTLINE PLANNER – TARGET 600-900 WORDS
1. 3 Part Thesis Statement:
a. First sentence with Title, Author & genre
b. Choose 2 (or 3) key themes and link at least one to writer’s purpose/context in wider society
c. Choose most relevant symbol/motif, mention how the author uses symbols relevant to Q keywords
d. This acts as the essay plan for your body text paragraphs
2. 4-8 Paragraphs of body text:
a. Each paragraph:
i. must link in some way to the key words in the question
ii. must be a “key moment” in the plot, relevant to keywords - in chronological order from book starting with the opening
iii. must contain a quote and explanations in relation to themes (from thesis)
iv. ideally includes some external context about wider society/writer’s purpose
b. One paragraph must be:
i. an in depth language analysis
ii. an “exploratory” paragraph (contains at least 2 different POVs on same evidence)
3. Conclusion – which discusses the end of the book which is usually where the writer’s purpose is most obvious.
What a Visual Plan Might Look Like
What a Planning Grid Might Look Like
How to Use the Grid
We don’t aim to fill in every row and column on the table.
1) We start by writing in the keywords from the question and themes from the thesis statement across the top row as reminders of what we need to cover/discuss. We don’t need to fill in all of these headings/maybe we should reduce the number of boxes?
2) Then we decide on paragraph subjects down the left side using chronological order from the text/key events. We have more rows than we probably need.
3) We choose quotes we will use for each paragraph and note down in the relevant box.
4) We add in the points we want to make using our quotes where the relevant row/column intersect. This helps us check that each paragraph covers the keywords and that we mention each theme/context point at least once during the essay (ideally more)
5) We decide which will be our detailed analysis paragraph and which will have two interpretations.
6) We can then have a visual guide to whether some paragraphs are a bit crowded or sparse or if we’ve missed a particular point.
7) We can get on with writing the essay safe in the knowledge we can tackle one paragraph at a time without getting lost or repeating things.
We are using this grid to scaffold your technique for practice rather than it being useful in the exam.
He’s gone from writing zero words (literally refusing to write anything due to sheer panic) to a 900 word end of year exam essay which got marks near the top of his class - so we are complete converts! Thank you!
My Thoughts
Parents can be more powerful even than teachers. They know you better. They understand (especially if you will let them!) what annoys you, how to make you feel better, what barriers are getting in your way.
I’m pretty sure that in Japan, parents are given time off to revise with their child during the run up to exams - I think I picked this up from Cleverlands, a fascinating book about how different countries do so much better than the UK academically.
Notice how she doesn’t know if she is doing it the best way - so she will be on the look out for a better way at each stage.
No wonder her son is now writing 900 words.
Thank you so much for this Dominic. I had been fretting a bit for the past couple of days, feeling I needed something a bit more “type 2” to solidify the essay writing process in my mind for my students, and it was as if you read my mind! I need to wean myself off “type 2” thinking and teaching, but it’s so ingrained! Your books help massively with this though!
This post is brilliant, so huge thanks to you, your student and their mum! Have a fabulous week.