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Exam Essay Structure

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Before you read on, make sure you understand that your writing style should be ... will be divided into three sections: firstly,...; secondly,...; and thirdly, ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Exam Essay Structure


1
Exam Essay Structure
  • The following notes will help you prepare
    yourself to write an exam essay for either a
    novel, or a play, or a selection of poems.
  • Remember
  • You have 50 minutes to write your answer, so its
    important that you use your time efficiently

2
Exam Essay Structure Language Hints
  • Before you read on, make sure you understand that
    your writing style should be formal and objective
    when writing a literary essay generally you are
    not asked for personal opinions
  • Avoid using the first person I or We say
    instead, This essay or The present study
  • Avoid contractions doesnt, cant, wont
    etc.
  • Avoid using slang phrases
  • Avoid writing generalisations in your essay,
    especially in the introduction
  • Avoid using quotes just for the sake of quoting
    (ie. without explaining) use the Rule of Three

3
Essay Structure
  • Preliminary
  • (5 mins)

Planning (15 mins)
Writing (26 mins)
Introduction (3 mins)
Section 1 (7 mins)
Section 2 (7 mins)
Section 3 (7 mins)
Conclusion (2 mins)
Re-reading (4 mins)
4
Essay Structure Preliminary (5 mins)
  • Give yourself 5 minutes to scan through the
    extract and the questions
  • Once youve selected the essay question,
    highlight the key words and re-write it your own
    words
  • Remember continuously refer back to the question
    when writing your essay

5
Essay Structure Planning the Essay (15 mins)
  • Planning needs to be detailed and thorough
  • Give yourself approximately a third of the
    writing time for planning ie. third of 45 mins
    15 mins
  • Use this planning time as follows
  • Introduction 2 mins
  • Three Sections 4 mins each
  • Conclusion 1 min
  • Write your plan in bullet points or short
    phrases/sentences theres no need to write in
    full sentences yet
  • Sketch in relevant quotes (except for the
    introduction)

6
Essay Structure Introduction (3 mins)
  • Start with the word When and give a concrete
    example that relates to the question When
    Napoleon takes the newly born puppies away from
    their mother, this shows
  • Dont quote write the example in your own words
  • Explain how the example relates to the question
    ie. explain why you have chose this example This
    is a good example to answer the question,
    because it shows
  • Introduce the three main sections of the essay
    these will depend on the question you are
    answering This essay will be divided into three
    sections firstly, secondly, and thirdly,
  • Dont use bullet points for this use a full
    sentence
  • Note Your introduction should have a maximum of
    three sentences

7
Essay Structure Section 1, 2, 3 (7 mins each)
  • The poetry question usually asks you to compare
    and contrast poems think back to your
    coursework comparative essays to help you prepare
    yourself to write this answer
  • Remember to use quotes remember to explain
    these quotes
  • Remember to identify literary effects like
    metaphors, similes, personification, simple
    complex sentences etc.
  • Try to write 1-2 paragraphs for each section
  • The section headings will always depend on the
    question youre answering
  • As a general guide, use the following headings

8
Essay Structure Section 1, 2, 3 (7 mins each)
  • For novels/plays
  • Section 1 Look at how setting/atmosphere
    contributes to the question topic
  • Section 2 Look at how characterisation
    contributes to the question topic
  • Section 3 Look at how language contributes to
    the question topic

9
Essay Structure Section 1, 2, 3 (7 mins each)
  • For poems
  • Section 1 Look at how imagery contributes to
    the question topic
  • Section 2 Look at how emotion/tone contributes
    to the question topic
  • Section 3 Look at how language contributes to
    the question topic

10
Essay Structure Conclusion (2 mins)
  • This should be brief and to the point and refer
    back to the question
  • Sum up your points and show that you have
    answered the question as fully as you could in
    the available time In conclusion, the main
    points of this essay areThis shows that the
    essay has covered the key aspects of the question
    in the time available.
  • Note the conclusion should have a maximum of two
    sentences

11
Essay Structure Re-reading (4 mins)
  • Always give yourself time to re-read your essay
    this could make the difference between a D and a
    C Grade
  • The more time you can bank for re-reading, the
    better
  • Check for spellings, grammar, punctuation
  • Do not use tip-ex for corrections
  • Cross out mistakes by putting one line through
    the error
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