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)
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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

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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

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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

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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