I N T R O D U C T I O N

  • You want to start your essay really grabbing the marker's attention
  • Try coming up with a few different essay starter's for each book that you can tweak depending on the topic. E.g. Hannah Kent authors a story of struggle and deprivation in Icelandic's brutal and harsh environment in Burial Rites.
  • Questions are often in two parts; be sure to address all parts. E.g. It is Agnes' struggle against fate and ill-fortune that  gains the reader's sympathy.  This question is not just asking about whether Agnes struggles with fate and ill-fortune, but whether that then gains the sympathy of the reader. Do we feel sympathetic towards her? If so, is it because of her struggle against those two things? Does she actually struggle against them? Do we feel sympathy for other reasons? Do we feel sympathy because of those things, but is that reversed by other actions of hers in the novel?

B O D Y // P A R A G R A P H S

  • Be sure to constantly be using the vocabularly of the essay topic (and synonyms) in your paragraphs
  • Be sure to stay focused!
  • Quote short and often
  • Quotes should be littered throughout your entire paragraphs seamlessly. 

C O N C L U S I O N​

  • Remember, this is the last thing that a marker reads. End it well!

WHAT TO DO // WHAT NOT TO DO

WHAT TO DO

  • Stretch your vocabulary by using a thesaurus​
  • Use synonyms so you don't repeat yourself. E.g. Instead of always saying 'says' you could say: responds, claims, answers, declares, reveals, affirms, mentions, expresses
  • Write in present tense. E.g. 'The writer declares...'
  • Link back to the topic throughout the essay
  • Use the language of the question/topic in your writing
  • Underline the name of the text every time you mention it.

WHAT NOT TO DO

  • No personal pronouns: No 'I' or 'my opinion'
  • Do not use capital letters to emphasise points
  • Avoid having long sentences that stretch over many lines - break them into smaller ones.
  • Do not start paragraphs with one word sentences - make sure they start with full topic sentences.

 Example

 The following is an example of a very simple paragraph using the above structure on the play Romeo and Juliet. Colours have been used to highlight how TEEL was used in the body paragraphs. Quotations have been included also. You should be writing more advanced than this.
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Topic Sentence
Explanation
Evidence/examples
Link

Juliet is partially to blame to for her own and Romeo’s deaths. Her first downfall occurs at the Capulet’s party when she falls for Romeo far too quickly. She asks Nurse whether he is married, dramatically stating that if he is then her ‘grave is like to be [her] wedding-bed’, concluding that she may as well die. Furthermore, it was Juliet herself who ‘purposed’ a sudden and secret ‘marriage’ between her and her family’s enemy, Romeo Montague. If it were not for the marriage, neither Juliet nor Romeo may have never taken their own lives. Lastly, Juliet can be blamed as no-one forced the dagger into her hand, it was her decision to take her own life as she exclaims ‘oh happy dagger’ and asks the knife to ‘let [her] die’. It is clearly evident that Juliet should take some of the responsibility for her death and for Romeo’s.