essay gcse

Essay Writing Tips Quick reviseThere are many key writing techniques required to achieve the best grades. What are these techniques? Planning Introduction Remain focused on the question Clear conclusion Organisation/ paragraphing Accuracy Good essay practice should include:- Planning Make sure you write a brief plan for your answer. In your plan you should identify very clearly around six distinct points you intend to make and the specific parts of the text that you intend to examine in some detail. Spend about 5 or 10 minutes planning as this will help you make sure you have chosen the right question (because then you know you have lots of material to cover). Introduction This should be brief; you could include what your main view is and what other ideas you have. Don't list the poems or ideas you are going to include in the rest of your essay as you will be repeating yourself. Don't begin with ‘In this essay I am going to.' and then list ideas. Try to begin by addressing the question straight away. Paragraphing Make sure you use them as it makes your writing clearer for you and the examiner. When writing your essay you should devote one or two paragraphs to each idea from your plan. Try to make smooth links between paragraphs. Evidence When you make a point - you must give evidence to prove it. When you make a point, refer to the text and give an example to back up what you say. The best way to do this is to use a quotation from the text. Quotations Remember to include quotations, but not too many and don't make them too long. A good quotation can be a line or two long or just a few words from a line. Do not copy out whole long sections from texts as this is wasting time. Selection Don't retell the plot of the story. The important thing is to be selective in the way you use the text. Only refer to those parts of the book/poem that help you to answer the question.
You will be asked to compare two or more poems in your exam. You will usually be given some of the poems which you must write about, and you might need to choose other poems to compare them with.You could be asked to write about the presentation of themes, people or places and the importance of language.All essay questions expect you to comment on the areas covered in Writing about poetry. This means you must write about the use of language, the effect of language and form, and how it makes you feel.A good comparative essay is like a multi-layered sandwich:BREAD - A new point.FILLING A - How one of your chosen poems illustrates this point.FILLING B - How your other chosen poem illustrates this point.BREAD - Your conclusion about this point.This is what the examiners call cross-referencing [cross-referencing: A technique in essay writing that compares points from two or more texts to formulate part of an argument. These texts might hold similar views or opposing ones. ] - you talk about both poems all the way through your answer.What the examiner will look forWhen marking your essay, the examiner will look to see whether you have appreciated and explored the:ideasattitudes and tonestructure and formtechniques used by the poetsWhen answering an exam question, keep these five criteria in mind.Now consider this exam question:How is the theme of love presented in the two poems?Choose two of the poems you are studying to try this exercise (you might need to replace ‘love’ with a different theme, depending on the collection of poetry you are focusing on).When planning an answer it is a good idea to look at each poem in turn and to note down examples or quotations relevant to each of the following criteria.Try drawing a table like the one below:Love*IdeasAttitudes and tonesStructure and formTechniquesPoem 1Poem 2* In the first column put the keyword from the question: this is.
There are THREE types of Essay question:        (click the yellow pointers to find out more) Describe e.g. ‘Describe.’, 'What were.', 'How did.?' etc. IN BRIEF – Simply write down a many facts as you can remember in a sensible order. BEWARE – A 'How.' essay can sometimes be asking you to describe something (ie a 'description' essay). Sometimes it wants you to explain something (ie an 'analytical' essay). Read the question carefully to decide what the examiner wants you to write about. 1st - Facts : Get your facts straight - where you're going to start and finish the story/ have you remembered all the facts (esp dates)/ sort them into a logical order. Arrange your account in a sensible order, e.g.: Beginning - Middle - End. 2nd - Explanation : e.g. As you tell your story, explain how one thing led to another/ identify areas of change and continuity/ detail different reactions to events/ draw links between people and events. 3rd - Judgement : e.g. Briefly, as you tell your story, explore underlying principles/ weigh the importance of different people and events, the pace of events, or the degree of change. Analyse (i.e. questions that ask you to EXPLAIN) IN BRIEF – Think of a number of points in answer to the question and PEE every paragraph. 1st - Points : Think of 4 or 5 points which answer the question. 2nd - Explanation : e.g. For each point, explain how it answers the question, taking your ideas right through to the question at issue, to demonstratehow the points you are making answer the question asked. Try to think of more than one way each point does this. 3rd - Development : e.g. 'Unpack' each point, using your own factual knowledge to explore anumber of different aspects of each point, and explaining how eachrelates to the question.Develop logical arguments (usingthe words such as 'so', however , this meant that , as a result , therefore ). 4th - Linkages .
Here are some extracts from the many  emails sent to Englishbiz: 'I'm so glad I found this website. I got an A grade, because I read everything on your website to do with description! From a C+ to an A.' 'thank you for making a difference' '.we've had outstanding results the last few years. We've a lot to thank you for.' '.you can distil topics in such a succinct and structured style that is both accessible and academically rigorous.' Thanks soo much!! It's really helped and now I've had the confdence to do two more essays (with the help of the Englishbiz website, of course). I honestly couldn't have done it without your help.' '.got my results! i got an A in English Lit and an A in English as well! Couldn't have done it without you! ' 'Hi.I just wanna say THANK YOU.this site is beyond 'WOW' - I can't believe it!' 'Thanks again for your fantastic support!' 'I wish you were my English teacher because you are amazing!!' (blushes)! 'Hi! First off I want to tell you that this site is AWESOME! It has everything! And you can actually understand it!! Thank you so much for this site!!' 'Thanks, mate - you're a lifesaver' '.I really wouldn't have been able to achieve the grades I am achieving without your brilliant site.' '. nearly cried when I found Englishbiz - it's so clear! So informative!' 'I wouldn't have been able to achieve the grades I did without all your advice! Thank-you so much once again.' 'It's got everything! And for free! Gosh it's excellent.' 'If only I'd found this in January.' '.what a fantastic site!' 'Brilliant help on describing. I went from a B+ to an A*' '.thanks to Englishbiz I'm a lot better prepared.'.