The Critical Essay Structure How will my essay

The Critical Essay Structure

How will my essay be structured? 1. Introduction 2. Main Body- usually 3 or 4 paragraphs. 3. Conclusion

We are Learning. . . How to write an effective introduction.

Use this method: 1. Give the name of the text, the name of the author and mention words from Part One of the essay question. 2: Briefly summarise what the text is about (adapt according to the essay question). 3: Mention what you will be writing about in your essay and refer to Part Two of the essay question. Try to refer to theme(s).

Example Introduction Text: “Glasgow 5 March 1971” by Edwin Morgan Essay Question: Choose a poem in which setting is a significant feature. Explain briefly what the setting is and then go on to describe the importance of the setting to the poem’s central concerns.

Example introduction A poem in which setting is a significant feature is “Glasgow 5 March 1971” by Edwin Morgan. This instamatic poem is set in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow and describes a violent assault that is committed on an innocent young couple by two criminals during a robbery, causing them severe and life-threatening injuries. This essay will discuss the different techniques that Morgan uses so effectively to convey this horrific assault, such as metaphor and onomatopoeia, and how the poem portrays the violence, cruelty and selfishness of Scottish society.

We are Learning. . . How to write paragraphs using P. Q. E

The main body of your essay is where you develop your essay and go into detail with your Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation. All the paragraphs in the main body of your essay should be written using P. Q. E. This will help to ensure that your paragraphs have a good structure, and your essay is well organised.

Point Quote Explain Quote Again Explain Again

Point (topic sentence) You write one sentence and you do 3 things: • Make a point about the text which indicates what you will be focusing on in your paragraph. • Refer to the essay question (try to paraphrase). • Refer to theme of the text (directly or indirectly).

Quote Write one sentence: • Provide a quote from the text that supports your Point (remember your inverted commas!) • Put your quote in context (so that it can be clearly understood). (Remember: you usually do this twice in each paragraph)

Explain Write 3 or 4 detailed sentences: • Analyse and evaluate the techniques that have been used, using critical terminology. • Refer to the essay question. • Refer to theme (s) of the text (directly or indirectly) (Remember: you do this twice in each paragraph)

Example paragraph Text: “Glasgow 5 March 1971” by Edwin Morgan Essay Question: Choose a poem which describes a scene or incident vividly. Explain briefly what happens and then show the poetic techniques used make the description vivid.

Morgan vividly conveys the violence of the attack on the young couple and, in doing so, helps the reader to understand that we live in a cruel and violent society. He describes how “the young man’s face/is bristling with fragments of glass” after he is attacked and pushed into the shop window. This metaphor clearly illustrates how the broken glass has embedded itself into the man’s face, covering it like a beard. We can imagine the pain and suffering that the man would have experienced as the tiny fragments of glass would be cutting into his flesh, covering him with blood and horribly disfiguring him with scars.

. . . Morgan also explains that, after she is pushed through the window, “the girl’s leg. . . spurts arterial blood”. The onomatopoeia in the word “spurts” enables the reader to almost hear the sound of the blood gushing out of the possibly fatal wound in the young lady’s leg. The blood is escaping her body uncontrollably as the broken glass has viciously torn open an artery and the girl would undoubtedly be in both terror and agony as her life drains away due to this unprovoked attack on a busy street in Glasgow.

We are learning. . . How to write an effective conclusion

Your concluding paragraph should include the following, in any order: • Refer back to the essay question. • Sum up your main arguments. • Refer to theme (s) and techniques you have discussed.

Example conclusion Text: “Glasgow 5 March 1971” by Edwin Morgan Essay Question: Choose a poem in which setting is a significant feature. Explain briefly what the setting is and then go on to describe the importance of the setting to the poem’s central concerns.

Throughout the poem, “Glasgow 5 March 1971”, Edwin Morgan uses a variety of effective techniques to successfully convey the horrific attack that took place on an innocent young couple in Glasgow. The poem is dramatic from the opening, and it goes on to illustrate the sheer violence and cruelty of the assault which changed the lives of two innocent people forever. Through his description of the life-threatening injuries the couple received and his portrayal of the wilful blindness and self-obsessed nature of the public, Morgan makes a powerful statement to the reader about the violence and cruelty of Scottish society.