How to write a Band 6 Essay in English

Introduction: Steps in Writing a Results Guaranteed Introduction

Sample question: How has your perception of rebellion been enhanced through a study of the human experience in Nineteen Eighty-Four?

1) You will answer the question without bringing up any text in the first sentence. In this introduction, we have decided to highlight the effect of human experiences and how they can create impressions on readers by impacting their human qualities, emotions, behaviours and motivations. This links to the question by depicting the power of texts in influencing the reader's perceptions.

Human experiences refer to occurrences that create impressions of human qualities, emotions, behaviours, and motivations.

2) In the second sentence, you will then bring up your text. Make sure to link your text back to the question. You need to show how your text proves your first sentence (your thesis) to be true.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949) examines human experiences to enhance one’s perception of the futility of rebellion as his novel is constructed through the lens of a dystopian society.

3) Talk more about what the text focuses on. Make sure what you continue to talk about reflects your thesis and links back to the question. It’s important to ensure that your summary sounds concise and professional. The readers DON’T NEED TO KNOW what happens in the entire book. Your introduction is basically a trailer of your body paragraphs and what you will be focusing on

in the essay, so don’t blabber on.

Orwell examines an oppressive society’s ability to force social conformity catalysing the destruction of individual thought and emotions, and one’s rebellious behaviours. He further explores love as an act of defiance, whilst suggesting the fragility of the rebellion in battle with tyrannical human experiences. Finally, Orwell explores the demolishing of language in dictatorial societies to create unconscious orthodoxy that buries humanity, and rebellious thoughts.

Body Paragraphs: Steps in Writing a Results Guaranteed Body

Paragraph

The general rule for body paragraphs

1. Between 3-4 quotes for everything.

2. A technique for everything.

3. Talk about the effectiveness of what you’re saying and how it relates to the question. No point in using a technique if you can’t say the significance of it.

4. 4) Be concise. Don’t recount. Example of a recount “This is shown through Felix’s anger towards John, as he was furious with John’s plot of revenge and decided to have a plan to shoot John. John then strived to become king and started a war against Felix. This is shown through “______”. Instead of saying what happened in your words, use the words of your text to show it and analyse each sentence! Think of it this: You're paid to analyse the book's words and what it means, not to recount the entire story without using LOTS of quotes!

   
   

Steps:

1) Introduce text. Once you get to your body paragraphs there is no need to use the author's full name (you should only use their last name). If your module is a contextual study, it is important that you speak about context within the body paragraphs and your first sentence should be used to discuss context.

Example one: Not a contextual study

Sample question: How does Tim Winton allow readers to resonate with the shared human emotion of fear?The personal essay ‘Havoc: A life in accidents’ (Havoc) illustrates Winton’s loss of security in his father’s absence brought through a car accident as an authoritative role in his life; allowing us to resonate with the shared human emotion of fear.

Example two: A contextual study

Sample question: How does William Shakespeare explore how forgiveness elicits maturity?Through the social paradigm of the ‘Divine Right of Kings’, instigated by King James I, Shakespeare theorises that an individual’s defiance of the Great Chain of Being culminates in their demise, while further exploring how forgiveness elicits maturity.

2) Expand (show how your first sentence is true).

Sample question: How does Tim Winton allow readers to resonate with the shared human emotion of fear?For Winton, the threat of loss and death in crisis causes the emergence of a paradox; while he is not physically injured, his suffering and torment is debilitating. Notice how this instantly relates to my first sentence by showing the effect of fear.

His melodramatic outcry Notice how I instantly jump into a quote rather than saying “This is reflected in”. This makes my writing more concise and easier to read! “I wasn’t just upset. I felt as if I was unravelling... that I might die at any moment” is a hyperbolic recollection of events, signifying his complete loss of reality in this moment of crisis.

Pay attention to:

• My use of techniques: ‘Melodramatic outcry’, and ‘Hyperbolic

  recollection’. You need everything you mention to have a technique (as this basically shows your English skills and this is what markers are looking for). A general rule of thumb is that a quote is irrelevant if it does not have a technique attached to it.

• How I showed the importance of the quote I mentioned through phrases like “signifying his complete loss of reality in this moment of crisis”. This emphasises the importance of having everything link back to the question.

3) Continue to expand further.

The potential for his paternal authority figure to disappear places, Winton, in such a state of disarray, he loses all sense of structure in his life, illustrated in his erratic use of convoluted and truncated sentences. He envisions ‘my life warp and capsizes” as a means of symbolising his lack of direction, catastrophizing his situation as a coping mechanism for the loss of his paternal figure. This is an ode to the human experience of fear, as Winton exposes his emotional journey to the audience, he is metaphorically freeing himself from the burden of his emotions, and recognising the power of resilience from the crisis. Additionally, Winton metaphorically states “ safety is a great gift “ yet contradicts this ‘gift‘ through high modality “ we’ll forever be vulnerable to havoc”. This insight reveals the paradoxical nature of the human experience of safety in itself as we eventually “come to feel safe enough to take risks”, leading us to continually seek the experience of safety when we are in ‘ Havoc’.

Pay attention to:

• My phrase of “he envisions”. It’s a way to start a sentence effectively; ensuring

  that it flows well.

• Techniques are ‘squeezed’ in the paragraph. For example instead of saying

  “Winton uses a metaphor to depict an ode” I say “he is metaphorically freeing himself from the burden of his emotions”.

  
  

  4. End your body paragraph - sum up your body paragraph to your readers. You can use the words ‘thus’ and ‘through’ to end it.Through Winton’s memoir of this crisis, he engages with the concept of paradoxes in life through the shared human experience of fear; ultimately recognising that resilience is necessary to not only overcome this shared experience but to negate the effects of the paradox.

Conclusion: Steps in Writing a Results Guaranteed Conclusion

A conclusion is a summary of what the essay spoke about. A conclusion does link to the question and it is really important for your conclusion to NOT contain anything new that the body paragraphs and introductions do not reflect on.Conclusively, Winton’s recount on his personal experiences associated with the drive for safety and cathartic experiences combined with his ambiguous encounterment with church allow us to resonate with him and deepen our understanding in aspects that represent our collective and individual experiences. He is able to enhance our vision and knowledge on the behaviours and motivations compelled in humanity, using his memoir to convey both shared and personal human experiences.

Essay Writing Q & A

What would you do if you were doing an essay in one of your exams and you realise you have only 10 minutes left. You still have one more body paragraph left to do.

Would you:

a)  Skip this body paragraph and go straight to the conclusion?

b)  Finish the body paragraph as that is more important than a conclusion?

Option B is the correct answer. It is so important to make sure you finish off your body paragraphs as not writing enough can lead you to lose so much marks. It is still important to get a conclusion done, however a body paragraph is so much more important than a conclusion. In year 12 I received an A for one of my essays in which I spent less than 1 minute on my conclusion. I truly believe that I would of not received an A if i didn’t complete a body paragraph for the sake of getting my conclusion done.

What are some essay memorising tips and advice?

This looks so different for everyone (so I would highly recommend trying to figure out what works best for you - this will only come through trial and error and through trying different methods).

Here are some recommendations though:

• -  Do little by little - memorise the introduction first, then your body paragraphs and then your conclusion. After you finish your introduction try memorising body paragraph one, then do the introduction and body paragraph 1 together, and then once you memorise body paragraph two do the introduction, body paragraph 1 and body paragraph 2 together etc!

• -  Make a planning sheet in the exam. I know for me I get super stressed so a planning sheet really helped me. When I got into the exam I spent 5 minutes planning my essay and I included quotes and techniques in my plan.

• Record yourself reading out your essay and play the recording throughout the day.

• Print out your essay and walk around the house reading it out loud.

• Use flashcards.

It takes me so long to write an essay, do you have any tips when it comes to writing drafts for my texts?

When I first started year 12 it would take me three days to write an introduction..... This sounds so cliche, but practicing is so important. I did Extension 2 English and I feel like I only became good at essays half way through year 12 and that is just because I was writing one once a week. Be patient with yourself and understand that writing essays is really hard! But like anything, practice will pay off. Now I can write an entire essay in an hour. And I give practicing all the credits for that!

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