Year 8 English – Term 1 – Writing Lesson 1
INTRODUCTION TO EXTENDED
TEXT RESPONSE STRUCTURE &
PLANNING
Text response essays
 Being able to write a text response essay is a
skill and one that you will be expected to
have mastered by the end of the year!
 So what exactly do text response essays do
and why do we write them?
When writing a text response essay
you will…
 Have an introduction, at least three body
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paragraphs and a conclusion (5 paragraphs
total)
Respond to a theme/idea/event, etc. in a
particular text
Analyse the text
Present your arguments about the text
NOT retell the story
Step 1: Understand the topic
 Imagine that you have been given the topic:
In the text ‘Boy Overboard’, female characters
face dangers and injustice. Discuss using
examples from the novel.
Copy this topic statement into the middle of
your sheet of butcher’s paper
On your paper, complete these 3 things:
Underline the key words. Use a dictionary to
understand words you are not familiar with.
2. Rewrite the following topic in your own words
using synonyms (words with the same or
similar meaning).
3. What is the topic asking? Complete this
sentence. “This question is asking me to...”
1.
In the text ‘Boy Overboard’, female
characters face dangers and injustice.
Discuss using examples from the novel.
Step 2: Brainstorm

On your page, brainstorm all the ideas you have about
the topic.

Make a list of these things that might be relevant to the
question.
 ideas
 quotes
 examples/opinions

Then identify and highlight the 3 strongest arguments.
Step 3: graphic organiser
TEEL – huh?
Each body paragraph must follow TEEL:
T: Topic – say what this paragraph is going to be
about
E: Explain – what your argument for this
paragraph is about in a few more sentences
E: Example – use an example from the text to
support your explanation
L: Link – back to what the topic of the
paragraph was
Step 4: write your draft
 Use your TEEL planner to help you structure your essay
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draft
You write your draft in full
Use quotes and evidence to back up your argument
about the text
Use formal language (no abbreviations, no text
language)
Use present tense to discuss your argument (eg. When
Bibi yells at the sailor; When Jamal is facing…)
Be convincing
Be specific (don’t waffle on, get straight to the point)
Writing the essay:
Introductions
 Introductions are an important part of the essay as
they set the tone for your piece.
 They are also the first opportunity that you have to
persuade your reader.
 The introduction always provides two things:
1. Contention (whether you agree with the essay
topic or not)
2. Three arguments
 The introduction must include the name of the
text: ‘Boy Overboard’ (single quotation marks)
and the name of the author (Morris Gleitzman).
 Eg: In the novel ‘Boy Overboard’ by Morris
Gleitzman, female characters face dangers and
injustice.
 Your turn: Now you need to finish this
introduction by writing in the three
arguments
Writing the essay:
Conclusions
 Conclusions are important as they leave a final
impression on your reader.
 Restate your contention (in different words than
those used in your introduction.)
 Summarise your arguments.
 Do not introduce any new ideas.
 Your turn: Write a conclusion for the same
topic as the introduction
Year 8 English – Term 1 – Writing Lesson 2
EXTENDED TEXT RESPONSE BODY
PARAGRAPHS AND USE OF
EVIDENCE
Body Paragraphs
 Your paragraphs are where you develop your
main ideas. Each paragraph has a main
idea/major argument.
 Use TEEL to structure your paragraphs.
T: Topic – say what this paragraph is going to be
about
E: Explain – what your argument for this
paragraph is about in a few more sentences
E: Example – use an example from the text to
support your explanation
L: Link – back to what the topic of the paragraph
was
Using quotes & evidence –
the 2nd T in TEEL
 Now we’ve read more of the book, we know
of some examples from the book we can use.
 But what is a quote?
 What is evidence?
 And how do I tell you where I got them from?
Quotes
 A quote is when we take something word for
word from a text and put it into our own
writing
 A quote can be reusing what a character has
directly said
 A quote can also be a non-speaking part from
the text
 Whenever you quote, you use quotation
marks (“…”) at the beginning and end of the
quote
Quote examples
 Direct speech: As Bibi says, “You pongy lump
of camel spleen. I’d like to kick you in the
guts”.
 Indirect speech: Jamal is shocked by Bibi’s
attitude and thinks, “Nine-year-old kids
shouldn’t hate their country”.
Evidence
 Sometimes you may want to describe a
critical scene or someone’s actions, and a
single quote may not be enough
 In this case you can talk about what
happened at a certain point in the novel to
demonstrate what you are talking about
Evidence example
 Jamal shows that he is a positive person who
always tries to find solutions throughout the
book…. An example of this is in chapter 8,
when he hatches a plan for himself and Bibi
to be able to show the Afghani government
how good they are at soccer. Jamal believes
the government will be so impressed, they
will forgive his parents for running the illegal
school.
Referencing
 “You pongy lump of camel spleen. I’d like to
kick you in the guts” (pg 22)
 “Nine-year-old kids shouldn’t hate their
country” (pg 23)
 An example of this is in chapter 8, when he
hatches a plan…
OR:
 An example of this is when he hatches a
plan… (chapter 8)
Your turn…
 Practice developing and writing a body
paragraph for one of the three arguments in
your introduction.
 Complete the TEEL graphic organiser first
 Then write your paragraph in full, following
the TEEL structure you set out on your
graphic organiser