The Essay….
Students will understand how to
unpack an essay question and plan a
response.
Brainstorming the topic
• “The simple gift of friendship enables each of the
characters to change.” Discuss
1. What are the gifts of friendship shown? Specific
examples
2. Are they simple? Why? Why not?
3. Which particular characters were changed?
4. What is the evidence? What were they like
previously? Evidence? Why did they need to change?
Brainstorming Topic
• ‘My home is not a place, it is people’
Billy’s journey shows the importance of
belonging and acceptance.
1. What are different definitions of home in the novel?
2. What characters link together and create homes?
3. What does belonging and acceptance mean? How
does it relate to the novel?
4. Why is it important? How does it link to the message?
Reflection
• What topic are you responding to?
• What is your contention/main argument?
Eg. Steven Herrick’s The Simple Gift
highlights…………Each of the characters in Herrick’s
novel, Billy, Old Bill and Caitlin are all transformed
as a result of……..Ultimately, (message)
Forming our CONTENTION and identifying our
‘BIG IDEAS’
A contention is your main argument about the
topic
• What is your contention for this essay? Form a
strong statement about the essay topic
• What main ideas will you use to support your
contention? (Remember you will need a different
idea to discuss in each paragraph.) Write down
3-4 reasons that will support your contention.
Planning your essay
You know the basics now:
Intro with contention
At least 3 body paragraphs (using TEEL),
Conclusion
The skill is making it sound good through
complex and developed ideas and strong
writing! Now you need to think about how you
will plan your ideas
Body Paragraphs…Planning
There are a few ways that you can divide up your
ideas and develop them.
Most importantly you need to choose ideas that
respond to the topic and show your knowledge of
the WHOLE novel.
One idea:
You could write a paragraph on each of the main
characters and explore their journey of change and
how it happened. (What they were like at the
beginning, middle and end and the changes seen)
Body Paragraphs…Planning
OR
You could divide your paragraphs into the ‘simple
gifts’ you identified in the novel, and discuss these
gifts individually in each paragraph, showing how
they impacted each characters.
OR
You could follow the narrative and use each
paragraph to represent the beginning, middle, end,
message and explore how ideas and characters
change as the novel progresses. (be careful not to
retell the story)
Remember…
• Topic sentence to begin and focus your
paragraphs argument
• Explain and expand your key idea for the
paragraph. Provide a few examples and
quotes to support each idea. (Like your
practice TEEL paragraph. Remember
TEEEEEEL!)
Sample Introduction: (Contention) Stephen
Herrick’s ‘The Simple Gift’ highlights the
importance of friendship in people’s lives. Each
of the characters in Herrick’s novel are
transformed as a result of the sense of
belonging and trust that develops between
them. (Supporting ideas)Billy finally gains a
sense of belonging and purpose as he helps Old
Bill face the past and look forward to the future.
His relationship with Old Bill and Caitlin reveals
that love and friendship gives meaning to their
lives, enabling them to truly enjoy the simple
pleasures.
Developing arguments
Topic sentence: Form a clear statement or sentence.
Eg. Old Bill changes as the result of the friendship that he receives from
Billy and Caitlin.
Explain/Evidence: How has it changed him? Discuss your first reason
Provide example. Eg. Billy helped him become healthier – less drinking,
routine, healthy food (Quotes)
Explain/evidence: Discuss your second reasons. Provide example. Eg.
Billy and Caitlin offered friendship and asked nothing in return – they
shared their happiness, enabled him to laugh and see joy in life again
(Quotes!)
Concluding Sentence: sum up your argument about how friendship is
important to Old Bill.
Eg. Through the power of friendship, Old Bill was able to overcome the
‘ghosts of his past’, and start to laugh again.
Repeat the process for each of your points.
Sample Paragraph
Topic sentence: Within ‘The Simple Gift’ Billy’s
character gained confidence and respect due to the
friendships he developed with people. Reasons for
the changes/importance of friendship: Initially Billy
was presented as being lonely and quite sad due to
the way he was treated by his father and other adults
in his life. His father giving him ‘backhanders’ and
‘thundering’ around him resulted in Billy losing trust in
the adults in his life. He did not feel safe, loved or
supported. Examples: Once Billy met Ernie he realised
that are ‘men that don’t boss you around…and know
the value of things’. Ernie offered him kindness and
compassion, which was new to Billy, giving him ‘a
heater that works’ and ‘a cuppa’.
Ernie did not judge him, or ask him questions.
Billy’s trust in adults was further developed
when he met Old Bill. He was similar to Ernie in
that fact that he didn’t ask questions of Billy, but
treated him as an equal………(what else could
you say about how Old Bill’s friendship changed
Billy?)
Conclusion
• Don’t simply rewrite your contention, or list
why friendship is important!
• Write a strong statement that sums up what
Steven Herrick was saying about friendship
In the novel Herrick shows that Billy, Old Bill and
Caitlin all change because of friendship.
The above is a very dull statement! How can you
improve it?? Remember to include a link to
author’s message
Through his characters, Steven Herrick reveals the
power friendship has teach us about ourselves and
others, whilst simultaneously enabling us to enjoy
life and overcome hardships.