Essay writing guide
A guide to writing effective essays at
A level
7 Stages of success
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Stage 1: The question
Stage 2: The argument
Stage 3: The ideas
Stage 4: The structure
Stage 5: The evidence
Stage 6: The analysis
Stage 7: Proof read/edit
Stage 1: The Question
• Question the question:
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What are the key words?
What view does it suggest?
What does it assume?
What are the problems with it?
How is trust presented
in the novel?
How is trust
presented?
Character
Plot
Symbolism/imagery
Etc…
Is trust the most important theme in
the novel?
Can you challenge whether trust is a
theme?
Why present the theme of
trust? How does it link into
the larger message of the
text?
Your turn!
Your turn!
Your turn!
Stage 2- The argument
• Responding to the question. 1 sentence.
Example- Model
• Both Greene and Burgess challenge the concept of
truth and, while many of the characters in Brighton
Rock and A Clockwork Orange feel the have an
understanding of the ‘truth’ of life, these are often
contradictory and conflicting ideas, leading the
reader to question the very nature of how we define
what is true.
Example
Stage 2- The argument
• Develop your sentence into a paragraph drawing on
information from the text(s).
Both Greene and Burgess challenge the concept of truth and,
while many of the characters in Brighton Rock and A
Clockwork Orange feel the have an understanding of the
‘truth’ of life, these are often contradictory and conflicting
ideas, leading the reader to question the very nature of how
we define what is true.
• How do we support this? Where is the evidence in the text?
• This becomes your introduction.
Stage 2- The argument
• Both Greene and Burgess challenge the concept of truth and, while many
of the characters in Brighton Rock and A Clockwork Orange feel they have
an understanding of the ‘truth’ of life, these are often contradictory and
conflicting ideas, leading the reader to question the very nature of how we
define what is true. In Brighton Rock Greene presents us with two vastly
opposing perspectives in the characters of Pinkie and Ida, with Rose
struggling to find the ‘truth’ from these conflicting ideologies. Greene
raises more questions than he answers in his presentation of concepts
such as religion and morality, emphasising the subjectivity of these
concepts and, ultimately, denying the characters, and the reader, any real
truth in the novel. This is echoed in A Clockwork Orange where Burgess’
presentation of Alex initially implies a clear moral perspective, however
the moral questions of state control and loss of individual freedom, lead
the reader into murky territory where a clear moral view cannot be
defined. Essentially, both authors offer us conflicting and contradictory
perspectives which challenge accepted moral, religious and philosophical
views, leading the reader on a search for truth without offering a definite
answer.
Stage 3- The Plan
• Look at your introduction. Where can you find
evidence to support your claims?
• These are the key points of the essay.
Example- Intro identify
• Both Greene and Burgess challenge the concept of truth and, while many
of the characters in Brighton Rock and A Clockwork Orange feel they have
an understanding of the ‘truth’ of life, these are often contradictory and
conflicting ideas, leading the reader to question the very nature of how we
define what is true. In Brighton Rock, Greene presents us with two vastly
opposing perspectives in the characters of Pinkie and Ida, with Rose
struggling to find the ‘truth’ from these conflicting ideologies. Greene
raises more questions than he answers in his presentation of concepts
such as religion and morality, emphasising the subjectivity of these
concepts and, ultimately, denying the characters, and the reader, any real
truth in the novel. This is echoed in A Clockwork Orange where Burgess’
presentation of Alex initially implies a clear moral perspective, however
the moral questions of state control and loss of individual freedom, lead
the reader into murky territory where a clear moral view cannot be
defined. Essentially, both authors offer us conflicting and contradictory
perspectives which challenge accepted moral, religious and philosophical
views, leading the reader on a search for truth without offering a definite
answer.
Plan
Different perspectives
Truth in religion
Plan
Both characters and reader denied truth
Truth in morality
Develop
Different perspectives:
Pinkie/Ida/Alex
Rose trying to make sense at the end
Narrative perspective- Brighton at the start
Truth in religion:
CatholicismPinkie/Rose
Alex and Chaplain
Plan
Both characters and reader denied truth:
Rose’s ending
Alex’s ending
Character’s misunderstand themselves
Narrative form (focalisation and 1st
person= no secure narrative view.
Truth in morality
Right and wrong
Pinkie vs. Ida
Alex vs. State
Step 4- The structure
• Intro- Respond to the question and reference
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the things you will explore in the text to support
your argument.
Main body- Analyse 4-5 aspects of the text in
detail to support your response to the question.
You must show an understanding of the text
while justifying your argument.
Conclusion- Summarise your points and
answer the question, linking it into what you
believe is the overall message of the text/s.
Step 5- Finding evidence
• GOOD EVIDENCE• Allows you to analyse a range of language
features
• Links to other key points in the text
• Reflects key themes
• Supports your argument.
• BAD EVIDENCE• Supports your argument
BAD EVIDENCE!
• “But you believe don’t you… you think its
true?”
• Rose wants to believe in religion & in Pinkie.
She is searching for the truth.
GOOD EVIDENCE!
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Meaning is subjective. Pinkie does not view the concept of murder with the same
moral perspective as others. The comparison to two extremely mundane common
nouns (‘box’ and ‘collar’) shows the lack of emotional attachment from Pinkie’s
perspective. Greene chooses the word Giraffe to create an element of the
unknown, as Pinkie’s working class roots would mean that he would be unlikely to
have come into contact with anything as exotic as a giraffe. In doing so he also
hints at Pinkie’s inability to realise what we would consider the ‘true meaning of
the word ‘murder. Greene uses this passage to emphasise the point of the
difficultly of finding the truth when people interpret things in different ways. The
subjective nature of abstract verbs such as ‘murder’ contrasts to the different ways
characters define large moral concepts such as good and evil and right and wrong
in the text. Greene is asking the reader to question their accepted view of life’s
certainties, especially when it comes to morally challenging ideas.
Step 6- The analysis
• AOs
Analysis pyramid (plus tail)- for each
point in your plan…
Point- What part of the text
addresses the question?
1.Quote
2. Language analysis (AO2)
3. Structural analysis (AO2)
4. Formal analysis (AO2)
5. Thematic analysis (AO2)
6. Contextual/comparative
analysis (AO3/4)
7. Link back to question (AO1)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Point- What element of the text are you using to support your
argument/response to the question?
Quote- a ‘good’ quotation to back up your point.
Language analysis- analyse key words, images, symbols, connotations
etc.
Structural analysis- Where does it come in the book? How does it
relate to other events? What is its larger significance in the plot?
Formal analysis- What elements of the genre are present? How do
they link to meaning? How are the conventions of the form (novel,
poetry, drama) used? E.g. narrative perspective, parallel narrative,
manipulation of narrative and chronological time.
Thematic analysis- How does the analysis you’ve done so far link to
the key ideas of the novel? How does it achieve the writer’s purpose?
Contextual/comparative analysis- How does the writer’s purpose
reflect the concerns of the time? How does the reader’s response
reflect their own cultural and historical moment? How is it
similar/different to other texts? Why?
Link back to question- How does everything you’ve said justify your
original point and how does it link to the question asked?
Context/links (if applicable)
Meaning- Link back to question
Form
structure
language
point
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Stage 7- Proof read and edit your work
Basic literacy (spelling, punctuation etc.)?
Capital letters for names of
characters/author’s name etc.?
Paragraphing?
Does each sentence make sense?
Have you said what you actually wanted to
say?
Have you included analysis linking to the Aos?
Stage 7- Proof read and edit- Literacy
• Green gets us too question the whether we can ever know
the truth in his description of the setting initially, he
describes brighton effectively using lots of positive
language, making it seem like a perfect holiday town;
“Silverpoint sparkled on the pier”. However, later he gives a
different impression that suggests it might not be quite so
perfect. It says determined gaiety, implies that they are
forcing themselves to enjoy it and are not really having fun
this makes us think that perhaps it is just a front and the
people isn’t as carefree as they a pear. By giving diferent
perspectives greene makes it is hard to form a clear
impression of what Brighton is really like. This challenges
the reader to think about weather they can ever be sure on
anything..
Step 7- Proof read and edit- Quality
• How can we turn this from a C into and A?
• Greene gets us to question whether we can ever know the
truth in his description of the setting. Initially, he describes
Brighton effectively using lots of positive language, making
it seem like a perfect holiday town; “Silverpoint sparkled on
the pier”. However, later he gives a different impression
that suggests it might not be quite so perfect. It says
‘determined gaiety’, which implies that they are forcing
themselves to enjoy it and are not really having fun. This
makes us think that perhaps it is just a front and people
aren’t as carefree as they appear. By giving different
perspectives Greene makes it is hard to form a clear
impression of what Brighton is really like. This challenges
the reader to think about whether they can ever be sure on
anything.
Greene’s use of changing narrative perspective problematises the idea that we can
ever ascertain the ‘truth’. The initial impression of Brighton is one of a busy yet
beautiful setting, in which you imagine only good things could occur; ‘The holiday
crowd. They came in from Victoria every five minutes…’ The opening of the novel
focuses on the superficial aspects of the popular holiday location: ‘Silverpoint
sparkled on the pier...’, ‘houses ran away in the west like a pale Victorian
watercolour’. This imagery enforces the idea of a spotless, perfect vacation where
thousands of people go for the purpose of innocent fun and entertainment – it is
from a holiday-goers perspective. However, it is suggested that this is merely a
surface appearance and nothing is revealed in any depth. The image of a ‘Victorian
watercolour’ implies that this is a false, artificial image, not reflecting reality but
merely a romanticised depiction. Greene then juxtaposes this description of
Brighton with one from a wholly different perspective. Hale seems to have negative
views on the crowd; ‘It uncurled past him, like a twisted wire, two by two’. The use
of the simile ‘like a twisted wire’ makes the crowd seem aggressive, coiled in rage
and metallic and hard like a wire. It is also suggested that the picture book perfect
image of Brighton that we are given in the first few paragraphs of the book does
not ring true with the crowd. The narrative describes them as having ‘determined
gaiety’, as if they were determined to have fun here, despite being on ‘crowded
carriages’ and the fact they ‘wait in queues for lunch’. In doing this Greene suggests
that, despite the appearance of careless perfection, the grim reality of life is
inescapable. By focalising the narrative from different perspectives Greene denies
us a fixed impression on Brighton. The question of what is real and what is merely
perspective is raised but not answered by the narrative style.
Where are the AOs?
Greene’s use of changing narrative perspective problematises the idea that we
can ever ascertain the ‘truth’. The initial impression of Brighton is one of a
busy yet beautiful setting, in which you imagine only good things could occur;
‘The holiday crowd. They came in from Victoria every five minutes…’ The
opening of the novel focuses on the superficial aspects of the popular holiday
location: ‘Silverpoint sparkled on the pier...’, ‘houses ran away in the west like
a pale Victorian watercolour’. This imagery enforces the idea of a spotless,
perfect vacation where thousands of people go for the purpose of innocent fun
and entertainment – it is from a holiday-goers perspective. However, it is
suggested that this is merely a surface appearance and nothing is revealed in
any depth. The image of a ‘Victorian watercolour’ implies that this is a false,
artificial image, not reflecting reality but merely a romanticised depiction
Where are the AOs?
Greene then juxtaposes this description of Brighton with one from a wholly different
perspective. Hale seems to have negative views on the crowd; ‘It uncurled past him,
like a twisted wire, two by two’. The use of the simile ‘like a twisted wire’ makes the
crowd seem aggressive, coiled in rage and metallic and hard like a wire. It is also
suggested that the picture book perfect image of Brighton that we are given in the first
few paragraphs of the book does not ring true with the crowd. The narrative describes
them as having ‘determined gaiety’, as if they were determined to have fun here,
despite being on ‘crowded carriages’ and the fact they ‘wait in queues for lunch’. In
doing this Greene suggests that, despite the appearance of careless perfection, the
grim reality of life is inescapable. By focalising the narrative from different perspectives
Greene denies us a fixed impression on Brighton. The question of what is real or true
and what is merely perspective is raised but not answered by the narrative style.
Essay writing checklist?
• What are the keys to a successful A level
essay?
Targets- What are you going to
do differently in your next essay?