Higher
Critical Essay –
Prelim Support Notes
Assessment Requirements
• Write 2 critical essays from different genres
• Drama, Prose, Poetry, or Media
• 25 marks each
• Do not write 2 essays on the same
genre!
Purpose
• A critical essay is designed to test your ability
to respond thoughtfully to a literacy text. The
examiner looks for three things:
• To know you have understood the writer’s
purpose (U)
• If you can comment effectively on the writer’s
use of literary techniques (A)
• Genuine personal response to text (E)
Important tips
•
•
•
•
Do not re-tell the story.
Do not use the word ‘quote’.
Do not write ‘in this essay’.
Do not use comma splice (comma instead of full
stop).
• Don’t use the word ‘get’!
• Or the word ‘shows’!
• Make sure that you
ANSWER THE QUESTION!
The Question
• There are two parts to the question
-the first identifies the focus of your answer
and the second tell you exactly what you are
to do.
• Part 1- Choose a play which explores the idea
of loyalty.
• Part 2- Discuss how the dramatist explores the
idea through character and/or incident.
The question
• Answers to questions on drama should
address relevantly the central
concern(s)/theme(s) of the text and be
supported by reference to appropriate
dramatic techniques such as: conflict,
characterisation, key scene(s), dialogue,
climax, exposition, dénouement, structure,
plot, setting, aspects of staging (such as
lighting, music, stage set, stage directions . . .),
soliloquy, monologue . . .
Structure
• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion
The Introduction
• Introduction – a useful structure to use when
writing an introduction is TAGLS.
• T – text/title
• A – author/poet
• G – genre
• L – link to task + key points of essay
• S - Summary of what the text is trying to do – LINK TO
THEME
• P.S Remember to use the wording of the
question in the opening line.
How it Should Be
• This is howTitle
the introduction should have been written:
Author
Genre
“A Hanging” by George Orwell is a provocative essay Link
To
within which the writer attempts to persuade the
Question
reader of the immorality of capital punishment
through his use of style. Orwell gives a poignant and
emotive description of a hanging he witnessed in the
1920’s Burma while working in the police and the
effect this horrific event had on his opinion of Capital
Punishment. Orwell effectively portrays to the reader
how this particular hanging holds an epiphanic moment
for the writer where he is struck with the sudden
realisation of the dehumanisation of the inmates, the
casual indifference and inhumanity of the executors
as well as the severity of taking a human life.
Summary of Hanging’ short 1-2 sentences Personal Response/summary of essay
Introduction example
• “A Hanging” by George Orwell is a provocative
essay within which the writer uses vivid
description to demonstrate his abhorrence of
capital punishment. Orwell gives a poignant and
emotive description of a hanging he witnessed in
the 1920’s Burma while working in the police
and the effect this horrific event had on his
opinion of Capital Punishment. His description of
the morbid setting, dehumanisation of inmates
and sudden realisation of the immorality of
ending a human life effectively portrays his point
of view.
Main Body of Essay
• Following on from that, you should continue to develop your
response. REMEMBER STRUCTURE – for each point you make, you
should have:
• Topic sentence – what is this particular paragraph going to be about?
Remember the wording of the original question
• Context: Introduce the quotation.
• Evidence – how can you support the point you have made?
• Explanation – analysis - HOW does the writer reveal theme?
Techniques and effects
• Comment – evaluation – how has the theme/ character / conflict /
setting etc been introduced / developed? Relate to task !!!
Analysis
• Do not use ‘this shows’
• Try substituting the latter for the following:
This reveals
This displays
This indicates
This demonstrates
This highlights
This conveys
This deploys
This implies
This illustrates
This proves
This presents
This explains
Linking Paragraphs
• Paragraphs should be linked together. Some
useful transitional words and phrases that can
be deployed include;
• In addition
Furthermore
• Therefore
Rarely
• As a result
Occasionally
• Nevertheless
Often
• Moreover
Commenting on
Quotations
• Quotations should flow into your sentence or
become part of it via the use of a comma for
example:
• The author reveals sympathy towards Lennie by
using a direct comparison with a ‘child’.
OR
• Repetition of the title, Before you were Mine’
reveals that the child thinks that what she says
goes, which indicates her selfishness.
Quotations
• Quotations that do not flow into your
sentence should be introduced using a colon.
E.g.
• There is a strong contrast between the girl in
the photo and the mother she turned out to
be. As a teenager she is seen as a rebel: ‘Your
ma stands at the close with a hiding for the
late one.’ The poet seems to admire this in her
mother...
Evaluation
• Say what you thought about the text
• Do not review it or give it a recommendation
• Use personal reflection/ response to comment
upon how well you feel the writer has
conveyed or explored a particular theme or
viewpoint. The key point in making an
evaluation is to justify what you are saying by
reference to the text.
Conclusion
• Re-introduce topic/ refer back to the question
• Sum up your opinion of the text or what you have
learned in a personal reflective comment without
using ‘I’.
• In conclusion, Tolkien effectively uses the
characters of Frodo and Gollum to explore the
themes of good and evil throughout ‘The Lord of
the Rings’, highlighting that neither one, nor the
other, is totally ‘good’ or ‘evil’. This is
accomplished through his effective use of word
choice and imagery which emphasises the
differences between the two characters physical
appearance, personality and motivation.
Performance Criteria
• Content
• Structure
• Expression
• Technical accuracy