Deadly Unna: Essay Writing Tips and a practice question

This lesson teaches students about the genre conventions of an essay. It begins with a warm up proofreading activity (an extract from p 10 of the novel). This is followed by an explanation of the term ‘Analyse’ with a QCAA poster. Following this there is information about how an essay is structured. The CAT acronym is used to explain the structure of an introduction. There is a table breaking down the structure of a body paragraph (extended TEEEL) and some tips about what should go in their paragraphs (Language features and text structures). Finally, the RAG structure is used for breaking down the elements of a good conclusion. Following this, there is a practice question which I teach with think alouds and co-construction.

Resources designed for 10 English in Queensland, Australia. It is part of a novel study unit which culminates in a 90-minute examination (500 to 800-word essay). Students had 1 week notice of the question and could bring 100 words of notes in with them.

Within this unit students explored how an author’s use of language features, images and vocabulary contributed to the representation of themes in the novel. They also gained a deeper understanding of key literary techniques, including (but not limited to) characterisation, plot, and setting.