Deadly Unna: how to embed evidence in your paragraphs (and acknowledge your sources)

This lesson was taught in the phase of the unit where students were prepping for their upcoming essay exam.

It begins with a worm up where students had to look at a list of 5 characteristics and consider which characters from the novel Deadly Unna? had them.

This was followed by an explanation of citing conventions (how to in text reference). Examples were provided to show how to punctuate direct quotes properly. Then students were shown a table which contained quotes from the novel – they had to turn this into a sentence with appropriate referencing. This was followed by information about how to embed quotes into essay paragraphs – with examples for another text. 2 x poor examples and 2 x good examples are provided for ‘Rabbit Proof Fence.’ This is followed by time for students to plan their response to the practice exam question - Are the male characters in the novel realistic, outdated or stereotypical representations of Australian men?

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.