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Year 10 - English

Using context effectively in 'Leave Taking' essays

Leave Taking: a sense of belonging

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils start their exploration of Winsome Pinnock's play, 'Leave Taking'. They first learn about the play's context of 1980s Britain and the Windrush generation before then reading and exploring the full play. They finally explore themes and characters before working on essay writing.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to understand what context is and how to weave it into your analytical essay responses on 'Leave Taking'.

Key Notes

  • Context refers to historical, social, literary and biographical information.
  • Context should not be presented as isolated facts.
  • Context should be relevant to the analysis and woven in the response.
  • Context should develop your ideas and give an insight into the writer's purpose and intention.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • first generation migrant: A person who was born in one country, but moves to live and establish their life in another country.
  • second generation migrant: People who have grown up in a country that at least one of their parents was not born in.
  • Windrush scandal: When many citizens who had migrated to Britain between 1948 and 1973 were facing deportation under a discriminatory immigration system.
  • weave: In relation to context, when you embed it into paragraphs rather than including it as a series of isolated facts.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Context must be included in every paragraph.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Context refers to historical, social, literary and biographical information. Context should not be presented as isolated facts.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'first generation migrant'

A person who was born in one country, but moves to live and establish their life in another country.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Context must be included in every paragraph. Correction: Context must be included in essays, but where it is relevant and develops your analysis - not as a tick box exercise for each paragraph.

More Lessons In This Unit

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