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Year 11 - English

Planning an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking'

Leave Taking: The power of education

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils do a deep dive into the role of education in 'Leave Taking'. They first look at how education is presented, and how Viv and Del experience it differently. They then think about what Pinnock might be communicating about education, before preparing and writing an essay about it.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to plan an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking'.

Key Notes

  • A thesis statement is a clear, overarching argument.
  • Topic sentences give focus to individual paragraphs.
  • Select main quotations and supporting quotations to include in an essay.
  • Main quotations should be analysed; supporting quotations don't need to be analysed.
  • Concluding sentences can focus on a writer's intention and draw your paragraph to a close.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • thesis: The overarching argument to an essay, supported by the entire text.
  • topic sentence: The first sentence of a paragraph. It states the paragraph's main idea.
  • main quotations: These are quotations which support your topic sentence, and that require analysis.
  • supporting quotations: These are quotations which support your topic sentence, but don't require analysis.
  • concluding sentences: The final sentence of a paragraph. It draws together the main idea in the paragraph, and links to writer's intentions.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • A plan isn't a useful revision tool.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

A thesis statement is a clear, overarching argument. Topic sentences give focus to individual paragraphs.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'thesis'

The overarching argument to an essay, supported by the entire text.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: A plan isn't a useful revision tool. Correction: Creating a plan, and revisiting it, is an excellent way to revise. It can be quicker than writing a full essay, but still requires you to think about a particular essay question and your argument in response to it.

More Lessons In This Unit

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