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Year 8 - English

'A Midsummer Night's Dream': reviewing and refining an essay about Puck

'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils read and explore Shakespeare's comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. They focus on the character Puck and the theme of the supernatural, and analyse their role and importance at different points in the play. Finally, they plan and write an essay about Puck and the supernatural.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to evaluate model paragraphs about Puck and the supernatural in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', and use this evaluation to improve your own analytical writing.

Key Notes

  • Topic sentences should link to the question.
  • Include multiple quotations in each paragraph from across the play.
  • Consider writer's methods when analysing quotations.
  • Include relevant context to develop your analysis.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • topic sentence: the first sentence of a paragraph stating its main idea
  • methods: the tools a writer uses to create their work; for example, characterisation, setting, language choices
  • context: information about the time period of when a text was written; context can help us understand a text more deeply
  • analysis: in English, this means looking at a text closely and considering what it might mean and why it was written in that way
  • Shakespearean comedy: a play designed to make you laugh, often including misunderstandings and ending in marriage

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • You must analyse every quotation at word level.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Topic sentences should link to the question. Include multiple quotations in each paragraph from across the play.

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

the first sentence of a paragraph stating its main idea.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: You must analyse every quotation at word level. Correction: Sometimes exploring individual words can be helpful, but more often than not it makes for shallow analysis which is not helpful in answering the question. Look at 'bigger' methods than single words.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 English guide library.