Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

I'm so glad you decided to learn with me today.

We're in the modern text first study unit and our modern text is "Leave Taking." Today we're gonna look how do we write introductions and conclusions? Often quite tricky parts of essays.

So I'm really excited that we're gonna have a clear focus on these two sections, these two elements of an essay.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we work through today's lesson together.

I can't wait to hear all of your fantastic ideas.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you are going to be able to create sophisticated introductions and conclusions.

Now we often look at what makes successful main body paragraphs, what makes really successful analysis.

So I'm really pleased that today we can focus on introductions and conclusions.

Introductions can set your essay up so you've got really strong foundation, a really strong argument, and a conclusion can end your essay in a way that makes a reader think, wow, that was really an enriching experience and I completely understand what argument that people put forth.

Now, of course, today, we're going to be focused on "Leave Taking," but introductions and conclusions, the ideas that we look at today can apply to any text.

So it's also gonna be important in terms of your understanding what it means to be a successful writer of analytical English essays for any text.

We've got some keywords today which are gonna help unlock our learning and achieve our objective.

And they are thesis, which is the overarching argument to an essay, supported by the entire text.

Theme, which is an idea that is explored multiple times in a text.

So for example, the theme of belonging is very important to "Leave Taking." Timeless.

A text that remains relevant no matter the time period.

And I would argue very strongly that "Leave Taking" is one of those texts.

And universal.

An adjective which is used to describe a text which regardless of time period or circumstance audiences can relate to.

And again, we're gonna look at the idea that "Leave Taking" is universal.

So these keywords are gonna be referenced throughout, and they're gonna help us achieve our objective.

Our lesson outline for today.

We're gonna start off by looking at introductions, and we're gonna finish today's lesson by looking at conclusions.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll have two paragraphs, one an introduction and one a conclusion to a "Leave Taking" essay.

Let's start off with introductions.

So you're gonna write an introduction and conclusion to this question in today's lesson, which is how does Pinnock use Mai to explore ideas around belonging in "Leave Taking?" Now this is how Izzy has annotated the question, which is the first step in any planning process.

So she's underlined the word how to remind herself that she needs to explore Pinnock's dramatic methods.

She has underlined the word Mai to remind herself that she needs to explore this character.

And she's underlined the word belonging to remind herself that she needs to explore this theme.

So Izzy is now totally focused.

She's got hundreds of ideas about "Leave Taking," but she knows that for this essay she needs to focus on Mai and the idea of belonging.

Now introductions can follow a three-part structure, which moves from the general to the specific.

So general, a sentence about the text as a whole.

That would be your first sentence in your introduction.

Then your second sentence will be a sentence about the given theme or character.

And then finally, you will have your thesis statement.

So your argument that you are gonna put forth and you are going to maintain throughout your whole essay.

So this is the three-part structure which an introduction can follow.

So from the general to the specific.

Now this is Izzy's first draught of her introduction and answers this question about how does Pinnock use Mai to explore ideas around belonging? She has written, "Pinnock's 'Leave Taking' was first performed in 1987.

Pinnock had to cut her original cast of characters down to just five.

Mai is an Obeah woman and very important to the play.

Arguably, she feels she belongs." Now here's the feedback that Izzy was given to this first draught.

So those first two sentences, these statements are actually too general and they need to be linked to the question.

So, "It was first performed in 1987." and "Pinnock had to cut her original cast down." These are true, but they're too general.

You've got to try and link those general statements to the question.

"Mai is an Obeah woman and very important to the play." So Izzy has focus on the idea that Mai is the focus for this essay question.

However, the feedback is to think about Mai more carefully, what else might it be useful to know about her? And finally, "Arguably, she feels she belongs." This is not yet a thesis.

Izzy needs to justify her idea more carefully.

So three bits of feedback for Izzy to take for her second draught of her introduction.

Now here is Izzy's second draught of her introduction.

So writing is not about getting it perfect first time, but the idea of drafting and redrafting is incredibly important.

And Izzy has written this time, "Pinnock's 'Leave Taking' explores feelings of belonging and its opposite, dislocation.

Perhaps surprisingly, it's the character of Mai who, despite living alone and far from where she was born, is presented as feeling a strong sense of belonging and stability.

Arguably, Pinnock connects this with her calling as an Obeah woman, a gift that grounds her in her identity." I'd like you to discuss how has Izzy responded to her feedback? She definitely has.

She's got the second draught here, a much more successful draught of her introduction.

How has she responded to her feedback? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some fantastic discussions there evaluating the success of Izzy's second draught and also showing a really good understanding of the three-part structure to an introduction.

So we've got this first sentence where we've got, "Pinnock's 'Leave Taking' is exploring feelings of belonging and its opposite, dislocation." Which is a general statement, but it is relevant to the question because this question is about belonging, and we can see that Izzy has used that word belonging in her first statement.

The middle section, "Perhaps surprisingly, it's the character of Mai who, despite living alone and far from where she was born, is presented as feeling a strong sense of belonging and stability." So this is a general statement about Mai, but it is relevant to the question.

And just like that first sentence was a general statement about "Leave Taking" but relevant to the question.

And finally, "Arguably, Pinnock connects this with her calling as an Obeah woman, a gift that grounds her in her identity." And this is a clear thesis that's going to obviously be developed in Izzy's full essay.

So fantastically successful redraft and really shows why redrafting is so important.

You can get your initial ideas down but then you can refine them just as Izzy has here.

So a check for understanding just so we are really secure in the idea of what an introduction should do and the structure that it should follow.

Can you identify the sections of the three-part structure? Pause the video and using the diagram on the board, see if you can identify the sections of the three-part structure.

Pause the video now.

Well done if you identified a, is a sentence about the whole text, then you would write a sentence focusing on the theme or character and then a thesis statement.

So now you have a really secure understanding of the three-part structure, which can be applied to "Leave Taking." But as I said at the beginning, it can be applied to any text that you are writing about.

So I'd like you to write your own introduction in answer to the question, how does Pinnock use Mai to explore ideas around belonging? And we've got the diagram on the board that we've been using throughout in order to understand the structure of an introduction.

So one, a sentence about the text as a whole.

Two, a sentence about the given theme or character.

And three, a thesis statement.

So pause the video and write your own introduction in answer to the question, how does Pinnock use Mai to explore ideas around belonging? Pause the video and write your introduction now.

Fantastic to see people thinking so hard about the character of Mai, ideas around belonging and therefore being able to come up with a really, really strong thesis using Izzy's annotations to make sure ideas are directed towards the idea of belonging and the character of Mai.

Now before we celebrate your introductions, I'd like you to self-assess using the three-part structure to guide you.

So do you have a general statement about the text which crucially links to the question? So possibly using that word belonging.

Secondly, do you have a general statement about Mai which, again, links to the question? So you might want to use that word belonging again, but you definitely will want to use the name Mai.

And finally, do you have a thesis which you can develop throughout your essay? Now, thesis is one of our key words.

We know it's an overarching argument which is supported by the whole text.

So have you got an argument in your introduction which you think I could really develop that throughout the rest of my essay? So pause the video and self-assess your introduction using these questions to guide you.

Pause the video now.

Well done for being just like Izzy and using these questions, using the feedback in order to create a really successful redraft and refining your ideas.

You've now got an introduction which you can use as the jumping off point for the rest of your essay.

So we've looked at introductions, we're now gonna look at their opposite.

We're going to look at conclusions which happily follow, again, a three-part structure.

So lots of the ideas from this first learning cycle are gonna be really, really helpful in this second learning cycle when we look at conclusions.

So in her introduction to the play, Pinnock wrote an introduction to the play, a really rich introduction where she talks about lots of different things, biographical detail, historical detail, but she also explores the timeless nature of her work in three separate moments.

We're gonna have a look at those three moments from this introduction now.

So firstly, Pinnock tells us that the director of the Bush Theatre's team said that the play remains relevant because of, and this is a quote, "Enid's predicament, the plight of many immigrants regardless of where they come from, caught between two worlds, reaching out for life in a new country, haunted by memories of what she has left behind." So this is one of the reasons why the Bush Theatre's team, they wanted to revive the play because they said, "Enid's predicament, the plight of many immigrants, regardless of where they come from, was caught between two worlds reaching out for life in a new country, haunted by memories of what she's left behind." This means the play remains relevant.

So even though it's written in 1987, it remains relevant because of this focus on immigrants and how they're caught between two worlds.

The second reason.

Pinnock says that after the play's first performances, "Women from different cultural backgrounds collared me to say, 'That's my story, I'm Enid.

' or 'That's my mam, she's just like Enid.

'" And finally, Pinnock says that "Some of the speeches feel as though they were written recently.

Brod's words about having to seek naturalisation after thinking of himself as a British citizen for his whole life echo words spoken 30 years later by victims of the 2018 Windrush scandal." So in her introduction, Pinnock is exploring the timeless nature of her work, and she cites three examples, three reasons why it is timeless.

So regardless of time period, the play remains relevant.

Now I'd like you to discuss which words or phrases from Pinnock's introduction to "Leave Taking" show that the play is timeless and universal.

So looking at those three moments and just thinking what words or phrases show "Leave Taking" is timeless or universal.

Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Some really careful reading of these three moments from Pinnock's introduction and selecting short words or phrases which show of your understanding of this keyword timeless.

So regardless of time period, the work that you are looking at remains relevant and the idea that it is universal.

So the themes, the ideas explored, no matter who you are, you can relate to them in some way.

Here are some ideas that you might have had.

So the first idea is that the director of the Bush Theatre's team said, "The play remains relevant because of Enid's predicament, the plight of many immigrants." So just selecting those short phrases to show this shows that the play is timeless.

Two.

Women from different cultural backgrounds were saying that they related to the character of Enid.

So in this way the character of Enid is universal.

And three, "Some of the speeches feel as though they were written recently." So we know the play was first performed in 1987, but it is timeless because some of the speeches feel like they've been written recently, and Pinnock cites Brod's words about having to seek naturalisation, which occurs in Scene Two, echo some of the words from the victims of the 2018 Windrush scandal.

So these three moments from that introduction showing that "Leave Taking" is timeless and universal, so people can relate to it no matter who they are.

So I'd like you to discuss what other themes might make "Leave Taking" universal and timeless? And I've got one on the board to start that discussion, which is intergenerational conflict.

So intergenerational conflict is not unique to 1980s Britain.

It is not unique to the characters within "Leave Taking." That is a theme which is universal.

It is timeless.

Countless families, countless generations have conflict.

So in this way, "Leave Taking" still speaks to us despite the fact that it was written now many decades ago.

So I'd like you to think what other themes might make "Leave Taking" universal and timeless? Pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some really beautiful discussions there, showing off a fantastic understanding of these keywords, theme, universal and timeless.

And we can see the reason why "Leave Taking" is so rich, why it speaks to us is not just because of the unique experiences of the characters within and the specific experience of those characters that we want to know about but also its universality and its timelessness.

So some themes that I heard people talking about, migration.

So this is a timeless theme, a universal theme in some ways where we can understand what some of the characters are going through in terms of relocating from one country to another.

Love, of course, a universal theme found in many, many literary texts, and Pinnock explores the idea of love in so many different ways in her text.

Belonging, which we talked about in our first first learning cycle and is the focus of the question about Mai and feelings of belonging.

Identity, education, growing up, and guilt and shame.

Now, you might have many other themes that you feel are explored in this work and you feel that Pinnock really wants to talk about, but these are just some of the examples that I heard people talking about in answer to this question.

A check for understanding, just to secure understanding of these words, timeless and universal.

So why might "Leave Taking" be considered timeless and universal? Is it a, it's a modern play, b, it has a lot of themes, c, many of its themes remain relevant, d, audiences relate to its characters? Pause the video and select your responses now.

Well done if you selected c and d.

So there are many, many themes in "Leave Taking," but that's not why it's timeless and universal.

You need to be more specific than that.

It's that its themes remain relevant.

And of course, audiences relate to its characters, but it seems particularly the character of Enid is a character that many audiences relate to, and Pinnock talks about audience members coming up to her and saying, "I relate to the character of Enid." Regardless of cultural background.

So that idea of a play, a text being universal and timeless is really important when we turn to our conclusion.

And this is why.

Whilst an introduction moves from the general to the specific, a conclusion moves from the specific to the general.

So sort of its opposite.

So we've got specific to the general.

So firstly, you have a specific response to your thesis.

So you're saying, I've written my full essay in which I laid out my thesis and proved why it was valid.

And so the first sentence of your conclusion will be a specific response to your thesis.

Second, a focus on writer's overall purpose, and finally, the impact of the text today, and that's why we've been thinking about, well, why is Pinnock's text timeless and universal? Because that will help us do our final sentence of our conclusion, the impact of the text today.

So here is Izzy's conclusion.

She wrote her introduction.

We saw that in learning cycle one.

She's written her full essay and now we're going to see her conclusion.

And Izzy writes, "Pinnock crates Mai as a character who feels at home because she is at peace with herself.

Pinnock presents her in this way as a direct contrast to the other character's sense of dislocation.

Whilst audiences often connect with the character of Enid and the idea she is caught between two worlds, the character of Mai voices ideas about what it means to belong, a feeling we all desire." So a really nice conclusion to her essay.

Now we can see in this first sentence, this is a specific response to Izzy's thesis because Izzy's argued throughout that Mai feels that she has a sense of belonging and she's arguing here it's because Mai is at peace with herself.

The middle section of her conclusion, she focuses on the writer's overall purpose.

So again, using that word or the name Pinnock.

"Pinnock presents her in this way as a.

." And she says this is what I think Pinnock is doing.

She's focusing on writer's overall purpose.

And then finally, in that final section of her conclusion, Izzy is looking at the impact of the text today.

So does have a moment on the character of Enid but then moves to that focus on the character of Mai and saying she's talking about what it means to belong.

And that is a feeling which all of us desire.

That is a universal feeling.

So really clear conclusion to her essay following that three-part structure where we move from the specific to the general.

So check for understanding.

Just as we checked our understanding of an introduction, let's check for understanding for a conclusion.

So which section of the conclusion is missing? Specific response to your thesis is followed by a focus on writer's overall purpose, which is followed by what? Pause the video and think of your response now.

Well done if you thought about the impact of the text today, and that's what we were looking at in our earlier learning cycle, thinking, well, why is "Leave Taking" universal? Why is it timeless? And we can use those ideas in our conclusions.

So I'd like you to write a conclusion for the following question, how does Pinnock use Mai to explore ideas around belonging in "Leave Taking?" So firstly, you'll write a specific response to your thesis, and you have your thesis because you wrote it in learning cycle one, it is in your introduction.

Next, you will focus on writer's overall purpose.

And finally, you will look at the impact of the text today, which I know you'll do really well because we looked so carefully about why "Leave Taking" is universal and timeless earlier in this learning cycle.

So pause the video and write your conclusion for the question using the diagram on the board to structure your response.

Pause the video now.

Well done for writing that conclusion and including all of those ideas about the timeless nature of Pinnock's work.

And using your introduction to make sure that you are writing a specific response to your thesis which you thought of earlier.

Now before we celebrate your conclusions, I'd like you to self-assess using the three-part structure to guide you.

So one, do you have a specific response to your thesis? Is that your first sentence just like Izzy did earlier in this learning cycle? Two, have you focused on the writer's overall purpose? Probably using that word, the name Pinnock, the playwright's name, to show that you are thinking about Pinnock's overall purpose.

And finally, have you explored the impact of the text today? All of that knowledge is in your head and it should be on paper as well so that you are exploring the universal nature of "Leave Taking" and its timeless qualities.

So pause the video and self-assess your conclusion using these questions to guide you.

Pause the video now.

Well done for really refining your conclusions, and now you've got a really solid start to your essay and a really solid end to your essay.

And if you wanted to write your main body paragraphs, that would be a really good way to see how does my thesis hold up? Can I create topic sentences which support the thesis I've made about Mai and I know that I'm working towards this really, really powerful conclusion.

In summary, an introduction and conclusion could follow a three-part structure.

An excellent introduction could start with a general statement about the text.

An introduction could then have a more specific statement about the focus of the question, followed by a thesis.

A conclusion could consider the timeless nature of the text.

It has been such a pleasure to see you write such powerful introductions and conclusions to an essay question on the character of Mai, and I look forward to seeing you next time.