Good morning.

Welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Miss Halliday, and I'll be your teacher for today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your incredible ideas and suggestions, so let's get started.

So today's lesson is called Planning an Extended Argument, and that's exactly what we're going to be doing.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll have been able to plan a convincing and holistic argument about the text.

So here are some keywords that you'll need in order to access today's learning.

We've got holistic, explorative, primary evidence, secondary evidence, and reductionist.

I'm going to go through some of these definitions now, but if you'd like to take a little bit longer to read them in your own time, then do please feel free to pause the video and do so.

So when something is "holistic," all the separate parts are connected and they work together as a whole.

To be "explorative" about a topic means to approach it in a spirit of investigation and curiosity.

"Primary evidence" refers to the commonly-used quotations from a text.

So in today's case, it will be from A Christmas Carol.

"Secondary evidence" refers to less well-known quotations that can build your argument.

Again, in today's lesson, we'll be referring to this with regards to A Christmas Carol.

And finally, being "reductionist" means analysing something complicated and putting it into its simplest form.

So here's today's lesson outline.

We're going to start by looking more generally at exactly how to build a holistic argument before moving on to you planning your response.

But let's start with that building a holistic argument.

So one thing that I find really useful when I'm thinking about planning an essay is to think of it like building a wall, okay? Now, before we get started, I'd just like you to think, "Well, if I was to build a wall, what would make that wall really solid and sturdy? And what preparations might I have to undertake before I could build that wall?" So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider the two questions on screen.

Some great discussions there.

And I'm going to pick out one idea that I heard that I really loved and I thought was really useful for us when we're thinking about constructing an argument.

So the idea that I loved was this idea that in order to build a really sturdy and solid wall, you have to start from the ground up and you have to establish some really solid foundations.

Now, in the case of our essay, that would be our knowledge.

So before you can even start writing your essay, you've got to have that really solid foundation of knowledge that you can use to make decisions from the very beginning of the essay-writing process.

So well done to the person who came up with that suggestion.

I'm so impressed.

Now, when building a wall or constructing an argument, as we've just mentioned, a really solid and sturdy wall is built from the ground up and it's built in layers.

And it's exactly the same process when you're constructing an argument too.

So what you've got to do, as we've said, is begin by laying those foundations.

Now, in the case of the argument, this means giving your reader background information that they will require to foreground your argument.

So this might be, for example, introducing the text briefly.

So just giving your reader that really quick outline of exactly what the text is about.

Outlining your argument and what you intend to prove.

So being really transparent about exactly what it is you're hoping to achieve within the course of your essay.

But we are also looking to build foundations, not just at the beginning of our response, but as we continue throughout.

And what that looks like is making sure that before you give a quotation, you've really contextualised the quotation.

You've said where it's from, who says it, and what moment of the text they say it.

Because if your reader doesn't know those things, and if you just put a quote in from somewhere random in the text and don't contextualise it, they're going to have to work much harder than they should have to to work out where that's from and then make connections as to why that's relevant to your argument.

So these are the types of things that you need to be doing for your reader.

You need to be giving them really solid foundations of understanding that you then build your argument on top of.

So once we've got those really strong foundations and our reader is a hundred percent certain of exactly what it is we're talking about, what we're trying to achieve, and where in the text we are discussing, you've then got to start building the next strongest layer.

So the next thickest layer, the most supportive layer.

And this means presenting your primary evidence first.

Now, you might remember from our key words that the primary evidence is actually the more discussed quotations from a text.

Now, that is the unavoidable evidence, okay? So if you are writing an essay and there is a quotation or a section of the text that you just think, "I absolutely have to be talking about this, regardless of how much it's been discussed before," then that's your primary evidence, okay? It's the quotations you can't afford not to reference.

You can't avoid them because they're that essential to your argument that you have to include them.

Now, these quotations are often very well-known, okay? It's the ones where you say to somebody studying A Christmas Carol, "Give me a quote from A Christmas Carol," and they will fire them back at you because they should know them.

Things like "solitary as an oyster," things like "tight-fisted hand at the grindstone," things like "I will live in the past, present, and future." Those really kind of essential quotations that most people would have absolutely locked down who'd read A Christmas Carol and would remember.

So what I'd like you to do now is think about, well, if we were writing an essay on redemption, which of the following quotes would be the primary evidence? So which is the more known quotation that you really cannot avoid discussing in an essay about redemption? So is it A.

"I wear the chains I forged in life," or would it be B.

"In life, my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole"? So what I'm going to do now is invite you to pause the video while you have a think about which of those quotations you would classify as the primary evidence in this instance.

So off you go.

And fantastic if you selected that it is in fact A.

I would be very surprised if anybody who had read A Christmas Carol wasn't able to recognise or even remember this quotation as being one of the very essential quotes of the novella.

It's very memorable.

It's a very key point in the novella.

So therefore, it's one of our primary ideas.

It's primary evidence because we cannot write an essay about redemption and not talk, perhaps not even about this quotation necessarily, but this moment and the symbolism of Marley's chains, so well done.

So let's check for understanding before we move on.

Which two of the following quotations would be considered a "primary" quotation for an essay about Scrooge's change? Would it be A.

"Dismal little cell," B.

"As solitary as an oyster," C.

" 'Because you fell in love!' growled Scrooge," or would it be D.

"Are there no prisons?" So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you select two of the quotations that you think would form primary evidence for an essay on Scrooge's change.

So off you go.

And well done if you selected B and D.

Of course it would be these two.

Again, really popular and well-known quotations from A Christmas Carol.

Ones that we just simply can't avoid talking about if we're going to talk about Scrooge's transformation, so well done.

So once we've got that really solid construction, we've laid our foundations, we've used primary evidence that's really strong and supportive, what we can start to do then is be a little bit more explorative, okay? So we can start to explore more secondary evidence.

Now, again, "secondary evidence" was one of our keywords, and you might remember that it means using those slightly lesser-considered quotations that not everybody would know and might talk about.

Now, the benefit of using secondary quotations is that it'll make your essay more thought-provoking and more explorative.

Because these are lesser-discussed quotations, this gives you a really good opportunity for you to bring your own ideas and perspective to the text.

Your aim in any essay is to teach your reader something.

Yes, they might have read A Christmas Carol, but why not teach them something new about it or make them consider something in a different way? So that's always your aim when you are writing academically.

And using lesser-known secondary evidence will really give you that opportunity to teach your reader something that they didn't already know about the text or get them to consider something they thought they knew in a slightly different light.

So it's a really good opportunity for you to bring your individual ideas and perspectives to the text through lesser-known secondary quotations.

So for example, I'd like you to consider that essay that we talked about on redemption from earlier.

Now, we could use either of these two moments from the novella to evidence Scrooge's redemption.

So you could use this idea of, "I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!" Scrooge repeated as he scrambled out of bed.

"The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me." Or you can use, "Shaving was not an easy task, but if he had cut the end of his nose off, he would have put a piece of sticking-plaister over it and being quite satisfied." So what I'd like you to discuss now is, well, which of these quotations might be lesser discussed, and therefore, which might enable you to teach your reader something new or be slightly more thought-provoking? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider that question now.

Fantastic.

If you picked B, you are absolutely right.

I think the top quotation, we would classify it as a primary quotation because loads of people know it.

Again, it's absolutely, it's one of those really well-known quotations from the end of the novella where Scrooge is a transformed character.

However, why not show Scrooge's transformation through this other secondary quotation about him shaving? And this idea that actually, if Scrooge was to accidentally maim himself, he's in such a good mood that it wouldn't even matter.

So here, Scrooge has clearly learned to have a sense of humour, he's learned to be more lighthearted and not take himself so seriously, and that would be a really fantastic secondary quotation to use because it might not be a quotation that your reader remembers, and therefore, they might learn something new from it.

So well done if you selected B.

So the final idea in your essay can be a lot more personal, okay? And this could be the idea that really forces your reader to consider their own interpretation of the text alongside yours.

So what you want them to do is start to evaluate what they thought they knew about the text versus what you are presenting them with as your opinion.

So this idea will often come from independent reading, okay? So you might go away from class, your teacher, and have a look at some critical writing about the text, and then think, "Well, what do I think about that critical writing?" and kind of form your own perspective there.

So it might not be something that your teacher's taught you.

It might not be something I've taught you.

And that's great because it's really good to have that personal response to the text.

And the beauty of literature is that every single person who reads that text is completely unique and completely different and will therefore view the text completely uniquely and differently.

And that's the real exciting part of literature.

Because when you're talking about text, you've got so many different perspectives and ideas and it's great to share those with your reader.

So including that personal response, going out on a limb and giving your ideas an opinion, is a really valuable thing to do.

So for example, you might examine the topic from a slightly different angle, but stick with the same viewpoint.

You also might bring in another character, maybe a more minor character.

Again, one that's less discussed, one that enables you to really bring your own ideas and opinions to that text.

Or you might examine a very, very, very minor moment.

So a really small point in the novella, again, that most people wouldn't discuss and explain why it's really significant.

And that could be a really nice way of doing things.

So what you're looking to do here is bring something completely fresh and personal to the text in your response to it.

So for example, our student Aisha here at Oak, she really loves A Christmas Carol, okay? She's a bit like me 'cause I love A Christmas Carol as well, so me and Aisha have that in common.

And she's read several critical essays about the novella.

So she's gone away in her own time, she's thought, "I love this text, I want to learn more about it." She's gone online and she's been reading critical essays.

Very conscientious.

We love that from Aisha.

Then following her additional reading, Aisha stated this.

"Up until now, our redemption essay has focused primarily on characters redemptions (or lack thereof) in the novella.

I think it would be really interesting to look at societal redemption and the impact Dickens hoped to have on members of the Victorian population as a result of the publication of this novella.

I'd like to use a quotation from the preface to illustrate this." I love this idea from Aisha because it's her personal response.

It's completely her ideas and she's looking to draw on a part of the text that less people would draw upon, which is the preface.

So what I'd like you to do now is using your ideas and your wealth of knowledge about A Christmas Carol and its preface, I'd like you to consider, well, which quotation from the preface might Aisha use to illustrate this idea? Now, you might have to go back to your copy of A Christmas Carol and reread the preface quickly in order to complete this discussion task.

But I'd like you to pause the video and have a think.

Which quotation might you use from the preface to support Aisha's idea? So off you go.

Fantastic discussions, and I was so impressed to see so many of you flicking all the way back to the beginning of A Christmas Carol and quickly rereading that preface to see which quotation you might use.

So well done.

So I really liked this suggestion that we could use this quotation here.

"May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it." And what I'd like you to do now is think, well, how would we link that quotation with redemption? So again, I'm gonna invite you to pause the video while you discuss with the people around you or just jot down your own ideas if you're on your own as to how we could link that with redemption.

So off you go.

Fantastic work.

Some really great discussions there.

And I loved this idea that Dickens really hopes that readers of the text won't just put the text down and forget about it.

He really wants the ideas in it to haunt people and preoccupy them so that they'll be more motivated to make positive changes to themselves for the greater good of society.

So a huge "well done" if you've got that in your conversations.

Excellent work.

So onto the first task of our lesson on building a holistic argument.

Now on the following slide, there is an incomplete essay plan for our essay on redemption.

And I'd like you to complete the supporting details by, first of all, deciding which box each quotation needs to go in.

So I'm going to give you the quotations as a little bit of help to get you started and you'll need to decide which quotation will need to go in which box.

So in order to do that, you'll have to look at the topic sentence and which quotation you think best matches the idea that will be laid out in that paragraph.

Then, using the quotation, you are going to consider what you are going to pull out of this quotation.

So what methods is Dickens using? And I'd also like you to consider any relevant context that you might bring in and any key vocabulary that you think you might want to use to be really precise and specific with your argument.

So as I said, I am giving you the quotations to give you a little bit of help.

So the three quotations that you are going to populate in the supporting details are the ones from earlier.

So we've got, "I wear the chains I forged in life," which is our primary evidence.

We've got this "Shaving was not an easy task.

." and that's not secondary.

And then our personal response in the form of this quote from the preface that Aisha chose, "May it haunt their houses pleasantly." So what I'm going to do now is show you the plan that you are going to be populating.

So here it is.

So what you're going to do now is complete the supporting detail using the quotations that I've just given you and the following information.

So I've actually populated part of this for you.

So Dickens uses the concept of redemption to inspire his readers to want to reevaluate their own attitudes and behaviour towards the poor.

So that's our overarching argument.

Now our first paragraph is going to be about Marley's ghost's repentance.

So our topic sentence is going to be something like, "Marley's ghost is repentant, but unfortunately, cannot be redeemed." And our closing or summary sentence that links back to that topic sentence, again just repeats the idea, the fact that Marley's ghost is repentant but cannot be redeemed, whereas Scrooge can and has the opportunity to be so.

So you'll need to decide which of the three quotations you think fits with that topic sentence and summary sentence.

Then we've got this idea that Scrooge's redemption is an example for readers.

And again, the closing sentence mirroring that idea that through Scrooge's journey, Dickens illustrates that anyone can be redeemed.

So again, you'll have to decide which quotation you think will fit that idea best.

And then finally, this idea that Dickens' purpose in writing was to inspire social change.

And again, that closing sentence, reinforcing that idea that Dickens hopes for a redeemed society in which everyone is equal.

And finally, our conclusion that summarises all of our argument together is this idea that Dickens uses Marley's repentance and Scrooge's redemption to illustrate the consequences of greed and exemplify the steps necessary to become more moral.

So just as a quick reminder of the task, you are using the quotations from the previous slide, those three that we've discussed in the lesson, putting them in the correct box, and then thinking about what you are going to draw out of those quotations by means of Dickens' methods, what context you might link to, and what key vocabulary you think you might want to use.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you complete that task now.

Fantastic work.

Really well done.

So here's what you might have said and the order you might have put them in.

So first of all, the quotation that we might put in this box was the one about "I wear the chains I forged in life." That primary evidence, okay? The one that we can't not talk about in an essay about redemption.

And you might pull out of that this idea of the symbolism of the chains and the fact that they represent all of Marley's sins that he's committed in life that he's now repenting for.

And you might also talk about the fact that Marley's ghost is actually a warning against greed and it also represents hope for Scrooge and his transformation.

So you should have put the Marley's ghost quote in the first box.

The next quotation you should have put in the second box was this idea that shaving was not an easy task, so our secondary quotation there.

And you can see how they build up in layers.

And you might pull out of that that Scrooge has found a sense of humour and some merriment and joy and that he's not taking himself too seriously anymore and he's able to see the funny side of life, which he was previously unable to do.

So again, well done if you got that in the correct place.

And then finally, last but not least, well done if you got the quote from the preface in the third box because it links really clearly to this idea of Dickens' purpose was to inspire social change.

And you might pull out the word "haunt" as being quite significant 'cause it shows that Dickens really wants people to ruminate on his message and consider what they could do better in order to support society to become more equal and fair for all.

So well done if you put the quotes in the right boxes and well done for picking out what you are going to discuss in your essay.

So onto the second part of the lesson now where you are going to plan your own response and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

So let's get started.

So your question that you are going to be planning is: Using the following extract as a starting point, how does Dickens present fear in A Christmas Carol? So here's your extract.

I'll read it to you.

You should be following along thinking about how you might use that extract to illustrate this idea of fear in A Christmas Carol.

"Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I have no just cause to grieve." "What Idol has displaced you?" he rejoined.

"A golden one." "This is the even-handed dealing of the world!" he said.

"There is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty; and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth!" "You fear the world too much," she answered, gently.

So now that we've read our extract, I'd like you to consider, well, where in the novella is this extract actually from and how does it link to fear? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss your ideas with the people around you.

Off you go.

Fantastic work.

And I was so impressed to see that so many of you were able to identify that this is an extract from Stave 2.

And it's the conversation between Belle and Scrooge where Belle ends the engagement because she feels that his priorities are completely wrong and that he started to value money a lot more than he values her.

So well done that you got that right.

It also shows Scrooge's real fear of poverty and this idea that his fear of being poor is actually what drives his selfish and miserly behaviour in Stave 1.

So here we really start to see the corruptive nature of fear in the novella.

So well done if you got that right.

Excellent work.

So what you need to do now is start to brainstorm.

Well, where else in the novella do we see fear? Okay, because we've used the extract as a starting point, but what else can we bring in from other parts of the novella? So I'd like you to do some kind of spider diagram or a bullet pointed list of where else we see fear in the novella.

So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you gather some of your ideas together.

Fantastic work.

And I'm going to pick out some of the best ideas that I heard as you were discussing them.

So I really like this idea that Scrooge is frightened of the ghost of Marley.

You are absolutely right, he is, and we really see that in Stave 1.

And this shows not only his fear of judgement , but also how much he's rejected social responsibility and how much he shunned his responsibility to care for others.

And the consequences of that decision are something that he greatly fears at the end of Stave 1.

So well done if you got that.

I also really liked this idea that we see in Stave 2 that Scrooge has a real fear of abandonment and poverty and that this is what drives his miserly and selfish behaviour.

And again, we saw that in our extract, so that could be something that you could bring in, but you could also talk about Scrooge's early childhood where he was left at boarding school by his father.

And here, Dickens is illustrating the dangers of childhood neglect and isolation.

We also see, in Stave 3, Scrooge's fear of Tiny Tim dying.

And that shows his transformation and the realisation that his Malthusian perspective is actually really reductionist and that all these people that he's wishing dead that are just part of the surplus population are actually real human beings who deserve to live.

So we see Scrooge's beliefs here as really immoral when he starts to show kind of concern for the welfare of Tiny Tim.

And we see here that he's actually learned the value of human life and that he's learned to recognise that people like Tiny Tim are not just part of that surplus population who are a waste of space in Scrooge's eyes, and that actually, they do contribute to society in terms of their morale and their spirit and their joy.

So well done if you got that.

And the final idea you might have got is this idea that Scrooge is really frightened of not leaving a positive legacy in Stave 4.

And this shows him as a transformed character because when we compare this to his previous fears, we see how far he's come because his concerns have transformed from those of selfish concerns of poverty and being abandoned to actually more concerned about the fact that he hasn't helped anybody else.

Okay, so his concerns and fears become much less selfish over the course of the novella.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

I think you've got a great foundation on which he can start to build your argument.

So remember, before planning, you need to really consider the structure of your essay carefully.

So remember, we are building an argument and it's just like building that wall.

We've got to start with that foundational knowledge, then we've got to pick some primary evidence, our secondary evidence, and then try and give that personal response to show your engagement with and enthusiasm for the text.

So what I'd like you to do now is think, well, how could the ideas that you and we have just come up with fit into this structure? So which of those ideas might be the primary evidence, which might be the secondary, and can you think of a personal response to give? So how would you organise them? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider that question and discuss it with others now.

Fantastic work and I can't wait to see how you've decided to organise them.

So here's a quick reminder before I set you off on your own of how to use paragraph outlines.

So remember that our thesis statement is that overarching evaluative argument.

So what it is that we're going to be discussing and trying to prove.

The topic sentences, they outline the arguments of each paragraph and they include key question vocabulary.

The supporting detail is that key language, evidence, form, structure, and any contextual detail that you might want to link to your argument that will enforce and strengthen your argument.

And finally, that closing sentence or that summary sentence summarises your argument in each paragraph with that really sharp focus and return to the writer's purpose.

And finally, do not forget that you will need a conclusion and that is a conclusive summary of the writer's message and what you have argued in your essay.

So there's a quick reminder of the different components to any academic essay.

So let's check for understanding before we move on.

Which section of your essay should revisit your thesis statement and restate your argument and ideas? Is it A.

Your closing sentence, B.

Your conclusion, or C.

Your supporting details? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you jot the correct answer down now.

And well done if you identified it is, in fact, B.

So this is the part where you really look back to that thesis statement and revisit your initial argument and restate kind of what your opinion is and what you think and feel about the text.

So well done if you got that right.

Spot on.

So onto our final task of the lesson now, and this is where you're gonna demonstrate everything that you've learned this lesson.

So you are going to complete the planning grid for the following essay question.

Using the following extracts as a starting point, how does Dickens present fear in A Christmas Carol? And here's your extract.

Again, I'm not going to read it as we've already been through it, but there's just a reminder of the extract that you are using as your starting point.

Remember that at least one of your ideas has to come from the extract, and then the rest of them should come from a variety of moments from across the novella.

So over to you now, and you are going to complete the planning grid using the question I've given you and the extract as well.

Here's your planning grid that you're going to populate.

Make sure you think really carefully about the order of your ideas.

So thinking about that primary evidence, secondary evidence, and the personal response that you want to give.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you complete that planning grid and before we do some self-evaluation.

So off you go.

Some really fantastic work there and I was delighted to see that so many of you were doing that planning grid with your copy of A Christmas Carol right next to you and all of your notes open on your desk as well.

That is exactly the right way to plan, so well done.

So what I'm going to do now is a little bit of self-assessment with you.

So I'd like you now to use these coaching questions to really assess and improve the quality of your plan.

So you need to determine what do you need to improve about your plan and then make those changes using these questions.

So first of all, do you have an interesting thesis which focuses keenly on Dickens' intentions? Do all of your topic sentences support your thesis? Do you use a range of supporting detail from a variety of moments, including one from the extract? Do you use context as part of your supporting detail? 'Cause remember, context needs embedding within your argument, it's not a bolt-on.

Do your closing sentences link back to the question? Is your conclusion really focused on Dickens' message? And finally, do your ideas build in complexity from foundational knowledge through to that personal response? So are your ideas getting more complex as your essay goes on? Because they should be.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you undertake that self-assessment and make the necessary changes to your plan.

Off you go.

Fantastic work.

And it was great to see that so many of you were making those changes in a different colour so that you could really clearly see your own improvements.

I really liked that, so well done.

So to summarise the learning from today, when you are writing an essay, you've got to think really carefully about the order in which you present your ideas.

When constructing an argument, you can start by laying foundational knowledge and then layering primary and secondary evidence on top before giving that personal response to the text.

Remember that it's difficult to bring any new interpretations to commonly-used quotations, so therefore, it can be very impactful to discuss lesser-known quotations so that you can bring something new to the discussion around the text.

Giving a personal response to the text shows your reader your enthusiasm for the text and also the subject of English.

'Cause we all love English, don't we? And finally, using paragraph outlines to plan your response can be really useful when considering the structure of your argument.

Thank you so much for coming to today's lesson.

I've been absolutely blown away by the quality of your planning and I can't wait to see these essays written up in full.

So thank you for coming and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.

See you later.