Lesson video

Hi everybody and welcome to our lesson today.

Today we're going to be using our research to plan and write the introduction of our essay.

Today you'll be using your research and understanding of this historical event to plan and write the introduction of an essay.

Here are some key words we are going to use.

Purpose.

Introduction.

General information.

Well done.

The purpose is the aim of the text.

An introduction is the first paragraph of a non-fiction text that encourages the reader to read on.

General information is the most basic and necessary information.

Today we're going to be planning and writing the introduction of an essay about the Windrush.

We're going to begin by planning our introduction and then we'll move on to writing it.

Essays often follow the same structure and layout.

They have a title which is either written as a question or a statement.

Then we have an introduction.

This is the first paragraph that states the argument and introduces the reasons to be explored.

Then we have sections.

In our essay, we're going to have two main sections.

The sections contain paragraphs of information related to particular reasons that support the argument.

And finally, the conclusion is the last paragraph that summarises the information from the text and it restates the argument.

Today we're going to be planning and writing our introduction.

The purpose is the aim of the text.

And the purpose of the introduction is to do all of these things.

We want to engage the reader and make them want to read on.

We also want to give them some general information.

We can use this scaffold to help us.

In the introduction, we want to keep information general.

And then when we move down to our sections, that's where our information becomes more specific.

True or false? Information in the introduction should be general.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that this is true.

Now pause the video again while you decide how to justify your answer.

Great work everyone.

The writer should only include general facts in the introduction.

Specific arguments will be laid out later in the essay.

The introduction is the first paragraph of a non-fiction text that encourages the reader to read on.

The introduction follows a clear structure.

We have an introductory sentence, general information, and a linking sentence.

The introductory sentence introduces what the essay is about.

General information gives the reader some necessary information about the topic.

And the linking sentence indicates the topics that will be explored.

Match each section of an introduction to its function.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that an introductory sentence indicates the topics that will be explored.

General information gives the reader some necessary information about the topic.

And a linking sentence indicates what the essay is about.

The purpose of a plan is to prepare ourselves for writing.

If we give careful thought to the planning process, our writing outcomes will be more successful.

We can build on our ideas from our plan during the writing process.

When we plan, we use notes.

Notes are concise and they capture subject-specific vocabulary and information.

The purpose of notes is to help the writer to organise information easily for future use.

We use bullet points when note-taking and they look like this.

What is in a plan? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that bullet points for notes.

And subject specific vocabulary are two key features of a plan.

Before we plan the introduction, we must clearly understand what the essay title is asking us to do.

This is the essay title.

Let's read it together.

Explain why the HMT Empire Windrush brought people from the Caribbean to Britain and what happened when they arrived.

Here, our essay title is ending with a full stop.

It's not a question, it's a command.

Here, the word explain is telling us to explain the statement.

The first part of the explanation is about giving reasons for the ship coming.

The second part is about giving factual details of the people's experiences once they arrived.

So this essay title is asking us to explain two things about the Windrush.

What two things is this essay title asking us to do? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that it's asking us to explain when the ship came to Britain and it's asking us to explain the reasons why the ship brought the Windrush Generation after World War II.

True or false? This essay is asking us to explain one thing, why the Empire Windrush brought people to Britain? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that this answer is false.

Now choose how to justify your answer.

Well done if you spotted that this essay is asking for two things to be explained, where the ship left and why it came to Britain.

Now that we've seen our essay title, let's review the structure of the introduction.

We have our introductory sentence, which introduces what the essay is about.

Our general information, which gives the reader some necessary information about the topic.

And our linking sentence, which indicates the topics that will be explored.

We're going to use the same structure in our plan.

Now it's time for the first task.

Read the essay title again.

In fact, let's start by reading it through together because this essay title is different to the one that we just looked at in our check for understanding.

Explain why the HMT Empire Windrush brought people from the Caribbean to Britain and what happened when they arrived.

And then write bullet points for key words and phrases you'll use in your introductory sentence.

Use the question prompts to help you.

So what is immigration? And what was the historical picture at the time? Pause the video while you complete your task.

Great work everyone.

You may have included some information a bit like this, but remember this is my plan, so it's going to look a little bit different to yours.

But immigration is when someone permanently moves to.

So when we talk about immigration, we're thinking about someone permanently moving to another country, often for a job or for better living conditions.

World War II started in 1939 and ended in 1945.

And London was badly affected after war devastation and destruction.

Here are a few ideas I've put down from my introductory sentence.

Take a moment to reread your introductory sentence and ensure that you are happy with all of the information you've put on your plan.

Now we're going to write bullet points for key words and phrases you'll use in your general information sentences.

So now we want to tell our reader some general information about why immigration occurred in 1948 and what was Britain hoping for.

Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done everybody.

Here are some of my ideas.

After World War II, Britain's economy and infrastructure needed, some words I might use might be rebuilt or redeveloped.

Citizens from commonwealth countries were invited.

Remember the legislation or the law that was passed by the British government changed the definition of British nationality.

And the Windrush Generation immigrated to Britain, which led with the aim of rebuilding cities in order to help with labour.

Now it is time for you to write bullet points for key words and phrases you'll use in your linking sentence.

What's your sentence starter going to be? And which arguments are we going to explore in more specific detail? Pause the video while you complete your task.

Well done everyone.

So this essay will explore or investigate or examine reasons why Britain needed the Windrush Generation and the details of people's experiences once they had arrived.

Great work everyone.

Now we're going to move on to writing the introduction of our essay.

When we write like historians, we always try to do these things.

We use academic, subject-specific language.

We use formal language choices.

We write in the appropriate tense.

We use neutral language.

Use fronted adverbials to establish coherence.

And we check and improve our writing when we think we have finished.

This is a success criteria that we'll use to write today.

Let's read them through together.

I have written an introductory sentence that explains what the essay is about.

I have included some general information about the Windrush.

I have written a linking sentence that indicates which arguments will be explored in relation to this topic.

I've written a model.

Let's see how it has met the success criteria.

So I've got my success criteria on my screen.

Let's take a look at my model.

Let's read through our essay title together.

Explain why the HMT Empire Windrush brought people from the Caribbean to Britain and what happened when they arrived.

Let's read through my model together.

After World War II, many people immigrated to Britain and this had a significant impact on society and Britain's future.

When the Windrush Generation were invited to live and work in post-war Britain in order to rebuild the country, many did so with hopes of improved opportunities.

However, the reality of life in Britain for these West Indian immigrants was often unexpected.

Throughout this essay, the reasons why the Windrush Generation immigrated to Britain and their experiences upon arrival will be explored.

Now take a moment to consider where I have met my success criteria.

Can you spot whether I have written an introductory sentence that explains what the essay is about? Take a moment to see whether you can find my introductory sentence.

Great work, well done.

Here's my introductory sentence and let's read it through together.

After World War II, many people immigrated to Britain and this had a significant impact on society and Britain's future.

That's my introductory sentence so I can tick it off.

And it explains that this essay is going to be about immigration to Britain.

Now have I included some general information about the Windrush? Take a moment to have a look and decide whether I've met this success criteria.

Great work, everyone.

Here are my general information sentences.

When the Windrush Generation were invited to live and work in post-war Britain in order to rebuild the country, many did so with hopes of improved opportunities.

However, the reality of life in Britain for these West Indian immigrants was often unexpected.

Here I have included some general information about the Windrush.

I've not done anything or included any facts that are too specific so I can tick off this success criteria.

And finally, have I written a linking sentence that indicates which arguments will be explored in relation to this topic? Take a moment to decide whether I've met that one.

Here is my linking sentence.

Throughout this essay, the reasons why the Windrush Generation immigrated to Britain and their experiences upon arrival will be explored.

So this isn't my early indicator of what my two main sections are going to be about, so I can tick off this success criteria.

Thank you so much for your help just now.

With helping me, I work out whether I have met my success criteria with my model.

Now it's your turn.

So now you're going to use your plan and your success criteria to write the introduction of your essay about the Windrush.

Let's take a moment to reread our success criteria together.

I have written an introductory sentence that explains what the essay is about.

I have included some general information about the Windrush.

And I have written a linking sentence that indicates which arguments will be explored in relation to this topic.

Pause the video now while you complete your task.

Brilliant work everyone.

Now take a moment to read your introduction back and check that it meets your success criteria.

Remember, you can tick off your success criteria as you meet it in your writing.

Here is an example of a different introductory paragraph that we might have written.

Of course, this is my example again, so it's not going to be the exact same as yours.

But this is a nice way for us to see a couple of different examples of writing.

Let's read this one through together.

Immigration is the action of moving to and settling in a foreign country.

So in this introductory sentence, I have defined immigration.

Maybe that's what you did in your introductory sentence.

There was mass immigration of people from the Caribbean to Britain after World War II because the country needed people to fill jobs and help rebuild the country and the economy.

The Empire Windrush was the first boat to transport people from Jamaica to England in 1948, but many boats followed until around 1971.

This mass migration had a significant impact on Britain and the effects are still evident today.

This essay will examine why people immigrated to Britain and what happened when they arrived.

So again, in this example, I've got a clear introductory sentence, some general information about the Windrush Generation, and a linking sentence which clearly outlines the two key arguments or points I'm going to examine in further detail in my sections.

Take a moment now to reread your introductory paragraph and make sure that you feel it meets all of your success criteria.

When you've done that, you have completed your task.

Well done.

Great work everyone.

That now brings us on to the end of our lesson where we have been planning and writing the introduction of an essay about the Windrush.

Information in the introduction of a non-fiction text should be kept general.

When planning, we should write a note form using bullet points.

When writing, we can build on the ideas in our plan.

We should use our plan and success criteria to guide us when writing.

I hope you're feeling really successful with the introduction that you've written today.

Well done everyone.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon.