Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

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

We are in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." So we are looking at Shakespeare's comedy from about 1595 to '6.

Today we are going to look about how to write powerful introductions.

So it can often be quite scary to look at a blank page.

So today we're gonna think, well, what should that first paragraph, what should that introductory paragraph look like? And we're gonna feel really, really confident about starting any essay, not just about "A Midsummer Night's Dream," but actually about any text that you might wish to write about.

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 have written a well-structured conclusion.

So we're gonna spend our first learning cycle thinking, well, what makes a really, really good introduction? And then you're gonna apply all of that knowledge, all of that skill to writing your own introduction in the second learning cycle.

There are some key words which are gonna help us unlock our learning today, and they're gonna be referenced throughout, and they are capricious, thesis, general idea, specific idea, and the supernatural.

Let's go through their definitions.

So capricious means impulsive, reckless, changeable, and certainly, you could argue that Puck is presented as capricious.

He's impulsive when he decides to turn Bottom's head into the head of a donkey, for example.

He seems quite reckless in terms of the way he moves around the magical forest, and certainly we've seen him as a changeable character.

His interactions with Oberon, where he's a loyal obedient servant, seemed very different to his interactions with some of the other characters in the play.

A thesis.

A thesis is an idea you develop and maintain throughout an essay, and a thesis is an important part of an introduction.

So we're gonna look at this idea in a lot more detail throughout today's lesson.

General idea.

This is an idea that is not tied to a particular detail, and you will include a general idea in your introduction.

Specific idea is an idea that is tied to a particular detail.

And again, this is an integral part, a really important part of an introduction.

So we're gonna return to this idea, what does a general idea look like? What does a specific idea looked like throughout today's lesson? And the supernatural, which is things that can't be explained by the laws of nature.

And obviously, we've got lots of supernatural characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream," and we know that Shakespeare's interested in the supernatural because supernatural characters, events, plot points occur in lots and lots of his plays.

Our learning outline for today.

So we are gonna start out by understanding the purpose of an introduction.

What does a really good introduction do? Why would we include it in an essay? And what does it look like? And in our second learning cycle, we are going to write a powerful introduction.

So let's get started with understanding the purpose of an introduction.

I'd like you to discuss as we start this lesson, what does the word introduction mean to you? So pause the video and discuss the question now.

Some really lovely discussions there about this word.

Obviously we are thinking about it today in terms of an analytical essay, but introduction is a word that we might find in lots of different areas of our lives.

So you might introduce yourself to a person that you don't know.

You might say a little bit about yourself.

Often we start an introduction by saying our name, and then we will move into more specific details.

So this idea of introduction is not exclusive to an analytical essay.

And it can be useful to think, well, how would I introduce my own self? Or how would I introduce a particular idea and apply that to the analytical essay? Because it's doing sort of the same thing.

Now in English literature essays, the word introduction has a specific meaning and purpose.

An introduction introduces the text you are writing about and it introduces your thesis, so the main idea that you are going to be arguing.

Introductions are good for the reader of your essay.

An introduction prepares the reader for what is to come.

So they're sitting down to read your essay and they want to have a little bit of preparation of what might be in this essay.

And your introduction, that's what it does.

It introduces your main ideas, and it says, this is what this essay is going to be about.

But introductions are also good for you, the writer of the essay, because an introduction gives your essay direction and focus.

So sometimes when you're writing an essay, an extended piece of work, sometimes you can feel a bit lost maybe when you get to the bottom of page two or you get to the end of your third analytical paragraph, you think, what was my central idea? What am I actually trying to focus on? And you can return to your introduction and think, ah, I remember here are the main ideas that I wanted to talk about.

I can return to those.

And it gives you a bit of direction and purpose so you can return to it.

It's a sort of touchstone or the foundation of your essay.

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

So two of our keywords here, and I'm gonna use an example in order to exemplify what those words mean.

So a general statement about the text as a whole.

So in this case, it would be about "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Then, your second sentence could be a general statement about the given theme or character in the question.

And finally, you would move into a specific thesis.

So as I say, let's look at an introduction, an example, so that we can really understand what this three-part introduction looks like.

So here's an example which answers this question, how does Shakespeare use Puck to explore the supernatural? And this student has written, "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a comedy.

Puck is presented as a supernatural character who creates chaos, but then restores order.

In this way, even though the play's, at first, Elizabethan audiences often connected the supernatural to evilness and the devil, Shakespeare presents the supernatural in this play as harmless and funny." So that first sentence, "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a comedy." is a general statement about the text.

So it's not tied to any particular plot point or character or detail in the text, but it gives a nice overview.

Obviously, we know that Shakespeare wrote tragedies, histories, comedies, and it's really, really nice as the reader of the essay to know, oh yes, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a comedy.

So a really helpful first sentence there.

"Puck is presented as a supernatural character who creates chaos but then restores order." Now this is a general statement about the character.

Now before launching into any specific details and particularly quotation, it's actually really good to ground your ideas in a kind of general statement about the character.

So now I know that Puck is supernatural.

There are some characters in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that are not supernatural.

So it's good to know that he is one of them.

And I've got an overview of his sort of purpose in the play.

He creates chaos, but then he restores order.

And then finally, the specific thesis.

"In this way, even though the play's first Elizabethan audiences often connected the supernatural to evilness and the devil, Shakespeare presents Supernatural in this play as harmless and funny." A specific thesis.

I know that this people is going to argue that the supernatural in this play is presented as harmless and funny.

That's gonna be their main idea.

So their analytical paragraphs are all going to try and prove that Shakespeare presents the supernatural in this play as harmless and funny.

So a really good example of instruction there following that three-part structure.

Now Izzy draughts her introduction.

She has a first draught and she's answering the same question about how Shakespeare uses Puck to explore the supernatural.

And she writes, "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a play.

Puck is a character who lives in the forest and works for Oberon.

Sometimes Park is presented as malevolent and sometimes he's presented as funny, but overall evil." So that is Izzy's first draught.

Now here's the feedback that Izzy was given.

"'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a play." Well, this statement is actually too general.

What else might be useful for the reader? So obviously, we do want to start our introduction with a general idea, but we can move into the idea that it's too general, and we need something a bit more helpful in order to really ground us in the basic functions or facts of this play.

"Puck is a character who lives in the forest and works for Oberon." Again, this statement is really too general.

What else might be useful for the reader of the essay? And finally, "Sometimes Puck is presented as malevolent and sometimes he's presented as funny, but overall evil." Well, this is not yet a thesis.

It's not really clear what the essay will argue.

Does Izzy want to argue that he's malevolent? Does she want to argue that he's presented as funny? We've got overall evil, but it's a bit confused, this thesis.

It's not as directed as the earlier example that we looked at.

Now Izzy draughts her introduction again, so she has another go.

Writing an analytical essay is a very difficult thing to do.

So the idea that you might draught, return to particular paragraphs, always, always a good thing to do.

And Izzy has done this.

She has got her second draught of her introduction, and she has written, "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a Shakespearean comedy.

Shakespeare presents Puck as key to the comedy because he creates many moments of chaos and laughter through his supernatural abilities.

However, arguably, Shakespeare presents the supernatural as scary, capricious, and powerful despite the play's happy ending." Now I'd like you to discuss how has Izzy responded to her feedback? So pause the video, read through the second draught of her introduction and discuss how has Izzy responded to her feedback? Pause the video now.

Welcome back, and some really careful discussions there, really unpicking what is very powerful about this introduction and the ways in which Izzy has now followed that three-part structure.

So I heard lots of people say, "Well, this first sentence of "'Midsummer Night's Dream' is a comedy." This is a general statement, which really helps the reader understand the text because we know the genre now, and we know common features of Shakespearean comedy, so that's a very, very helpful statement for the reader of this essay.

This second sentence about Puck.

"Shakespeare presents Puck as key to the comedy because he creates many moments of chaos and laughter through his supernatural abilities." Well, this is a general statement about Puck, and it's relevant to the question because Izzy has referenced that word supernatural.

And then finally, "However, arguably, Shakespeare presents the supernatural as scary, capricious and powerful despite the play's happy ending." This is a really specific thesis that can be developed in the essay.

So Izzy is going to argue that the supernatural is presented as scary, capricious, and powerful.

So that's gonna be the main things that she's going to argue throughout her analytical essay.

I also really like Izzy's use of the word arguably there.

So she's saying, this is my argument.

I understand that there are other arguments, but this is the argument that I want to put forth.

So Izzy has really responded very, very well to her feedback.

And we've got a beautiful second draught to her introduction which follows that three-part structure.

So a check for understanding, just so we're really, really clear on the three-part structure For an introduction.

I'd like you to identify the sections of the three-part structure of an introduction.

We've got a, b, and c.

Pause the video, and see if you can identify what is the first sentence, what is the second sentence, and finally, what is that third sentence.

Pause the video and complete the check for understanding now.

Welcome back and well done for showing off your fantastic knowledge of what the three-part structure of an introduction is.

So we've got a, we've got a general statement about whole text.

So we looked at an example where students had written about the idea that Shakespeare wrote "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and it's a comedy.

We've got b, general statement focusing on the theme or character.

That would be your second sentence.

So in this case, it would focus on supernatural and Puck.

And C, we've got a specific thesis.

So your main argument tied to particular details.

What are you actually arguing about the character of Puck and the Supernatural? Well done for identifying the three-part structure of the introduction.

So we're gonna move into our practise task.

Now we're gonna read two model introductions.

These can be found on the worksheet and I'd like you to identify the three-part structure.

So have a look at those introductions and see if you can work out where is the general statement about the whole text? Where's the general statement about the given theme or character? Where's the specific thesis? And then I would like you to explain which introduction you think is stronger and wise.

There are strengths in both, but which one is a stronger example? And crucially, why is it the stronger example? So you're gonna pause the video, you've got three tasks to complete, and really looking forward to seeing your fantastic understanding of what a brilliant introduction looks like.

Pause the video, give these tasks the time they deserve, so you've got a fantastic, secure understanding of what an introduction is.

Pause the video and complete those tasks now.

Welcome back.

It was lovely to see people apply all the knowledge they had gleaned over this first learning cycle about what an introduction looks like and apply it to these different tasks about introductions.

So looking at those models, identifying the structure, and then thinking, well, which one is stronger and why.

So we're gonna do some feedback.

I'm just gonna quickly read through these two model answers and then we're gonna explore them in a bit more detail and work out well why is one stronger than the other? So that first model read "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was written in about 1595.

It's a play by William Shakespeare.

He also wrote tragedies and histories.

But 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a comedy.

There are lots of supernatural characters in the play, but the most important is probably Puck.

Arguably, Puck creates the most chaos and confusion out of everyone, but at the end of the play he says he will restore amends." So we've got that introduction there.

It does follow the three-part structure.

We've got two sentences at the beginning which introduce, give general statements about the play.

We've got a general statement about Puck and the Supernatural, and then we've got this thesis at the end, "Arguably, Puck creates the most chaos and confusion out of everyone, but at the end he says he will restore amends." If we look at model two, which, again, follows the three-part structure, we've got, "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' starts and ends in the ordered world of Athens, but because it's a comedy involves much chaos in the middle three acts.

Puck is presented as someone who enjoys creating and watching this chaos.

And sometimes this enjoyment seems very cruel.

Arguably, Shakespeare uses the character of Puck to present the ambiguous nature of the supernatural as even when Puck restores order, we can never be quite sure how much we should trust him." So two models there.

We can see the second model also follows that three-part structure.

We've got a general statement about "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It's a comedy.

General statement about Puck.

Someone who creates the chaos.

And then the thesis.

This student is going to argue that puck is presented in an ambiguous way as is the supernatural.

So both introductions follow the three-part structure.

We've just gone through that in our feedback.

Model two is stronger, and I heard most people say model two is definitely the stronger example of the introduction.

So let's compare each section and we're going to assess why.

So model one, that general statement about the text, we have, "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was written in about 1595.

It's a play by William Shakespeare.

He also wrote tragedies and histories, but 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a comedy." And then we've got model two.

We've got a general statement about the text.

"'A Midsummer Night's Dream' starts and ends in the ordered world of Athens, but, because it's a comedy, involves much chaos in the middle three acts." So I'd like you to discuss how does model two help us understand the text? How does that general statement, how is it more helpful to the reader than model one? So pause the video and discuss this question now.

Welcome back, and well done for looking at these two general statements side by side and working out why model two is stronger.

So model one is telling us some really general things about the play.

That it was written by William Shakespeare.

The date it was written.

And we've got this, perhaps, not particularly helpful comment that he also wrote tragedies and histories.

I'm not sure whether we particularly need to know that for "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Whereas what model two has done is said, well, let me just unpack a little bit the idea of what a comedy is.

So in comedy, there's lots of chaos in the middle three acts, but we end in ordered worlds where everything is happy or happy-ish and stable.

So we've got a bit more of an understanding of what it actually means to be comedy in model two.

So that general statement is much, much more helpful.

All right, let's look at the middle.

So we've got a general statement about Puck from Model one, which says, "There are lots of supernatural characters in the play, but the most important is probably Puck." Whereas model two says, "Puck is presented as someone who enjoys creating and watching this chaos, and sometimes this enjoyment seems very cruel." Now I'd like you to discuss how does model two help us understand Puck? Pause the video and discuss this question now.

Welcome back, and again, well done for refining your ideas about, well, what does a really good general statement about a specific character or a specific theme look like in an introduction? And you're absolutely right that model two really says, well, let's unpack the character of Puck.

So overall, he enjoys creating chaos, but this enjoyment does sometimes seem very cruel.

Model one says, "Arguably, Puck is the most important supernatural character in the play." But we don't really know why.

We need a little bit more there so that we've got an idea of why Puck might be an important supernatural character.

And that is what model two has done.

He's important because he's exploring these two ideas about the supernatural, their ability to create chaos, but also their enjoyment of that chaos.

And finally, if we look at the specific thesis, which is this last part of an introduction of that three-part structure of an introduction.

We've got a specific thesis here for model one.

"Arguably, Puck creates the most chaos, confusion out of everyone.

But at the end he says he will restore amends" And model two, the specific thesis, "Arguably, Shakespeare uses the character of Puck to present the ambiguous nature of the supernatural as even when Puck restores order, we could never be quite sure how much we should trust him." So I'd like you to discuss why is model two a stronger thesis.

So pause the video and discuss this question now.

Welcome back.

After a really nice discussion about what makes a good, clear, specific thesis.

So model two, absolutely, it ties itself to this idea that the supernatural and Puck is presented in ambiguous ways.

So it's very clear what the student is going to argue throughout their essay.

We're going to see ideas about the ambiguous nature of the supernatural.

It is less clear in model one what this pupil is going to argue because we've got chaos and confusion, yes, but at the end he says he will restore amends.

I need a little bit of interpretation of what that might mean for the character of Puck or the supernatural in order to understand what the rest of this essay is going to be about.

Well done for really, really zooming in on each part of that introduction and thinking, well, why was model two stronger and how then can I apply that to my own writing of introduction? Which is what we're going to move on to in our second learning cycle.

So our second learning cycle, we are going to write our own powerful introduction.

I'm really excited to see all the different ideas, all the different thesis that we have in response to this question about Puck and the supernatural.

So you are going to write your own introduction in response to this question, how does Shakespeare use Puck to explore the supernatural? Now here are the three thesis statements we've seen so far.

We've had one, "Even though the play's first Elizabethan audience has often connected the supernatural to evilness and the devil.

Shakespeare represents the supernatural in this play as harmless and funny." So thesis one saying the supernatural is harmless and funny.

We looked at a second thesis.

"However, arguably, Shakespeare presents the supernatural as scary, capricious, and powerful despite the play's happy ending." So almost an opposite thesis where this pupil wants to argue the supernatural is scary.

And finally, we've got, "Arguably, Shakespeare uses the character of Puck to present the ambiguous nature of the supernatural as even when Puck restores order, we can never be quite sure how much we should trust him.

So this student wants to look at the idea that the supernatural is presented in an ambiguous way.

So three different examples in there.

None of them are correct.

You might have a completely different idea.

You might want to phrase one of these particular thesis in a different way.

But I would like you to discuss what would your own thesis be? So pause the video and discuss this question now.

What would your own thesis be in response to this question? Pause the video now.

Welcome back after a really lively discussion about what your answer, what your thesis, your main argument would be in response to this question, how does Shakespeare use Puck to explore the supernatural? So lots of people wanting to look at the kind of more malevolent, the more evil side of puck, and really thinking about the fact that the chaos that he causes.

Yes, it does end happily, but it could easily not have ended happily.

Particularly focusing on his part to play in the plot against Titania.

Lots of people saying, well, this is a real example of the supernatural's malevolence.

But other people really relying on the comedy genre and saying, this play is meant to be fun.

It's meant to be quite silly at points.

We are really, really meant to enjoy the chaos just like Puck.

Puck, at some point, seems like an audience member watching the four Athenian nobles very, very unhappy in the magical forest.

So actually really emphasising that idea of fun.

So lots and lots of different ideas, no correct answer.

You are going to think, how would I interpret this play? How do I interpret this character? And how do I interpret the supernatural? So check for understanding before we move into writing our own introductions.

There is a correct thesis for every question on "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Is this true or false? Pause the video and select your response now.

Well done if you selected false.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Is it, a, Midsummer Night's Dream," like every text, is open to interpretation.

Your thesis and opportunity to put forth a big idea and then convince the reader that this idea is valid in the rest of your essay.

Or b, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is open to interpretation, but the best thesis are the ones which explain why the most important quotation in the text supports your interpretation.

Pause the video and select your justification now.

Well done if you selected a.

Let's just have a quick look at b.

So the idea that you might select the most important quotation in the text which supports your interpretation, and put that in your thesis.

Your quotations should be or mostly will be reserved for your main body analytical paragraphs.

Yes, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is open to interpretation, absolutely, but the best thesis we'll put forth a really, really strong argument rather than move into that analysis straight away.

So the time is now.

Write your introduction to this question, how does Shakespeare use Puck to explore the supernatural? We've got our diagram in order to help us understand that three-part structure and all of the learning you've done throughout this whole lesson.

Looking at really good examples of introductions, looking at slightly less successful examples of introductions, thinking, well, how could they be improved? Now it is your turn to show off your knowledge, not only of the three-part introduction, but also seeing your interpretation of Puck and the supernatural.

So your thesis in response to this question.

So grab your pen, your laptop, whatever it is you are writing on, give this time, give this activity the time that it deserves so you've got a really, really strong introduction that you can be proud of.

Pause the video and write your introduction to this question.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

It was such a pleasure to see people writing really powerful, strong introductions, and particularly to see those thesis statements and to think, well, what would these essays turn into? What would each of you be arguing throughout the rest of your essay? We're gonna do some feedback before we celebrate your introduction.

So I'd like you to self-assess your own introduction using the questions to guide you.

So firstly, have you got a general statement about the text? Is that your first statement, your first sentence in your introduction? Two, have you written a general statement about a given character or theme? So if you focus on Puck and the supernatural.

And then finally, have you written your specific thesis? So pause the video and self-assess your own introduction using those questions to guide you.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back, just as it was such a pleasure to see you writing those introductions.

Really nice to see you looking at those introductions and refining them, editing them, using those questions.

So you wanted to make sure that you've got an introduction which follows that three-part structure.

In summary, introductions can follow a three-part structure moving from the general to the specific.

The first sentence of an introduction could be a general statement about the text.

The second sentence of the introduction could be a general statement about the given character or theme.

And the final sentence of your introduction could be your thesis.

It's been such a pleasure to work through today's lesson with you.

I look forward to seeing you next time.