Hello and welcome to the lesson.

Now, today's lesson, we're going to be looking at some essay writing skills.

Now, I know for some of you this can be really daunting or it might just be something that you don't like doing.

But today we're gonna break it down.

So we're gonna focus specifically on unpicking questions.

So how we understand essay questions and writing thesis statements.

So hopefully we'll find lots of strategies that will help you begin the process of those essay writing skills.

Okay, so should we have a go? So by the end of the lesson, you will understand the expectations of an essay question and how to write an effective thesis statement.

So the key words that we need to be aware of today are idealistic, thesis, topic sentence, and aspiration.

Now, idealistic means to view something as perfect, even if the reality suggests something different.

And Edmundson in the play "Small Island" really explores how our characters have an idealistic view of the mother country or Great Britain.

Now a thesis is the overarching argument to an essay supported by the entire text.

So you may not have come across this word before, or you may, but either way, by the end of the lesson you will know how to write a really good thesis.

Now, topic sentence isn't something we're going to be writing today, but it's important to understand what a topic sentence is.

Now, topic sentences are the first sentence of a paragraph and it states the paragraph's main idea.

And then our final word is aspiration.

So aspiration is a hope or ambition of achieving something.

So my aspiration for this lesson is that we will all have created a beautiful thesis statement.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to start by looking at understanding questions.

So really unpicking what it is that essay questions are expecting from us.

And then we're going to move on to writing a thesis statement.

So let's start by looking at those questions.

In today's lesson, we are going to be thinking about how we might tackle an essay question.

So this is our question.

How does Edmundson explore the themes of hope and aspiration in Act one of "Small Island?" I'd like you to pause the video and discuss what is this question asking you to do.

Off you go.

Okay, so excellent answers there.

Let's just really unpick some of these key words to make sure we fully understand these expectations.

So the first word is that how.

Now when you see how at the root of our essay questions, it's asking us to analyse language and structure so what methods are being used by our writer, so this is really about identification and analysis of those key methods and choices.

Obviously here it mentions our writer's name, Edmundson.

So the essay is asking you to consider the writer's intention, their purpose, what choices have they made and why.

And then our key themes that the essay question wants us to focus on, the focus is hope and aspiration.

So we need to think about what ideas about these concepts there are in Act one.

So where in Act one do we see hope and aspiration? Okay, so what I would like you to do is I would like you to match the phrase from the question with their meaning.

So you'll need to pause the video so you've got time to read them before you start matching.

Off you go.

Okay, excellent.

So what is our how asking us to do? Absolutely, it's asking us to analyse the language and structure.

What about Edmundson? What is this focusing on? That's right, the intentions of the writer.

So what is Edmundson trying to achieve through her choices of language? And then hopes and aspiration are our key themes so what ideas about these concepts are there in Act one.

So what I would like you to do now is I would like you to complete the table in order to annotate the question.

So I've given you some ideas here.

So our question fragment is how, and it's asking you to analyse Edmundson's use of language and structure.

So things you might want to consider are Edmundson's use of direct address.

So can we think of any examples of that and what the effect is, any imagery associated with England and class.

So where throughout Act one do we see this imagery.

So you'll need to use these notes to help you find that evidence, help you find the notes to annotate.

And then Edmundson.

So what are writer's intentions? Think about things like how she presents different experiences of World War II and Windrush migrants and how she reveals the reality behind these stories.

So think about that when you are annotating and completing this grid.

And hope and aspiration.

So what ideas are there around these concepts in Act one? So as you are looking for ways to complete the grid, look to which characters link to these themes best.

Okay, which character best presents the theme of hope and/or aspiration? Which points in the plot really help link to the themes? So you're gonna need to pause the video, grab your copies of "Small Island" so you can fill out this grid.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

So I've made some notes here.

They may be slightly different to yours, which is absolutely fine, but you can use these ideas to either add to your own notes or just check what you have got.

So we've got our how and this is inviting us to analyse Edmundson's use of language.

So the direct address, what does this do? It foregrounds characters as narratives.

So some of you might even have an example as well.

And what does the imagery do? Well, it's quintessentially British and links to class.

So again, some of you might have some quotes in that section as well.

Now, what are the writer's intentions? So I've put here Edmundson wants to reveal the idealistic view of the mother country and the myth of a collective identity.

And she wants to show how the reality did not match expectations.

So you can see that real specific, those really specific ideas around Edmundson's intentions.

And again, some of you may have added some key quotes or ideas to that.

And then finally, the key things, where do we see the key things being explored through characters and the plot? So actually many of the characters deal with the theme of hope.

I've picked Gilbert, Hortense and Celia because they all reveal the aspirations associated with life in the mother country.

Elwood's cynicism links to the reality so that might be an interesting thing to think about.

You could also think about Queenie and her marriage to Bernard, how she hoped for a better life and aspired to a better life.

So there's lots of different ways that you could have completed this task.

Okay, so we've thought about the question and it's very important to really think about the expectations of a question, but now we want to look at how we can write a thesis statement based on the question we have been given.

So here is a planning grid.

So Laura, our student, has very kindly offered her planning grid.

So you can see that each section has a purpose.

So let's just look at what the purpose is.

So we have our thesis, which is our important part today, which is our overarching argument and is supported by the whole text.

So it deals with the really big ideas in the text.

Then we have our topic sentences, which were one of our key words.

And the topic sentence you will find at the start of every paragraph and it states the paragraph's main ideas.

We then have our supporting details.

Now supporting details are references to the text which support your topic sentences.

So these are written in note form and they include main quotations and supporting quotations.

Now, we are not gonna do, we're not going to focus today on our supporting details, but it's important just to have an awareness of the expectations of planning an essay and writing an essay and likewise, concluding sentences.

So these are the final sentence of a paragraph.

It concludes the paragraph's main idea, and then our conclusion sums up your essay's overall thesis.

So again, even though we're going to focus on our thesis statement, it's a really good idea to have an overall view of where that fits in an essay.

Okay, so what I would like you to do now is to match each section of the planning grid to its purpose.

So you will need to pause the video so you have time to read and match these up.

Off you go.

Okay, so I think some of you are feeling really confident, which is great.

So let's just check the answers that we have.

So thesis, now this is a very important one for today's lesson.

Absolutely, this is our overarching argument supported by the whole text.

Okay, topic sentence.

Yes, that's right, is the first sentence of a paragraph.

And it states the main ideas.

Now supporting details, a bit of a tricky one.

Yeah, that's right, is the references to the text.

So our evidence are quotes and these will support the topic sentence.

Now, concluding sentence.

Yes, that's right.

It's the final sentence of a paragraph.

So slightly different to the conclusion because you'll have a concluding sentence in each paragraph.

And it concludes the paragraph's main idea, whereas our conclusion sums up the essays overall thesis.

So the conclusions only appears at the end and is about the essay as a whole.

Really well done everyone.

Let's keep going.

So let's think about these thesis statements.

So Laura really wants to start her plan by drafting a thesis statement.

So she wants to know what her overarching argument is going to be.

Now, she can't quite remember what a thesis statement needs to be.

So actually comparing a thesis statement to a topic sentence can be useful to understand exactly what it is you need to do.

So a thesis statement is the overarching argument of the entire essay, so what your essay is going to be about.

Whereas the topic sentence explains the purpose of an individual paragraph.

The thesis statement is supported by the entire text.

So you will talk about "Small Island" as a whole text, whereas a topic sentence is about specific moments or specific characters in the text.

So it's this side of the thesis statement deals with those bigger ideas, the whole text and the thesis statement is only found in your introduction, whereas a topic sentence is found at the start each main body paragraph.

So you may have two or three topic sentences, but you will only have one thesis, one overarching argument.

Now let's actually look at some thesis statements and some topic sentences.

So in a moment, I'm going to ask you to discuss the differences, but let's just read them together first.

So should we read the- let's read the thesis statements first.

So Edmundson explores the complexities of social hierarchies and how notions of race, class, and gender are intrinsically linked to hopes and aspiration.

Very nice.

Second thesis statement, Edmundson casts a spotlight on the idealistic presentation and promises of the mother country by colonial powers.

Revealing the myth of collective identity.

Now let's look at our topic sentences.

So Hortense believes the colour of her skin makes her superior.

However, in telling her story, she reveals her negotiation with hierarchies of class and gender.

And another topic sentence, the character of Gilbert and his experiences of World War II emphasised the stark difference between the expectations of fighting for the mother country and the reality.

Okay, so pause the video so you can reread those again and discuss what are the differences.

Okay, let's just feedback and share some of our answers.

So you may have noticed that this first thesis statement here, it links to the wider themes and the whole of the text.

So let's just look at it again.

So it's got those big themes of hopes and aspirations and the big themes of race, class, and gender.

So you can see how it's talking about the text generally and linking it to those big themes.

So link to the wider themes and the whole of the text.

Whereas if we look at this one, it's focused on a specific character from the text.

So we can see here it's focused on Hortense, the idea of her superiority and about her story.

So you can see how that is very specific and you can almost hear how it would be a really good introduction to a single paragraph.

And then we get this one here.

What do we think about that? Yeah, that's right.

Again, it links to the wider themes and the whole of the text.

So let's just look at it again.

So it says that, you know, Edmundson Spotlight on the idealistic presentation talking about the myth of collective identity.

So again, linking to the writer's big ideas and the text as a whole, "Small Island" as a whole text.

Whereas if we look at the second one, absolutely, we get this focus on a specific character from the text.

So it says here "the character of Gilbert and his experiences of World War II" so again, it's focusing on a specific moment in the play, emphasises the stark difference between the expectations and the reality.

So you can almost hear how that would be a good start to a paragraph, because we have the specific focus on character and a specific moment in the play.

So true or false time.

Thesis statements starts every paragraph.

Great, I'm so pleased I heard a lot of falses.

Yes, thesis statements do not start every paragraph.

Now your next answer.

Yes, great.

A thesis statement starts your essay and is an argument supported by the whole text.

Excellent work so far.

Let's keep going.

So it's over to you now.

So what I would like you to do is have a go at writing your own thesis statement for the question.

"How does Edmundson explore the themes of hope and aspiration in Act one of "Small Island?" You may wish to go back to the examples to help you and just make sure that it is the overarching argument for your entire essay, and it's supported by the entire text.

So you are thinking about those key themes and Edmundson's big, wider intentions.

Okay, so you're gonna need to pause the video and I look forward to seeing what you have written.

Off you go, Well done everyone.

That was a difficult task and I'm so appreciative of how you really grappled with those thesis statements.

Now I know it can feel like a tricky task, but as ever with these things, if you keep practising them, they will just get easier and easier.

You won't even think about writing thesis statements, they'll just flow.

So practise makes perfect.

So as ever, let's think about how we can improve those thesis statements.

So Laura has very kindly volunteered her work.

Thank you, Laura.

And this is her thesis.

So Edmundson uses the character of Celia to show how class and status are linked to the promise of the mother country.

Now this is okay, but it doesn't meet the checklist unfortunately.

So I'm sure some of you have picked up that it's already too specific.

Some of you must have already picked up that it's focusing specifically on a character, which is, we wouldn't find in a thesis statement.

And it sounds a lot more like a topic sentence.

So it doesn't, it isn't the overarching argument of the entire essay.

So it doesn't link to those big themes and it isn't supported by the entire text.

It's actually too specific to be a thesis statement.

So Laura has now gone away and rewritten her thesis statement and this is what she's got.

So do we think this is better? So Edmundson emphasises the power of the promises created in the colonial idea of the mother country and how they shaped the hopes and aspirations of Caribbean migrants.

Wow, Laura, that is incredibly impressive.

So you can see how Laura quite rightly, has given us an overarching argument of the entire essay.

So this essay is going to be about promises, it is going to be about hopes and aspirations.

So it really links to those key themes.

And again, it's supported by the entire text.

Laura hasn't gone too specific already.

She's talking about how Edmundson is talking about these big ideas in the text.

So be like Laura and self-assess your own thesis using the checklist.

Off you go.

Well done everyone.

I'm glad some of you went back and changed your thesis statements just to make them even better.

That's a really great habit to get into.

And like I said, the more you do this process, it's only gonna get easier and easier.

So let's just read through everything that we have learned this lesson.

So annotate an essay question so you know its focus.

A thesis is a clear overarching argument supported by the whole text.

An effective thesis statement will focus on the big ideas and reference to whole text and topic sentences start each paragraph and will focus on a specific character or moment in the text.

Again, a very well done everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon in another lesson.

But until then, goodbye.