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Year 6

Writing the first half of an essay

I can write the first half of an essay about the effects of climate change on the polar regions, using a range of linguistic features and a formal tone.

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Year 6

Writing the first half of an essay

I can write the first half of an essay about the effects of climate change on the polar regions, using a range of linguistic features and a formal tone.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Our essay gives a logical argument that builds towards a conclusion.
  2. The introduction gives the context of the polar regions while the first main paragraph begins to build the argument.
  3. Throughout the essay, we connect ideas using a range of linguistic features and support ideas with evidence.
  4. It is useful to orally rehearse our ideas before writing to reduce our cognitive load.
  5. We use a formal tone in an essay because we want to sound authoritative.

Keywords

  • Logical argument - an argument that follows a series of steps that lead clearly towards a conclusion

  • Linguistic features - language structures that are used within a text in order to connect ideas together

  • Formal tone - the effect created by choosing serious, factual language

  • Evidence - information or facts to show something is true

Common misconception

Pupils may struggle to connect ideas with appropriate linguistic features.

When completing shared writing, show how the same ideas can be connected in different ways; focus on looking at the relationship between the ideas being connected.


To help you plan your year 6 english lesson on: Writing the first half of an essay, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

A slide is left intentionally lined for you to complete shared writing with your class. You may wish to provide more or less support depending on your context.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these best describes the conclusion of our essay?
Polar regions are threatened and we are doing enough to protect them.
Correct answer: Polar regions are threatened and we are not doing enough to protect them.
Polar regions are threatened, but there is nothing we can do to protect them.
Q2.
Which point is not appropriate to include in our essay?
The polar regions help regulate the climate.
If the polar ice caps melt further, the sea level will rise.
Arctic sea ice is also an important animal habitat.
Correct answer: My main concern is that polar bears' habitats will disappear.
Q3.
Which idea would come last in our logical argument?
These regions help regulate the world’s climate.
The polar regions are Antarctica and the Arctic.
Correct answer: Not enough progress to tackle climate change is being made.
They are threatened by climate change.
Q4.
Which linguistic features are included here? 'The sea ice, which is a habitat for polar bears, is melting rapidly; as a result, their population has declined 40% in some areas.'
Correct answer: fronted adverbial of cause
Correct answer: relative complex sentence
Correct answer: semi-colon to connect closely-related sentences
adverbial complex sentence
fronted adverbial of manner
Q5.
What punctuation might be missing from this sentence? 'Greenpeace is campaigning to stop oil drilling in the Arctic in addition, hunting for polar bears was banned in 1973 after a WWF campaign.'
a comma
Correct answer: a semi-colon
a colon
brackets
Q6.
What type of connection has been made between the ideas in the following passage? 'Although Antarctica is not part of any country, it is home to scientists from 29 countries (at 70 scientific bases).'
'adding on'
cause and effect
Correct answer: contrast

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following language features help to create a formal tone?
contractions
Correct answer: serious, factual language
Correct answer: subject-specific vocabulary
addressing the reader
Q2.
Which of these sentences uses an appropriately formal tone for our essay?
The Arctic might be very cold, but loads of people live there.
Correct answer: The Arctic is very cold; however, many people still live there.
The Arctic's cold, but it's not completely uninhabited.
Q3.
Which paragraph of our essay is not likely to include evidence?
Correct answer: the introduction
the first main paragraph
the second main paragraph
the conclusion
Q4.
What type of evidence is used in this sentence? 'Because their snow and ice reflect the Sun’s heat back into space, the polar regions play an important role in keeping the Earth’s temperature down.'
Correct answer: explanation
statistic
expert opinion
reference to official report
Q5.
Which of these linguistic features are included here? 'These polar regions are unique: they are largely uninhabited, they are completely treeless and they are so cold that even the sea freezes over.'
semi-colon to connect sentences
Correct answer: colon to introduce explanation
Correct answer: compound sentence
adverbial complex sentence
Q6.
Which of the words in the following sentence could be considered subject-specific vocabulary? 'The Arctic permafrost also plays an important role: it traps carbon in the ground.'
traps
Correct answer: permafrost
Correct answer: carbon
ground