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Year 11
Eduqas

Planning an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’

I can plan an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’.

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Year 11
Eduqas

Planning an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’

I can plan an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’.

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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A thesis statement is a clear, overarching argument.
  2. Topic sentences give focus to individual paragraphs.
  3. Select main quotations and supporting quotations to include in an essay.
  4. Main quotations should be analysed; supporting quotations don’t need to be analysed.
  5. Concluding sentences can focus on a writer’s intention and draw your paragraph to a close.

Keywords

  • Thesis - The overarching argument to an essay, supported by the entire text.

  • Topic sentence - The first sentence of a paragraph. It states the paragraph’s main idea.

  • Main quotations - These are quotations which support your topic sentence, and that require analysis.

  • Supporting quotations - These are quotations which support your topic sentence, but don’t require analysis.

  • Concluding sentences - The final sentence of a paragraph. It draws together the main idea in the paragraph, and links to writer’s intentions.

Common misconception

A plan isn't a useful revision tool.

Creating a plan, and revisiting it, is an excellent way to revise. It can be quicker than writing a full essay, but still requires you to think about a particular essay question and your argument in response to it.


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: Planning an essay on the theme of education in Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Consider the timings for each learning cycle so that students end the lesson with a complete plan. Learning cycle 1 and learning cycle 3 are likely to take the longest.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

You will need access to a copy of Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking' published by Nick Hern Books.,

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Content guidance

  • Contains strong language
  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

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.
When writing an essay on 'Leave Taking', it's important to know some key terms that will help structure your planning and response. Match the key terms to their definitions.
Correct Answer:thesis,overarching argument to an essay, supported by the whole text
tick

overarching argument to an essay, supported by the whole text

Correct Answer:topic sentence,the first sentence of a paragraph stating its main idea
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the first sentence of a paragraph stating its main idea

Correct Answer:main quotations,quotations which support your topic sentence and need analysis
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quotations which support your topic sentence and need analysis

Correct Answer:supporting quotations,quotations which support your topic sentence but don't need analysis
tick

quotations which support your topic sentence but don't need analysis

Correct Answer:concluding sentence,the final sentence of a paragraph, focusing on writer's intentions
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the final sentence of a paragraph, focusing on writer's intentions

Correct Answer:conclusion,drawing together your main ideas and thesis
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drawing together your main ideas and thesis

Q2.
In 'Leave Taking', how does Pinnock explore intergenerational conflict between the characters of Enid and Viv?
They have conflict when Viv declares she wants to be an obeah woman.
They have conflict about when and where Viv can go out at night.
Correct answer: They have conflict over the importance of knowing your cultural identity.
Correct answer: They have conflict over the idea of a gap year.
They have conflict about how to engage with the Pastor and religion.
Q3.
Starting with the first, put these plot points relating to the character of Viv from 'Leave Taking' in chronological order.
1 - expresses interest in going to the West Indies owing to Brod's influence
2 - studies for her A Levels whilst Enid cleans the house; Viv isn't allowed to help
3 - witnesses her sister leave home
4 - has a heart to heart with Enid about her upbringing
5 - skips one of her A Level exams
6 - is thrown out of Enid's house
7 - pursues Black Studies
Q4.
Starting with the first, put these plot points relating to the character of Del from 'Leave Taking' in chronological order.
1 - is reluctantly taken to an obeah reading
2 - disagrees with Viv about the value of knowing about obeah or Jamaica
3 - leaves home after a violent fight with Enid; moves in with Mai
4 - Mai offers insight into Del's experiences with formal education
5 - learns about Mai's son who, like Del, longed to "escape"
6 - learns that her father used to abuse her mother
7 - passes Mai's obeah exams and becomes an obeah woman; her first client is Enid
Q5.
In 'Leave Taking', Brod and Enid disagree in terms of some of their ideas and values. As such, how might you describe Brod's function?
Correct answer: Brod is a foil to Enid.
Brod is a catalyst to Enid.
Brod foreshadows Enid.
Brod is a reflection of Enid.
Brod has a dramatic purpose to Enid.
Q6.
In 'Leave Taking', Brod influences Viv in terms of her rejection of the formal education system. As such, how might you describe Brod's function?
Brod is a reflection of Viv.
Brod foreshadows Viv.
Brod serves a function for Viv.
Brod serves as a foil for Viv.
Correct answer: Broid serves as a catalyst for Viv.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
When planning for an essay on 'Leave Taking', what is the first step of the planning process?
writing down all the quotations you know off by heart
writing three topic sentences
Correct answer: annotating the question
writing a thesis statement
re-reading the text
Q2.
When writing about 'Leave Taking', your main body paragraphs will include concluding sentences. What should a good concluding sentence do?
Correct answer: link to your topic sentence
include main quotations and supporting quotations
sum up your overall thesis
Correct answer: make clear the paragraph is coming to an end
Correct answer: explore writer's intentions
Q3.
A pupil said, "Here is my thesis about education in 'Leave Taking': Pinnock uses Scene Five to explore the importance of formal education to Del." How would you correct them?
This won't be a thesis until it includes quotations.
Correct answer: This is a topic sentence, not a thesis.
Formal education isn't important to Del so this thesis is incorrect.
Correct answer: This is not a thesis as it is not supported by the entire text.
Q4.
In Scene Four of 'Leave Taking', Enid reveals something of her upbringing to Viv. She says she grew up in extreme poverty, relying on the land and "The land you, you might as well be dead."
Correct Answer: fail, "fail", Fail, Fail., fail.
Q5.
When writing about 'Leave Taking', you should start your essay with a thesis statement. A thesis statement is an overarching argument to an essay, supported by a reading of the text.
Correct Answer: entire, "entire", Entire, Entire., entire.
Q6.
In Scene Eight of 'Leave Taking', Mai gets Del to take a series of obeah exams. The stage directions read, "[Del] struggles to remember what she's been like a child learning to read."
Correct Answer: taught, Taught, Taught., taught., "taught"