How to structure Macbeth, Christmas carol and inspector calls essays to get a 9

How do you have to structure Macbeth, Inspector calls and christmas carol essays to be getting a grade 9 essay

Im on for a grade nine and I was taught a really strong intro, that introduces all points you will use in your essay and maybe a bit of context really boosts you grade. Then following up with about 3 really long, detailed paragraphs rather than shorter ones usually gets more marks. (I have average handwriting and I write about 7 pages normally in an essay) You should start with an overarching point and then analyse/subject term/describe techniques etc from that. Also using high level context is vital, I usually try to add something in each paragraph, for Macbeth; four humours, daemonology, basilikon doron are always good. Inspector calls you can use Emerson’s concept of the over soul, ouspenskys theory on time or Nietzsche’s on the eternal return. (Don’t know any for Christmas carol as I don’t do it, sorry!)They might sound quite confusing but using them in an essay will really boost you marks.
Hope this helps!

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

liamlarner

Original post by LG1234567

Im on for a grade nine and I was taught a really strong intro, that introduces all points you will use in your essay and maybe a bit of context really boosts you grade. Then following up with about 3 really long, detailed paragraphs rather than shorter ones usually gets more marks. (I have average handwriting and I write about 7 pages normally in an essay) You should start with an overarching point and then analyse/subject term/describe techniques etc from that. Also using high level context is vital, I usually try to add something in each paragraph, for Macbeth; four humours, daemonology, dasilikon doron are always good. Inspector calls you can use Emerson’s concept of the over soul, ouspenskys theory on time or Nietzsche’s on the eternal return. (Don’t know any for Christmas carol as I don’t do it, sorry!)They might sound quite confusing but using them in an essay will really boost you marks.
Hope this helps!

Do you have an example of a really strong intro that you could type up to help me understand the standard

Reply 3

josie71202

I did
intro: outline points
then for the main essay
point
evidence
explode a word and find it's connotations
explain
context for the point
impact on the reader
link back to the question
x4
then a conclusion where you pick the most important point and link to the question

Reply 4

josie71202

Original post by holly6901

pm me if you want to know more

Reply 5

LG1234567

Original post by liamlarner

Do you have an example of a really strong intro that you could type up to help me understand the standard

Yes definitely;
For Macbeth essay on him as a violent character:- At the beginning of Macbeth, Shakespeare presents the eponymous character as a violent and vicious man with a ruthless proficiency in battle in order to present him as an archetypal Jacobean warrior - one who is strong and powerful but also to set him up for failure later on: ‘first pride then fall’ - the bigger the ego the harder to crash. Also lady Macbeth is later shown to be the dominant figure in their relationship, highlighting Macbeth’s ultimate lack of free will, a shock to the audience.

For inspector calls essay essay on responsibility:- Responsibility is arguably a key theme throughout ‘an Inspector Calls.’ By 1945 when the play was first published, a litany. Of catastrophic world events had taken place, causing profound effects on the worlds population - World War One, world war two, the Great Depression and the Russian civil war - and the rigid social structures pertaining to gender and elitist social class systems had begun to disintegrate. Thus, fuelled by his own socialist views and opinions, Priestly had written a play in which the capitalist Birling family - paradigms for immorality and sin within society: of arrogance and conceit - are forced to recognise the consequences of their folly and have the ability to change.

I basically use the same intro for all my essays on each play, just tweak some details to fit the question

Reply 6

hopelesslyemma

Original post by liamlarner

Do you have an example of a really strong intro that you could type up to help me understand the standard

My school told me not to write an intro to any of my English lit essays for GCSE (we did AQA). They said that you're better off getting all your points across in the time rather than worrying about spending time writing an introduction. I got 9s in all my mocks in year 11, had a mare in the exam and came out with a 7 but two of my friends were doing the same as me not writing introductions and they both got 9s. I used the technique of looking at the question and almost picking it apart. So if the question is about ambition in Macbeth, think about the source of ambition, whether it is internal or external, how pure it is etc. and make an argument that runs throughout your answer. Also try to make this into a question that you put at the end of your essay - a question surrounding the argument that you have looked at in your essay. Obviously don't make it a question that you could easily answer, but you want to leave the examiner with something to think about. For the ambition example, it could be 'Shakespeare makes us question: is it what surrounds us that shapes our motivation' or something like that. Really hope this helps, let me know if this was any help or absolute rubbish :smile: