51����

Essential Question: What makes a strong analytical essay?
**Lesson 23 | Writing a Strong Essay

Essay Planning Workshop

Learning Objectives:

• To know the key components of a high-level analytical essay.
• To understand how to integrate textual evidence effectively.
• To be able to create a detailed essay plan in response to an exam-style question.

Starter Task:
Examiner’s Mindset – What Makes a Strong Essay?
In pairs, students will list what should be included in a high-quality essay.
Students will examine a high quality essay, annotate it and determine what makes it a great response.

Activity:

• Students will read and annotate two essays answering the same question.
• They will then compare and contrast the responses, ranking them from strongest to weakest.
• Students will discuss what makes one essay stronger and suggest improvements for the weakest.

Textual Evidence:

• Students will review their essay plan from last lesson, focusing on the question: “Compare how Atwood and another dystopian writer present control and resistance in their novels.”
• Students will gather key quotes from the novel to support their argument.

Follow on Lesson:

• Timed written response to the essay question: “Compare how Atwood and another dystopian writer present control and resistance in their novels.”

Exit Task:

• Students will write one sentence summarizing what makes a strong essay.
• List one challenge you still have when planning essays.

This lesson focuses on developing analytical essay writing skills, specifically for AQA English Literature.

Visit my shop for the whole The Handmaid’s Tale pack and other great English Literature and PSHE lessons!

Analytical essay, essay planning, textual evidence, and comparative analysis, with a focus on exploring themes of power and identity in dystopian literature. The lesson helps students improve essay structure, literary analysis, and writing skills, guiding them through an exam-style question on how Atwood and another dystopian writer present control and resistance. Students will refine their critical thinking abilities and learn how to select and integrate relevant literary techniques and evidence into a high-level essay. This resource is designed to support GCSE English Literature exam preparation with a focus on timed written responses, essay annotations, and developing independent writing skills.

**51���� Notice: **This resource is for personal classroom use only. Redistribution, resale, or uploading to shared platforms (including school drives and VLEs not for personal classroom use) is strictly prohibited. If you need additional licences, please purchase them separately. © 2024. Revolutionary Education. All rights reserved.