The document provides guidance on how to structure an essay response, including identifying key terms and questions, formulating assertions to explore, finding examples from various sources to support ideas, and ensuring a clear introduction, body, and conclusion that ties the response back to the original prompt. The focus is on establishing ideas before using examples to illustrate them, drawing from multiple sources, and having a strong finish.

2. •
Identify the KEY TERMS (find some useful SYNONYMS which could be used, too).
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Formulate a GUIDING QUESTION that uses these key terms. This is the question you will seek to answer in your response.
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Think of some ASSERTIONS (claims/ideas/arguments) that could be made in response to this question.
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Find some EXAMPLES that can be used to explore or back- up these assertions.

3. •
You must provide a response to the topic.
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You should use your introduction to establish your ideas, not your examples (i.e. texts, characters, etc.).
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Depending on your format:
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Persuasive: establish a CONTENTION (i.e. the side/argument you will take in response to the topic). You should take a clear line.
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Expository: establish what the different perspectives on the issue are.

4. •
Your topic sentence should establish an IDEA that is connected to the essay prompt.
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Do NOT introduce your example until you have established the key idea or argument that the paragraph is exploring.
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Once you have an idea established, you can explore it through providing examples which illustrate how this idea can work. Examples can come from:
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Novels
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Films
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Short stories
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General knowledge
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Current events
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History
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Philosophers
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Etc…

5. •
Remember that you should draw from multiple texts.
•Your purpose is NOT to recite the plot of the text. Pick individual examples which suit the prompt, and use them as illustrations of a broader idea.
•The more examples you know, the more examples you can pick from, and the more targeted your response can be.
•Use 1 or 2 examples per paragraph. These examples can come from multiple sources. However, your essay as a whole should have a strong emphasis on the texts studied in class.

6. •
Bring your ideas back together.
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Restate your argument clearly and forcefully (if a persuasive response).
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Emphasise the connection between the prompt and the texts/examples discussed.
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Have a strong finish (a thoughtful, summative quote can work well).

7. •
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana (19th Century Italian philosopher)
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“Those who control the present, control the past and those who control the past control the future.” George Orwell (author, quote from 1984 )
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“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Albert Einstein (scientist)