How to Structure an HSC English Essay
Expert reviewed • 21 July 2024 • 7 minute read
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To write a band 6 essay, the structure must complement your techniques, examples, and analysis. There is a simple structure, which we can follow, in order to achieve a band 6 status.
How to Address the Question
Our first course of action, is to break down the question, and understand in detail what it is asking. A good essay not only incorporates numerous techniques and successful analysis, but also directly addresses the question.
For example, the following question is from the 2023 English HSC paper 1, and is asking us to explore the collective human experience.
As such, we must recognise ideas in our prescribed text that capture the concept of collective human experiences, for example, companionship. Additionally, the second part of the question asks us to relate our chosen collective human experiences, with their ability to enrich a view of the world.
The Essay Structure
The introduction must include the following (generally, use this specific order):
- A thesis that directly answers the question: Note that your thesis must provide a valid argument that corresponds to the concepts provided in the text/question.
- An outline of the arguments and topic sentences you will present in your body paragraphs, and how they relate to the question. When doing this, it is good to directly reference a part of the question to support your thesis.
- Answer the question in broad terms according to the arguments you have provided.
For the body paragraphs, the amount you decide to write is dependent on the question and the time limit. A general "rule of thumb" is to have 3 body paragraphs, each with a different topic or argument that relates to your thesis. Each body paragraph should follow a similar structure to that provided below.
- Point - relate the argument/topic you are referencing in this body paragraph to your thesis statement and the question.
The following points are related to the analysis of evidence that supports the argument. These steps can be repeated in sequence as many times as desired, however, the general rule is to provide 3-4 pieces of evidence per paragraph.
- Integrate a "quote": In this sentence/s the quote must contain context from where it is in the text.
- Provide a technique which is used in this quote, and what effect it has on the reader.
- Provide reasonings of how this effect supports to your topic sentence or argument of the paragraph (your link back to your thesis and the question).
The final part is a brief conclusion. In your concluding sentence, you must answer the question based on your thesis, using your arguments as evidence. Your conclusion should be a summary of everything you have discussed in the essay.
It is worthwhile to note that the question, should be quoted consistently throughout the essay. This is done by referring to it during analysis, in topic sentences and concluding statements.