Essay+writing+tips

===I just thought it would be a good idea for me to write up some tips so that the comments I put on your essays make a little more sense. Although one would hope that if it didn't make sense you would ask...nevertheless. === > Tie the idea of the quotation into the overall idea of your essay. How to begin? > **So and so once said "...". This is evident in Gattaca when Vincent...** > **So and so once said "...". Gattaca illustrates this point through...**
 * Include the title and author of the work that you are writing about in the introduction. Make sure the title is underlined.
 * Introductions should outline your hypothesis in relation to how you are going to answer the question
 * Every paragraph should clearly explain why the point you have made is important to the text as a whole. What does it add?
 * Develop your ideas. Go into depth and explain what they should mean to the reader or audience.
 * Ensure that every single paragraph directly answers the question. Keep using key words from the question throughout your essay.
 * Make sure your essay is long enough. For Year 12 you are looking at at least four developed body paragraphs, Year 13 should be looking at about five or six.
 * Each paragraph should be structured:
 * POINT. Statement that answers the question
 * EXAMPLE. A short but substantial quotation that supports your point.
 * EXPLANATION. Shows how you have answered the question and looks at the importance of your point. Gives a link to the next paragraph.
 * Weave your quotations into each paragraph. This means giving them a context within a sentence. Try not to use 'This is shown when soandso says; 'Blah blah blah...'
 * Don't use personal pronouns. Talk about the reader or the audience or the viewer, depending on the type of text you are writing about. This is because you are writing on behalf of all readers/ viewers.
 * Insight means that you are looking at authorial purpose and whether it has been successfully achieved.
 * Make all your points specific to the text. It is quite frustrating reading sweeping generalisations that aren't linked back to the text that is being discussed.
 * Try not to write any plot summaries. You must assume the marker has some basic knowledge of the text.
 * <span style="color: #2e27dd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Make sure that you think about the effect of what you are writing about on the reader/viewer. What is it that they are MEANT to be thinking? Why should they care about what they are reading or viewing?
 * <span style="color: #2e27dd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use techniques. Make sure that you name them correctly.
 * <span style="color: #2e27dd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">For every technique or point you make, think carefully about what it adds to the novel or film.
 * <span style="color: #2e27dd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">If you are having trouble ensuring that what you are writing makes sense, write short sharp statements that get straight to the point.These are easier to figure out than long, complicated sentences that don't make any sense whatsoever.
 * <span style="color: #2e27dd; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Film and novel titles need to be underlined; poems and short stories go in quote marks. That's because the anthology they come out of is underlined.
 * ** How to begin your essay with a quote and THUS sound real cool! **
 * Google famous quotes to do with key themes for your texts.
 * Choose some short quotations from the text itself.
 * Make sure the quotations you choose are reasonably versatile - a good idea to think about what themes are similar for all your texts.
 * Good idea to learn some famous quotations that could be universal, such as ones about human nature.
 * Learn these by heart for exams. Note: you don't have to learn many.