Yr 9
How to Study Literature
and How to Write an Essay
Do what Mrs Mac tells you to
do … and you’ll learn the trick
to writing a good essay. It’ll
be as easy as pulling a rabbit
out of a hat.
What does text mean?
It is the general name we
use for the different
types of literature that
you read and study.
Name the kinds of
literature which are
represented by each of
the pictures alongside.
Novel
Poetry
Play
Film
Which one is missing?
Short Story
When we study literature, we look at
FOUR main features of the text.
 What do you think they
are?
Plot
Setting
Character
Theme
Plot
 This is the most obvious thing – so what is it?
 It is the ‘events’ that occur and the order in which
they happen.
 When you write an essay, please DO NOT re-tell the
plot.
Setting
 Is setting always important?
 No, not always. But most of the time it is helpful to
examine where the author chose to set the text.
Questions to ask about Setting
1. Where is the text set? (e.g rural, city, culture, country)
2. What is the cultural setting? (e.g religion, race, gender,
class)
3. When is the text set? (e.g future, present, past)
4. Which quotes reveal time and place?
5. Is there more than one setting? If yes, are they
contrasted?
6. Does the setting (e.g extreme isolation) influence the
characters’ actions in any way?
7. Does it create mood?
When we study literature, we look at
FOUR main features of the text.
 What have we just looked
at?
Setting
 What’s the next feature?
Plot
Setting
Character
Character
Theme
Character
 Why are characters
important to study in
literature?
 It is through them that
we learn things about life.
 What is the term used in
literature to refer to the
central character (hero)?
 Protagonist
 Who opposes the
protagonist?
 Antagonist
We see the
of the text through
a character’s
share
and we
or her experiences. We
understand what happens, how
are feeling, what things look,
feel like through what the
us about characters.
,&
tells
Choose a main character in your text
and ask these questions.
1. What do they look like? (gender, hair colour, clothing,
dress, distinguishing features)
2. What is their personality like? ( e.g cheerful, envious,
lonely, sad, resourceful, scared)
3. How do they speak? (How they say things can be a key to
who they are, for example colloquial language =
easygoing; aggressive language = difficult, nasty)
4. How do they behave? (people are judged by their actions.)
5. What problems do they encounter? (with people,
themselves and the environment)
6. How do they deal with conflict/problems? (Do they cope
well? Why/why not?)
Choose a main character in your text
and ask these questions.
7. How do they interact and act towards other characters?
(Who do they feel comfortable with? If they are
aggressive, why?)
8. Do they change in any way? (Appearance, actions,
attitudes) Why? (What happened to bring about the
change? An event? Action from
someone else?)
9. How does this character help develop
the themes of the text?
10. How is this character a role model for
us? (What can we learn from them/
their action and attitudes.)
When we study literature, we look at
FOUR main features of the text.
 What have we just looked
at?
Plot
Setting
Theme
Character
 What’s the next feature?
Character
Theme
Theme
Every work of
literature is always
more than just a
story. There is an
underlying message
as well.
(Sometimes there
are several themes.)
Sometimes a theme can be good advice
For example:
take care of
those who are
too young or
vulnerable to
take care of
themselves.
Sometimes a theme can be good advice
What could this
advice be?
Admit your
mistakes.
Apologise
sincerely.
Sometimes a theme can be a warning
For example:
we need to care
for animals,
especially
endangered
ones, otherwise
the species
could die out.
Sometimes a theme can be a warning
What could this
warning be?
Some forces of
Nature e.g
Lightning are
powerful and
dangerous. Be
careful and don’t
take chances.
Sometimes a theme can be a prophecy
For example:
technology will
one day control
humans.
Sometimes a theme can be a prophecy
What could this
prophecy be?
There is other life
in the universe.
Sometimes a theme shows how human
behaviour affects others
For example:
sibling rivalry
undermines
families
Sometimes a theme shows how human
behaviour affects others
How could our
behaviour or attitude
about race have an
effect on others?
We could have racial
stereotypes.
Ask these questions to explore theme
1. What is this text saying to
me? (note, subject is
different to message)
2. What do I see as the
strengths of this text?
3. What have I learnt from this
text?
How to write a literature essay
EASY AS …1 … 2… 3
What is a literature essay?
It is where you write about a particular
aspect of a text to show your knowledge and
understanding of this aspect and why it is
important or interesting.
Q: What’s the first step?
A: Choosing your question.
Questions
1. Describe a character in a text and explain why you
liked/disliked this character.
2. Describe an important event in a text you have
read this year. Explain why this event was important.
3. Describe a character in a text you have studied this
year. Explain why you thought the character was
interesting.
How do we begin? All essays start with an
introduction and a tako …
Paragraph 1 - Introduction: T.A.K.O.
 T.A.K.O. – Use this acronym to remember to
include the necessary information in the
introduction: Title (MUST be underlined),
Author, Key words from question, Outline of
points/ideas
TAKO
Example of introduction
Let’s highlight the TAKO information
The character I like the most in Ray Bradbury’s
short story, ‘All Summer in a Day’ is Margot. I
like her because she is a blend of
contradictions: she appears frail, but she is
really strong when it comes to coping with
abuse from bullies and she knows how to
handle disappointment.
How did you do at highlighting the
TAKO information in this introduction?
Green = Title
Black = Author
Red = Key words from question
Blue = Outline of ideas
The character I like the most in Ray Bradbury’s
short story, ‘All Summer in a Day’ is Margot. I
like her because she is a blend of
contradictions: she appears frail, but she is
really strong when it comes to coping with
abuse from bullies and she knows how to
handle disappointment.
Body Paragraphs
•
•
•
The body of the essay is
divided into p…………...
There should be at least
……... body paragraphs.
With an Introduction
and a Conclusion
paragraph, and the
three body paragraphs,
the essay should contain
a total of at least …….
paragraphs.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
My Essay
Introduction
Body Para (1)
Body Para (2)
Body Para (3)
Conclusion
How to structure each paragraph
 S tatement/ Topic Sentence – Tell the audience
what topic or idea the paragraph will be about.
This is a simple sentence that states the idea.
 E xplanation – Explain to the reader of the essay
exactly what is meant in the statement.
 E vidence/ Example – support the explanation with
an example, e.g quote, detail from the text
Body Paragraph structure – the possibilities …
SEE or S.E.X.Y? What the difference?
 There’s no real difference. SEXY is a mnemonic to remember
each part of a body paragraph for a literature essay. It has
one extra part to it, so it is more complex than SEE
 S: the Statement at the start of the paragraph that says
what point/idea this paragraph is making, focusing on.
 E: the Explanation that explains how this statement is
relevant to the text and/or question.
 X: the eXample(s) from the text that support(s) your
statement and develop(s) your point.
 Y: explain whY this example/point is relevant to the
question/topic.
Example of a Body Paragraph
 Margot was a nine year old girl who had
recently moved to Venus from Earth.
“She was a very frail girl who looked as if
… the rain had washed out the blue from
her eyes and the red from her mouth and
the yellow from her hair.” This quote
shows how fragile Margot appeared to
be, and how much Venus seemed to
affect her. She didn’t really get on with
her peers and spent a lot of time alone.
Which part of the question is this
paragraph focussed on answering?
 Margot was a nine year old girl who had
recently moved to Venus from Earth.
“She was a very frail girl who looked as if
… the rain had washed out the blue from
her eyes and the red from her mouth and
the yellow from her hair.” This quote
shows how fragile Margot appeared to
be, and how much Venus seemed to
affect her. She didn’t really get on with
her peers and spent a lot of time alone.
“Describe a
character”
Quotations – Do’s and Dont’s
 Do do Does
 Don’t do Don’ts
Don’t allow a quote to repeat stated
information
 For example: The main character in my short
story, Margot, whispers to the other children
with helpless eyes. “Margot whispered, her
eyes helpless.”
Do weave quotes into the paragraph
 For example: The main character in my short
story, Margot, “whispers” to the other
children with “helpless eyes”.
Do integrate quotes into the paragraph
 For example: The nervousness of the main
character, Margot, is shown by the author
when we read that she “whispered, her eyes
helpless.”
A Body Paragraph relating to the
second part of the question
 I liked Margot, because even though she was
bullied by the other children she never retaliated.
She didn’t let their behaviour affect her own.
There are many examples of the other children
pushing and shoving Margot, or speaking rudely
to her throughout the story, e.g “Get away” and
“He gave her a shove”. But Margot didn’t push
back, rather she “let herself be moved only by
him and nothing else.”
There’ll be a 3rd Body Para
For each paragraph, look at
the preparatory questions
about the text that you
answered on setting,
character and theme.
Always ask : “How can I
apply what the text is
saying, to myself?”
Conclusion
 Conclude the essay by writing about why you care
about the topic (even if you don’t you have to
pretend you do! )
 DO NOT INTRODUCE ANY NEW INFORMATION INTO
THE CONCLUSION.
 Use this sentence as a starter in your conclusion if
you are stuck. “An examination of these …(name
what your essay has examined) is important
because ….(state why you think it is important).”
An example of a Conclusion Para
 I like Margot the best as she is a sensitive
character who I could learn a lesson from. I
think that we should all learn to react better
to other people’s rudeness.
 OR
 An examination of the protagonist, Margot, is
important because it helped me to
understand why I like her so much. I realised
that I admired her calm reaction to other
people’s rudeness.
Now it’s your turn.
Write an essay using the structure
you have been given.
Essay question: Describe a
character in a text you have
studied. Explain why you thought
the character was interesting.