Year 11
Of Mice and Men
How to write a Literature Essay
2013
What do you do in a literature essay?
You write about a particular aspect (setting,
character, theme, language) of a text to
show your knowledge and understanding of
it.
Q: So what’s the first step?
A: Choosing your question.
Questions
Describe an idea (or ideas) in the text you have
found interesting. Explain why you found this
idea (or ideas) interesting.
How do we begin? All essays start with an
introduction and a tako …
How do we begin?
 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 essay’s main points
TAKO
All essays start with an introduction having a tako …
…but the best essays have a hook
and a T.A.K.O.
Question: Describe an idea (or ideas) in the text you
have found interesting. Explain why you found this
idea (or ideas) interesting.
Which paragraph has hook and
T.A.K.O. ?
Friends are our worst enemies. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet, Romeo’s friend, Friar Lawrence assists the protagonist to
overcome the challenge of being in love with a “loathed
enemy”. By examining this challenge, I’ve understood how …
OR
A challenge faced by main character Juliet in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
by William Shakespeare is being with Romeo because her family
would not allow it. This challenge helped me to understand the
idea of the strength of love.
Introduction Hook
The Hook
• The opening of an essay is crucial.
• Grab the reader’s attention with the opening
sentence, make them want to continue reading.
• The hook should let the reader know something
about where the essay is going.
Add a HOOK to this introduction..
…In the novel, Of Mice and Men written John
Steinbeck, the author presents the reader with the
interesting idea of hopes and dreams. I found this
idea interesting because hopes and dreams gave the
characters courage and determination to continue
with their lives through the difficult times of the
economic depression of the 1930’s. The author uses
the characters of George and Lennie, Candy and
Curley’s wife to show these ideas to the reader.
HOOK added…
‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys
in the world’. In the novel, Of Mice and Men written John
Steinbeck, the author presents the reader with the
interesting idea of hopes and dreams. I found this idea
interesting because hopes and dreams gave the
characters courage and determination to continue with
their lives through the difficult times of the economic
depression of the 1930’s. The author uses the characters
of George and Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife to show
these ideas to the reader.
‘O’ in TAKO means: Outline the
three main points of your essay
Describe an idea (or ideas) in the text you have
found interesting. Explain why you found this
idea (or ideas) interesting.
Re-write this paragraph and use different colours to indicate the TAKO
‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the
world’. In the novel, Of Mice and Men written John Steinbeck,
the author presents the reader with the interesting idea of
hopes and dreams. I found this idea interesting because hopes
and dreams gave the characters courage and determination to
continue with their lives through the difficult times of the
economic depression of the 1930’s. The author uses the
characters of George and Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife to
show these ideas to the reader.
Describe an idea (or ideas) in the text you have
found interesting. Explain why you found this
idea (or ideas) interesting.
Re-write this paragraph and use different colours to indicate the TAKO
‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the
world’. In the novel, Of Mice and Men written John Steinbeck,
the author presents the reader with the interesting idea of
hopes and dreams. I found this idea interesting because hopes
and dreams gave the characters courage and determination to
continue with their lives through the difficult times of the
economic depression of the 1930’s. The author uses the
characters of George and Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife to
show these ideas to the reader.
Write an introductory paragraph
Yay! I’m starting
to write my
essay.
WARNING…sexy
bodies on the
next slide
Minimum: 3 Body Paragraphs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
My Essay
TAKO Introduction
SEXY Body Para (1)
SEXY Body Para (2)
SEXY Body Para (3)
Conclusion
S.E.X.Y ?
 S:
 E:
 X:
 Y:
Statement or Topic Sentence
Starts the paragraph, tells the audience what point or
idea the paragraph will make.
Explain your statement further.
Quote, explain what the quote means, how it supports
the statement, how it is relevant to the text and/or
question.
Your link/connection to this theme, what you might
learn about yourself or the world from this text, links
that can be made.
Analyse Body Paragraphs
 The idea that hopes and dreams help people through difficult times is shown
through the character of Candy. Candy is a disabled old ‘swamper’ on the
ranch and doesn't have much hope for a future on the farm at the start of the
novel but then he meets Lennie and George. Candy is most worried about
being useless and his smelly dog as a companion doesn’t win him many
friends either. When he hears that George and Lennie are planning to set up
their own farm as soon as they have the money, he begs to be allowed to join
them. He suddenly sees how his future could be different: “What say I come
along with you guys?… in a couple of years I’ll be too old and they’ll kick me
outta here. I don’t wanna be like that, not having nobody… I’d rather
someone’d shoot me when I get that old.” His eagerness to join them reflects
the power that hope and dreams had on farm workers. He is willing to offer
his life's savings if he can join George and Lennie in owning the land. This
makes his dream a reality as he has got the money to pay for their dream
farm. He is willing to give up everything to George and Lennie for an
opportunity to “hoe the garden and feed them chicks”. Through the
character of Candy, Steinbeck has succeeded in showing the reader the
personal importance of holding onto hope.
Conclusion
 Conclude the essay by writing about why you care
about the topic. Why does it matter in your life?
 DO NOT INTRODUCE ANY NEW INFORMATION INTO
THE CONCLUSION.
 Use this sentence as a starter in your conclusion if
you are stuck. “In conclusion, Steinbeck has…
Conclusion
In conclusion, Steinbeck shows the reader the
importance of hopes and dreams throughout the novel.
Each character is shown to have greater depth than we
might have expected and we are able to see how lonely
and disappointing their lives were during the economic
depression in the 1930’s. These characters just want
some sort of security in their lives whereas Curley's wife
wants to escape from the boredom and loneliness of
being nothing more than an object. These characters
have taught the reader…
Now it’s your turn.
Write an essay using the structure
you have been given.
Choose one of the questions you
have been provided with. Write at
least 350 words.