Paragraph Writing In-Depth

(Teachers may use different terminology but the structure and expectations are the same.
In previous years, you would have used the following

structure (TEEL):
 Topic Sentence (TS) with both WHAT and HOW
 Developing Sentence(s) - Develop and support your TS to lead into
your Evidence—NO NAKED QUOTATIONS
 Evidence—your short quotations from the text
 Explanation—step into word, phrase level, connotations,
connections of your quotations
 Link/Extrapolation—step further into or step out of to the course
concepts
Note: You need to make AT LEAST two comments on each
quotation/piece of evidence. The bulk of your paragraph is explanation
and extrapolation (stepping in and stepping out)
For Year 11 Literature, the focus of essay writing will

now be on the sophistication and depth of your
analysis.
 Topic Sentence (as above and should of course link clearly

to your thesis)
 Stay out of any of your studied texts and explore the boundaries of the question.
 Contexts external to the text.
 If this is a body paragraph within an essay, you must link back to what you
introduced in this first sentence. Conversely, every essay introduction should
signpost the topic sentences.
o Use key words from the question to ensure your paragraph remains focused on its
demands. At the same time, be sure to establish the point you will unpack in this
paragraph
o GET TO YOUR POINT ECONOMICALLY!
o No need to restate the text title or the author’s full name unless you are segueing
between two texts.
o DO NOT LIST or group aspects of your thesis into one sentence. You will have time
later to unpack the broad scope of this topic sentence.
o REMEMBER – QUALITY OVER QUANITY – always! ;_;
o REPETITION does make extra marks in English/Literature. If you have already earnt
the mark for it, don’t say it again.
 Developing Sentence(s) if necessary – further developing the

main idea in the TS
 Contexts external to the text.

 You still have another few sentences to address the full scope of your
question and its terms and concepts.
 You have the Topic and Developing sentences to make sure you have fully
established the idea you are about to prove.
You could:
o develop an authorial or reader perspective.
o develop a situational and/or cultural context.
o develop your own perspective in response
o develop the evaluation in your analytical voice
o develop your initial theme into an issue denoting time and place
o Incorporate a broad convention, genre, form, mode or aspect left over from the
question or that suits your thesis.
 Point 1 – Lead into the first point supporting the idea in your
topic sentence
 Step in to the text you are going to use for your analysis.
 Contexts internal to the text.
o Lead into the evidence you will use to prove your point above. You often
need to orientate your reader to the immediate context surrounding your
evidence
o denote the text’s remote situation/setting/atmosphere or cultural context
o denote a convention as you lead in, (break it into its techniques on the lead
out).
o identify elements of your evidence’s genre and/or its sub-generic

conventions.
 Evidence (as above) for this first point

 Place the constructed evidence within the body of your paragraph.
 Depending on the mode, you could:
o Explain in detail what a viewer might see on the page, set or stage.
o Identify what an audience might hear intra or extradiegetic so what they see.
o You might quote the dialogue that can be seen and heard.
o You might locate the logos, button, hyperlinks, symbols or objects within the
composition of a frame.
o Detail the positions, acting decisions, movements and props on a stage or in a film or
documentary.
o Transfer the language a reader might read that sensually assists them in engaging
their senses.
 Explanation (as above) stepping into this evidence and how it

supports your point
 Deconstruct your constructed evidence above to demonstrate your skill.
 STILL DO NOT LIST. Introduce each part you are going to analyse, one at a
time.
 The only time it is recommended that you list, is when unpacking the whole
composition of a group of elements that infer the same meaning. That is
because they all work together to create the one outcome.
 How is this evidence translatable technically?
 Now you can use the skill of seamlessly incorporating parts/words from
your above evidence seamlessly into your analytical translation.
 Simply translate the evidence you have used – the meaning made by the
code you have denoted.
o What subjective meaning can be made?

o What objective meaning can be made?
 Guide your marker out of your evidence and orientate them to reader/viewer
positioning.
 Avoid listing techniques and expecting the marker to know that you know where
they are playing a role in your evidence.
 It is too early to say ‘the reader will feel this or that’. Translate the semiotic or
linguistic meaning made from the code you have used.
 DO NOT SAY - this evidence ‘this clearly shows’ or ‘as implied here’ or ‘this connotes’
– YOU must demonstrate that you know what is implied or shown. If you do this, it
is a clear sign to your marker that your skills are weaker than others as you are
skipping over an important section in the reading process.
 Make sure each sentence in your lead out is detailed and exploring one convention
at a time.
 Remember, a convention can have a few techniques within its mechanism (e.g. A
particular tone constructed through several language features/techniques)
 Point 2 – another point supporting your topic sentence – may

build on Point 1
 Evidence for Point 2

 Explanation
 Extrapolation and Concluding Sentence(s) – step out to
wider significance – link back to thesis without being repetitive
 What objective meaning can be made?
 Who or what is represented from the real world?
 What meaning does the reader bring to the text concerning types of
representations? What impact can this have? Is it ethical?
 Overall, you should:
o finalise an authorial or reader perspective.
o finally establish your reading concerning a situational and/or cultural context.
o develop your own perspective in response
o develop your analytical voice toward the point you were making. What do you
believe or value?
o develop your initial theme into an issue denoting time and place
o develop your initial issue into a broader theme concerning human experience.
o evaluate the effectiveness of a mode of communication used for this text type.
o evaluate the effectiveness of a genre and our expectations concerning this text type
o Judge the author’s success and/or possible setbacks.
o Use the author’s last name to signpost that you have stepped back to view the
question again. Use terms from the question to frame your whole paragraph in a
controlled way
(Note: Variations of these are also acceptable, but the structural

elements must all be there and should work together to build a
cohesive argument.)

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(Teachers may use different terminology but the structure and expectations are the same.

In previous years, you would have used the following

For Year 11 Literature, the focus of essay writing will

 Topic Sentence (as above and should of course link clearly

o GET TO YOUR POINT ECONOMICALLY!

o REMEMBER – QUALITY OVER QUANITY – always! ;_;

 Developing Sentence(s) if necessary – further developing the

 Contexts external to the text.

o develop an authorial or reader perspective.

o develop a situational and/or cultural context.

o develop your own perspective in response

o develop the evaluation in your analytical voice

o denote the text’s remote situation/setting/atmosphere or cultural context

o identify elements of your evidence’s genre and/or its sub-generic

 Evidence (as above) for this first point

 Explanation (as above) stepping into this evidence and how it

o What subjective meaning can be made?

 Point 2 – another point supporting your topic sentence – may

 Evidence for Point 2

o finalise an authorial or reader perspective.

o finally establish your reading concerning a situational and/or cultural context.

o develop your own perspective in response

o Judge the author’s success and/or possible setbacks.

(Note: Variations of these are also acceptable, but the structural

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