‘I N M RS T ILSCHER ’ S C LASS ’ Critical Essay - Introduction

W ARM UP Try to identify the well-know phrase or expression in the following Dingbats:

S TRUCTURE 1 3 2

Introduction Main body Conclusion

I NTRODUCTION

The introduction should not be too long and detailed and it should focus on the question right from the start. In a sense, the introduction should be a summary of the whole essay – later paragraphs should not change the direction of the argument or introduce new and unexpected topics.

Identify the text and author Use words from the beginning of the question and show why the text is an appropriate one Refer to words from the second part of the question that set the task Indicate the topics/aspects that the rest of the essay will discuss in depth

U SE THIS FORMULA TO HELP YOU : TATTAT

TATT T – title A - author T – task (this is in the essay question)

C OMPLETE THE LIST BELOW FOR YOUR ESSAY : T(title) A(author) T(task) Essay title = Discuss a poem that reveals an aspect of life (growing up)

Change the essay question into a statement which includes the author’s name and the title.

E XERCISE Look at the following examples of introductions and highlight the following things (if they are there): T – title A - author T – task (this is in the essay question)

E XAMPLE 1 ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a dead scary story where a mad man kills this old dude and then chops him up into teeny bits and hides all the bits under the floorboards. It’s gothic fiction cos it’s got a spooky setting and the main character is a bit loopy and kinda insane lol. I’m gonna look at how the author creates tension in the story by using techniques.

E XAMPLE 2 ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a short story that was written by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was famous for writing gothic fiction, a genre of fiction that had many characteristics. For example, dark, old, crumbling buildings for the setting and themes like death, murder, madness and horror. Poe uses techniques like characterisation, setting and plot to make the story more exciting to read.

E XAMPLE 3 Edgar Allan Poe creates tension in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by using many different techniques. As a work of gothic fiction, tension is very important, and Poe uses all the techniques available to him to create tension, such as stylistic devices, characterisation, setting and plot. Gothic fiction is a genre of fiction that became popular during Victorian times. It was characterised by several features, for example, old, rundown settings and certain types of characters, like the ‘madman’ main character and narrator of this short story.

Y OUR TURN Remember to include: T = ‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ A = Carol Ann Duffy T = What it reveals about growing up

S UMMARY After the introduction, you are going to include a summary of the text in no more than three sentences.