Paragraph Writing

Our Aim Today we are going to find out: Why we use paragraphs How to structure a paragraph What each part of a paragraph should look like. In your CAT you will write two paragraphs One describing a character One explaining why that character is important.

Why use paragraphs? A paragraph is a way to structure your writing. One paragraph should contain one clear idea. This helps your reader to understand your writing as it allows you to make clear points.

How should we structure a paragraph? Point Example Explanation Link PEEL

Point This is your topic sentence. Your topic sentence should tell your reader what the main idea of the paragraph is. You should be using key words from the question.

Example This refers to the evidence you select from the text to support your idea. This could be in the form of a quotation, or details from the text. Remember to introduce your evidence by giving us context.

Explanation You need to explain two things in your paragraph. Your idea- what are you trying to say? How your evidence supports this idea. The explanation should be the focus of your paragraph.

Link This is the final sentence (or two) of your paragraph. You need to remind your reader how the point you have just made, helps to answer the essay question. Remember to use key words

Before we start writing a describe paragraph… We need to find our information. First you need to decide which character you are going to write on. Hermia Lysander Demetrius Helena Think of a word or words you would use to describe the character- think about their behaviour/personality. Find some evidence from the text to support your description. Find a quote or details of something that happens in the play which supports your description of the character.

An Example- Describe The character Puck, in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is a mischievous fairy. The audience is able to see this aspect of Puck’s personality when he turns Bottom’s head into that of an ass. This happens when Puck is carrying out his master Oberon’s orders to bewitch Titania with the love potion. Puck is highly amused by the chaos he causes with this situation, which reveals his mischievous personality to the audience at this point in the play. He has gone beyond the instructions Oberon has given him, to create unrest for his own amusement, which illustrates that his attitude prioritises his own amusement at the expense of others. This event clearly demonstrates Puck’s mischievous nature.

Explain Paragraph In this paragraph you should be aiming to explain how the character helped you to understand something (an idea) in the play. The focus of your explain paragraphs will change depending on what question you are asked. Before you start writing you need to make sure you know: Which character you are writing about What theme/idea you are discussing How to briefly describe the theme/idea An example from the play which supports your point.

An Example- Explain In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the character Puck helps the audience to understand the idea of ‘the difficulties of love’. Shakespeare shows the audience that love is not always simple or easy. Throughout the play Puck creates chaos among the lovers by bewitching Lysander with the love potion, causing him to abandon Hermia and fall in love with Helena. This mix-up results in great frustration for Helena and Hermia. Helena thinks that Lysander is making a mockery of her, and Hermia is bewildered. Towards the end of the play, Puck reverses this confusion and the couples are united. Puck’s actions show the audience that “the course of true love never did run smooth”. By creating this chaos we see that love must overcome many hurdles but eventually it will overcome these. The humorous tone that Puck creates makes light of these difficulties and encourages the audience not to be distressed by this reality. Thus, Puck helps us to understand the difficulties of love.