Conflict

Graphic Organiser &

Essay-writing

Developing your thesis …

THESIS: A thesis statement in an essay is a sentence that explicitly identifies the purpose of the essay or previews its main ideas.

Thesis

Developing your thesis …

NOTE: your thesis directly answers the essay question by outlining your opinion. It should be logical, showing how one idea connects to another. We call this the ‘cause and effect’ relationship.

e.g. inner conflict can be caused by conflict with the environment or others however an awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses can arise as a result of encountering this type of conflict.

CAUSE

EFFECT

Introduction

Writing your introduction

1. Define the main concept to be discussed – this may be one or two sentences:

e.g. Conflict can be defined as a state of opposition between two forces and is central to the human experience. There are a myriad of factors which can catalyse conflict between individuals, groups, man and the environment or within one’s self.

Writing your introduction2. Write a sentence rewording the essay question and listing the texts you will be discussing in your essay – include title, composer and text type. It’s a good idea to use a modifier before the text title.

e.g. An understanding of the nature of conflict is acquired through close study of the multimodal digital narrative, Inanimate Alice written by Kate Pulinger and Chris Joseph as well as the confronting poem ‘The Tulips’ by Sylvia Plath.

modifier

Writing your introduction

3. Outline your these – this include your lines of argument.

e.g. These texts reveal that inner conflict can be catalysed by conflict with the environment or others however an awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses can arise as a result of encountering this type of conflict.

Sample Introduction

Conflict can be defined as a state of opposition between two forces and is central to the human experience. There are a myriad of factors which can catalyse conflict between individuals, groups, man and the environment or within one’s self. An understanding of the nature of conflict is acquired through close study of the multimodal digital narrative, Inanimate Alice written by Kate Pulinger and Chris Joseph as well as the confronting poem ‘The Tulips’ by Sylvia Plath. These texts reveal that inner conflict can be catalysed by conflict with the environment or others however an awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses can arise as a result of encountering this type of conflict.

Body

Body

English essays require a specific paragraph structure.

Body

We use the S.T.E.W paragraph structure.

Body

S = STATEMENT

T = TECHNIQUE

E = EXAMPLE

W = WHY

Body

Statement: state the main idea for this paragraph. This will be one of your lines of argument from your introduction – it should also relate directly to the essay question:

e.g. Inner conflict can be catalysed by conflict with the environment or others.

Body

Technique: This is where you identify a technique used by the composerto communicate/explore the idea you outlined in your ‘statement’. You should BEGIN your sentence with the name of the technique(s) then add a ‘verb of doing’ to explain the effect of the technique (this happens is explained in WHY).

e.g. ‘Metaphor captures this conflict in the line …’

This is where youadd your ‘verb of doing’!

Verbs of Doing

• suggests conveys• creates indicates• reveals illustrates• presents establishes• provides demonstrates• describes seems to believe

Body

Example: This is your example from the novel to support your statement and is an example of the technique you identified.

e.g. ‘My husband and child smiling out of the family photo; Their smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks.’

Body

Why: This part of the paragraph involves THREE steps:-why is the technique effective? (It creates a specific image, mood, sound)-why has this technique been used? (It encourages us to think/imagine/feelsomething related to your statement)-why does this evidence help to support your opinion and answer the essay question?

e.g. The metaphor of the ‘little smiling hooks’ creates an image of suffering. By associatingher the photograph of her children and husband with objects that can inflict pain the poetforces an awareness of her inner conflict as she feel both pain and love from the familymembers. This text helps the reader appreciate that inner conflict can arise from conflict with others or one’s environment.

Looking closer at ‘Why’

1. why is the technique effective? The metaphor of the ‘little smiling hooks’ creates an image of suffering. 2. why has this technique been used? By associating her the photograph of her children and husband with objects that can inflict pain the poet forces an awareness of her inner conflict as she feel both pain and love from the family members. 3. why does this evidence help to support your opinion and answer the essay question?

This text helps the reader appreciate that inner conflict can arise from conflict with others or one’s environment.

The complete STEW paragraph

Inner conflict can be catalysed by conflict with the environment or others. Metaphor captures this conflict in the line ‘My husband and child smiling out of the family photo; Their smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks.’ The metaphor of the ‘little smiling hooks’ creates an image of suffering. By associating her the photograph of her children and husband with objects that can inflict pain the poet forces an awareness of her inner conflict as she feel both pain and love from the family members. This text helps the reader appreciate that inner conflict can arise from conflict with others or one’s environment.

Conclusion

Conclusion

The concluding paragraph of your essay briefly returns to the essay question, sums up what has been discussed in the essay and makes a memorable comment on the topic.

A conclusion must:

• Restate the question in your own words• List the texts that have been discussed• Sum up the key points of your thesis• Add a final quote or general statement to

round off your essay memorably