I conduct regular and book/theme specific essay-writing sessions on all aspects of the Year 12 course.
These essay-writing sessions target the planning process and help you write sharp and accurate topic sentences. You must use relevant quotes and evidence for each paragraph and show a keen awareness of the author’s views, values and concerns. We will discuss what evidence seems to be typical or “most critical” to most essays.
Upcoming Specialist essay-writing classes :
Terms 1 – 2:
Saturday 12.20 – 1.20 – This Boy’s Life and Whose Reality
Terms 2-3:
Saturdays 3-4 pm: Conflict and Language Analysis *
Thursdays 7 – 8 pm: Conflict/Medea and Language Analysis *
Wednesdays 7 – 8 pm: Identity and Language Analysis **
* We will compile our “favourite” examples from the text for “conflict” and our favourite, meaningful, and (uncommon) parallel real-life examples. In each lesson, we will write 1-2 paragraphs on a different conflict prompt and 1-2 paragraphs on language analysis based on a persuasive text and/or exam samples. Please bring a plastic-sleeve folder so that we can keep organised!
Conflict
- Conflict causes harm to both the powerful and the powerless.
- Conflict can test people’s resilience and ability to adapt to change.
- The strength of our beliefs is tested when we encounter conflict.
- We grow through conflict.
- The way we deal with conflict shapes who we are.
- In times of conflict people decide what is worth fighting for.
- Experiences of conflict change our priorities
- Facing conflict demands strength of character.
- The human spirit grows strong from conflict.
- The victims of conflict show us what is important.
- It is almost impossible to remain a bystander to conflict.
- Life is rarely without conflict; it is how we resolve it that matters.
- Experiences of conflict lead to change.
** We will compile our “favourite” examples from the text for “identity” and our favourite, meaningful, and (uncommon) parallel real-life examples. In each lesson, we will write 1-2 paragraphs on a different identity prompt and 1-2 paragraphs on language analysis based on a persuasive text and/or exam samples. Please bring a plastic-sleeve folder so that we can keep organised!
Identity
- Sometimes the groups we belong to prevent us from being ourselves.
- Having a sense of difference makes it difficult to belong.
- Discovering who we are and where we belong can be challenging.
- Rarely are we free to be who we truly want to be.
- The search to discover who we are is one of life’s greatest challenges.
- Our sense of wellbeing depends upon the groups to which we belong.
- Our connections with others make us who we are.
- The search for self is a constant struggle.
- Sometimes our inner self is at odds with the world around us.
- Each person has different identities for different relationships and situations.
- Sometimes we need to accept change in order to grow.
- The need to belong can completely change who we are.
- Sometimes we need to accept change in order to grow
- The value of identity is that it comes with a purpose.
- Over time, our identity shifts and changes.
- An individual’s sense of identity and belonging changes throughout life.
- Sometimes our inner sense is at odds with the world around us.
PLEASE NOTE:
I have a lot of essay plans and sample essays that have been modelled/perfected over the past few years. If you would like to join us for an essay writing session to perfect your skills, please fill in the contact form below. (Cost: $40 to $55 depending upon numbers – from 3 to 5 students.)
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Essay questions on the agenda
All About Eve
- How do women in the film defy or adhere to the 1950s feminine idea?
- We do not fully sympathise with Margo or Eve. Both are driven by enormous egos. Discuss.
- How does Mankiewicz encourage us to empathise with Margo Channing in spite of her flaws?
- None of her machinations ultimately make Eve happy in All About Eve. Discuss.
Mabo
- It is pride just as much as native land rights that is at stake in the story of Mabo. Discuss.
- The film is not just about racism. Discuss.
- Mabo is as much a work of fiction as it is a story of facts”. Discuss.
- Eddie is a strong but flawed hero in Mabo. Discuss.
- The refusal to accept injustice is at the heart of the film. Discuss.
- In the film Mabo, the land becomes a main character because of its significance. Discuss.
- To what extent does Perkins suggest that the Mabo decision was more significant for Australia than for Eddie Mabo personally?
- To what extent is the viewer left with a sense of optimism at the end of Mabo?
Stasiland
- “I’ve been having some odd adventures in your old country! Curiouser and curiouser – I’ve a lot to tell.” How does Funder’s perspective on coming to terms with the past evolve through her experiences in Stasiland’?
- “Things have been put behind glass, but they are not yet over”. There is no justice achieved in Stasiland. Discuss.
- Stasiland demonstrates the irrepressible power of the human spirit and that people can rise above crushing social oppression. Discuss.
- Even though the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Stasiland shows that one can never be free from the horrors of tyranny. To what extent do you agree?
- “When I got out of prison, I was basically no longer human.” What do Funder’s interviews reveal about the impact of the Stasi on its survivors?
Burial Rites
- “I am knifed to the hilt with fate.” What role does fate play in Burial Rites?
- In what ways is Agnes disempowered in Burial Rites?
- This text is about Agnes being restored to humanity
- “Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites is essentially a critique of Icelandic society and the patriarchal strictures that bind”. Discuss.