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So, how do you write a good HSC essay?
As we know, success in the HSC depends largely on one’s ability to write effective extended responses. In fact, ⅗ of our total HSC mark for English is based upon essay writing. Thus, being able to tailor nuanced and insightful responses to unseen questions in a flexible and adaptive fashion is without a doubt a necessary skill to perform well in the examination. This comprehensive guide therefore, will give you tips to writing a perfect extended response, by applying the criteria of state ranking students.
The difficulties of essay writing
- Uncertainty of what is required = Many students don’t know what needs to be included in an essay. This leads to either an excess of unnecessary information or a lack of crucial essay elements - both resulting in a loss of marks.
- Poor structure = Another area that students grapple with, is constructing a well structured essay which follows a clear and logical progression of arguments and ideas.
- Lack of knowledge of text = Not knowing the text well may confuse students and leave them struggling when attempting to answer essay questions.
- Lack of knowledge of modules = Similarly, being unaware of each module’s nuances and rubrics can significantly impact a student’s ability to compose a high range essay.
Before we get into this guide however, it is critical you first understand that:
1. An essay is simply an extended response that dives into specific arguments about a text → ask yourself what you personally believe the author of your text is trying to express and appreciate that the composer has his or her own purpose when writing
2. You should already have a general understanding of the key concepts overlying the text → this can be guided by the general focus of the rubric/module
3. You then want to identify more specific concerns that branch from this core and synthesise your paragraphs around these more targeted ideas (i.e., the main ideas of your body paragraphs) → in this way, we have a central thesis (the governing idea that forms the basis of your entire response) and your supporting arguments
4. Your analysis (i.e., quotes, techniques and points) should always be built around trying to prove whatever it is that you are positioning as a central theme of concern in the text → your quotes must prove your point, so exercise good judgement when deciding which ones to incorporate in your response versus those that are less effective.
5. When you are deconstructing the evidence, pay attention to the techniques that the author is using → consider how this facilitates their representation, accentuates their ideas or focalises their concern.
TIPS TO WRITING A GOOD ESSAY
Two of the most common questions that students have regarding HSC essay writing are the following:
a. How long should a HSC essay be?
In answering this first question, it should be noted that there is no specific word count that students should abide by. Typically, essays range from 1200-1600 words. It depends on the student’s writing style and ability to cover all the necessary essay requirements within the timed conditions.
b. Should you memorise an essay for the HSC?
With regards to this second question, opinions vary. Although memorising an essay may prove risky when answering an unseen question which requires constant engagement with and integration of question specifics, memorisation of an adaptable essay or essay scaffold can significantly help with constructing a cohesive and well-structured essay. Either way, as a student, you should choose the method that seems to be more effective to you.
Now, on to the checklist.
Note that this checklist explains what you should actively do in your responses as well as avoid in order to create the perfect response. However, the way that you engage with these different criteria alongside how you control your language, express your ideas, interact with the question, and accurately perform analysis of your text will determine the final mark you receive. Therefore, this checklist serves the purpose of giving a guide on how to polish your essay and assure that your work has a solid foundation, with the subtleties and nuances of your actual response remaining something to be discussed with either a teacher or tutor.
CHECKLIST:
- First, make sure that you have a clear thesis / overarching argument underpinning your entire response (this thesis statement needs to be adapted to fit different types of questions and when practising for the exam, you want to ensure that you are able to modify and alter this statement in different circumstances).
- The thesis statement gives conceptual and thematic direction to the response
- It makes the overarching argument clear
- It gives your marker a first impression of your essay
- Secondly, the ideas you propose in the introduction must be very clear. Whilst you can signpost the main ideas you will be discussing in your introduction, more skilful students tend to integrate these ideas into a more meaningful form, by creating interconnections.
- This increases cohesion in your work
- It makes your essay sound less mechanical and robotic
- Thirdly, ensure that for each body paragraph, you have a clear topic sentence (a conceptual statement that clearly delineates what the paragraph will be about). Too often, students craft topic sentences that are either too convoluted and thus confusing, or that do not make sense.
- Keep your topic sentence as specific and targeted as it can be
- Focus on a particular issue rather than some broad idea that is too lofty
- Keep your ideas distinct
- Ensure that the quotes you select as evidence to prove your idea are supportive of whatever argument you are making in the paragraph.
- Be very critical about your evidence
- Ask yourself before analysing the quotes, whether or not it is supportive of the argument you are trying to make
- Your quotes should always build upon each other, to reach the bigger argument that you are making in your paragraph. This means that though your first or second quote might not necessarily prove your idea outright, it should nonetheless form the foundation for your other quotes
- If it does not serve either of these functions then it would be wiser to simply cut it out and find another piece of textual evidence
- Techniques that you identify should be diverse and text form specific when possible.
- Appreciate the form of the work when analysing (e.g., film, novel, play, poem etc.) and identify techniques inherent to the medium
- Avoid reusing the same technique in the same paragraph and across different paragraphs as well
- Having a good breadth of techniques that you know is a signal to the marker that you are well versed in the text
- Linking sentences should be written in a meaningful and evocative way as opposed to sounding trivial.
- Draw connections back to the question in an insightful, intentional manner
- Demonstrate to the marker a level of personal insight into the text and the question, whilst also adding your own flair to the paragraph
- Be a bit more philosophical or personal in what you say
- Make sure that the essay is written in a way that fits the focus of the module being studied (this means that the way you are analysing certain concepts should always take into consideration the general issues and concerns raised in the rubric for that module)
- The essay should feel tailored to the rubric
- In that way, your essay will also be more easily adaptable to different questions
- Ensure that they have a personal voice shining through in your response - the response should not sound robotic or mechanical, rather fluid and personal (this will be a differentiating factor between those essays which receive a perfect score versus those that just score decently well)
- This criteria is more important for Module B and C, but should be considered across all responses
- A unique and personal voice will stand out amongst responses that use the generic and bland essay voice
- You can do this by expressing your ideas in more unique and evocative ways, or even using words in slightly more interesting manners
- Finally, the essay should be wrestling with complex and sophisticated ideas rather than simple ones (of course, what is more important is that you are clearly communicating whatever it is you are trying to say- whether this is simple or complex is a secondary matter)
- Ensure that your argument has a clear ‘cause’ + ‘effect’; this can also be done by linking to private or public contexts; linking to the purpose of the module; discussing critical opinions; integrating textual integrity etc.
Want to discuss the next step? Reach out to Concept at https://www.concepteducation.com.au/enquire or email us at coordinator@concepteducation.com.au - we're always happy to help!
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