an argument that follows a series of steps that lead clearly towards a conclusion

language structures that are used within a text in order to connect ideas together

the effect created by choosing serious, factual language

information or facts to show something is true

Writing the first half of an essay

English

Understanding the structure, features and purpose of an essay

Researching the polar regions and their importance

Researching the threats to the polar regions

Preparing to write an essay

Writing the second half of an essay

Making a speech about the effects of climate change on the polar regions

In this unit, pupils learn techniques to develop the strength of their argument throughout an essay. In 'Ancient Islamic Civilisation: Essay Writing', pupils will learn to further finesse the skills of persuasive and credible essay writing.

In 'The Empire Windrush: Essay Writing', pupils learnt to base an essay on research around the Windrush Generation and their experiences of arriving and staying in Britain. In this unit, pupils will learn techniques to develop the strength of their argument throughout an essay.

In this unit, pupils learn about how climate change is affecting the polar regions. They organise their knowledge into a clear essay structure with an introduction, paragraphs and a conclusion. They then write an essay that outlines how climate change is negatively impacting the polar regions.

Polar regions: essay writing

Which of the following language features help to create a formal tone?

The Arctic might be very cold, but loads of people live there. 

The Arctic is very cold; however, many people still live there. 

The Arctic's cold, but it's not completely uninhabited.

Which of these sentences uses an appropriately formal tone for our essay?

Which paragraph of our essay is **not** likely to include evidence?

What type of evidence is used in this sentence? 'Because their snow and ice reflect the Sun’s heat back into space, the polar regions play an important role in keeping the Earth’s temperature down.'

Which of these linguistic features are included here? 'These polar regions are unique: they are largely uninhabited, they are completely treeless and they are so cold that even the sea freezes over.'

Which of the words in the following sentence could be considered subject-specific vocabulary? 'The Arctic permafrost also plays an important role: it traps carbon in the ground.'

Polar regions are threatened and we are doing enough to protect them.

Polar regions are threatened and we are not doing enough to protect them.

Polar regions are threatened, but there is nothing we can do to protect them.

Which of these best describes the conclusion of our essay?

The polar regions help regulate the climate. 

If the polar ice caps melt further, the sea level will rise.

Arctic sea ice is also an important animal habitat. 

My main concern is that polar bears' habitats will disappear.

Which point is **not** appropriate to include in our essay?

These regions help regulate the world’s climate.

The polar regions are Antarctica and the Arctic.

Not enough progress to tackle climate change is being made.

Which idea would come last in our logical argument?

semi-colon to connect closely-related sentences

Which linguistic features are included here? 'The sea ice, which is a habitat for polar bears, is melting rapidly; as a result, their population has declined 40% in some areas.'

What punctuation might be missing from this sentence? 'Greenpeace is campaigning to stop oil drilling in the Arctic in addition, hunting for polar bears was banned in 1973 after a WWF campaign.'

What type of connection has been made between the ideas in the following passage? 'Although Antarctica is not part of any country, it is home to scientists from 29 countries (at 70 scientific bases).'

Writing the first half of an essay

Lesson outcome