Understanding the structure, features and purpose of an essay
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify the logical argument of an essay and I can identify an essay’s linguistic features in a model.
Key learning points
- The purpose of an essay can be to present a coherent argument in response to a stimulus or question.
- Understanding the question is critical to a successful essay answer.
- An essay can attempt to persuade the reader of a certain viewpoint.
- An essay follows a logical argument going step by step towards a conclusion.
- A range of linguistic features contribute to the formal tone of an essay and make it persuasive.
Keywords
Essay - a piece of writing that explores arguments about a particular issue
Logical argument - an argument that follows a series of steps that lead clearly towards a conclusion
Evidence - information or facts to show something is true
Linguistic features - language structures that are used within a text
Common misconception
Pupils may believe that an essay is always a two-sided discussion leading to the writer's own conclusion.
In this unit, we will write a one-sided essay, which makes the argument posed in the title; we will avoid presenting this as the writer's own opinion.
Teacher tip
For complete lessons on any of the linguistic features in this lesson, refer to our KS2 Grammar units.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the sentences below would best follow this sentence? 'Many woodlands in the UK have been cut down.'
Q2.Which of these sentences begin with fronted adverbials?
Q3.The following sentence consists of which sentence type? 'Britain's woodlands, which are ancient, are at risk of disappearing.'
Q4.Which part of the following adverbial complex sentence is the subordinate clause? 'When woodlands are destroyed, habitats are lost.'
Q5.Which of these sentences uses brackets for parenthesis correctly?
Q6.Which fronted adverbial could fill in the gap in the following sentence? 'Forests are important habitats for insects. __________, they are home to many plant species.'
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is an essay?
Q2.Which of these essay titles suggest an essay that gives just one side of the argument?
Q3.What are the features of a logical argument?
Q4.Which of the below are types of evidence we can use to support a logical argument?
Q5.What type of evidence is used in the following sentence? 'In fact, woodlands support over 60% of the UK’s woodland birds.'
Q6.What type of evidence is used in the following sentence? 'According to conservation specialists, an additional £500 million per year is needed for conservation efforts to be effective.'
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Understanding the structure, features and purpose of an essay, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Understanding the structure, features and purpose of an essay, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the Polar regions: essay writing unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.