ESSAYS – PART 1

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN 1. Correct and effective essay paragraph structure: S.E.X.I.

2. Why you need to start making Essay Plans (the secret to writing a fantastic essay)

3. How to make your own Essay Plans

THE IMPORTANCE OF ESSAY WRITING

SUBJECTS THAT REQUIRE ESSAY WRITING

English

History

Classics

Languages

Drama

Media Studies

Biology

Even physics!

There’s no denying that essays are a prominent feature in many different subjects...

ESSAY STRUCTURE

WHAT MAKES AN ESSAY GOOD?

Structure! All essays need:

An Introduction

Paragraphs

A Conclusion

ESSAY PARAGRAPHS And in turn, every paragraph needs to have proper structure. The key to giving every paragraph in every essay you write good structure is:

S.E.X.I.

S.E.X.I.

S: Statement

Every paragraph needs to start with a statement that lets the reader know what

the paragraph is going to be about.

S.E.X.I.

E: Explanation

The bulk of each paragraph should be your explanation of the point you’re making in that paragraph.

S.E.X.I. X: Example

Try to support every explanation with at least 1 example to

support the things you have said in that paragraph.

eg, a fact, a quote, statistic

S.E.X.I. I: Why is your point important?

An A-grade essay will link the point of each paragraph

back to the main purpose of the essay.

i.e. Why is what you have said in this paragraph

relevant, significant, or important with respect to the essay topic?

PRACTISE YOUR ESSAYS USING SEXI

Make sure all of the practice essays you write during your exam

study have the SEXI structure

You need to get in to the habit of using the SEXI structure before

your exams

ESSAY PLANS

TSG

WHY YOU NEED TO MAKE ESSAY PLANS

They only take 5 to 10 minutes to make, and will save you SO much more time

while you’re writing your essay

They prevent you from forgetting important points to include in your essay

They ensure that you use the S.E.X.I. structure for every paragraph in your essay

They give your essay bulletproof structure

WHAT IS AN ESSAY PLAN? An Essay Plan is simply an outline of what the S.E.X.I of each

paragraph in your essay will be.

Here’s an example...

EXAMPLE ESSAY PLAN This is an Essay Plan for the

essay question: Discuss how different features of a film contribute to the film’s setting.

We have chosen to discuss the film The Matrix

You can see that each paragraph uses the S.E.X.I. structure

THE BENEFITS OF ESSAY PLANS They make writing the actual essay so much easier

Once you have an Essay Plan, all you need to do to write your essay, is to

‘fill out’ each S.E.X.I. point in full

In other words, your essay will be an expanded, fully written form of

your Essay Plan

The beauty of making Essay Plans is that you don’t have to worry about what

to write next when you’re writing your essay – all of your points are already in

your Essay Plan!

USE THE ESSAY PLAN TEMPLATE

Make your own Essay Plans using our template document!

Includes an example Essay Plan you can follow to make your own

Simply print off the template page and use to make your own

WHAT YOU’VE LEARNT TODAY

1. Why mastering essay writing is important

2. Proper essay structure and proper paragraph structure (S.E.X.I.)

3. Essay Plans — why you need to make them and how to make your own

GOT A QUESTION FOR US?

help@thestudygurus.com

GOOD LUCK!