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Do Not Fight the Whole Novel at Once

A scenario-based question may look enormous, but it is usually asking you to solve one clear problem.

Before writing, identify:

• the situation;
• the central problem;
• the part of the novel you need;
• and the judgement you will make.

Practice Scenario

A family believes that educating one child will improve life for everyone. The child works hard and remains hopeful, but conflict in the community threatens both his education and his future.

Using Weep Not, Child, explain what this situation teaches us about education and hope.

Step 1: Find the Situation

A family is depending on a child’s education to create a better future.

This connects to Njoroge, whose family makes sacrifices to send him to school.

Step 2: Find the Problem

Education gives Njoroge hope, but violence and political conflict gradually destroy the peaceful future he imagines.

The question is therefore not simply:

What happens to Njoroge at school?

It is really asking:

Can education protect hope when society is affected by injustice and violence?

Aha! The question has now removed its disguise.

Step 3: Choose Useful Evidence

You could use:

• Nyokabi’s decision to send Njoroge to school;
• Njoroge’s belief that education will help his family;
• his growing academic ambitions;
• the effect of conflict on his schooling;
• and the collapse of his hopes near the end of the novel.

Do not retell every event. Select only the details that help you answer the question.

Step 4: Make a Judgement

Your judgement is the main idea you will defend.

Weak Judgement

Education is important in the novel.

Stronger Judgement

Ngũgĩ presents education as a powerful source of hope, but Njoroge’s experience shows that individual ambition cannot easily survive political violence and social injustice.

The stronger judgement tells the reader what education represents, what threatens it and what the novel finally reveals.

Build Your Answer

A strong response could follow this path:

1. Education gives Njoroge and his family hope.
2. Njoroge believes learning can change his future.
3. Conflict begins to interfere with that dream.
4. His personal hopes are damaged by problems he did not create.
5. Ngũgĩ shows that education is valuable, but it cannot remain separate from society.

Weak Opening

Njoroge is the youngest son of Ngotho. His mother sends him to school. He is happy and studies hard.

This opening tells the story, but it does not answer the problem in the scenario.

Stronger Opening

In Weep Not, Child, education represents hope for Njoroge and his entire family. However, Ngũgĩ uses the destruction of Njoroge’s ambitions to show that personal dreams are vulnerable when a society is controlled by violence, inequality and political conflict.

This opening gives a clear argument and prepares the reader for the rest of the response.

Your Turn

A student believes that patience will eventually solve every disagreement. Another student argues that remaining patient in the face of injustice can allow the problem to grow.

Using Ngotho and Boro, explain which position is better supported by Weep Not, Child.

Before writing, identify:

• the disagreement in the scenario;
• what Ngotho’s patience achieves;
• why Boro rejects his father’s approach;
• the consequences of both approaches;
• and your final judgement.

Final Learning Point

Do not rush from the scenario into the story.

First understand the problem. Then select evidence, explain its meaning and make a clear judgement.

The question gives you a problem. The novel helps you reason through it.

Give Your Answer a Backbone

Your main argument is the central judgement that controls your entire response.

Without one, an answer can become a collection of correct ideas wandering around without supervision.

A strong argument tells the reader:

• your position;
• why you hold that position;
• and what the novel reveals about the problem.

Return to the Scenario

A student believes that patience will eventually solve every disagreement. Another student argues that remaining patient in the face of injustice can allow the problem to grow.

Using Ngotho and Boro, explain which position is better supported by Weep Not, Child.

Step 1: Recognise the Two Positions

Position One

Patience protects people and allows problems to be solved peacefully.

This connects to Ngotho, who initially tries to endure injustice and protect his family.

Position Two

Patience can become dangerous when it allows injustice to continue.

This connects to Boro, who believes his father’s silence and obedience have achieved nothing.

The question asks you to examine both positions and decide which is better supported.

Step 2: Make Your Decision

The novel supports the second position more strongly: patience alone does not end injustice.

However, Boro’s violent response also creates suffering.

This gives us a balanced judgement. We do not have to pretend that one character is completely right and the other is completely wrong.

Step 3: Turn the Decision into an Argument

Use this simple pattern:

Position + reason + complication + wider meaning

Weak Argument

Ngotho is patient, while Boro believes in resistance.

This only identifies the difference.

Developing Argument

Boro’s position is stronger because Ngotho’s patience does not stop the family from suffering.

This answers the question, but it can go further.

Strong Argument

Although Ngotho’s patience begins as an attempt to protect his family, it does not prevent injustice from growing. Boro correctly recognises the need for resistance, but his violent anger creates further destruction. Ngũgĩ therefore suggests that injustice must be challenged while warning that resistance without restraint can harm the very people it is meant to defend.

Now we have an argument with a brain, a backbone and proper shoes.

Let the Argument Guide Your Paragraphs

Every paragraph should help prove part of the main argument.

Paragraph One: Ngotho’s Patience

Explain why Ngotho remains patient and how he hopes to protect his family.

Paragraph Two: The Limits of Patience

Show how continued injustice, humiliation and conflict weaken Ngotho’s position.

Paragraph Three: Boro’s Resistance

Explain why Boro rejects patience, but also examine the destructive consequences of his anger.

Final Judgement

Decide what the contrast between father and son teaches us about responding to injustice.

If a paragraph does not help prove the argument, it may be interesting—but it has wandered into the wrong essay.

The Argument Test

Before writing, ask:

1. Does my argument answer the exact problem?
2. Does it make a clear judgement?
3. Can I support it with events or characters?
4. Does it recognise complexity?
5. Can each paragraph connect back to it?

If the answer is yes, your response has direction.

Your Turn

Two young people care deeply about each other, but conflict between their families and community makes their relationship difficult.

Using Njoroge and Mwihaki, explain what Weep Not, Child teaches us about personal relationships during political conflict.

Complete this argument:

Although Njoroge and Mwihaki ________________________, their relationship is affected by ________________________. Ngũgĩ uses their experience to show that ________________________.

Now improve it by adding a clear judgement.

Final Learning Point

A topic tells the reader what you will discuss.

An argument tells the reader what you believe the novel reveals.

Decide first. Defend your decision throughout the response.

Give Every Paragraph One Clear Job

A strong paragraph does not squeeze the entire novel into one small box.

It develops one point, supports it with an accurate detail and explains how that detail answers the scenario.

Use this pattern:

Point → Text detail → Explanation → Scenario connection → Judgement

Return to the Scenario

A student believes that patience will eventually solve every disagreement. Another student argues that remaining patient in the face of injustice can allow the problem to grow.

Using Ngotho and Boro, explain which position is better supported by Weep Not, Child.

Our first paragraph will examine Ngotho’s patience.

1. Make Your Point

Begin with a sentence that supports your main argument.

Ngotho’s patience is understandable because he wants to protect his family, but it does not free them from injustice.

The sentence makes a point and gives us a direction.

2. Add a Text Detail

Select an event, decision or relationship from the novel.

He continues working for Mr Howlands on land that he believes once belonged to his ancestors because he needs to provide for his household.

You do not need to tell the reader everything that happens on the farm. Choose the detail that proves your point.

3. Explain the Detail

Now answer the important question:

What does this detail reveal?

Ngotho’s obedience is therefore not a sign that he accepts the injustice. It shows that poverty and responsibility have limited his choices.

This is analysis. It explains the meaning behind the event instead of simply repeating it.

4. Connect It to the Scenario

Return to the problem presented in the question.

His experience supports the view that patience can allow injustice to continue because Mr Howlands keeps control of both the land and Ngotho’s labour.

This sentence shows the examiner why the evidence matters.

5. Make a Judgement

End by deciding what the example proves.

Ngũgĩ therefore presents Ngotho’s patience as a method of survival, but not as an effective solution to oppression.

The paragraph has now completed its job.

The Complete Paragraph

Ngotho’s patience is understandable because he wants to protect his family, but it does not free them from injustice. He continues working for Mr Howlands on land that he believes once belonged to his ancestors because he needs to provide for his household. Ngotho’s obedience is therefore not a sign that he accepts the injustice. It shows that poverty and responsibility have limited his choices. His experience supports the view that patience can allow injustice to continue because Mr Howlands keeps control of both the land and Ngotho’s labour. Ngũgĩ therefore presents Ngotho’s patience as a method of survival, but not as an effective solution to oppression.

Why This Paragraph Works

It contains:

• one focused point;
• an accurate detail from the novel;
• an explanation of what the detail reveals;
• a connection to the scenario;
• and a concluding judgement.

Every sentence helps answer the question. Nobody is merely sightseeing inside the novel.

Weak Paragraph

Ngotho works for Mr Howlands. The land belonged to his ancestors. Boro fought in the war and became angry. There was also a strike, and Ngotho lost his job.

The information may be correct, but the paragraph:

• mixes several ideas;
• retells events;
• does not explain their meaning;
• and does not answer the scenario.

Correct information alone does not create a strong response.

Rescue the Paragraph

When a paragraph starts becoming a plot summary, pause and ask:

1. What single point am I proving?
2. Which detail best supports it?
3. What does that detail reveal?
4. How does it answer the scenario?
5. What judgement can I make?

These five questions can rescue a paragraph before it runs away with the whole story.

Your Turn:

Build a Paragraph About Boro

Complete the following:

Point

Boro rejects his father’s patience because ________________________.

Text Detail

His experience of ________________________ causes him to ________________________.

Explanation

This reveals that ________________________.

Scenario Connection

Boro’s experience supports the second student’s position because ________________________.

Judgement

However, Ngũgĩ also warns that ________________________.

Now join the five parts to create one developed paragraph.

Final Learning Point

Evidence shows what happened.

Analysis explains what it means.

Judgement shows how it answers the question.

A strong paragraph does all three.

Correct Is Not Always Complete

A student may know the characters, remember the events and still produce a weak answer.

Why?

Because knowing what happened is only the beginning. A strong response must explain what it means and how it answers the scenario.

Practice Scenario

A wealthy community leader gains favour from outsiders who control the community. Instead of using his influence to defend the people, he protects his own position.

Using Jacobo in Weep Not, Child, explain what this situation teaches us about leadership.

Weak Answer

Jacobo is a wealthy man and Mwihaki’s father. He owns land and becomes a chief. He supports the government and does not agree with Ngotho. Ngotho later attacks him during the workers’ strike.

Why Is It Weak?

The answer contains correct information, but it:

• retells facts;
• lacks a central argument;
• does not explain Jacobo’s choices;
• barely connects to the scenario;
• and gives no final judgement about leadership.

The student knows Jacobo—but Jacobo has not yet been used to answer the question.

Developing Answer

Jacobo is an example of a selfish leader because he supports the colonial government instead of helping his community. He uses his wealth and position to protect himself. This causes conflict between him and Ngotho.

This answer makes a point, but it needs more explanation and a clearer judgement.

Strong Answer

Ngũgĩ presents Jacobo as a warning about leaders who value personal privilege above responsibility to their community. As a wealthy landowner and chief, Jacobo gains power by cooperating with the colonial authorities. Instead of using that position to challenge unfair treatment, he opposes workers who demand change and becomes increasingly separated from ordinary people. His conflict with Ngotho therefore represents more than a disagreement between two men: it reveals a divided society in which some local leaders protect the system that benefits them. Like the leader in the scenario, Jacobo keeps his status but loses the trust of his community. Ngũgĩ ultimately suggests that leadership without loyalty becomes another form of oppression.

Why Is the Strong Answer Better?

It Makes a Point

Jacobo values personal privilege above responsibility.

It Uses Relevant Evidence

His wealth, leadership position and cooperation with the colonial authorities are selected carefully.

It Explains the Evidence

His choices separate him from the community and help preserve an unfair system.

It Connects to the Scenario

Jacobo behaves like the leader who protects his own position.

It Makes a Judgement

Leadership without loyalty can become oppressive.

The stronger answer does not contain more story. It contains more thinking.

Four Quick Upgrades Instead of Naming a Character

Do this:

Explain what the character represents.

Instead of Listing Events

Do this:

Select one useful event and explain its meaning.

Instead of Saying “This Shows”

Do this:

State exactly what it shows and why it matters.

Instead of Ending Suddenly

Do this:

Return to the scenario and make a judgement.

Which Answer Is Stronger?

Answer A

Mwihaki is Jacobo’s daughter and Njoroge’s friend. They attend school and enjoy talking to each other. Their families later experience conflict.

Answer B

Mwihaki’s relationship with Njoroge shows how political conflict enters private life. Although they care for each other, hostility between their families makes it difficult for their relationship to remain separate from the wider struggle.

Answer B is stronger because it uses the relationship to explain an idea instead of merely listing facts.

Improve This Answer

Mr Howlands owns the farm where Ngotho works. He came to Kenya after the war and likes the land.

Add:

1. what the land represents to Mr Howlands;
2. how his position affects Ngotho;
3. the conflict created by their different claims;
4. and what Ngũgĩ reveals about colonial ownership.

Final Learning Point

A weak answer says:

Here is what happened.

A strong answer says:

Here is what happened, what it reveals and why it answers the problem.

Do not simply prove that you read the novel. Prove that you understand it.

Give Your Ideas Somewhere to Go

A plan is not an extra punishment before the real writing begins.

It helps you choose your argument, arrange your evidence and stop Paragraph Two from mysteriously becoming the conclusion.

A useful response structure is:

1. Introduction
2. Body Paragraph One
3. Body Paragraph Two
4. Body Paragraph Three
5. Concluding Judgement

Practice Scenario

Two people claim a deep connection to the same land. One sees it as an achievement earned through personal labour. The other sees it as an ancestral inheritance taken from his family.

Using Ngotho and Mr Howlands in Weep Not, Child, explain how competing claims to land create conflict.

Step 1: Identify the Central Problem

The question is not simply asking:

Who owns the land?

It asks you to examine:

• what the land means to each man;
• why their claims are different;
• the power imbalance between them;
• and how the disagreement creates wider conflict.

Step 2: Write the Main Argument

Although both Ngotho and Mr Howlands feel personally connected to the land, their claims are not equal. Mr Howlands has the power of colonial ownership behind him, while Ngotho remembers the land as an ancestral inheritance taken from his people. Ngũgĩ uses their conflict to show that land represents identity, dignity and political power—not merely property.

This argument will guide the whole response.

The Response PlanIntroduction

Your introduction should:

• connect directly to the scenario;
• name the characters or issue;
• and present your main judgement.

Introduction Plan

• Land is important to both Ngotho and Mr Howlands.
• Each man believes he has a legitimate connection to it.
• Colonial power allows Mr Howlands to control the land.
• Their disagreement represents the wider struggle between settlers and displaced Africans.

Do not begin by narrating Ngotho’s entire family history. The introduction is a doorway, not a storage room.

Body Paragraph One: Ngotho’s ClaimMain Point

For Ngotho, the land represents ancestry, belonging and lost dignity.

Useful Text Details

• He believes the land once belonged to his ancestors.
• He works for Mr Howlands on the land he feels should belong to his family.
• His dependence on Mr Howlands makes his dispossession even more painful.

Explanation

Ngotho’s connection is historical and communal. Working on the land without owning it reminds him that his family has lost both property and control over its future.

Connection to the Scenario

Like the person claiming ancestral inheritance, Ngotho believes ownership cannot be separated from memory and identity.

Paragraph Judgement

His experience shows that losing land can also mean losing independence and dignity.

Body Paragraph Two: Mr Howlands’s ClaimMain Point

Mr Howlands sees the land as the result of his labour and personal achievement.

Useful Text Details

• He has invested his energy and identity in developing the farm.
• He regards the land as his home and source of purpose.
• He exercises authority over Ngotho and the workers.

Explanation

Mr Howlands’s attachment is genuine, but he does not fully recognise the African history that existed before his ownership. Colonial power allows his personal claim to silence Ngotho’s ancestral one.

Connection to the Scenario

Like the person who believes labour establishes ownership, Mr Howlands measures his claim through the work he has put into the land.

Paragraph Judgement

Ngũgĩ shows that personal attachment does not erase the injustice through which colonial ownership was created.

Body Paragraph Three: The Wider ConflictMain Point

The disagreement between the two men reflects a larger political struggle.

Useful Text Details

• Ngotho depends economically on the person who controls his ancestral land.
• Tension over land contributes to anger, resistance and violence.
• The conflict affects their families and the wider community.

Explanation

The land connects private pain to national conflict. What appears to be a disagreement between two individuals is part of a wider struggle over colonial control, freedom and belonging.

Connection to the Scenario

The competing claims cannot be settled fairly while one person possesses greater political and economic power.

Paragraph Judgement

Ngũgĩ presents land as one of the central causes of division because it determines who belongs, who controls and who must obey.

Conclusion

A conclusion should:

• return to the central problem;
• bring the main points together;
• and give a final judgement.

Conclusion Plan

• Both men have strong emotional attachments to the land.
• Ngotho’s claim is rooted in ancestry and dispossession.
• Mr Howlands’s claim is supported by labour and colonial power.
• Their conflict shows why colonial ownership cannot be treated as a simple property disagreement.
• The struggle for land is also a struggle for identity, dignity and freedom.

Do not introduce a brand-new character in the conclusion. That poor character has arrived after the gates have closed.

The Plan at a Glance

Main Argument

Land represents identity, dignity and power.

Paragraph One

Ngotho’s ancestral claim and loss of dignity.

Paragraph Two

Mr Howlands’s personal attachment and colonial authority.

Paragraph Three

Their conflict as a reflection of the wider struggle.

Conclusion

Colonial power makes the competing claims unequal and turns land into a source of national conflict.

Your Turn

A family places all its hope in the education of one child. However, events outside the child’s control threaten the future they imagined.

Using Njoroge, plan a response explaining what Weep Not, Child teaches us about education and hope.

Prepare:

1. one main argument;
2. three paragraph points;
3. one useful detail for each point;
4. an explanation of each detail;
5. and a concluding judgement.

Final Learning Point

A good plan does not contain everything you know.

It contains everything you need to prove your argument.

Choose. Arrange. Explain. Judge.

Put the Pieces Together

You have learned how to:

• understand the scenario;
• build an argument;
• construct paragraphs;
• and plan a complete response.

Now let us watch those pieces work together.

This model is not something to memorise. Study how it reasons, then use the method to build your own answer.

The Scenario

A family makes sacrifices to educate one child because they believe his success will create a better future for everyone. However, conflict outside the child’s control disrupts his education and destroys the future he imagined.

Using Njoroge in Weep Not, Child, explain what this situation teaches us about education and hope.

Completed Plan Main Argument

Ngũgĩ presents education as a powerful source of hope for Njoroge and his family. However, the destruction of his ambitions shows that personal effort cannot easily overcome political violence, poverty and social injustice.

Paragraph One

Education creates hope.

Evidence: Njoroge’s family makes sacrifices to send him to school.

Meaning: His education becomes a shared family dream.

Paragraph Two

Njoroge believes education can change his future.

Evidence: He works hard and imagines using education to help his family and community.

Meaning: Learning gives his life purpose and direction.

Paragraph Three

Political conflict destroys the peaceful future he imagines.

Evidence: Violence, family suffering and instability eventually disrupt his education and ambitions.

Meaning: Individual hope is vulnerable when society itself is unjust.

Conclusion

Education remains valuable, but Ngũgĩ shows that young people cannot carry the burden of repairing a broken society alone.

Model Response Introduction

In Weep Not, Child, Ngũgĩ presents education as a source of hope for both Njoroge and his family. They believe that his success at school will improve their future and offer a path out of poverty. However, Njoroge’s experience shows that hard work and ambition cannot protect a young person from political violence and social injustice. Education gives him hope, but the society surrounding him gradually makes that hope impossible to sustain.

Why This Works

The introduction:

• answers the scenario immediately;
• identifies education and hope as the main focus;
• and presents a clear judgement.

It does not begin with the entire history of the family.

Paragraph One

At the beginning of the novel, Njoroge’s opportunity to attend school represents hope for his whole family. Nyokabi wants him to receive an education, even though sending him to school requires sacrifice. Njoroge understands that the opportunity is not only for his personal benefit. His family expects his learning to create a better future for everyone. This connects directly to the family in the scenario, who place their shared hopes in one child. Ngũgĩ therefore presents education as a communal investment and a promise of change.

Why This Works

The paragraph:

• begins with one focused point;
• selects a relevant detail;
• explains why the family values education;
• connects to the scenario;
• and ends with a judgement.

Paragraph Two

Education also gives Njoroge a sense of purpose. He works hard and believes that learning will allow him to help his family and contribute to a better society. School offers him a peaceful path towards progress, unlike the anger and violence that increasingly surround his home. However, his confidence also reveals his innocence. He believes personal success can remain separate from the political struggle affecting his family and community. Ngũgĩ uses this belief to show both the power and the limitation of hope: it can guide a young person forward, but it may not prepare him for forces beyond his control.

Why This Works

The paragraph does more than say that Njoroge enjoys school. It explains:

• what education represents;
• why his hope is valuable;
• and why that hope is also fragile.

Paragraph Three

As conflict grows, Njoroge’s education and ambitions are disrupted by violence, fear and family suffering. His hard work cannot stop the political struggle from entering his private life. The future he imagined begins to collapse because the success of one student cannot repair the injustice affecting an entire community. Like the child in the scenario, Njoroge suffers because adults have placed enormous hope upon an individual who has little control over the conditions surrounding him. His disappointment therefore reveals the danger of expecting education alone to solve problems created by oppression and conflict.

Why This Works

The paragraph:

• connects Njoroge’s personal disappointment to the wider society;
• explains why his dream collapses;
• and avoids blaming him for circumstances he cannot control.

Conclusion

Njoroge’s experience shows that education can inspire ambition, dignity and hope. Nevertheless, Ngũgĩ does not present it as a magical escape from injustice. Njoroge’s dream is damaged because political conflict destroys the stable future that education promised him. The novel therefore suggests that young people need more than personal determination: they also need a society in which their hopes are allowed to survive.

Why This Works

The conclusion:

• answers the central problem;
• brings the main ideas together;
• makes a final judgement;
• and introduces no new event.

What the Model Did

The response followed a clear path:

1. Education creates family hope.
2. Education gives Njoroge purpose.
3. Conflict exposes the limits of individual ambition.
4. The conclusion gives a wider judgement.

The answer did not retell the whole novel. It selected only what was needed.

Try the Same Method

A young person tries to maintain a friendship with someone from a rival family. However, growing political and family conflict makes the relationship increasingly difficult.

Using Njoroge and Mwihaki, explain what Weep Not, Child teaches us about protecting personal relationships during conflict.

Prepare:

• one main argument;
• three paragraph points;
• one relevant detail for each point;
• and one final judgement.

Final Learning Point

A model answer is a window, not a photocopier.

Look through it to understand the method—then build an answer that belongs to you.

Learn the structure. Develop your own judgement.

The Practice Desk

Now You Hold the Pen

Choose one scenario and use the planning frame to build your response.

Do not search for a memorised essay wearing a similar hat. Examine the new problem, return to the novel and develop your own judgement.

Practice 1: Guided Response Friendship During Conflict

Two young people from families on opposing sides care about each other. They try to protect their friendship, but growing conflict forces family loyalties into their private relationship.

Using Njoroge and Mwihaki, explain what Weep Not, Child teaches us about maintaining personal relationships during political conflict.

Ideas to Consider

• the friendship between Njoroge and Mwihaki;
• the conflict between their families;
• the effect of fear and violence;
• the choices each character makes;
• and whether affection can remain separate from politics.

Your Central Decision

Does the novel suggest that personal relationships can survive political division, or does conflict eventually become too powerful?

Practice 2: Independent Response Sacrifice and Responsibility

A father accepts blame for a serious act because he wants to protect a member of his family. Some people describe his decision as heroic. Others argue that his earlier choices helped create the crisis.

Using Ngotho, assess whether his sacrifice makes him a heroic character.

Ideas to Consider

• his responsibility as a father;
• his patience at the beginning;
• his response to injustice;
• his relationship with Boro;
• his decision to accept blame;
• and the effect of his sacrifice on the family.

Your Central Decision

Is Ngotho’s sacrifice an act of courage, guilt, love—or a mixture of all three?

Practice 3: Challenge Response When Grief Becomes Violence

Two men experience war, loss and disappointment. Instead of healing, each becomes increasingly determined to defend what he believes belongs to him.

Using Boro and Mr Howlands, explain how Ngũgĩ shows that unresolved loss can lead to violence.

Ideas to Consider

• Boro’s experience of war;
• the death of his brother Mwangi;
• Mr Howlands’s attachment to the land;
• the loss experienced by Mr Howlands;
• the anger both men carry;
• and the destruction caused by their different struggles.

Your Central Decision

Does Ngũgĩ present violence as strength, revenge, grief—or the result of all three?

Reusable Response Planner1. Understand the ScenarioWhat is happening?What is the central problem or disagreement?What must I explain, discuss or assess?Which characters, events, themes or techniques will help me?2. Build the Main Argument

Complete:

Although ________________________, the novel shows that ________________________. Through ________________________, Ngũgĩ suggests that ________________________.

Now rewrite it as one clear argument:

3. Plan Paragraph OneMain PointText DetailWhat Does It Reveal?Connection to the ScenarioJudgement4. Plan Paragraph TwoMain PointText DetailWhat Does It Reveal?Connection to the ScenarioJudgement5. Plan Paragraph ThreeMain PointText DetailWhat Does It Reveal?Connection to the ScenarioJudgement6. Plan the ConclusionWhat Has the Novel Shown?What Is My Final Judgement?What Wider Lesson Can I Draw?Before You Submit

Check your response.

• Have I answered the exact scenario?
• Have I presented a clear argument?
• Does each paragraph develop one main point?
• Have I selected accurate details?
• Have I explained what the details reveal?
• Have I connected my ideas to the scenario?
• Have I made judgements instead of only retelling events?
• Does my conclusion answer the central problem?

If you can tick all eight, your response is ready to leave the house.

Final Learning Point

You do not need to know what the question will be before the examination.

You need a method that helps you think when the question arrives.

Understand. Decide. Plan. Explain. Judge.