How to Ace Year 9 English Essays?
Year 9 is an important year for students of English. In this year, students move beyond the basics of reading skills and basic writing and move onto to analysing complex texts and developing complex, sustained extended essays.
Along with increasingly complex texts, students need to start thinking about and discussing higher order techniques. When responding, students will need to discuss their findings in greater detail with a focus on developing sustained, coherent responses.
This year, you will be expected to:
Analyse the ways in which different 'text structures can be manipulated for effect'
Evaluate and integrate ideas from your assigned texts to create your own interpretations
Realise the importance of planning before writing as well as the need for the drafting process in order to produce A+ level work (an introduction to writing will be provided)
Be exposed to a wider range of forms of text compared to the junior years which are mainly novels and films
Extend your lists of vocabulary and techniques
What Are You Expected To Cover In Year 9?
One of the most important skills needed in English is being able to write an analytical essay. This entails presenting an argument about your prompt based on your assigned texts. To do this well, you will need to discuss characters, literary features, structure, themes and big ideas.
The point of the analytical essay is for you to demonstrate your ability to analyse the evidence you choose to incorporate into your essay while linking it back to the idea you’re exploring in the body paragraph. One way to approach this is to provide your own interpretation of evidence.
Structure is also just as important as the content when writing an English essay. Most of the time, particularly in Year 9, your teacher will provide you with a specific structure to follow. This tends to include:
An introduction (100 words)
Think of the introduction as a to-do list. You can always refer back to it to remind yourself of the points you need to cover and it will keep you on track so you don’t sway from the prompt in your essay. Your introduction sets the scene for the reader.3x body paragraphs (200 words each)
The most important components of your essay are the body paragraphs. That is where the bulk of your marks will come from - your analysis!A conclusion (50-100 words)
The amount of detail you include in each of your paragraphs will increase over the years. Once you reach Year 12, your essay will sit roughly around the 1000 words mark. For now, try to aim to write around 800 words. Just remember that quality always supersedes quantity. Ensure that the 800 words you write have relevance and are not just word vomit on a page.
Here are a couple of tips for you to help you prepare for any Year 9 assessments and exams like an A+ student:
Practise, practise, practise!
One of the most common sayings is 'study smarter, not harder'. This means knowing where your weaknesses lie and doing what you must to improve upon them. Don’t stick to your comfort zone too much - allow yourself to do the unfamiliar enough times to make it familiar. This will also help you build confidence within yourself when you see the progress you make.Read More!
Reading more than your assigned texts can help you improve your spelling, vocabulary and expression when writing! The more you read, the more knowledge you will gain about fluency and structure. I would recommend reading widely. This means not confining your reading to just purely manga, but also newspaper articles, novels, non-fiction texts, etc.
And that’s it for our guide to Year 9 English! We wish you and your little Year 9 all the best, and are super excited for you to engage with the course!
Check out our blog post about How to Write an Essay!
