Answer Development
The commonest reason for a low mark in a written answer is not error. It is that the answer stopped after the first sentence.
What students are actually failing to do
Asked how a writer presents a character, a student writes The writer shows that he is proud. Correct, and worth almost nothing.
They are not failing to understand. They are failing to say where it is shown, how the writing shows it, and what difference it makes. Those are three separate sentences, and no student produces them by being told to develop.
The remedy is to teach the structure explicitly, practise it in isolation, and require it until it becomes automatic.
Teaching the five parts
Name them, on the board, permanently
Point, evidence, explanation, effect, link. Write them on a poster and leave them up all year. Refer to them by name in every lesson.
Build one paragraph together
On the board, sentence by sentence, labelling each part as it is written. Take the content from the class. Do this several times before asking anyone to do it alone.
Give four parts, ask for one
Supply the point, evidence, explanation and link; ask only for the effect sentence. Then vary which part is missing. This isolates the difficulty.
Give the point and evidence only
Students supply explanation, effect and link. This is the stage most classes can reach within a fortnight.
Give the question only
The whole paragraph, unaided.
Then require it every time
A paragraph without evidence, or without an effect sentence, goes back. Consistency is what turns a technique into a habit.
Classroom techniques
The five-sentence drill
Take any one-sentence answer — a student's own, from a previous piece of work — and rewrite it as five sentences, one per part. Ten minutes, twice a week.
It is repetitive and slightly dull, and it is the most reliable way to raise written answers that exists. Most classes show a visible difference within a month.
The effect auction
Give the class a quotation. Each student writes one sentence beginning The effect on the reader is… Read several aloud; the class decides which is most precise and why.
Arguing about precision teaches more than being given a precise example.
Highlight the parts
Give students a strong model paragraph and five colours. They mark point, evidence, explanation, effect and link.
When a colour is missing from their own work, they can see it. This is far more effective than being told the sentence is absent.
Paragraph relay
In fours, each student writes one part and passes the paper on. Then the group reads the result and discusses the joins.
It makes the structure physical, and the awkward joins are the lesson.
The 'but' sentence
For older students: require one sentence per paragraph beginning It would be possible to read this as… but…
This single requirement turns description into argument and is the largest available improvement at Advanced Level.
Sentence starters to display
Put these on the wall. Students use them until they no longer need them, which is exactly the right relationship to have with a scaffold.
Point
- The writer presents…
- The poet suggests that…
- At this moment the play shows…
Evidence
- This is shown when…
- The phrase "…" indicates…
Explanation
- The word "…" implies…
- By choosing to… rather than…, the writer…
Effect
- The effect on the reader is…
- This makes the audience feel…
Link
- This prepares us for…
- This contributes to the theme of…