Essay Structures

Purpose

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As part of each of these modules, there will be a purpose that connects back to VCE English.

This is an introduction/revision for the basic Text Response essay paragraphs structures that you should be familiar with when writing. This is critical for Text Response - as without this, all of your essays will not be structured consistently.

This is DIFFERENT from TEEL, as TEEL is specifically for within a body paragraph, while this refers to the overall, entire essay itself.

Post-Module Learnings

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Following this module, these are the following skills you should have.

I know exactly how many paragraphs there are in a Text Response essay.

I know roughly how many sentences I need in each paragraph of my Text Response essay.

I am able to list and name the essay structures that can be used in a Text Response essay, and roughly the Body Paragraph structure that should be followed for each.

I know how to apply the Cause, Response, Outcome and Agree, Disagree, Society structures at a high level to specific topics and texts.

I am able to identify when to use which essay structure depending on the topic for Text Response, and what the topic sentences of each Body Paragraph should be at a high-level.

Content

There are two primary types of essay structures that you can use when writing a Text Response essay. The are known as the Agree, Disagree, Society structure and the Cause, Response, Outcome structure. The preferred structure is the Cause, Response, Outcome structure.

No matter which structure you choose to use, you will always have an Introduction, three Body Paragraphs and a Conclusion. This DOES NOT change regardless of which essay structure that you use.

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Note: This is really important, NEVER tell your teacher that you are using a structure taught from a tutor. There is a high likelihood they will mark you down just because you are not using what they have shown you. My recommendation is that if a teacher asks you what you have used, that you just mention how you are coming up with your own ideas, and NEVER mention Cause, Response, Outcome or Agree, Disagree, Society. Always go with your teacher’s structure if they show you one, my structures are purely designed to do well in VCE.

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Note: when studying poems for Text Response, there are two other structures that you will need to know, which we will go through here as well broadly speaking. They are the Deep, Deeper and Deepest, and also the Moving Away From, Moving Towards, Learning. For more information on these essay types, please

The name of the structure generally gives away the Body Paragraph Structure breakdown. For example, the Cause, Response, Outcome structure means that your essay will look like this:

Introduction

Typically speaking, an Introduction has between 5 to 6 sentences [assuming sentences are 33 words on average]. An introduction is between 100 to 175 words.
The five sentences in a standard Introduction are: Background Sentence, Contention Sentence, Topic Sentence 1, 2 and 3. For more information on Introductions, have a look at
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Introduction to the Introduction Paragraph.

Body Paragraph 1: Cause

Typically speaking, Body Paragraph 1, regardless of structure will have roughly 7 to 10 sentences [assuming sentences are 33 words on average]. A body paragraph is typically between 200 to 350 words.
In a body paragraph, you will typically have two Ideas.

Body Paragraph 2: Response

Typically speaking, Body Paragraph 2, regardless of structure will have roughly 7 to 10 sentences [assuming sentences are 33 words on average]. A body paragraph is typically between 200 to 350 words.

Body Paragraph 3: Outcome

Typically speaking, Body Paragraph 3, regardless of structure will have roughly 7 to 10 sentences [assuming sentences are 33 words on average]. A body paragraph is typically between 200 to 350 words.

Conclusion

Typically speaking, a Conclusion has between 2 to 3 sentences [assuming sentences are 33 words on average]. An conclusion is between 50 to 100 words.
You MUST ALWAYS write a Conclusion, even though it is not important. This is because the Conclusion is a way for teachers/examiners to check that you did not run out of time. If you do not write a Conclusion for Text Response, the teacher/examiner will assume you ran out of time.

Cause, Response, Outcome

This is a chronological structure which follows the ‘order’ of the storyline of the text that you are studying. It is the generally preferred structure now as well, as it is extremely consistent and reliable if implemented correctly.

Most often, the Topic Sentences of a Body Paragraph (unless the topic itself contains the name of a character or characters), should not mention any character names at all, and instead be more thematic and analytical about what is being mentioned.

The three body paragraphs are structured in terms of this:

Body Paragraph 1: Cause

What causes the problem mentioned in the topic?
This of this as kind of like, the beginning of the story, what happens in the beginning that results in a problem?

Body Paragraph 2: Response

How do individuals respond to the problem mentioned in the topic?
Think of this as like the middle of the story, the actions, complications and ‘conflict’ that takes place, where emotions run high.
Don’t consider it just as ‘how do people fix the problem’, it’s also, who manipulates and takes advantage of the problem.

You end up having an interesting body paragraph, where idea is more about the ‘good people’ and one idea is more about the ‘bad people’.

Body Paragraph 3: Outcome

What is the outcome of the story, is the problem solved, or does it remain?
Think of this as the ending of the story.

Let’s go through an example of how we would apply this to an essay!

Let’s look at the love tragic story of Romeo & Juliet, a text that most students should be somewhat familiar with!

The essay topic that we’re working with this:

In Romeo and Juliet, the most dangerous emotion which leads characters to their downfall is extreme love. Do you agree?

Now this topic here would be classified as a Theme-Based Topic, although it says ‘characters’, it doesn’t mention specifically which character or what group of characters.

To apply the Cause, Response, Outcome structure, we now simply have to think about how the structure works.

Cause: what happens at the beginning? Well we have two kids who fall in love too quickly and end up having to have a secret relationship that is quite chaotic and dangerous. So in a way, it is showing how love is a dangerous emotion.

Response: what happens in the middle? Well actually, love isn’t as dangerous as compared to hatred that has grown over time.

Outcome: Ultimately, the most dangerous emotion is not one emotion, but the extreme nature of your emotions, e.g. too much love that you would die for someone, or too much hatred that you would kill for someone.

Harrison Bergeron, is a similar kind of outcome.

We have a society that is way too equal, that is the cause, it is enforced by these ‘Handicapper Generals’, whose job is basically to make sure everyone are all equal.

The Response is that we have people who rebel, that protest (the person who protests is Harrison Bergeron).

Outcome, the Handicapper Generals arrive and shoot him dead.

Lets go look through another example for Ken Liu’s short story, The Paper Menagerie.

The essay topic that we’re working with is:

The representation of the Chinese-American experience in The Paper Menagerie reflects the struggle and challenges faced by immigrants and their children. Discuss.

This topic would be a Theme-Based Topic, specifically aimed at the struggles the protagonist faces throughout the story. Here, we can also apply the Cause, Response, Outcome structure.

Cause: what happens at the beginning? We have a Chinese mother and her child moving to the United States from Hony Kong, unbeknownst to the American culture and life, but still capable of appreciating their Chinese culture despite not being in the same environment.

Response: what happens in the middle? The protagonist begins his adolescence, afraid of being the black sheep and outcasted while growing up due to his different culture and traditions. Here, appreciating one’s culture is rather seen as undesired, wanting to conform to societal norms.

Outcome: what are the consequences of the action? The protagonist rather learns being unique should be appreciated and treasured, not taking other cultures for granted as its apart of one’s identity.

Another essay topic we’ll look through for The Paper Menagerie is:

‘The protagonist in The Paper Menagerie is an extreme representation of the individuals attempting to achieve the ‘American dream’.’ Discuss.

This topic is a Character-Based Topic, surrounding the protagonist’s journey towards achieving the American dream as a Chinese immigrant. We can also apply the Cause, Response, Outcome structure here.

Cause: We see the protagonist and his mother moving into American society as Chinese immigrants, immediately hindering their ability to develop, driven by prejudice within the 20th century.

Response: This prejudice drives the division between the mother and the protagonist, and abandons his Chinese culture, thus cutting off those limiting his ability to achieve the American dream.

Outcome: The protagonist is ultimately able to realise the American dream can be achieved no matter his culture, but should come without the sacrifices made, particularly being the relationship with his mother.

Let’s look at a topic for Rear Window, and apply the Cause, Response, Outcome structure to this Theme-Based Topic:

To what extent does Rear Window offer the audience a Hollywood happy ending?

Cause: Jeff initially plays with Lisa, as Stella dabbles on the topic of marriage with him, reiterating Jeff’s childish persona, also expounded on during his interaction with Doyle.

Response: Explore the narrative Hollywood action scene amidst the apartment complex, as Jeff transitions into binoculars from eyes, along with Lisa’s commencing of the common movie murder mystery in the Thorwalds’ apartment.

Outcome: While they solve the Hollywood murder mystery, it must also come with consequences, as Jeff breaks his second leg, along with Lisa and Jeff’s reconciliation, ultimately needing her to comply with traditional social norms in the role of a generic ‘woman’.

Agree, Disagree, Society

This is a somewhat chronological structure, so you should try and follow the ‘order’ of the storyline of the text as much as possible. This is really useful for specific topics that end with ‘Do you agree’ or ‘To what extent do you agree?’ For these kinds of topics, you should NEVER just purely agree or disagree, you should always show both sides, which is where this structure comes in handy!

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Note: there is a dangerous with this structure, you can’t agree and disagree and CONTRADICT yourself, e.g. in the first body paragraph you say, in Romeo and Juliet, love is the strongest emotion, and then say in the second body paragraph that hatred is the strongest emotion. You need to be careful not to CONTRADICT what you say.

We will go through this structure in more detail in this module:

Simply put, your body paragraphs are as follows:

Body Paragraph 1: Agree

Agree with the topic, try and find moments in the Text at the beginning at least where we have scenes that agree with the topic.

Body Paragraph 2: Disagree

Disagree with the topic, make sure that you don’t contradict yourself compared to Body Paragraph 1.

Body Paragraph 3: Society

What is the lesson/learning at the end of the Text for society? Is it that we have to be careful of having too much love and passion? Or is it that being racist or sexist is not a good idea? Think about who gets punished in the Text, who wins and who loses, losers probably lost for a reason, what was that reason?

If you’re really curious how to not contradict yourself with the Agree/Disagree part, a basic explanation is as follows:

You would say, you agree with the topic but only to an extent, e.g. Love is the most dangerous emotion only when it involves a pair of individuals rushing into a decision.

Then you would say in BP2, the disagree part, actually well, hatred is the most powerful emotion when it is left to grow and develop inside an individual.

Hopefully that makes sense, you would agree in certain instances, and disagree in certain instances that don’t overlap to avoid contradictions!

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You make the situation more specific to avoid any contradictions.

Let’s take a look at an example of this structure with Ken Liu’s short story, The Paper Menagerie.

The essay topic we will be discussing is:

The protagonist’s mother is the driving force behind shaping the protagonist’s cultural identity and self understanding in The Paper Menagerie. Discuss.

This topic would be classified as a Character-Themed Topic. Now, lets apply the Agree, Disagree, Society structure to this topic.

Agree: Yes, the protagonist’s mother does shape the protagonist’s identity, through the use of the paper menagerie when he was younger, implmenting their original chinese culture into the malleability of his memories.

Disagree: Yet, the malleability of his memories come at the cost of society’s impact, rather being the driving force behind the protagonist’s identity and understanding of culture, ultimately choosing to abandon his Chinese heritage to be more accustomed with the American culture.

Society: In doing so, the story comes back full circle, with the protagonist’s mother being the reason for his desire to reconnect with his Chinese heritage, guiding readers to realise uniqueness and being culturally different isn’t always something that should be hidden as it’s apart of one’s identity.

Let’s look at another topic for The Paper Menagerie:

‘The Paper Menagerie is an understatement of the portrayal of the immigrant experience.’ Do you agree?

This topic is a Theme-Based Topic. We can apply the Agree, Disagree, Society structure here.

Agree: Yes, the beginning of the story captures the immediate prejudice and uneasiness given towards Chinese immigrants, outcasted within American societies.

Disagree: Despite this, the main protagonist is still able to overcome cultural barriers to succeed in the American society, rather challenging the negative stereotypes of the immigrant experience.

Society: In this, the protagonist is able to depict cultural acceptance and growth within these prejudiced societies into the modern era as the these outcasted individuals are no longer associated with just being ‘an immigrant’.

Here’s another example topic to look through for The Paper Menagerie:

How does the isolation and loneliness of the protagonist catalyse the diversion of the protagonist from his Chinese culture in The Paper Menagerie?

This is a Question-Based Topic. Let’s apply the Agree, Disagree, Society structure here again.

Disagree: No, the protagonist and his mother are able to find solidarity within each other, through the paper menagerie, relating back to their Chinese culture despite being in an isolated American society.

Agree: Despite this relationship, the protagonist prioritises the development of his own success, already hindered by his Chinese culture and thus catalyses his diversion from his original culture by believing isolation is the key to prosperity.

Society: Through this, the protagonist is able to realise isolation is what drove him away from his Chinese culture, and ultimately negatively influencing his ability to reconnect with his mother as well as his original traditions.