Paper 1: How do I start?

  1. Read the prompts – highlight key words
  2. Read the text and annotate in detail
  3. Reread the prompts – organize your annotations into sections
  4. Write your topic sentences for each section/paragraph

Paper 1: The importance of topic sentences

Topic sentences help to guide you to communicate your idea clearly and simply to your examiner. A good topic sentence should:

Be at the start of each paragraph to make the subject of the paragraph clear

Make a point related to the commentary prompts

Be clear and concise

If necessary, include a transition to link to previous ideas

Task: Highlight the topic sentences from your commentary. Consider whether they are clear, concise and related to one of the prompts given to you.

Now read the topic sentences taken from a high level essay provided by the examiners:


Task: Remind yourself of the commentary prompts:

  1. Discuss how the poet conveys the speaker’s feelings about the child weavers.
  2. By what means does the poet evoke the atmosphere of the place?
  3. Examine the importance of lines 18-20
  4. How does the poet’s use of structure contribute to your understanding of the poem?

Go back to the topic sentences used in the example and place a number by each that shows which prompt the paragraph addresses.

Extension Task: Reread the passage for question 1(a) from Ian McEwan’s The Comfort of Strangers. Follow the steps given to annotate, highlight and write your topic sentences. Aim for at least two topic sentences for each prompt.

Prompt: Comment on the speaker’s relationship to his family.

Topic sentence 1:

Topic sentence 2:

Prompt: Consider how detail is used to establish the situation.

Topic sentence 1:

Topic sentence 2:

Prompt: How does the writer suggest the unreliability of appearances?

Topic sentence 1:

Topic sentence 2:

Prompt: Examine the structure of the passage.

Topic sentence 1:

Topic sentence 2:

Commentary: Elizabeth Burge’s Ispahan Carpet

Task:

Read the topic sentences above taken from a commentary on Elizabeth Burge’s poem. Comment on whether they are good topic sentences or not. Try to highlight exactly what is effective about them and what is not. Consider how they might be improved. An example is provided. Fill in the blank box and create more comments by yourself.
Commentary: Ian McEwan’s The Comfort of Strangers

Example: Topic Sentences