essay analysis

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

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Unseen prose

In your examination you will be asked to analyse and evaluate an unseen nineteenth-century prose extract.

Essay writing tips

Before you start writing your essay, you should spend five or ten minutes reading the extract, highlighting / underlining anything you feel is important and planning what you will write. Think about how you can break down your answer into logical paragraphs.

A good approach to begin with is to highlight any language or narrative techniques which relate to the key terms of the question. In the sample question the key terms you must think about are ‘the character’s feelings and reactions’, ‘how other characters react towards them’ and ‘the writer’s use of language, structure and form’ .

Make sure you address each of these three areas and use the key terms throughout your essay. This helps to keep your answer focused as you create your argument.

Here are some questions which may guide your reading of this extract.

Language and stylistic devices

It is also important to include comments on the effects of the writer’s craft and the use of language and stylistic devices. Here are some ideas to look for:

You should use short quotations from the extract to support your ideas.

GCSE Subjects GCSE Subjects up down

How to structure a GCSE English Literature essay

26th July 2021

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Learning how to improve your structure when writing essays can make a big difference to your grade. Your GCSE English essay structure will not only help your examiner read and understand your essay with ease, it can also help your flow of writing when taking the exam.

We’ve listed out our top writing tips to help you with the structure of essay writing in English Literature.

And if you need a bit more help, we’ve got you covered: sign up for a   free trial of Your Favourite Teacher   to access 16 English Language and 14 English Literature courses.

Sign up for a free trial

1. Understand the assessment objectives

Blogs_Structuring an Essay Icon 01

Before you even get into the exam hall, it is crucial to understand what is expected of you for each English Lit essay. You might have already come across the AO’s (Assessment Objectives). These are universal across all exam boards, and they are used by examiners to mark your essay. 

Below are all the   Assessment Objectives   that your essay will be marked against. It is important to note that you will not be expected to have an equal amount of each AO in your essay, however evidence of each must be present to avoid losing marks.

Blogs_Structuring an Essay - Table

2. Spend 10-15 minutes highlighting, annotating and planning

Read the question carefully.

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Now that you know what you’ll have to include in your essay, you can tackle the question and begin essay planning. The first thing you should do when faced with the question is to read it a few times to ensure you’ve fully understood it. 

Highlight and annotate

A top tip is to highlight the important words in the question. You can then start to annotate your paper. You might have an extract or poem, and even if you know what quotes or points you will make, it is best to read it through and annotate. You’ll likely find that more ideas float into your head whilst doing so, and it will help you when you write out your plan.

Plan your essay structure and ideas

It might be tempting to jump straight into writing your essay. Whilst you may have a clear idea of what you’ll write, it is always a better idea to write out a plan. This will ensure your essay flows and has a clear structure, and will also prevent your mind from going blank halfway through your exam.

Every student has a different way of writing a plan; you might like to create tables, whilst others prefer mind maps. But every plan should have the following:

A brief outline of your introduction

3 main points/arguments

Quotes to back up your arguments (and a note of the technique the writer is using)

Relevant contextual points for each point

A brief outline of your conclusion

This might look like a lot, but a detailed plan will actually save you time in the exam. Imagine how much longer you would spend searching for quotes or trying to come up with ideas! You should spend around  10-15 minutes  in total reading the question, highlighting, annotating and planning.

3. Start with the introd uction

Blogs_Structuring an Essay Icon 03

Now that you know how to plan, what content should you actually write in each section of your essay? The best place to start with any essay is an introduction. This is a short summative paragraph that will let your examiner know what you will be writing about, also known as a thesis statement. 

The first thing you’ll need to do is address the question. Think about your overriding point or argument, or the bigger picture of your essay. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate, complex idea, but as long as your examiner has a clear understanding of your overall argument, then you’re good to go!

Top tip : Why not weave some context into your introduction? If you can think of a relevant point to back up your overall argument, it will really show off your understanding of the text. 

4. Write the main body

body of essay

While every essay will look different, you should generally aim to include three main points in the main body. You can structure this however you please, but keep in mind that you should use body paragraphs correctly. 

Each paragraph should explain  how  the writer makes his or her point. For example, “Shakespeare uses metaphors to depict Macbeth’s deterioration into an obsessive tyrant”. Then, you should give evidence to support your point in the form of a quote. 

After giving your evidence, you are free to analyse the quote. For top marks, you’ll really want to pick apart the quote, but your analysis should always be relevant to the point you have made. You might also explore alternative interpretations to really elevate your point, as it shows you have a wider understanding of the text.

By now, you will have included AO1, AO2 and AO4. Context (AO3) should be weaved in wherever relevant to your argument. However, wherever you decide to add context, always ensure it is relevant to your point. It is better to include fewer contextual points that actually back up your argument, than trying to add too much random context.

Top tip : If you struggle with structuring the main body of your essay, use the PETAL paragraphs:

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

5. Finish with the conclusion

conclusion essay

The conclusion is the least important part of your essay, but you still need to always include one. It is a great way to summarise your points and explain your overall stance on the question.  If you don’t have time to make it the best that you can, don’t worry.  

The best way to do this is by writing a summative sentence for each of your main points. It is great if you can weave in some context too, but again, make sure it is relevant to what you’re writing. 

You should also include a concluding sentence that might explore a wider social question or a wider point. To put it simply, you should try and make a point about the writer’s overarching intention, and perhaps how it might have impacted society.

To put these tips into practice, download our   GCSE English Literature essay plan worksheet.

Study For   GCSE English Literature   with Your Favourite Teacher

Now that you’re a pro at structuring your English Literature essays, you can learn and revise your novels, poems and plays!

At Your Favourite Teacher, we have 14 English Literature courses that cover everything you’ll need to know to ace your GCSE English Literature essay. Each course is made up of multiple lessons that cover everything from context to character analysis and key themes. And each lesson comes with videos, quizzes, worksheets and more to make sure you’re fully prepared.

Summary: How to Structure a GCSE English Literature Essay

What are you waiting for?   Sign up for a free trial   to start learning today. 

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Writing a Conclusion

Writing a Conclusion

Writing a conclusion is about finishing an essay. There is no substitute for practice when it comes to writing a good conclusion to an essay. Many people are so relieved to have finished making careful points which are fully supported by evidence and explanation, that they tail off, or, even worse, fail to write a conclusion at all. Yet an excellent conclusion is as important as an excellent introduction - it is the last impression your essay will make on the reader.

Try this quiz to revise the techniques of effective conclusion writing.

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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

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Judd Rosenblatt

To Kill a Mockingbird  Essay

        “It is not what an author says, but what she whispers which is most important. In other words, one must read in between the lines to discover the subtler meaning of novels. This is true for To Kill a Mockingbird  by Harper Lee.

        Understanding of the many themes in To Kill a Mockingbird  is attained only by reading in between the lines.  A major one of these themes is dignity as Harper Lee presents a clear picture of which characters are dignified.  She does not clearly state which characters are dignified, but she utilizes actions to differentiate between the dignified and the undignified.  Amongst the poor folk, the Cunninghams have dignity and the Ewells lack it.  The Cunninghams pay back everything they borrow.  One Cunningham turned the racist mob away from Atticus and Tom Robinson; another almost voted for Tom’s innocence at his trial.  This virtuous behavior proves the Cunninghams to be dignified.  While the Cunninghams’ good deeds demonstrate their dignity, the Ewells’ actions prove them undignified.  They live unhealthily off the town’s welfare and the father, Bob Ewell, selfishly causes the death of an innocent man and tries to kill two innocent children.  Of the rich people in Maycomb, Atticus holds dignity while Miss Stephanie lacks it.  Miss Stephanie lies, exaggerates, and gossips about the town’s affairs.  Harper Lee whispers Miss Stephanie’s dignity deficiency through her undignified actions, but never labels Miss Stephanie as undignified.  Although the author does not describe him as dignified, Atticus is a moral man who considers all possible implications before he acts.  He also undertakes the responsibilities that everyone else refuses and shuns such as defending Tom Robinson.   Harper Lee whispers the theme of dignity through the characters’ actions; their actions are clear, but the theme of dignity is subtler and more important.

        If one reads To Kill a Mockingbird  without pondering the author’s title choice, one remains unaware of the book’s true meaning.  Harper Lee characterizes mockingbirds through Atticus warning Jem that it is a sin to kill a mocking bird and Miss Maudie saying that mockingbirds are harmless creatures that only make sweet music for people to enjoy.  In their own way, both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are harmless mockingbirds who do no wrong.  As a good neighbor, Boo warms Scout with a blanket and leaves Jem and Scout gifts.  Most important, he saves the lives of Jem and Scout by killing Bob Ewell.  These achievements are Boo’s “sweet music.”  Boo is a harmless mockingbird because when he is not doing good deeds, he reclusively stays in his house, never harming people.  Harper Lee does not term Boo as a mockingbird, but she endorses this theory through Scout saying that prosecuting Boo would be similar to killing a mockingbird.  Furthermore, if Heck Tate had reprimanded Boo, it would have been the equivalent of killing a mockingbird. Tom Robinson is another mockingbird.  He lives a peaceful life, minding his own business, except when he charitably helps those he pities.  Unfortunately, his benevolence in aiding Mayella Ewell in her chores leads to his death, the death of a mockingbird.  While Harper Lee never identifies Tom as a mockingbird, she does confirm this comparison by means of Mr. Underwood’s editorial in which “he likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children.”  From this evidence, the readers can be certain that the jury committed the most debauched sin of the book, killing a mockingbird, when they declared Tom guilty of murder.  In order to understand the title, one must listen to Harper Lee’s whispers which illustrate the meaning of a mockingbird and identify Tom and Boo as metaphorical mockingbirds.

        Comprehension of the many metaphors Harper Lee employs in To Kill a Mockingbird  entails serious thought because Harper Lee only whispers them.  She elucidates a metaphor through Atticus saying, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what."  Courage binds together the metaphor between Mrs. Dubose overcoming her morphine addiction and Atticus defending Tom Robinson because undertaking either task requires courage.  Additionally, they both are unpopular and motivated by self-respect.  Atticus explains his inspiring self-respect when he says that he would have been able to face neither himself nor his children if he did not take the Robinson case.  Defending Tom was unpopular in Maycomb as almost everyone was angry and disrespectful towards Atticus and his children.  Atticus also explains that Mrs. Dubose admirably wanted to die “beholden to nothing and nobody,” including her unpopular morphine addiction.  Harper Lee never overtly explains this metaphor, but she whispers it to those who will listen to certain similarities between Mrs. Dubose defeating her morphine addiction and Atticus defending Tom Robinson.

        “It is not what an author says, but what she whispers which is most important.”  This holds true for To Kill a Mockingbird .  It contains themes such as dignity which are not obvious in the text, but which Harper Lee implies.  She also does not clearly state the connection between Mrs. Dubose overcoming her morphine addiction and Atticus defending Tom Robinson, but she whispers the metaphor through the characters’ similar qualities and motivations.  Another implicit aspect of the book is its title’s subtle relevance to the text.  To kill either Tom Robinson or Boo Radley is to kill a mockingbird because they are metaphorical mockingbirds.  None of these ideas is explained in the text; Harper Lee softly whispers them.

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The Confident Teacher is a blog by teacher and author, Alex Quigley ( @AlexJQuigley )

The Confident Teacher

How to Train a GCSE Essay Writer

I have written a countless number of essays. At school, university, and back at school again, showing my students how to do it. In my fourteen years teaching I must have modelled hundreds of essays. I have likely set and assessed thousands of the blighters.

My go-to strategy has always been to model the essay writing process, to make visible how an expert essay writer thinks. Students are often left baffled by how fast I can make decisions about my essay, how I can pluck sophisticated academic words seemingly from the ether, and then write with speed as well. With sore hands and muffled complaints, students have been pulled along on the path from novice to expert.

In my recent thinking on assessment – see my blog on ‘ The Problem with Past Papers ‘ for more – I have looked to go further and to seek out deploying more effective diagnostic assessments to help my students develop their essay writing skill.

I gave the example in my last blog of setting ‘ An Inspector Calls ‘ essay to my year 10 class, in preparation for them doing a summative essay writing task.  [Dear reader, those essays sit in my work bag right now, taunting me] I described how my students had so many errors and gaps in their knowledge with their last essay, that it made my feedback scattergun and not as effective as it could be.

I went onto write the following about the complexity of essay writing:

“They had to play the ‘big game’ of remembering quotes, writing insights about character, theme, social context, all in a coherent argument structure, with written accuracy, without the practice and focus on knowledge to do all of these things fluently.”

In truth, writing a good essay takes a host of knowledge and expertise. For English Literature then, we need to distill down that complexity into more manageable diagnostic assessments, so that our students can gradually develop from their novice status towards something like expertise. To use an analogy, writing a great essay is like the creation of a strong rope, with each sub-strand being woven together in unison. Each strand of the rope can represent the crucial knowledge required for essay writing success.

If we are to teach great essays, then we need to define the strands that will be woven together to form the rope. For my GCSE students, you can refer to the exam board rubrics, but they too often prove vague and not as definitive as we would like. My judgment is that the key strands of the great essay writing ‘rope’ comes down to students knowing (declarative knowledge) and doing (summative knowledge) the following:

I think we can get lost down the rabbit hole discussing the meaning and difference between words like ‘ evaluate ‘ and ‘ analyse ‘. I have ignored exam rubrics for this reason. I am confident that if my students could address the above strands, practising each in isolation, before, over time, weaving them together into the ‘rope’ of a full, expert essay, that my students would write great essays for any English Literature qualification.

I think there is something useful about the order in which I have presented the strands above. By beginning with the ‘ big picture ‘ of the social and literary context, we give our students a schema – or a broader framework – in which to root their knowledge of the text. If the text is ‘ Animal Farm ‘, they need to see the big picture of Communism and Russian history (1), linked to the characters and themes (2), that are couched in a dystopian fairytale (3). Given that ‘ big picture ‘, they can begin to select evidence and make inferences and interpretations from the text.

Assessing Strand 1

Let’s take the first strand and consider how we can use diagnostic assessments to better develop their ability to ‘ Display knowledge and understanding of how the social context influences the writer and their text (including how different audiences may respond to the text) ‘, long before they are asked to do so in the ‘ big game ‘ of writing a full, timed essay.

I think the different strands lend themselves to different diagnostic assessments. Knowledge and understanding of social context lends itself to cumulative quizzing . If we take ‘ Animal Farm ‘ once more, then a regular quiz to consolidate which historical figures are represented by which characters in the novella. This is crucial ‘base knowledge’ and can be assessed rather simply. Once students have consolidated these basic facts, they can begin to display understanding of those characters: how they change; their relationships with other characters; the themes and ideas they relate to, and their symbolism etc.

Another apt assessment for strand 1 would be using  graphic timelines , both for how the text fits in a broader literary tradition, as well as a timeline for the text itself (for example, with Animal Farm , the characters actions neatly translate to historical acts, such as the Russian revolution etc.)

If we are looking to diagnose our students’ understanding of different audience responses to a text, another approach is using other types of graphic organisers , such as a Venn diagram , a ‘ mind map’ , or an ‘event map’ – see here :

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

We can begin to increase the degree of challenge, and the related complexity of the diagnostic assessment, by getting students to relate their knowledge of a contextual factor to themes in the text, as well as the audience’s interpretation of theme and context. Here ‘ short answer questions ‘, that require a paragraph length response, are more appropriate assessment tools. It is this progression of assessment that is important.

Still, we must hold our nerve that doing smaller, more precise diagnostic assessments better secures their knowledge and understanding than playing the ‘ big game ‘ of writing multiple essays. I haven’t even mentioned the potential reduction in teacher marking. [Ignores siren calls from the marking unceremonious neglected in my school bag]

Assessing Strand 4

Now, you may have noted that I missed out strands 2 and 3, but I wanted to address the use of evidence, particularly the use of quotations, given this is a real pressure point with the new GCSEs, due to the nature of the closed book examinations.

There has been much gnashing of teeth at the prospect of students memorising over 200 quotations for English Literature. It certainly will separate out children who are trained to remember quotations effectively and cumulatively, over those who are not, but given the challenge, we should deploy good diagnostic assessments that not only help us grasp our students’  current progress, but actually help them reinforce their memory and understanding of quotations.

As indicated in the wording of strand 4, ‘ select, retrieve and interpret evidence (predominantly in the form of quotations) ‘, we can more effectively separate out what we want our students to know and can do with evidence from the text.

We often miss out the ability to ‘ select ‘ quotations as a first step. We need to train our students to pick the ‘right’ quotes. With tongue in cheek, I often describe the right quotes to learn as ‘ Swiss-Army-Quotes ‘. That is to say, those quotations that you can use for a multitude of essay questions, as they encompass many different ideas, themes or issues from the given text. An effective essay writer can only store so many quotations, so they need to be pertinent and selected judiciously.

In terms of diagnostic assessments for selecting good quotations, we can start with using multiple choice questions that get students to correctly relate quotations to individual characters or themes. We can get students to rank order quotations with regard to their relevance, relative importance etc. We can get them to select quotations when given a specific character, theme or prospective essay question.

If we want to test and learn how well our students ‘ retrieve ‘ quotations then we can set them timed challenges – with a ‘ Quotation Quest ‘ (a challenge to collate key quotes for whatever purposes that you identify)  which proves great for competition; or we can quiz them on what chapter/stave/stanza/page quotations are from. Alternatively, or concurrently, we can get students to devise a quotation timeline , that sorts quotations by chronological order, and more.

With each of the ‘ select ‘ and ‘ retrieve ‘ diagnostic assessments, we can, if we choose to, record their relative progress. It is relevant, over time, we can increase the degree of challenge for these tasks by factoring in timed conditions.

When it comes to ‘ interpret ‘, we need different, more nuanced diagnostic assessments.  Short answers quizzes can get students to respond to individual quotations. We can assess their understanding in such quizzes. We can assess them orally, with a ‘ Just a Minute ‘ activity, whereat they have to say as much as they can about a given quotation. Of course, targeted questioning can elicit how well they can interpret a quotation. I like the idea, rather than tackling essays, or PEE paragraphs (PEAL, PETAL, whatever you call it!), of doing what Katie Ashford labels ‘ show sentences ‘ (see here for more: ‘ Beyond the Show Sentence ‘): effectively a concise response to a given quote.

Of course, after we have honed and assessed this more precise textual knowledge, we can more consistently combine ‘ select ‘, ‘ retrieve ‘ and ‘interpret ‘ procedural knowledge in singular tasks. Over time, we can be more assured they are ready to write a great essay. What we need to do is use diagnostic assessment – testing as learning – to ensure that students can automatically select the ‘right’ quotes, retrieve them quickly, before interpreting them skillfully.

Tying it all together 

I know English teachers have enough to do, but if we are devote our time, it shouldn’t be wading through endless mock exams; it should be developing our subject knowledge – particularly our text specific insights – and developing and sharing better diagnostic assessments for the texts that we teach.

It may mean that we have to reconsider our typical teacher habits and go back to the drawing board with assessment of texts. If we get our assessment of learning right, we will likely be marking fewer, but better essays. After spending countless hours marking a few thousand, I’m ready for better essays!

Read PART TWO – the follow up outlining the seven strands. 

There is obviously work to do with regard to the assessment strands that I have outlined above and the attendant range of diagnostic assessments. If you have any insights, criticisms or ideas, please do share.  I aim to follow up this blog with a completed set of essay writing strands, with ideas for apt diagnostic assessments, but I would welcome input, suggested changes, and any additional ideas before I do that. 

Cover image via PhotoSteve101 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5418402840

20 thoughts on “How to Train a GCSE Essay Writer”

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A colleague and I are working on something similar for KS3. Frustrated by the idea that pupils work on GCSE style essay questions from the outset, we have tried to identify the constituent skills necessary for good essay writing and express these as a series of broad questions (loosely based on the AOs). This allows us to work on each strand separately in the various ways you suggest: not simply writing paragraphs or attempts at essays. We can work on each element until it is learned. Used formatively, this approach has allowed us to quickly identify areas for improvement. As our summative assessment for a Y7 poetry SOW we used the questions as the basis of a guided write – 5 minutes for each section. This allowed all pupils to attempt each element. We were surprised by the results: pupils wrote freely and imaginatively (without frames or PEE) and weaker pupils managed to respond to all elements in a way which they had not been able to when faced with an essay question.

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Really interesting. I think the instinct is to follow the GCSE backwards through KS3, but the temptation appears too much to follow the GCSE assessments and we *can* lose sight of the learning.

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An excellent piece Alex. I do something similar with Religious Studies and Law. Teaching essay skills is probably the hardest thing I do!

Good to know my struggles aren’t in isolation!

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Great post. I guess another developmental strategy would be the actual building of writing speed and stamina once all knowledge is in place. Mini essays with 2 quotes moving eventually towards full essays?

I am wary of adding strands and losing sense of what is to be learned. I wonder whether the technique at speed, as you describe would be a natural outcome of do the other strands well. I.e. if you really know how to take the evidence and use it then you simple write quicker; make better choices. Perhaps that is idealistic, but valid I think.

I agree with you, it should facilitate the development, especially in terms of speed, but stamina is perhaps anther story.

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This will change the way I teach GCSE. Thank you.

Hopefully that is a positive! I’d be interested in the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the potential changes.

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You had me at ‘Swiss army quotes’ Alex.

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Really heartening approach. I developed an assessment approach year 7-11 that correlates well with the strands in your ‘rope’ – admitting that the reading comprehension strands need greater weighting in terms of teaching at KS3 than at KS4. If you are interested – do email.

Hi Leah, good to hear. I am interested in your point about reading comprehension strands needing greater attention in KS3? I would have thought that it is pretty much always a primary aspect of assessment. AN essay is pretty much a judgement of reefing comprehension. Those complex GCSE inferences come down to comprehension.

Yep – the three comprehension strands I have extended in to KS3 are ‘using context knowledge to make meanings,’ (which includes a sense of genre) ‘using reasoning to infer and predict’, ‘monitoring understanding to select, summarise and synthesise’. All are firmly in the KS3 PoS and are too often cut short to reach analysis. In too many classrooms, I have asked a student something like – ‘So what is John Agard’s view of flags, do you think?’ and they reply ‘I dunno, but I’ve found some rhyme and there are lots of questions.’ I see AO1 as the foundation to all reading – not a route to quick win marks at the start of the language papers. You can email me at [email protected] if you are interested.

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Omg Alex! This probably going to impact the way I teach for good. Thank you so much.

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essay writing success is a crucial for students, but becoming a great essay writer doesn’t come from writing lots of them

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How to write a powerful conclusion in a literature essay

Conclusions are the single most difficult aspect of an essay. It should be tight, have momentum, and feel like it wraps everything up in the process. (Just as with my tips for introductions, these are my experiences, and are by no means fixed rules to follow). However, with some very easy things to avoid, they can take no time to write, and yet have the most influence on the essay. 

Save something new to say for the conclusion. For me this has always been a must, and conclusions which recap the essay have always been suffocated by red pen. The conclusion is a chance for you to reveal your own opinion and perspective without saying "I think". I often favour starting conclusions with 'Perhaps' and then go on to offer something slightly new to my argument. The one thing to avoid is being controversial for controversy's sake so that you don't raise more questions than provide answers. Something like "Perhaps Gatsby is neither protagonist nor antagonist and is therefore not just a reflection of the world around him but shines a light on something within the reader themselves" with a bit of explanation can really have a large impact on the reader.

Try not to let the conclusion come out of nowhere. Certainly finish your final line of enquiry and make sure that if you didn't have time to write that conclusion you will have said all (but one) of the points you have to say.

Teachers have varying opinions on conclusion length, but realistically if it isn't two lines long or 1-2 pages, then it's absolutely fine. If you have something to say, say it!

Write a little bit passionately. Of course not over the top, but try to enjoy (or force yourself to enjoy) writing something that comes from you and is fresh and new. Just as in the introduction, your teacher will thank you.

Conclusions are hard because it is the part that sticks in the teacher's mind when they give you the marks - but this can work to your advantage. Be a bit fiery and try something new, and it almost doesn't matter what you wrote before!

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how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

How to Get GCSE Students to Plan and Write English Literature Essays that Fully Demonstrate their Understanding

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

“Why on earth have they included that quote, when this one would clearly have been a much better choice?” Sound familiar? Here's how students can avoid this and other issues, says Fiona Ritson…

Fiona Ritson

A full set of resources to accompany this feature can be downloaded for free here.

Calling all English teachers: does this sound familiar? You’ve read a GCSE text with your class, and used resources you’ve painstakingly made in order to get them thinking more deeply.

As you go through extracts in the last lesson on Friday afternoon, you ask carefully crafted questions, and note with satisfaction how students shoot their hands up in a flash, like Barry Allen on the run.

You collect a pile of books containing essays, and plonk them in the boot of your car, smiling at the moments of brilliance you expect to see in your students’ work. Later, back at home, you mark them. And that’s when your world comes to an abrupt stop.

What went wrong? Because what you are seeing doesn’t remotely resemble what you taught – were you even in the room? Why on earth have they included that quote, when this one would clearly have been a much better choice, leading to some fantastic analysis?

Could it be… because you didn’t actually prepare them properly for what they needed to do?

All the way

Despite timetable constraints and pressure for schools, I strongly advise reading any GCSE text cover to cover with students.

This may sound obvious – but, blasphemous though many will find it, I’ve heard rumours of schools simply handing out extracts with summaries to bridge the gaps in missing knowledge and content.

However, the only way students will be able to write articulate essays is if they know the text inside out.

Moreover, whether we like it or not, pupils need to understand the exam specification. This doesn’t mean teaching to the test, but they do need to know what to do so that they can move up the levels on a mark scheme, and this means recognising the language of that mark scheme.

Each exam board uses the same Assessment Objectives, but they’re weighted differently across the two papers for each board. Some need context, some are a comparison, and so on. You and your students should know them inside out.

Plan, plan and plan!

For the English literature GCSE exam, students have to write an articulate essay to an unseen question, sustained over the whole piece, in about 30-60 mins (depending on question/exam board), showing clear understanding of the text and context, all whilst under pressure.

As teachers, we have to prepare them as much as possible. Five minutes planning an essay could ensure students don’t go off track because they’ve lost the question focus.

And teaching how to write effective introductions helps pupils not only to focus the start of the essay, but also to shape the direction and their ideas for the rest of their response.

Students need to consider the question, character or theme, at all times. A literature exam will always consider what the text is about, for example the actual content and themes or ideas the author is exploring.

The other consideration is how the text is written – so, the techniques used by the author through language, structural features, setting, characters etc. These are the key elements pupils should be covering in their responses:

Finally, of course, students need to finish their essay with a conclusion that summarises the author’s intent covering the question and their initial introduction.

3 Sources of support

For further help and guidance, try the following:

Fiona Ritson is an English teacher in the South East of England. Find her on twitter, @AlwaysLearnWeb , where she regularly shares KS3 and 4 resources with #TeamEnglish .

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Writing the perfect essay - introductions and conclusions. GCSE English Literature preparation

Writing the perfect essay - introductions and conclusions. GCSE English Literature preparation

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

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A Gcse English Language Essay Examples?

A Gcse English Language Essay Examples?

November 19, 2021 // Marc

You should make up the bulk of the essay in two or three paragraphs that cover all the points you have outlined in your introduction. In theory, these points should be used to counter each other’s weaknesses and to express two sides of an argument.

Table of contents

What topics are in gcse english language.

How Long Should A GCSE English Essay Be?

The art of planning, planning, and planning! Students must write an articulate essay to an unseen question, lasting over the entire piece, in about 30-60 minutes (depending on the question/exam board), showing clear understanding of the text and context, while under pressure, in order to pass the English literature GCSE exam.

How Do You Write A Good English Essay GCSE?

How Many Paragraphs Should An English Essay Have?

An essay can be composed of three paragraphs, each with a separate paragraph dedicated to each section, in its simplest form. In reality, it is fine to write more or fewer paragraphs in this section of the body text, as opposed to the five paragraph essay’s proponents who claim that the body text should consist of three paragraphs.

How Many Paragraphs Are There In English Literature Paper 1?

Paper 1 – Question 2 You must write about three different areas (three paragraphs): words, phrases, and devices.

What Topics Are In English Language?

What Do You Talk About In GCSE English Speaking?

What Do I Need To Revise For GCSE English?

What Topics Are In English Language Paper 1?

How Long Should An English Essay Be?

How long is an essay in year 11.

There are no restrictions on how long the essay test can last, and it can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as 50 minutes. It is important to check the type of topics that have been tested in the past for each school in order to determine which titles are available.

How Long Should A 25 Mark Essay Be English?

The paper would normally be lined with A4 paper and take up 3-5 pages. Your introduction should set the stage for the debate that will be taking place. You should make each point in its own paragraph, and link it back to the question you were asked.

Watch a gcse english language essay examples Video

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

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Interesting Literature

How to write a good english literature essay.

Interesting little-known tips for how to write a better English Literature essay from Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

How do you write a good English Literature essay? Although to an extent this depends on the particular subject you’re writing about, and on the nature of the question your essay is attempting to answer, there are a few general guidelines for how to write a convincing essay – just as there are a few guidelines for writing well in any field. We at Interesting Literature  call them ‘guidelines’ because we hesitate to use the word ‘rules’, which seems too programmatic. And as the writing habits of successful authors demonstrate, there is no  one way to become a good writer – of essays, novels, poems, or whatever it is you’re setting out to write. The French writer Colette liked to begin her writing day by picking the fleas off her cat. Edith Sitwell, by all accounts, liked to lie in an open coffin before she began her day’s writing. Friedrich von Schiller kept rotten apples in his desk, claiming he needed the scent of their decay to help him write. (For most student essay-writers, such an aroma is probably allowed to arise in the writing-room more organically, over time.)

We will address our suggestions for successful essay-writing to the average student of English Literature, whether at university or school level. There are many ways to approach the task of essay-writing, and these are just a few pointers for how to write a better English essay – and some of these pointers may also work for other disciplines and subjects, too.

Of course, these guidelines are designed to be of interest to the non-essay-writer too – people who have an interest in the craft of writing in general. If this describes you, we hope you enjoy the list as well. Remember, though, everyone can find writing difficult: as Thomas Mann memorably put it, ‘A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.’ Nora Ephron was briefer: ‘I think the hardest thing about writing is writing.’ So, the guidelines for successful essay-writing:

Essay writing 1

2. Make room for close analysis of the text, or texts. Whilst it’s true that some first-class or A-grade essays will be impressive without containing any close reading as such, most of the highest-scoring and most sophisticated essays tend to zoom in on the text and examine its language and imagery closely in the course of the argument. (Close reading of literary texts arises from theology and the analysis of holy scripture, but really became a ‘thing’ in literary criticism in the early twentieth century, when T. S. Eliot, F. R. Leavis, William Empson, and other influential essayists started to subject the poem or novel to close scrutiny.) Close reading has two distinct advantages: it increases the specificity of your argument (so you can’t be so easily accused of generalising a point), and it improves your chances of pointing up something about the text which none of the other essays your marker is reading will have said. For instance, take In Memoriam  (1850), which is a long Victorian poem by the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson about his grief following the death of his close friend, Arthur Hallam, in the early 1830s. When answering a question about the representation of religious faith in Tennyson’s poem  In Memoriam  (1850), how might you write a particularly brilliant essay about this theme? Anyone can make a general point about the poet’s crisis of faith; but to look closely at the language used gives you the chance to show  how the poet portrays this.

For instance, consider this stanza, which conveys the poet’s doubt:

Essay writing 2

3. Provide several pieces of evidence where possible. Many essays have a point to make and make it, tacking on a single piece of evidence from the text (or from beyond the text, e.g. a critical, historical, or biographical source) in the hope that this will be enough to make the point convincing. ‘State, quote, explain’ is the Holy Trinity of the Paragraph for many. What’s wrong with it? For one thing, this approach is too formulaic and basic for many arguments. Is one quotation enough to support a point? It’s often a matter of degree, and although one piece of evidence is better than none, two or three pieces will be even more persuasive. After all, in a court of law a single eyewitness account won’t be enough to convict the accused of the crime, and even a confession from the accused would carry more weight if it comes supported by other, objective evidence (e.g. DNA, fingerprints, and so on).

Let’s go back to the example about Tennyson’s faith in his poem  In Memoriam  mentioned above. Perhaps you don’t find the end of the poem convincing – when the poet claims to have rediscovered his Christian faith and to have overcome his grief at the loss of his friend. You can find examples from the end of the poem to suggest your reading of the poet’s insincerity may have validity, but looking at sources beyond the poem – e.g. a good edition of the text, which will contain biographical and critical information – may help you to find a clinching piece of evidence to support your reading. And, sure enough, Tennyson is reported to have said of  In Memoriam : ‘It’s too hopeful, this poem, more than I am myself.’ And there we have it: much more convincing than simply positing your reading of the poem with a few ambiguous quotations from the poem itself.

Of course, this rule also works in reverse: if you want to argue, for instance, that T. S. Eliot’ s  The Waste Land is overwhelmingly inspired by the poet’s unhappy marriage to his first wife, then using a decent biographical source makes sense – but if you didn’t show evidence for this idea from the poem itself (see point 2), all you’ve got is a vague, general link between the poet’s life and his work. Show  how the poet’s marriage is reflected in the work, e.g. through men and women’s relationships throughout the poem being shown as empty, soulless, and unhappy. In other words, when setting out to write a good English essay about any text, don’t be afraid to  pile on  the evidence – though be sensible, a handful of quotations or examples should be more than enough to make your point convincing.

Essay writing 3

Many essay-writers, because they’re aware that texts are often open-ended and invite multiple interpretations (as almost all great works of literature invariably do), think that writing ‘it can be argued’ acknowledges the text’s rich layering of meaning and is therefore valid. Whilst this is certainly a fact – texts are open-ended and can be read in wildly different ways – the phrase ‘it can be argued’ is best used sparingly if at all. It should be taken as true that your interpretation is, at bottom, probably unprovable. What would it mean to ‘prove’ a reading as correct, anyway? Because you found evidence that the author intended the same thing as you’ve argued of their text? Tennyson wrote in a letter, ‘I wrote In Memoriam  because…’? But the author might have lied about it (e.g. in an attempt to dissuade people from looking too much into their private life), or they might have changed their mind (to go back to the example of  The Waste Land : T. S. Eliot championed the idea of poetic impersonality in an essay of 1919, but years later he described  The Waste Land as ‘only the relief of a personal and wholly insignificant grouse against life’ – hardly impersonal, then). Texts – and their writers – can often be contradictory, or cagey about their meaning. But we as critics have to act responsibly when writing about literary texts in any good English essay or exam answer. We need to argue honestly, and sincerely – and not use what Wikipedia calls ‘weasel words’ or hedging expressions.

So, if nothing is utterly provable, all that remains is to make the strongest possible case you can with the evidence available. You do this, not only through marshalling the evidence in an effective way, but by writing in a confident voice when making your case. Fundamentally, ‘There is evidence to suggest that’ says more or less the same thing as ‘It can be argued’, but it foregrounds the  evidence rather than the argument, so is preferable as a phrase. This point might be summarised by saying: the best way to write a good English Literature essay is to be honest about the reading you’re putting forward, so you can be confident in your interpretation and use clear, bold language. (‘Bold’ is good, but don’t get too cocky, of course…)

5. Read the work of other critics.  This might be viewed as the Holy Grail of good essay-writing tips, since it is perhaps the single most effective way to improve your own writing. Even if you’re writing an essay as part of school coursework rather than a university degree, and don’t need to research other critics for your essay, it’s worth finding a good writer of literary criticism and reading their work. Why is this worth doing?

Catsreading4

We say ‘steal’, but this is not the same as saying that plagiarism is okay, of course. But consider this example. You read an accessible book on Shakespeare’s language and the author makes a point about rhymes in Shakespeare. When you’re working on your essay on the poetry of Christina Rossetti, you notice a similar use of rhyme, and remember the point made by the Shakespeare critic. This is not plagiarising a point but applying it independently to another writer. It shows independent interpretive skills and an ability to understand and apply what you have read. This is another of the advantages of reading critics, so this would be our final piece of advice for learning how to write a good English essay: find a critic whose style you like, and study their craft.

If you’re looking for suggestions, we can recommend a few favourites: Christopher Ricks, whose  The Force of Poetry is a tour de force; Jonathan Bate, whose  The Genius of Shakespeare , although written for a general rather than academic audience, is written by a leading Shakespeare scholar and academic; and Helen Gardner, whose  The Art of T. S. Eliot , whilst dated (it came out in 1949), is a wonderfully lucid and articulate analysis of Eliot’s poetry. James Wood’s How Fiction Works  is also a fine example of lucid prose and how to close-read literary texts. Doubtless readers of  Interesting Literature will have their own favourites to suggest in the comments, so do check those out, as these are just three personal favourites. What’s your favourite work of literary scholarship/criticism? Suggestions please.

Much of all this may strike you as common sense, but even the most commonsensical advice can go out of your mind when you have a piece of coursework to write, or an exam to revise for. We hope these suggestions help to remind you of some of the key tenets of good essay-writing practice – though remember, these aren’t so much commandments as recommendations. No one can ‘tell’ you how to write a good English Literature essay as such. But it can be learned. And remember, be interesting – find the things in the poems or plays or novels which really ignite your enthusiasm. As John Mortimer said, ‘The only rule I have found to have any validity in writing is not to bore yourself.’

Finally, good luck – and happy writing!

And if you enjoyed these tips for how to write a persuasive English essay, check out our advice for how to remember things for exams  and our tips for becoming a better close reader of poetry .

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Image (top): A child writing with a pen (2013, author: Mummelgrummel ), Wikimedia Commons. Image (top middle): A Stipula fountain pen lying on a written piece of paper (2011, author: Antonio Litterio), Wikimedia Commons. Image (bottom middle): Writer (19th century, author Leonid Pasternak), Wikimedia Commons. Image (bottom): Cat with Book (Danny Ayers, 2004), Wikimedia Commons.

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how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

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Pingback: Mark Twain’s Rules for Good Writing | Peacejusticelove's Blog

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

A well rounded summary on all steps to keep in mind while starting on writing. There are many new avenues available though. Benefit from the writing options of the 21st century from here, i loved it! http://authenticwritingservices.com

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such a nice pieace of content you shared in this write up about “How to Write a Good English Essay” going to share on another useful resource that is

Pingback: How to Write a Good English Essay | georg28ang

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on rosetech67 and commented: Useful, albeit maybe a bit late for me :-)

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented: This could be applied to novel or short story writing as well.

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on DISTINCT CHARACTER and commented: Good Tips

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Great post. Interesting infographic how to write an argumentative essay http://www.essay-profy.com/blog/how-to-write-an-essay-writing-an-argumentative-essay/

Pingback: How to Write a Good English Essay? Interesting Literature | EngLL.Com

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on pixcdrinks .

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on rainniewu .

Pingback: Weekly Digest | Alpha Female, Mainstream Cat

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

All very good points, but numbers 2 and 4 are especially interesting.

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on worldsinthenet .

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on Blue Banana Bread .

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

I shall take this as my New Year boost in Writing Essays. Please try to visit often for corrections,advise and criticisms.

Reblogged this on Uniqely Mustered and commented: Dedicate this to all upcoming writers and lovers of Writing!

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

All of these are very good points – especially I like 2 and 5. I’d like to read the essay on the Martian who wrote Shakespeare’s plays).

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Great post on essay writing! I’ve shared a post about this and about the blog site in general which you can look at here: http://writeoutloudblog.com/2015/01/13/recommended-resource-interesting-literature-com-how-to-write-an-essay/

Pingback: Recommended Resource: Interesting Literature.com & how to write an essay | Write Out Loud

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on Scribing English .

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Not a bad effort…not at all! (Did you intend “subject” instead of “object” in numbered paragraph two, line seven?”

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Oops! I did indeed – many thanks for spotting. Duly corrected ;)

That’s what comes of writing about philosophy and the subject/object for another post at the same time!

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

Reblogged this on SocioTech'nowledge .

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

I also think a crucial part of excellent essay writing that too many students do not realize is that not every point or interpretation needs to be addressed. When offered the chance to write your interpretation of a work of literature, it is important to note that there of course are many but your essay should choose one and focus evidence on this one view rather than attempting to include all views and evidence to back up each view.

how to write a conclusion for an english literature essay gcse

You must have taken AP Literature. I’m always saying these same points to my students.

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What Effects Has the Internet Had on Disability? Essay Example

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What Effects Has the Internet Had on Disability? Essay Example

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Thematic Overview

Social media is a tool that has been used to trivialize and demean people with disabilities. It promotes their conditions as not being severe as they are portrayed or seen. Therefore, it makes many people with disabilities appear as frauds faking their lives. Further, social media demeans people with disabilities by making frequent jokes about them. These jokes are made by creating memes circulated on various social media platforms. These memes advance discrimination and stereotypes against disabled people, leading to lower self-esteem. Therefore, social media can have dreadful impacts on people with disabilities when misused. Different articles discuss how social media, through memes, leads to the development of negative attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Arguments and Impact

In his article “Despicable Memes,” Harris highlights ways the internet trivializes and demeans people with disabilities. He posits how he despises an internet meme that able-bodied people find hilarious. The meme is a photograph of a woman struggling out of her wheelchair to pick a liquor bottle from a shelf. One person tweeted that the picture shows “how much fraud there is today,” adding, “Hope insurance company see it” (Harris, 2014). However, Harris argues that it is not fraud because the woman may have an illness restricting her from moving longer distances but allowing her to move for shorter distances.

Similarly, the articles “Thousands share their invisible disabilities on Twitter” by Harrison, “If you’ve been told you don’t ‘look’ sick, these 14 memes are for you” by Wyant, and “The social media cure” by Hess depicts how the invisibly disabled people are demeaned and seen as frauds because they do not appear to be ‘sick’ as they claim. As a result, many memes and identities have been used to communicate the pain of people living with invisible disabilities. For instance, people suffering from chronic illnesses call themselves ‘spoonies’ to help make their pain visible to the world. Therefore, “chronically ill people get the chance to convene with others who understand what they’re going through” (Hess, 2016).

Further, Wyant (2018) presents various memes used by disabled individuals, such as “so sorry my symptoms don’t meet your expectations,” to help people understand their frustrations and stressful situations. They use social media to raise awareness of hidden conditions affecting their daily lives. Often, due to the stigma and frequent jokes about them, they fear engaging and working on public platforms. In her article “What effects has the internet had on disability? ” Krotoski posits that many disabled people are “victims of crime and more likely to experience occupational and social discrimination. Nonetheless, the web can solve the discrimination because it allows “personal and physical anonymity to a population that experiences a significant amount of stigma offline” (Krotoski, 2011).

The theme of these readings has impacted my personal and professional life. I now realize that the internet can be used to inflict pain on people with disabilities. As a parent, I am worried that the wrongful portrayal of autism through social media will impact how the community will treat my autistic son. Further, as a teacher, using social media to trivialize people with disabilities has perpetuated stereotypes and harmful attitudes among the students toward me. They often make comments such as I am autistic and a retard. As a result, my self-esteem is immensely lowered, affecting my teaching ability. Further, I spend quality time explaining specific facts to wipe away social media stereotypes. Therefore, I believe social media’s trivialization of people with disabilities negatively impacts my life as an educator.

Krotoski, A. (2011, March 6). What effects has the internet had on disability? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/mar/06/untangling-web-aleks-krotoski-disability

Harris, S. J. (2014, August 13). Despicable memes: How “miracle” jokes and inspiration porn demean disabled people. SLATE. https://slate.com/technology/2014/08/miracle-memes-and-inspiration-porn-internet-viral-images-demean-disabled-people.html

Hess, A. (2016, March 4). The Social Media cure: How people with chronic illnesses use memes, selfies, and emojis to soothe their suffering . SLATE. https://slate.com/technology/2016/03/how-spoonies-people-with-chronic-illnesses-use-memes-selfies-and-emojis-to-soothe-their-suffering.html

Harrison, P. (2017, October 25). Thousands share their invisible disabilities on Twitter. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/disability-41733769

Wyant, P. (2018, January 19). If you’ve ever been told you don’t look sick, these 14 memes are for you . The Mighty. https://themighty.com/topic/chronic-illness/invisible-illness-memes/

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    The conclusion is the least important part of your essay, but you still need to always include one. It is a great way to summarise your points and explain your overall stance on the question. If you don't have time to make it the best that you can, don't worry. The best way to do this is by writing a summative sentence for each of your main points.

  4. GCSE Literature Plan & Write Essay Guide

    A pupil friendly, step by step, English Literature essay planning and writing guide. These resources provide a framework to enable learners to write comprehensive and well structured essays.

  5. GCSE writing a conclusion

    GCSE English Writing a Conclusion Keep practising your writing skills. Writing a Conclusion Writing a conclusion is about finishing an essay. There is no substitute for practice when it comes to writing a good conclusion to an essay.

  6. How do I write a good conclusion in an English Literature essay?

    Your conclusion should be concise, and re-emphasise the arguments you have been building throughout the essay. Signal to your reader that you are concluding the essay by beginning your final paragraph with a sentence that differs from the introductory sentences of the preceding paragraphs.

  7. How To Plan & Write A Complete GCSE English Literature Essay

    Follow my Instagram and TikTok @ Mr Everything English Weekly class for all ages: contact me for further details [email protected] www.mreveryth...

  8. To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

    They live unhealthily off the town's welfare and the father, Bob Ewell, selfishly causes the death of an innocent man and tries to kill two innocent children. Of the rich people in Maycomb, Atticus holds dignity while Miss Stephanie lacks it. Miss Stephanie lies, exaggerates, and gossips about the town's affairs.

  9. How to Train a GCSE Essay Writer

    Plan and organise an essay into a coherent argument, linking salient points that address the essay question; Write with accuracy and clarity, including the use of lead sentences, discourse markers and academic vocabulary, all deployed in an appropriate academic style (written in the passive voice, using nominalization etc.).

  10. How to write a powerful conclusion in a literature essay

    How to write a powerful conclusion in a literature essay Conclusions are the single most difficult aspect of an essay. It should be tight, have momentum, and feel like it wraps everything up in the process. (Just as with my tips for introductions, these are my experiences, and are by no means fixed rules to follow).

  11. How to Get GCSE Students to Plan and Write English Literature Essays

    For the English literature GCSE exam, students have to write an articulate essay to an unseen question, sustained over the whole piece, in about 30-60 mins (depending on question/exam board), showing clear understanding of the text and context, all whilst under pressure. As teachers, we have to prepare them as much as possible.

  12. GCSE Literature: How to write the perfect essay

    Follow and revise the simple method and tips in this video to achieve A* every time. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe and then keep revising: register f...

  13. Writing the perfect essay

    GCSE English Literature preparation | Teaching Resources Writing the perfect essay - introductions and conclusions. GCSE English Literature preparation Subject: English Age range: 14-16 Resource type: Worksheet/Activity 18 reviews File previews pptx, 169.96 KB

  14. A Gcse English Language Essay Examples?

    How Do You Write A Good English Essay GCSE? Make sure your main idea is clear. You should link back to the essay title or question directly. The key supporting points should be summarized briefly. Consider the reader's final thought or reflection as a final note. How Many Paragraphs Should An English Essay Have?

  15. How to Write a Good English Literature Essay

    We might summarise this point as follows: when it comes to knowing how to write a persuasive English Literature essay, it's one thing to have a broad and overarching argument, but don't be afraid to use the microscope as well as the telescope. 3. Provide several pieces of evidence where possible.

  16. What Effects Has the Internet Had on Disability? Essay Example

    The theme of these readings has impacted my personal and professional life. I now realize that the internet can be used to inflict pain on people with disabilities. As a parent, I am worried that the wrongful portrayal of autism through social media will impact how the community will treat my autistic son. Further, as a teacher, using social ...