HOLES: Essay writing: NEW MODEL

• English
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

How do you turn questions in to an essay?

Step 1. Separate your ideas in to paragraphs

Step 2. Make a plan

Step 3. Write a first draft 

Step 4. Write a second and final draft

Step 5: Think or a title.

Today we are going to look at  how to plan and paragaphs

What are paragraphs?

Paragraphs 

are a set of 

sentences in one chunk

that are about the

 same

topic

They

help you 

organise ideas 

so that your essay

flows

nicely

Take a closer look ........

The 

whole 

paragraph

is about the 

SAME THING

TOPIC SENTENCE

The paragraph begins with a point and then gives reasons and then ends with the same point. 

Essay Layout

Title

Introduction

Body Paragraph One

Body Paragraph Two

(Possibly: Body Paragraph Three)

Conclusion

Introduction

The main purpose of the introduction is to create interest so the reader wants to find out what you have to say about the book.

Firstly, start with a personalised question. This connects the reader to your essay and makes them want to continue reading, and secondly, at the end of the first paragraph include your essay question.

Topic Sentences:

A "Topic Sentence" lets the reader know what your paragraph is going to be about. It introduces your new paragraph: 

Stanley hadn't always been a happy and confident boy, before he went to Camp Green Lake he didn't have any friends and was often bullied for being overweight. 

Body Paragraphs:

Leave a blank line between your paragraphs

Start with a Topic Sentence

Find evidence from the book to answer the essay question

Conclusion

Do not add anything new in your conclusion (last paragraph)

Sum up what you have already said and make sure you answer the essay question here. 

Now try and write an essay: 

1. choose an essay question (see next slide for ideas)

2. Make a plan including introduction, two or three body paragraphs and a conclusion

3. give it a title

4. Your essay should be around 200 words

Possible Essay Questions: 

1. What do you think the title Holes means? What might be another reason other than the holes the boys dig in the lake? What hole (or holes) is in Stanley's life when he first arrives at Camp Green Lake? Are the holes still there when he leaves?

2. Why do the boys call Mr. Pendanski "Mom"? How does this name fit his personality? In what ways is it not a good name for him?

3. Why do you think Stanley lies to his parents in his letters home? Would you do the same?

4. Stanley and his family half-jokingly blame their misfortunes on Stanley's "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." Do you believe in fate — that people are lucky or unlucky — or do you believe, as Mr. Pendanski tells the boys, that we are all responsible for our selves and our destinies?

CONTINUED......

ESSAY QUESTIONS

5. Even though his fate is uncertain, Stanley is suddenly very happy as he lies awake on the top of the mountain, staring at the stars. Why does he feel this way? How has his life changed from the start of the story?

6.At home, Stanley did not have friends. But at Camp Green Lake, he forms a special friendship with Zero. How did Zero and Stanley prove their friendship to each other? In what way does Zero fill a hole in Stanley's life?

Next lesson

We will write an essay about Holes.

In class: You may use the book and have a plan with you. You will be given 40 minutes. No using the internet! Hand in on paper at the end of the lesson.

Online at home: You may use the book and have a plan with you. You will be given 40 minutes. No using the internet! Hand in via Google Classroom at the end of the lesson.

Essay Criteria

Content: Is all content relevant to the task, have you answered all the points in the essay question? Is the reader fully informed? 

5 Points

Communicative Achievement:  Did you hold the readers attention? Did you communicate your ideas well? Did you use the correct tone? (informal - semi formal).

5 Points

Total points divided by 2 = Essay Grade 

Organisation: Did you have a title, an introduction and at least two body paragraphs

and a conclusion? Did you leave a blank line between the paragrphs? Did you use Topic sentences?

5 Points

Language: Did you use a range of vocabulary? Did you use the correct grammar that we have learnt so far (present and past tenses?)

5 Points

Example: What role does the setting play in the novel? Could the novel have been set somewhere else?

Why did Louis Sachar set his novel in a desert? We know that he lived in Texas while he was writing the novel, so this may have influenced him. It is interesting to consider the setting of Holes as the settings of Green Lake and Camp Green Lake occupy the same physical location at different points in time but are very different places. 

The flashbacks to Green Lake link the past with the present , this is to help the reader understand  the importance of the past on the events of the present. The characters of Stanley and the Warden are shaped by the experiences of their ancestors decades before when Stanley Yelnats I was robbed by Kate Barlow, and Trout Walker owned the whole lake. 

The danger of the harsh desert landscape helps create tension in the novel, as the readers wonder whether Stanley and Zero will be able to survive once they run away from camp. The landscape also contributes to Stanley's character development, as he becomes tougher and more resilient, and his bond with Zero is strengthened.

The setting is very important in the novel as it helps link the two time narratives and causes suspense and danger which makes the reader want to keep on reading. I do not think the same effect would have been caused by the story being set elsewhere.