Planning a response about education in 'Leave Taking' | Exit Quiz | Oak National Academy

When planning for an essay on 'Leave Taking', what is the first step of the planning process?

• writing down all the quotations you know off by heart

• writing three topic sentences

• annotating the question

• writing a thesis statement

• re-reading the text

Answer explanation

You know an incredible amount about 'Leave Taking'. Annotating the essay question will ensure you write about the question's focus, rather than just putting everything you know about the text onto paper.

When writing about 'Leave Taking', your main body paragraphs will include concluding sentences. What should a good concluding sentence do?

• link to your topic sentence

• include main quotations and supporting quotations

• sum up your overall thesis

• make clear the paragraph is coming to an end

• explore writer's intentions

Answer explanation

A concluding sentence serves as a sort of mini conclusion to the ideas in your paragraph. It's often a good idea to use the writer's name in the concluding sentence so you can consider the reasons they presented their characters or ideas in this way.

A pupil said, "Here is my thesis about education in 'Leave Taking': Pinnock uses Scene Five to explore the importance of formal education to Del." How would you correct them?

• This won't be a thesis until it includes quotations.

• This is a topic sentence, not a thesis.

• Formal education isn't important to Del so this thesis is incorrect.

• This is not a thesis as it is not supported by the entire text.

Answer explanation

A thesis should be supported by a reading of the entire text. A topic sentence focuses on one idea, moment or character in the text.

In Scene Four of 'Leave Taking', Enid reveals something of her upbringing to Viv. She says she grew up in extreme poverty, relying on the land and "The land (a)   you, you might as well be dead."

Answer explanation

Scene Four offers an insight into Enid's past and, to some extent, reveals why education is so important to her: she sees educational qualifications as much more stable than living off the land.

When writing about 'Leave Taking', you should start your essay with a thesis statement. A thesis statement is an overarching argument to an essay, supported by a reading of the (a)   text.

Answer explanation

Whilst a topic sentence might focus on a particular moment in a text, a thesis should be an argument which you have come to after reading the whole text. More often than not, you will have to consider the writer's intentions for their work.

In Scene Eight of 'Leave Taking', Mai gets Del to take a series of obeah exams. The stage directions read, "[Del] struggles to remember what she's been (a)   like a child learning to read."

Answer explanation

This moment in the stage directions reveals something of the relationship between Mai and Del. Mai serves as the teacher that Del never had in school: supportive, knowledgeable, inspiring and challenging.