Success Criteria

Success Criteria are a way for you to measure your ability and progress in writing. You can:

• Use the samples to compare your own writing against. This will show you some strengths and weaknesses in your writing

• Use the samples to help understand the marking criteria

• Success Criteria can help you with Peer Editing

• Success Criteria can assist you working on key aspects of your writing

• Use both the Success Criteria and Anchor charts to guide and shape your responses.

Use these Anchor Charts to help you with your paragraphs writing and text analysis.

Click HERE to see the Writing Continuum for Critical and Creative responses.

You can see samples and criteria that identify the key characteristics of writing from the A-E grades.

An Essay is a response to a question. The job of the introduction is to set out your answer to the question and include your main ideas that you will explore through the rest of the essay. This summary of your argument is called your thesis. Your thesis should follow this pattern:

The question (rewrite as a statement) + BECAUSE +Your topic sentences (2-3 main ideas from the text)

Use a word such as 'because', as it connects the question to your ideas/ themes. You don't have to use 'because' exactly, you can use words such as: as, through, due to, is seen when,

For example:

Question:

It is only when we are faced with challenges, that we discover our real strengths.

How is this communicated in the novel you have studied?

Introduction and thesis:

It is only when we are faced with life's challenges that we discover our true strengths and realise what we are capable of. This is explored in the novel 'Goodnight Mr Tom' through the journey of Will, as he builds positive relationships with others and receives love and care for the first time. Through experiencing the healing power of friendship and having a supportive family, Will discovers his own talents and becomes more confident about who he is and what he is capable of. This enables him to overcome the hardships he faces in his life and to have hope for a better future.

The 2 topic sentences in this introduction are the ideas/themes of

• the healing power of friendship and positive relationships

• the importance of having people who love and care for you