Macbeth 3: writing the full Section A essay
Thirty marks, about fifty minutes, no book in front of you. This lesson turns everything you know about Macbeth into a repeatable essay shape.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Respond to an extract from the set play and then to the play as a whole, developing an informed personal response.
Key learning points
- • Start with a thesis, not a technique
- • Three paragraphs, three stages
- • Quotation from memory
- • Checking under pressure
This lesson at a glance
- 35 minutes
- 21 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 21
Visual introductionPicture this
Macbeth 3: writing the full Section A essay
Thirty marks, about fifty minutes, no book in front of you. This lesson turns everything you know about Macbeth into a repeatable essay shape.
In a nutshell
Respond to an extract from the set play and then to the play as a whole, developing an informed personal response.
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 21
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Start with a thesis, not a technique
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 21
Learn
Start with a thesis, not a technique
A thesis is a sentence about what Shakespeare is doing with the idea in the question: 'Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth's power as borrowed, and shows the cost of borrowing it.' Everything after that is evidence. Openings that begin 'In this extract Shakespeare uses a metaphor' start in the middle bands and rarely climb.
Reset break
Part 4 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 21
Learn
Three paragraphs, three stages
Paragraph one: the extract, analysed closely. Paragraph two: earlier in the play — where did this begin? Paragraph three: later — what does it become? A clear chronological spine reads as a whole-text argument even when you are writing at speed.
Quick check
Part 6 of 21
Quick check
Part 7 of 21
Reset break
Part 8 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 21
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Quotation from memory
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 21
Learn
Quotation from memory
You need about fifteen short quotations for the whole play — three or four per major character. Choose ones you can analyse two ways. If memory fails, a precise reference ('when she calls on spirits to unsex her') still earns credit; a vague gesture at 'the bit near the start' does not.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 21
Learn
Checking under pressure
Leave three minutes. Check that the question's key word appears in every paragraph, that at least one sentence discusses form or structure, and that one sentence links period to meaning. Those three checks are worth more than any extra sentence you could write instead.
Reset break
Part 12 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 21
Quick check
Part 14 of 21
Explore the idea
Part 15 of 21
Worked example
Essay task
Starting with a soliloquy of your choice, write about how Shakespeare presents Macbeth's changing relationship with his own conscience, in that speech and in the play as a whole. (30 marks + 4 AO4). Plan for eight minutes: thesis, three stages, one context link, then write.
Reset break
Part 16 of 21
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 21
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 18 of 21
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Openings that begin 'In this ____ Shakespeare uses a metaphor' start in the middle bands and rarely climb.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 21
Game · Recall cards
Which is a usable thesis statement?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 20 of 21
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Macbeth 3: writing the full Section A essay
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which is a usable thesis statement?
2. What is the advantage of the extract–earlier–later paragraph shape?
3. Memory fails mid-essay. What is the best move?
4. Which final check is most valuable in the last three minutes?
Lesson round-up
Part 21 of 21
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 21 · Watch & discover