How to Write a Romeo and Juliet Essay (OCR GCSE English Literature)
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How to Write a Romeo and Juliet Essay
Your OCR GCSE English Literature exam will include questions on the Shakespeare play that you’ve been studying.
You will have 50 minutes to complete one Romeo and Juliet question from a choice of two options:
Either a question based on an extract (of about 40 lines) from Romeo and Juliet
Or a “discursive” essay question, which is not based on any extract
Exam Tip
You will not have access to a copy of Romeo and Juliet for either of these two options, so it’s important that you know the plot of the play very well. Examiners want you to track themes or character development by referring to key parts of the play. A good tip is to consider the way the theme or character has been introduced, how they develop, and how the play’s ending presents them.
OCR examiners state that, for the Romeo and Juliet essay, you need to use evidence from elsewhere in the play, even for the extract-based question: to get a Grade 9, it’s not enough to rely on the text from the extract. See our Romeo and Juliet Quotations and Analysis revision note page for key quotations you can use in your answer.
How do you start a Romeo and Juliet essay?
It’s always daunting when you know you have 50 minutes to write only one long answer. So how do you start writing? It might sound frightening, but the answer is: don’t start writing. With such limited time, preparation is key, so try not to rush into it.
The single most important thing you can do in order to get the highest mark on your Romeo and Juliet essay is to hold off on writing anything before you make a plan. A plan should include your general answer to the question, and then some references from across the play that will support your argument. For both the OCR extract-based question and the discursive essay, examiners award the highest marks to students who create a “coherent line of argument” and who maintain a “focus on the question” and a “critical style”. What do these phrases actually mean?
Examiner comment | What this means you should do |
|---|---|
“Focus on the question” |
|
“Coherent line of argument” |
|
“Critical style” |
|
By creating a plan before you start writing, you are ensuring that your essay covers all three of these points.
Your plan could look something like this:
How do you structure a Romeo and Juliet essay?
OCR Examiners give the highest marks to students who have managed to create a “coherent line of argument” throughout their essay. One of the best ways to achieve this is – before you start writing – to form your own answer to the question: this is your interpretation or argument. Once you have done this, you can plan how to structure your ideas. This means considering how each paragraph will analyse a different point in your argument, and choosing relevant evidence from across the play to support your ideas. To achieve a grade 9, OCR recommends that students include an introduction, clearly organised paragraphs and a conclusion.
If you look at the example plan above, you will see that the example plan includes a “thesis statement” and “topic questions”. See how to include these into your essay below:
Top tips for structuring your Romeo and Juliet essay
Always begin with a clear thesis statement that sets out your argument:
Your thesis statement should be one or two sentences that focus on the question you’ve been set
It can also include a reference to what you think Shakespeare’s overall message might be
For a character-based question, consider what the character represents or how they convey a theme
You could consider genre:
For example, the fact that Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy
Include three or four paragraphs in your essay:
Including more paragraphs can result in a vague essay that doesn’t specifically answer the question – writing more about less leads to a coherent essay
For the extract question, remember to spend some time considering the rest of the play, such as how the character has changed or will change by the end
Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence:
This is one sentence that sets out the argument of the paragraph
Topic sentences should always be directly related to your thesis statement
All the evidence (quotes or references) should prove your topic sentence
Finish your essay with a short conclusion:
The conclusion shouldn’t include any new evidence
Try to reuse the words of the question, and the words in your thesis statement
As it should sum up your argument, it may help to reread your introduction
Exam Tip
Some schools and teachers recommend students use a “writing frame” for structuring essay paragraphs. This usually takes the form of an acronym, like PEE (Point, Evidence, Explanation).
This is a good way to help you achieve the objectives on the mark scheme, but do make sure it does not limit your analysis. For example, OCR examiners want to see you explore an idea thoroughly before moving onto another piece of evidence. But what does this mean? It does not mean repeating what you have said in different words. Instead, it means that you should consider the evidence you use in the wider context of the play, or a particular character’s development. For example, rather than simply analysing a metaphor in a particular line, consider if this is typical language for that character, how it may be received by other characters and, importantly, how it is delivered to the audience and what they know at this point.
To see an example of how to include these elements in your essay, see our model answer for the OCR Romeo and Juliet extract question, and a model answer for the Romeo and Juliet discursive essay question.
Romeo and Juliet essay top tips
Top-grade students: | Students who don’t do as well: |
|---|---|
Make a plan before writing their essays | Don’t plan and write rambling, unfocused essays that include everything they know about a character or theme |
Formulate their own line of argument before they start writing and include it in the form of a thesis statement | Try to adapt pre-learned essays that don’t answer the question, but rather answer the question they wish they’d been asked |
Always focus their response on the question given, and the writer’s aims | Focus on character or plot points, rather than Shakespeare’s methods and audience |
Include contextual analysis to support a point, often in relation to values and expectations | Include irrelevant context (usually at the end of a paragraph) that doesn’t relate to the point of the paragraph |
Consider different interpretations, as well as dramatic and tragic conventions | Explain or retell the plot of Romeo and Juliet, rather than analyse Shakespeare’s choices |
Choose the best supporting evidence from the extract or play as a whole: both quotations and references | Analyse irrelevant or difficult quotations because they’ve learnt them, or they sound important in the extract |
Develop and extend their analysis of language, structure and form to consider audience response and character function | Make simple comments that don’t extend their analysis |
Sources
Shakespeare, William. Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by Peter Alexander, HarperCollins, 1994. Accessed 26 March 2024.
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