Studyledge

Structuring an Extended Written Response: Question 1

Syllabus W1, W2

Structured 6 marks

A student is planning a discursive essay in answer to the question: "Some people think schools should replace all paper textbooks with tablets. To what extent do you agree?"

Before writing, they jot down six notes for their essay, in no particular order:

Note 1: A counter-argument. Tablets can run out of battery, break, or open up opportunities for distraction (games, messaging apps) during lessons.

Note 2: A closing recommendation. Schools should trial a mixed approach, keeping paper textbooks for exams while introducing tablets gradually elsewhere.

Note 3: An opening image, a student's backpack weighed down by six heavy textbooks, set against a single lightweight tablet.

Note 4: A supporting point. Tablets have built-in accessibility features (text-to-speech, adjustable font size) that help students with visual impairments or dyslexia.

Note 5: Background context. Many schools worldwide have already piloted tablet schemes over the past decade, with mixed results.

Note 6: A supporting point. Tablets can be updated instantly when a syllabus changes, unlike printed textbooks, which quickly become outdated and expensive to replace.

(a) Number the six notes to show the order in which they should appear as paragraphs in the essay, and label each one with its paragraph role (for example, "opening hook", "counter-argument"). [4]

(b) In two or three sentences, justify your chosen order: explain why this sequence is more effective than simply following the order the notes are listed in above. [2]

Show worked solution Hide worked solution

Worked solution

Assessment focus

This question tests planning and structuring skills directly: whether a candidate can take a set of unordered ideas and sequence them according to their function within an extended response (hook, context, developing argument, counter-argument, conclusion) rather than simply writing them up in the order they happen to be noted down.

Model order and paragraph roles

  1. Note 3. Opening hook: the image of an overloaded backpack next to a single tablet gives the essay an engaging, concrete opening.
  2. Note 5. Background context: briefly establishes that tablet schemes already exist elsewhere, giving the reader context before the writer’s own argument begins.
  3. Note 6. Supporting point: tablets update instantly when the syllabus changes.
  4. Note 4. Supporting point: tablets offer built-in accessibility features.
  5. Note 1. Counter-argument: batteries, breakages and distraction, addressed once the writer’s own case is established.
  6. Note 2. Conclusion: a considered recommendation (a mixed, gradual approach) that responds to the counter-argument rather than ignoring it.

Why this order works

Opening on a vivid image rather than the background fact in Note 5 draws the reader in before the essay turns to more general information. The two supporting points are grouped together so the writer’s own case is built up fully before any objection is introduced. Raising the counter-argument too early would undercut points not yet made. Placing the counter-argument immediately before the conclusion allows the final paragraph to respond to it directly, so the essay ends by resolving a doubt rather than raising one.

Common pitfalls specific to this task

  • Sequencing the notes exactly as listed in the task (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), which places the counter-argument first and the hook third, the reverse of an effective structure.
  • Treating Note 5 (background context) as a strong opening, when a specific, concrete hook (Note 3) is more effective at engaging a reader than a general statistic-style fact.
  • Placing the conclusion (Note 2) before the counter-argument (Note 1), so the essay appears to resolve the debate and then reopen it.