Essay structure Example: Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei: Was passiert auf der Almhütte? Welche Bedeutung hat sie für jede der vier Personen? Intro: One or two sentences is enough, and there needs to be some substance to what you say. Don’t, however, start your arguments already. -Es könnte behauptet werden, dass die Szenen auf der Almhütte die wichtigsten im Film sind, da es hier ist, dass die vier Hauptfiguren zusammen sind. -Alles, was auf der Almhütte passiert, hat eine besondere Bedeutung für die vier Figuren und alle werden einigermaßen durch ihre Erfahrungen geprägt. There is no need to write a lengthy introduction which just re-states the title. So: “Im folgenden werde ich genau untersuchen, was auf der Almhütte passiert und welche Bedeutung sie für jede der vier Personen hat.” gets no credit, because it’s not saying anything that the title doesn’t already state.

Main body of essay: It’s here that you’re looking to set out your arguments / state your case. Things to remember: -Start a new paragraph for each major new idea. -Try to begin each paragraph with a “signpost sentence” that sets out the main point you want to explore in that section. E.g. “Für Hardenberg sind die Tage auf der Almhütte sehr bedeutend, besonders was seine Beziehung zu den Jugendlichen betrifft.” -It can be helpful to refer back to the title within each paragraph: it keeps you on track, and reminds the examiner of the relevance of your point. E.g. “Wir sehen, also, dass die Ereignisse auf der Almhütte eine unerwartete Bedeutung für Hardenberg haben, indem er seine Jugend wieder erlebt.” -Having signposted your paragraph, any further sentences should expand your point in detail and back it up with relevant examples. The only excuse for re-telling the story is if you are using this to demonstrate a point you are making. The paragraph should not contain sentences / information not directly related to the issue you have set out. Try to follow the loose sequence of ‘make your POINT’, ‘give an EXAMPLE / EVIDENCE’, ‘ANALYSE’ > PEA

Conclusion: This aims to summarise everything that has gone before and, if appropriate, draw a final conclusion / judgement. Things to remember: -Don’t introduce new ideas in the conclusion -The conclusion should serve as a reminder / précis of what you have already covered. -Refer back to the title in the conclusion to make it very clear to the examiner (and yourself?!) that you have answered the question asked. “Man kommt unweigerlich zu dem Schluss, dass alle vier, besonders die Jugendlichen aber auch Hardenberg, viel von den Ereignissen auf der Almhütte lernen. Das zeigt, dass die Erfahrungen von gewaltiger Bedeutung für alle sind.”

Final tips: -To check your final structure, ask yourself if you can state in one sentence what each paragraph is about. If you can’t, your structure is probably too jumbled and you need to separate the paragraph into clear points. -Don’t necessarily go for what seems like the ‘easiest’ title: think about which title you’ve got the most to write about. -Plan, plan, plan. Take plenty of time over your plan, and then the essay itself will be much easier to write and you shouldn’t find yourself going off on tangents. -Write out the title in full at the top of your essay, and keep referring back to it, both in your mind’s eye, and in the actual written piece.