Lesson 1 · Essay writing

🌍 Global Issues & the General Paper Essay

The General Paper asks for an argued essay on a global issue. It tests thinking, evidence and structure more than literary skill.

🧭 Planning the argument

Read the question and underline the key terms. Decide your position (agree, disagree, or “it depends”) and plan 3–4 points. Each paragraph has a point, evidence from the real world, explanation, and a link back to the question. Always include a counter-argument and your response to it.

Question: “Social media does more harm than good.” Discuss. Thesis: It harms mental health but also connects and informs people. Points: 1 mental health 2 misinformation 3 connection 4 education

🖼️ See it

Shape of a General Paper essayIntroductiondefine terms, statethesisBody paragraphspoint, example, explainCounter-argumentand your responseConclusionweigh up, finaljudgement
Every paragraph links back to the question that was set.

🌐 Topic areas

Common themes are environment and climate, science and technology, health, inequality and poverty, education, media, globalisation and ethics. Gather examples from many countries rather than only one.

Intro: define terms, state thesis Body: 3 paragraphs, each with point + example Conclusion: weigh the sides, give a final judgement
Balance: acknowledge the other side fairly before explaining why your view is stronger.
✏️ Quick check · 1 of 8
Thesis

A thesis statement in an essay is:

Your answer to the question.
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Counter-argument

Why include a counter-argument?

Both sides.
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Evidence

The strongest support for a point is:

Concrete.
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Conclusion

A conclusion should:

Final view.
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Key terms

The first step in planning is to:

Read carefully.
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Range

Which approach shows the widest knowledge of global issues?

More than one place.
✍️ Type your answer · 7 of 8

An 800-word essay has an introduction of 100 words and a conclusion of 100 words. The rest is 3 equal body paragraphs.

How many words is each body paragraph?

Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
words
Subtract, then divide.
✍️ Type your answer · 8 of 8

You plan 4 points for a 1000-word essay with a 150-word introduction and a 150-word conclusion.

How many words can each point have?

Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
words
Subtract, then divide.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5

A balanced essay:

Question 2 of 5

Which is a global issue?

Question 3 of 5

Each body paragraph should contain:

Question 4 of 5

“To what extent” asks you to:

Question 5 of 5

The best way to start an essay is to:

Lesson 2 · Wider reading

📚 Post-colonial & Classical Literature

Literature from different cultures and periods asks different questions about power, identity and fate. Two rich traditions are post-colonial writing and classical epic and tragedy.

🌍 Post-colonial literature

Post-colonial writing responds to the legacy of empire. Typical themes are identity, language, power, cultural clash and resistance. In Things Fall Apart (1958) the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe shows an Igbo community before and during the arrival of colonisers. In Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) Jean Rhys gives a voice to Bertha Mason, the “madwoman” in Jane Eyre.

Writing back: a text that answers an earlier text Hybridity: blended cultures and languages Voice: whose story is told, and who tells it?

🖼️ See it

From classical epic to post-colonial voices8th c. BCHomer: The Odyssey429 BCSophocles: Oedipus Rex1958Achebe: Things FallApart1966Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea
Later writers often rework or answer earlier stories: Rhys writes back to Jane Eyre.

🏛️ Classical literature

Classical literature comes from ancient Greece and Rome. Homer’s Odyssey is an epic: a long poem about the hero Odysseus’s ten-year journey home from Troy. Greek tragedy, such as Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, shows a great person brought down by a flaw (hamartia) or pride (hubris). The audience feels pity and fear, then catharsis: emotional release.

Epic hero: brave, clever, tested by gods Tragic hero: noble, flawed, falls from high status Catharsis: release of pity and fear
Compare: ask how an old story is retold today. Many modern novels rework classical myths.
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Author

Who wrote Things Fall Apart?

A Nigerian novelist.
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Theme

A key theme of post-colonial writing is:

Empire’s legacy.
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Writing back

Wide Sargasso Sea is a response to:

A Brontë novel.
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Epic

The Odyssey is an example of:

Homer’s genre.
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Hubris

Hubris is:

Pride before a fall.
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Catharsis

Catharsis in tragedy is:

Release.
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Hamartia

Hamartia is a tragic hero’s:

The flaw.
✍️ Type your answer · 8 of 8

Odysseus takes ten years to travel home after the Trojan War, and the war lasted ten years.

How many years in total passed between the start of the war and his return?

Enter an exact answer, without rounding.
years
Add the two periods.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5

Oedipus Rex was written by:

Question 2 of 5

A tragic hero typically begins as:

Question 3 of 5

Post-colonial writers often ask:

Question 4 of 5

Which describes “hybridity”?

Question 5 of 5

The Odyssey is mainly about:

Final Challenge

🏆 8-Question Challenge Quiz

Questions from every topic in this course. Pick an answer for each one, then hit Check My Answers.

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💪 Keep practicing — go back through the lessons and retake the quiz!
Q1 · Global Issues & the General Paper Essay

A good paragraph on a global issue links its example back to:

Q2 · Global Issues & the General Paper Essay

A strong General Paper essay:

Q3 · Global Issues & the General Paper Essay

Addressing a counter-argument shows:

Q4 · Global Issues & the General Paper Essay

An effective thesis statement is:

Q5 · Post-colonial & Classical Literature

In a tragedy, “peripeteia” is a:

Q6 · Post-colonial & Classical Literature

Post-colonial literature often explores:

Q7 · Post-colonial & Classical Literature

In classical Greek tragedy, hubris means:

Q8 · Post-colonial & Classical Literature

Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” is set in: