20/20 Essay Guide 

Concept English Solutions 

 
 

T​EXTUAL​ ​CONVERSATIONS  
​ TEP​-​BY​-​STEP​ G
A​ S ​ UIDE​ T​ O​ A​ ​ FULL MARK ​ESSAY  
 

1. T​HE​ ​INTRO  
 
i. Conceptual Thesis Statement  
 
Directly answer the question here by making a statement about a textual 
conversation. ​What do we learn from a textual conversation? 
 
E.​G.) By studying texts in alignment with each other, we gain a more 
holistic understanding of the way the human experience / behaviours have 
both endured and evolved throughout time as a product of context.  
 
Putting this into a thesis statement:  
 
o A textual conversation enhances our understanding of the way core
moral, political and philosophical concerns inherent to the human
condition have both endured and evolved over time as a product of
contextual dissonances.
 
ii. Introduce your texts (2 SENTENCES)  
 
For Mod A, you can do this in 2 ways:

a) Introduce by Text  

Sentence 1: ​COMPOSER’S (Date) (textual form) ‘TEXT’ examines (IDEA 1) & 

(IDEA 2) to illustrate the way (CONTEXUTAL VALUE) within the 
(CONTEXTUAL PERIOD) shapes the human struggle to (COMMON IDEA).  
 
Sentence 2​: Alternatively, COMPOSER’s (Date) (textual form) ‘TEXT’ depicts 
(IDEA 1 & IDEA 2) through the alternate lens of the (CONTEXTUAL PERIOD) 
values of (CONTEXTUAL VALUES) to portray the way (COMMON IDEA) has 
both endured and evolved through time.  

b) Introduce by Resonances and Dissonances  

 

Written by : Chloe Zhu, 16​th​ in NSW English Advanced 

  Concept English 
Solutions 

Sentence 1: ​Both​ ​COMPOSER 1’S (Date) (textual form) ‘TEXT 1’ and 

COMPOSER 2’S (Date) (textual form) ‘TEXT 2’ examines (IDEA 1) & (IDEA 
2).  
 
Sentence 2​: However, whilst COMPOSER 1’s representation is shaped by 
(CONTEXTUAL VALUES), COMPOSER 2’s reimagination is mediated by the 
(CONTEXTUAL VALUES 2).  

iii. Concluding Sentence 

Your final sentence should be a strong, evocative concluding sentence which
brings us back to the ​purpose ​of the module - why are we studying textual
conversations?

2. ​ ODY 
THE​ B

A. Sub-thesis Statements:  
Your sub- thesis statements must elaborate on your introduction in relation to
your body paragraph idea. In each sub-thesis, you ​MUST ​use the exact same
key words of the question.

B. The Analysis: 
Make sure ​EVERY ​sentence following your thesis is following this sentence 
structure, with a T (technique), Q (quote) and P (point) all in one sentence:  
Technique in “quote” conveys ​POINT​. 
 
OR 
 
POINT​ as conveyed by technique in “quote”.  
 
As a general rule, you can follow this guideline:  
 
• In a 3 para essay: 4-5 MINIMUM complete points of analysis in 
every paragraph (i.e. ​4-5 TQP’s/ PTQ’s​)  
 
• In a 4 para essay: 3-4 MINIMUM complete points of analysis in 
every paragraph (i.e. ​3-4 TQP’s/PTQ’s​)  
 
C. The Link:  
 
Summarise conclusions made for the paragraph and again reflect on how 
your text answers the question. The same key words of the question should 
appear here again.  
o ​DO NOT ​introduce new concepts which haven’t been covered in 
your body paragraph here in the tie back sentence! I see students 

Written by : Chloe Zhu, 16​th​ in NSW English Advanced

  Concept English 
Solutions 

introducing new themes or ideas which they haven’t covered in the 

paragraph and this is very illogical.  

3. ​ ONCLUSION  
THE​ C
Only needs to be 2-3 sentences! DO NOT waste excessive words here as your conclusion 
is only worth ONE mark, and you want to keep it short and sweet. You do not need to list 
out every theme that you’ve examined, and doing so is a sign of a bad conclusion that 
doesn’t add to your essay.  
 
● Rather than merely repeat all your body paragraph ideas, ​reflect ​on WHY the 
question is worth asking; Reinforce the PURPOSE of studying this module.  
 
● Make sure you include that evaluative language talked about in the article here, as 
this is your last chance to show the marker you’re engaging with the question.  
 

W​ANT​ ​A​ ​TEXT​-​SPECIFIC​ ​GUIDE​?  

 

 
 
Hope this article helped! If you’d like to get more text-specific help, visit our website: 
conceptenglish.com.au for more free resources and tips ​☺  
 
 

Written by : Chloe Zhu, 16​th​ in NSW English Advanced