How to Write an Essay for HSC English (and Actually Do Well)

How, how, how do you write an essay for HSC English?

Good question. And here’s the (annoying) answer: there isn’t one single way. There is no holy grail of “essay structure” that guarantees top marks. What works will depend on your school, your teacher, the module, and the question. But there are best practices—and this blog will walk you through them.

Let’s start with the most commonly used approach:

🧱 The Basic Essay Structure

📌 Introduction

• Thesis: Your main argument. Ideally, it captures the author’s purpose—often involving some change they want to spark in the reader. And it directly responds to the question!

• Context (if relevant): Any biographical or historical background that directly informs your argument.

• Signposts: Briefly outline your body paragraph arguments so the reader knows what to expect.

🪜 Body Paragraphs (3 in total)

Each paragraph should follow this pattern:

• Topic sentence: An smaller argument that supports the larger thesis. Again, author's purpose (or cause and effect on the reader) is needed here.

• Optional context sentence: If helpful, situate the argument in a specific relevant historical or biographical frame.

• Evidence + Analysis x3: For each point:

  • Introduce your quotation clearly (what’s happening in the text when it appears?).

  • Analyse the language, structure, and form, and explain how it links to your thesis and the question.

• Link: Tie everything back to your topic sentence and the essay question.

📌 Conclusion

• Restate your thesis with confidence.

• Summarise your body paragraph arguments (briefly!).

• End with a final reflection if relevant.

* (There are plenty of other structures—especially for comparative essays in Module A—but that’s a topic for another post!)

📚 Read the Text (Properly)

Here’s the hard truth: if you haven’t properly read the poems, novel, or play (or carefully watched the film), you simply won't produce your best work.

Don’t skim. Don’t rely solely on study notes. Don’t just listen to the audiobook while scrolling TikTok. Read the text slowly, attentively—and then read it again, this time with a pen in hand.

On your second read, annotate. Use asterisks, notes, underline key lines. Cross-reference with a study guide (e.g. chapter summaries) if needed. If you want to be a top band student, this is non-negotiable.

📌 Gather High-Quality Quotations

Think of quotations as the ingredients in a meal. Fancy vocabulary and slick structure mean nothing if your quotes are bland.

You want a range of quotations:

• The obvious ones? Sure.

• But also the ones others miss—the subtle, the niche, the insightful.

Pro tip: Build a quotation table. Mine usually looks like this:

Theme	Quotation	Technique	Analysis
Power Control Pride	“He wore his authority like a badge” (p. 71)	Metaphor Simile	Shows the performative nature of leadership…

Having this on hand will ensure your essay is insightful, detailed, and accurate.

🧠 Brainstorming on Paper

Grab an A3 sheet. In the middle: the essay question. Around it, mind-map:

• Key themes

• Quotations

• Observations and possible arguments

Once you’ve mapped everything out, number your ideas into a potential essay order. Start visualising your paragraphs before you write a single sentence. It'll be messy at first, but then you'll start to create order from the chaos and see things you might not have seen otherwise.

🔍 ATfQ – Answer The (Freaking) Question

Have you actually read the question? No, I mean really read it? Understood every word?

Have you talked to your teacher to confirm how they interpret the question? Teachers can have unspoken expectations that aren’t always in the question. So check with them. Clarify. Don’t leave anything to chance.

🎯 The Thesis: What Are You Really Saying?

Before discussing the thesis, let’s take a second to demystify the word 'essay'.

The word essay comes from the French essayer—to try. At its heart, an essay isn’t about delivering the “right” answer. It’s about exploring ideas under a clear argument and supporting your perspective with evidence from the text.

That said… you still have to play the game.

As disheartening as it may be, some teachers in NSW aren’t looking for bold originality—they want essays that closely reflect classroom discussions and curriculum expectations (how they interpret the text). That’s why it’s essential to understand your teacher’s preferences (or those of your school’s English department). What are your friends hearing in their classes? Do their teachers welcome fresh, nuanced arguments—or do they lean towards safer, textbook responses? Know your audience, and tailor your thesis accordingly.

In practical terms, your thesis needs to be stated clearly in the introduction. A strong thesis should:

• Take a definite stance in response to the question

• Reflect the composer’s purpose

• Consider the intended effect on the audience or reader

Many teachers also expect a cause-and-effect structure—that is, your argument should explain how the composer uses the text (the cause) to create meaning and shape the reader’s understanding (the effect). But be careful: this doesn’t mean listing techniques in your thesis. Focus on ideas and meaning, not methods. Save the close analysis of language and form for your body paragraphs. Your thesis should remain conceptual and rooted in interpretation.

📝 Example Thesis

In Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), George Orwell challenges the traditional view of the human experience as morally autonomous and emotionally driven, instead compelling readers to see it as governed by a primal instinct for self-preservation under oppressive powers.

🧩 Topic Sentences: Start with an Idea

A strong topic sentence introduces a smaller argument that undergirds your thesis. It should also follow a cause and effect: what the composer is doing, and what it reveals or provokes.

📝 Example Topic Sentence

Orwell highlights the human tendency to prioritise self-preservation over emotional connection, revealing how fear can erode autonomy at the core of the human experience.

📋 Use the Rubric and Marking Criteria

This is where the marks are.

Read the NESA rubrics for each module. Highlight key terms. Stick them on your wall. Then read the examiners’ feedback from past HSC exams—they’re gold.

Also, study the marking criteria for each task. It's what the teachers and examiners use to mark your essays. Of course, aim for the top-band descriptors.

📝 Draft. Then Draft Again.

For hand-in essays and 'base essays', drafting is essential. First drafts are rubbish. And that's fine; essay writing is a process.

Write it. Then rewrite it. Share it with your tutor or teacher. Get feedback. Do it again. Writing is rewriting.

🎓 Exam Preparation: The Two-Pronged Strategy

Here’s what students always ask:

“Can I just memorise one essay and use it in the exam?”

Yes… and no.

Strategy 1: Have a “base essay”

Write it. Perfect it. Learn it. This gives you confidence and shows you what excellent writing looks like.

Strategy 2: Build your "muscle of spontaneity"

(Yes, I made that up.)

Practise writing essays under timed conditions. Pick a question at random. Set the timer. Write for 40 minutes. Do this repeatedly until you’re able to:

• Formulate a thesis under pressure

• Choose relevant quotations

• Write clearly and analytically

Then get feedback from your tutor and teacher. Rewrite the essays written in timed conditions so that they become full markers. Repeat the process.

While some students can get very lucky with strategy 1, the best students invariably do both strategies. Those who only rely on memorisation often crumble when the question doesn’t match their prep.

💡 More Tips for Sharpening Your Essay

1. Chronology is your friend

Unless your essay is structured thematically, default to working through the text in chronological order. It helps ensure your argument builds logically.

2. Use strong analytical vocabulary

If I had a dollar for every time a student wrote “the author shows…,” I’d be retired. Try verbs like:

• Amplifies, challenges, complicates, compels, subverts, juxtaposes, evokes, illuminates, foregrounds, undermines…

3. Using Embedded Quotations

One of the easiest ways to make your writing sound more sophisticated is to embed your quotations. That means weaving them seamlessly into your own sentence, rather than dumping them in as standalone lines.

Embedded quotations:

• Keep your analysis flowing smoothly

• Show that you understand the quotation in context

• Avoid clunky writing that disrupts your argument

Here’s the difference:

❌ Clunky:

The composer uses irony. “Peace is our profession,” is written on the side of a nuclear missile. This shows that…

✅ Embedded:

The ironic slogan, “Peace is our profession”, scrawled on the side of a nuclear missile underscores the hypocrisy of war propaganda.

Notice how the second version flows naturally, allowing analysis and evidence to work together. It feels more intentional and academically mature—markers love this.

4. Know your literary techniques

At Brocklehurst Academy, we provide a full catalogue of literary terms—from metaphor to metonymy, polysyndeton to enjambment. But don’t forget grammar! Techniques include:

• Modality (e.g. “must”, “might”)

• Sentence types and punctuation

• Lexical choice and sound devices (e.g. sibilance, plosives)

The more techniques you’re familiar with, the easier it is to craft thoughtful analysis.

💭 Final Thoughts

There’s no magic wand. But there is a method. Read carefully. Plan thoroughly. Draft obsessively. And above all: stay open to improving.

At Brocklehurst Academy, we’ve helped hundreds of students master their essays and approach HSC English Standard and Advanced with clarity and confidence. Whether it’s refining your thesis, expanding your analytical vocabulary, or staying calm when the exam throws a curveball, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Now go write something worth reading!