Essay Writing

All I wanted to know about writing an essay but were afraid to ask

Being able to write a good essay is vital to the exam because you will be assessed not only on what you write, but also on how you write it.

Therefore, you should:
1. analyse, think, plan and draft
2. write with a clear structure: introduction, body, conclusion
3. use evidence and quotations (you will get a very low mark if you do not quote!)
4. leave a minute or two at the end to check your work (an examiner will ignore crossing out and will read any additions you make as long as you make your corrections clear!)

The first step is to analyse the question in order to determine exactly what you are being asked:
• Underline the key words in the question: e.g. Willy’s relationship with Biff is the most flawed one in the play. How far is this true?
• Think about what each word means and what it is looking for. The example question is obviously asking you to argue for a point and consider any other points of view.

Then think about your response the question:
• Brainstorm between three and six points you could analyse: e.g. Willy’s expectations of Biff, Willy’s morality issues, influence of Ben on Willy, Willy’s arguing with Biff, Biff’s lying and responses.
• Put these points into a logical order by numbering them.
• Consider alternative interpretations: e.g that Willy’s relationship with Biff is NOT the most flawed one in the play.
• Consider what sections you could relate to this to: e.g. restaurant scene, flashback to the ball game.
• Decide on a clear line of response that actually answers the question. This will become the first sentence of your essay: e.g. In Death of a Salesman Willy’s relationship with Biff is the most flawed one in the play.