Plan your essay

If you’re doing a comparison and contrast essay, it’s important to know what you’re comparing or contrasting. You can do this by describing each thing individually (e.g., “The first thing that I’m going to compare is X.”).

It’s also essential to have strong reasons for your comparisons or contrasts; this helps make them more obvious for the examiner, who can then focus on how well these reasons are supported by evidence from the text(s).

If you’re doing an analysis essay, it’s critical to have a clear thesis statement. This doesn’t mean that you need to state your thesis in the first paragraph; rather, it means that before you begin writing, you should have a general idea of what point you’re trying to make about the text(s) and how those points relate back to the question.

Plan your response to the question

Understand the question. Before you can start your response, you need to understand what the question is asking of you. If it’s a paragraph-length essay question and there are no prompts for the essay in your notes, then find out what the question is and write it down.

Know what you are going to write about. The next step is knowing exactly what aspect or aspects of this topic will be explored in your essay. This may seem obvious, but many students write essays without thinking about what they will write about! This can lead to weak arguments and rambling paragraphs that don’t get anywhere near answering their assigned task.

When writing an answer, make sure that every sentence relates directly to some aspect of the prompt or sub-topics. If something does not relate directly to an aspect/sub-topic specified by either one specific word from a prompt stop, take a new line and start a new thought.

Make sure you respond to all aspects of the question, in this way you will come across as a more thoughtful and reflective writer who is worth rewarding with higher marks! Make sure that your response is comprehensive, covering all aspects of what they have asked. A good way to achieve this is by reading through the questions carefully and outlining them on your note paper before writing anything down.

Then start! As you write, think about how each part of your argument relates back to each aspect of the question it addresses. For example: What evidence do I give? Is there enough evidence? Is my conclusion sound? Did I explain how my thinking developed through my analysis?