Essay Writing Guide and Practice.
Remember that most extended responses are answers to a question. These contain key words that
you need to make sure that you address (especially if you are building a concluding paragraph into
your work). Words like “how”, “what”, “why” or phrases like “how far do you agree” need to be
focused on and returned to throughout the question. An essay is not simply a long piece of writing
about a subject. It has a purpose.
For that reason beware of any task which asks you to “explore” as these are much more unfocused
and are harder to structure.
Most poor essays are poor because they fail to focus on the question. And higher skilled essays could
often be improved by better work in the first three minutes of the response. Understanding the
question and planning a response are not things you can add as you go along, just like you can’t add
ingredients to a cake once it is in the oven.
You also need to make sure that you demonstrate the important evidence from your studies –
because unless you put something down for your examiner they have to assume that you don’t
know it. Is it possible for someone to read your essay and not to be convinced that you actually read
the text or watched the film? This is where detailed reference to the texts you studied comes in.
You have to write a response that has a clear beginning, middle and end, it needs to lead
somewhere. It also needs to be divided up into clear paragraphs (each one dealing with a separate
issue), use discourse markers (firstly, finally, another key idea etc.) and topic sentences to let the
reader know what each paragraph is about.
Essays need to be written, they should not feel as if they are spoken language that has been
transcribed onto the page. To this end use Standard English, not informal, chatty or slang
expressions, and avoid using techniques designed to change the tone or register (like “scare” quotes
– I just did one). Save quotation marks for direct quotations. Subjects have technical language so use
it. An expression like “has connotations of” or “creates an impression of” is better than a phrase like
“gives off” (which sounds like a fart).
On the subject of clunky writing. Use written numbers for numbers below 10. Check, check and
double check that you are using capital letters properly and pay attention to your legibility. Make
sure you are writing with the best pen, and style, to allow your writing to be read. To this end
practice your easy handwriting in your revision, find the pen that best suits you (tip: it is rarely a biro)
and then have it - and a spare! Your writing will be scanned for the examiner, which reduces legibility
and if they can’t read it, they can’t reward it. It’s up to you to help yourself. I swear by a fountain
pen, they can be refilled before the exam (just chuck a new cartridge in or fill from a bottle – no midexam stoppages) and they require no pressure to write (which means that letter formation is smother
and you have less hand-cramps). There are loads of pens out there so have a play over the next few
weeks.
Marks, timings and length are often things I get asked about. For most exam papers there are
specific timings that should be adhered to but the general rule of thumb is that if a question has 25
marks you should spend no more than 35 minutes on it. That includes planning time. So actually you
will be writing for slightly less than 30 minutes. In that time, if you have planned well, you should be
able to write close to 500 words (it is worth, in your revision, to find out how many words you
usually write on a page – this will reassure you in the exam).
So here is the step-by-step guide to writing an essay under timed conditions.
1: Read the question twice. Break it down by highlighting or underlining key words. Make sure you
know what the operative question word is (like “how” or “why”).
2: Create a two-stage plan on your exam paper and then cross it out with a single line. This can be
very fast but it needs to have two steps. The first is a mind-dump, a place to chuck down all your
ideas. This can be a mind-map or spider-diagram. After that identify an order for your answer. What
are you going to start with? How is it going to end?
You show this to your examiner to show them that you are organised. You cross it out so that it isn’t
marked for spelling and grammar.
3: Write the essay (keeping an eye on the time).
4: Quickly read through your writing, check and edit it for any glaring mistakes).
Essay Practice.
Here are some Paper 2 style essay questions for you to practice planning with.
P2 Q2:
"Discourse allows cultures to change and reflect both new concepts and traditional ideas.”
How valid do you find the claims made by feminist theory about power and discourse? You should
refer to your close study products “Men’s Health” and “Oh Comely” magazines.
[25 marks]
P2 Q3:
Media products reflect the social and cultural contexts of their production.
To what extent does an analysis of your videogame products support this view?
25 marks
P2 Q4:
Do all media producers need to assume a public service responsibility towards their audience?
Refer to “Teen Vogue” and “The Voice” to support your answer.
25 marks