How to write an essay in an exam

An exam essay is a different genre from a coursework essay, and treating it as a shortened version of one is the most common way to lose marks. There is no redrafting, no research, and no time to discover your argument as you write. The whole game is decided in the first five minutes, before you write a sentence.

Read the question properly

More marks are lost to answering the wrong question than to not knowing enough. Underline two things: the command word and the scope.

• Discuss / evaluate / to what extent — you must weigh both sides and reach a judgement.
• Compare / contrast — both, in relation to each other, not one then the other.
• Analyse — break it into parts and show how they relate.
• Explain / account for — causes and mechanisms, not opinion.
• Describe — rare at higher levels, and if it appears, do not over-argue.

Then check the scope. "In the period 1919–1929" means marks disappear the moment you write about 1933. "In developing economies" excludes your best example if it is Germany.

Spend the first five minutes planning

This feels unbearable when the clock is running and everyone else is writing. Do it anyway. Candidates who plan consistently outperform candidates who start immediately, because an unplanned essay drifts and repeats.

On the paper: your answer to the question in one line, then three or four points in the order you will make them, with the key evidence next to each. Two minutes for that, one minute to check the order actually builds, and you can now write continuously without stopping to think.

Budget the time

For a 45-minute essay: 5 planning, 35 writing, 5 checking. Divide the writing by the number of points so you know when to move on — this is the discipline that prevents a brilliant first paragraph and a rushed, unfinished argument.

Finishing matters more than polish. An essay with a conclusion always beats a better essay that stops mid-sentence, because the conclusion is where markers look for the judgement the command word demanded.

If you are running out of time, stop writing prose and write your remaining points as a brief plan. Most mark schemes allow credit for it; nothing gets credit for a blank page.

Structure

Introduction: three sentences. Answer the question directly, signal your line of argument, and stop. No history of the topic, no "throughout human history", no restating the question in longer words.

Each paragraph: one point. Claim, evidence, explanation of why the evidence supports the claim, link back to the question. That last clause is what turns description into argument, and it is the thing most exam essays omit.

Counter-argument. Where the command word asks you to evaluate, deal with the strongest opposing case properly and say why your position still holds.

Conclusion. Answer the question. Do not introduce new material. Do not hedge into "there are arguments on both sides" — that is the one thing an evaluative question does not want.

Common mistakes

Writing everything you know about the topic rather than answering the question. A long introduction. Narrative drift, where an argument turns into a story told in order. Running out of time on the last and often most valuable point. Ignoring the counter-argument. Illegible handwriting — it is worth slowing down, since an unreadable sentence scores nothing.

Practical tips

• Practise timed and by hand if the exam is by hand. Writing speed is a physical skill and it degrades without practice.
• Learn a small number of flexible examples deeply rather than many shallowly; a good example can serve several questions.
• Write the conclusion first if you are prone to running out of time — some candidates draft it immediately after the plan.
• Leave a line between paragraphs. It makes insertions possible and helps the marker.
• Reread the question after your second paragraph. Drift is invisible from the inside.