How do I structure an A Level essay?

It can sometimes be a struggle to deal with the jump between GCSE and A Level. At GCSE you're likely to encounter questions which ask what happened whereas at A Level you are more likely to be asked why things happened. When it comes to structuring A Level essay questions it's important to start simply. At the most basic level you need an introduction which introduces what you're writing about, a middle which develops your points, and a conclusion in which you 'pick a side' and decide which point or factor was more important. However, it's also important that you include all the facts as well, just as you would have done at GCSE. A question which presents a view point and asks you to assess it wants you to analyse that idea but also consider other factors. 'The French Revolution happened because of the declining authority of the king' needs you to consider how the French revolution was caused by monarchical failure, but also how it was caused by other factors such as financial struggles, the enlightenment and the war in America, for example. Within these paragraphs you want to look at both the facts - eg. 'the peasantry were spending almost the entirety of their wages on bread alone', but also examine how and why this led to revolution. In your conclusion you want to balance up the considerations and decide whether the French Revolution really was down to declining monarchical authority as the question suggests. Remember, whatever you argue in your conclusion, you must have made a convincing enough case for throughout your essay as a whole.