How do I write an essay under exam conditions, effectively planning my time?

The key to this begins with spending time reading the question carefully, making sure you understand what it is that is being asked of you. For example, if the question states ‘In light of this quotation’, make sure you use the quotation that has been given when answering your essay. If you are given an unseen piece of text to answer your question on, make sure you read, re-read, and annotate it so that you familiarise yourself with the work. Now it’s time to plan! My general rule of thumb is per hour of exam, you should spend 20 minutes planning your essay and the remaining 40 writing it. Spending the time planning in an exam is the only way you will achieve a coherent answer that demonstrates that you understand what the examiners are looking for in your essay. Be selective when planning your essay, choose only the most relevant ideas that will contribute to answering the exam question- it’s easier if you decide what you are going to say before you start writing as it avoids an unclear argument. Briefly form a thesis that you want your essay to be based upon, this will help you with linking your points back to the main argument. You don’t necessarily need to know where your essay will end but knowing how you plan to explore the question is vital.When it comes to writing the essay, your plan will really ease the stress of writing! By now, you should have picked out the key elements, ideas and themes that you have identified within your text, so writing the essay will connect all of your ideas in answering the question. Referring back to your plan will make sure you write a well-balanced and clearly structured essay that says all you want it to. Linking your points back to the question will demonstrate to the examiner that you have understood what they are asking of you. A top tip for this is using some of the words given to you in the question- don’t overuse them though, or this could make your essay look clunky. Giving yourself enough time to plan and write is the key to writing a brilliant essay under exam conditions, and you will be able to demonstrate to the examiner all that you have worked so hard to learn!