How should I answer an essay question?

Firstly you should take some time to read the question fully at least 3 times and to circle/underline/highlight what it is asking you to do in order to ensure you fully understand it. Secondly you should plan your essay in brief. You should look to plan and make at least 3 key main body points to fully explore the question and include some debate. An essay question often asks you to debate a statement or explore the importance/use of a certain theme/character/mood so your points should explore each key argument within the debate. If the essay question is in an 'agree/disagree' format then you could go for a 'AGREE, AGREE, DISAGREE' or 'AGREE, DISAGREE, DISAGREE' structure for your three main body paragraph points. Alternatively, an essay question may ask you to 'Explore ways' in which writers use themes/characters/moods in their work. A quick essay plan on a question like that may look like this:Question: Explore the ways Willy Russel explores Social Class in Blood Brothers1) STRUTURAL PARALELS - different childhoods of mickey + eddie "silver trays to take meals on/ a bike with both wheels on"2) LANGUAGE - mikey vs eddies language - "youre soft" "dictionary"3) MOOD/EXTERIOR EVENTS - Economic troubles of the 80s "sign of the times"This is an effective plan as it is brief, reminds me of a few key quotes I could mention and ensures that my points don't drip into one another or lose focus.After planning you should write a brief introduction, outlining what the theme/character/mood is and why it is important in the text. This could also be a good point to mention any social/historical/cultural context to the text that you may have (as long as it is relevant to the question). Your introduction should outline the three key points you will explore later on in brief. This will show the examiner that you have a throughly thought-through response planned.For each of your points, you should structre your paragraphs with a PEE stylePOINT: statement of what you are arguingEVIDENCE: brief quote from text correlating to your pointEXPLANATION: how the evidence backs up your point and the effect it creates for the readerOnce you reach the end of your 3 main body points, you should write a short conclusion outlining what you think your most important point is. To maintain formality in this section, you should avoid using "in my opinion" or "I think" but instead present your opinion as fact eg. "The most significant way social class is presented is through....as..."Now the essay is complete you should read through and check for any silly mistakes that can be corrected.If you have written your plan at the top of your answer booklet, simply cross through it with one or two neat lines so that the examiner can still see it as it will help them to credit you on the structure of your response.