How should I plan and structure my essays in exams?

When approaching an essay question in the exam you will not have the luxury of lots of time to plan a response so it's important you understand how best to attack the paper. FIRST read through all the questions which are available for you to answer. If you find any immediately intimidating, don't panic! You are given a choice for a reason, look to the others. If no question jumps out to you, I would suggest approaching each question in turn: jot down words, concepts and ideas. (this should be very fast! remember you only have a couple of minutes to plan). So, for a question asking you to reconcile the attributes of God- omnipotence, benevolence and omniscience, Descartes, Aquinas, Dummett, perspective, Nagel etc. - WHICHEVER QUESTION YOU FIND THE EASIEST TO DO THIS WITH IS THE ONE YOU SHOULD ANSWER. KNOW YOUR END. In order to write a good essay for any element of RS you need to know where you are going to finish. What is your conclusion? If this does not jump to you instantly consider what you would answer if someone asked you the same question in class or in the street. This doesn't need to be academic, just discover an opinion. NEXT work out what you need to prove in order to reach this opinion, this will end up being the substance of your essay! The best place to start for every essay is with defining hard terms. Using the example above: 'Omnipotence means the quality of being all powerful' (There are nuances to this definition which may become a later paragraph - Can god do only that which is logically possible (Aquinas) or anything at all (Descartes)). If you end up with 3 paragraphs, all of which must be relevant to you Line Of Argument, and you know where you want to finish then you can write quickly, without straying from the question! :)