How do I structure an A Level essay?

 At A Level, essay structure is mostly about clarity and coherence. You need to open with an introduction (even if it’s only two sentences) and close with a conclusion (more on that later). You’re not expected to do anything too fancy, as long as points follow logically on from each other and you’re not repeating points you made earlier because they’re relevant to a different part of your essay. Hopefully if you follow these tips that shouldn’t happen, but if it does and you find yourself going over old territory to make a new point, make sure you don’t spend too much of your essay doing so. Just a sentence or two is more than enough.

First, you have to take your cues from the question. Whatever the argument that the question lays out, your structure and your plan should directly reflect that. Each individual paragraph should clearly agree with one side of the argument or the other. It is possible to have paragraphs that are less black-and-white, but generally you need to be sure that what your writing corresponds to the argument that the title lays out. A good tip to make sure you’re doing this is to add a sentence that relates back directly to the question, onto the end of every paragraph. This usually involves restating the title in a way that supports either side of the argument – using most of the same words as the question. This might seem unimaginative, but it really helps sharpen the focus of your answer. (Sidenote: you should also do this in the first sentence of your introduction. It might seem like a waste of time, but you’re actively throwing away marks if you don’t.)

 Of course, you should cover both sides of the argument thoroughly before making an overall judgement. Your essay should be split around 50/50 between the two sides of the argument. However, don’t take this to mean that you should write half an essay agreeing with one side, and then disagreeing in the other half. It’s almost always better to integrate the two arguments and play them off against eachother, inserting paragraphs which contest the points made in the previous one.

 Right, planning. Planning is essential. No one is too good to plan. In questions on a single text, I usually find it easier to collect both arguments in a quick bullet-point style list, and then from there see which arguments relate to which and let that dictate the structure of the essay. In a question about multiple texts, it’s usually easier to group your points in lists about each different text and then go through each point as a paragraph in the essay. For example, in a question such as “Gothic texts are about transgression. How far do you agree?” my initial list for Macbeth (one of the texts on the AQA Gothic unit) might look like this:

Macbeth

  Agree – Macbeth oversteps boundaries and transgresses against God and the natural order in killing Duncan, children etc; and the moral conflict of the play surrounds these transgressions

  Disagree – Macbeth could be argued to be within his moral boundaries if the Machiavellian moral system is applied to his actions

  Counter-point - even if Macbeth follows unconventional moral values, the reader doesnt't and he's still transgressing by normal moral standards

 Every bullet point therefore would make up a paragraph in my essay. The point is, that you should come up with a quick, concise and easy-to-follow way of planning your essays, and stick to that method every time. If you do this, the structure should just fall into place.

 Lastly, a few pointers on conclusions. They should be around the length of an ordinary paragraph, or perhaps a little shorter. They should clearly state which side you support and why, summarising both arguments and giving your own final opinion. You shouldn't really cover any new ground in your concluding paragraph. However, if you’re careful about it you can give a concluding view that relates to your previous answer but takes it further or uses it in a different way. Don’t do this unless you’re confident that what you’re saying is supported by your essay, though. Lastly, as with the first sentence and the end of every paragraph, relate the conclusion to the essay question. Again, this will make sure your conclusion has the sharp focus it needs.

Hope all of this helps!

George