How do you write a good essay?
How to plan, structure and argue an essay at school or university.
Axis: state one argument up front and sustain it … survey both sides and conclude at the end
Answers by date: 10 records in 7 sources, newest first; the answers above are the current ones. The advice was refined (2018, 2019, 2020), never reversed, in these records.
| date | who | answer | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-08-20 | Ali | Many of an essay's intermediate packets can go into other essays, an insight Ali says makes students' lives more efficient. | The Second Brain - A Life-Changing Productivity System 00:08:23 |
| 2020-01-21 | Ali | Pointing to the halo effect, Ali advises students to make an essay's introduction and its presentation (handwriting, diagrams) top-notch, so that a lazy examiner who sees at a glance that it looks the part is tempted to give a high mark. | A Productive Day in the Life vlog 00:01:27 |
| 2019-04-09 | Ali | In his introduction Ali says exactly what his answer to the question is, stating what the essay will argue instead of skirting around it. | How I ranked 1st at Cambridge University - The Essay Memorisation Framework 00:06:41 |
| 2019-04-09 | Ali | In Ali's opinion three things count in a good essay plan: structure, actually answering the question, and a bit of flair; he thinks the introduction is the most important part of the essay. | How I ranked 1st at Cambridge University - The Essay Memorisation Framework 00:04:56 |
| 2018-05-07 | Ali | Ali's last-minute GCSE tips: get a good night's sleep and make sure your handwriting is good, which is very important, especially in essay subjects. | Live Q&A + Hangout - Bank Holiday vibes - Ali Abdaal, Cambridge medical student 00:48:13 |
| 2018-05-02 | Ali | For reading lists Ali advises reading with a goal instead of whole books: he structures revision around an essay title, keeps only what answers it and memorises good paragraphs in his flashcard deck. | Exam Study Tips for University & A-Level students - Revision Q&A with Cambridge students 00:16:25 |
| 2018-05-02 | Ali | If exams are essay-based, Ali advises basing revision on essay plans: take a topic's lectures and answer past or likely essay titles with them and the further reading. | Exam Study Tips for University & A-Level students - Revision Q&A with Cambridge students 00:04:36 |
| 2018-04-14 | Ali | Ali reckons the single biggest thing you can do to improve your marks in an essay exam is improve your handwriting, which anyone can do with practice and YouTube videos. | Last Minute Study Tips, Flashcards, Essays & Maths - Exam Revision Q&A with Cambridge students 00:22:49 |
More answers (2)
| date | who | answer | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-04-14 | Paul | Paul, who marks essays, says that by the fourth essay they all blur into one, so the introduction should catch the marker and outline the argument: from it a marker can tell whether it will get a first, a 2:1 or a 2:2. | Last Minute Study Tips, Flashcards, Essays & Maths - Exam Revision Q&A with Cambridge students 00:20:33 |
| 2018-03-24 | Ali | Ali advises stating an essay's argument in the introduction and arguing it throughout: the GCSE and A-level mark schemes he saw gave the highest marks for a sustained argument, rather than a thesis held back until the conclusion. | Exam Revision Tips with Ibz Mo 00:05:00 |