how to write an essay?

Answers by date: 6 records in 4 sources, newest first; the answers above are the current ones. The advice was refined (2018), never reversed, in these records.

date	who	answer	source
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
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