Essay Do's and Don'ts Introductions Development Conclusions In the Exam Room

Introductions Do Don’t Start you essay with an attention-grabbing first sentence Set out the issue clearly in the introduction Give an indication of your line of argument in the introduction Write a linking sentence at the end of your introduction to provide a smooth transition into the topic sentence of the second paragraph Don’t Answer the question in the introduction Just re-phrase the question. Just make a list of points you are going to make Use personal terms like ‘I’ or ‘My’.

Development Do Make sure that your essay has a logical or clear structure Check that the first sentence in each paragraph should contain the main idea. This is called the ‘topic sentence’. Follow this up with evidence, details, facts, figures, quotes. Include ‘toolkit’ words which ensure that you are arguing, debating. Keep sentences simple, direct, clear and relevant. Don’t Exaggerate claims e.g. ‘This proves that..’ Quote overly long chunks from historians – this is your essay being assessed. Use slang or abbreviations. Formal English, please. Use nursery language: ‘The workers were not happy about..’ Use two sentences when one would do. Miss out parts of the essay – check back to question several times.

Conclusions Do Don’t Answer the question Summarise the main points in your argument Check that the conclusion is based on evidence presented in the essay. Check that the conclusion is in line with the line of argument presented in the introduction. Refer to words, phrases used in the essay title e.g. if a quotation was used. Don’t Introduce new evidence in the conclusion. Say ‘In conclusion…’. That is stating the obvious.