Essay questions come in two parts. The first part of the question usually asks you to describe a certain aspect of the visual or oral text. The second part of the question expands on this and asks you to explain how this aspect helped you to understand/feel engaged with/was important to the text. It is essential when structuring an essay around these questions that you really hit all parts of the question. 

This is often neglected by students, but it is extremely important in the exam to ensure you don’t get lost mid-way through writing your essay. These plans do not have to be super detailed, and there is even a small space on the second page of the exam paper for you to jot it down! Making a quick, concise plan in the first 10-15 minutes of the exam will help to remind you about how you will structure your essay, as well as remember any key points/quotes that you might forget later on when you are writing. 

Having well-structured paragraphs are absolutely essential to achieving in English. For all externals, you are required to answer in a way that clearly conveys your ideas whilst answering the question fully. Remember TEXAS:

Topic sentence = the point you are going to prove in your paragraph 

Evidence = backing up your main point with examples from the text 

eXplanation = explaining how this evidence proves your main point

Author’s purpose = why did the author/director choose to include this in the text

Summary = how all of this comes together to prove the purpose of your paragraph AND the purpose of your essay