As the essay paper has evolved it has become more demanding with much more emphasis on posing questions which allow candidates to display the higher order skills. Professor Roy Wilkinson of Sheffield University has identified a pyramid of skills which A level examinations try to test.

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This sets up a structure that allows you to begin at the begining and work through to the current time. Structure is vital if you aren’t to meander about in a way that feels uncontrolled; this implies to the reader that you may not be sure of your knowledge and may even cause confusion. More importantly, it enables you to plan the essay.

Next break down the subject matter as you have already done somewhat e.g. ‘origin’ (family, location, time), ‘early life’ (influences), ‘personality’ (what is this person like, did he/she change, if so – in what way and for what reason), ‘popularity’ (discuss various views of the person, impact on others, etc.)

See how this can be done in a logical progression i.e. knowing where a person came from naturally preceeds where, and who, they are today. Only you know how much detail is appropriate for each section but generally, a *history* is not the intention with a LIVING person, and is particularly less desirable with someone who isn’t famous *unless* this history is especially important e.g. an essay on a person raised in a traveling circus to become an acrobat and stunt man would likely have much of interest to the reader about his unusual childhood environment.

Don’t ever forget ‘reader interest’ i.e. don’t allow the essay to get bogged down, but equally, never forget the *intentions* of the essay i.e. if it’s intended to be graded on content and information, it will be less important that it is amusing and easy to read.

Breaking the essay into sections also enables you to more easily keep track of the word count (if you aren’t using a wordprocessor) and the balance of the piece.

On ‘balance’: this is like the tempo of a film; you don’t want non-stop action but also, you don’t want monotony. This is probably the most difficult aspect to get right. By reading the work through to yourself *out loud*, you should be able to get a feel for its rhythm.

End with a conclusion: this should *draw the essay together*, making references to what was in the body of the piece to finish in a way that leaves the reader with a sense of a *complete* person, rather than just the last piece they read. E.g. A complex and ever-compulsive figure, the mere mention of the words ‘Prince Charles’ will always get a response; for some, this will be coloured by the controversy that…while for others, he will forever be a standard, flying the Union Jack…etc.

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