How to Write a Timed Essay The Scenario  You have 90 minutes in which to write a timed essay.  Half way through you start to run out of ideas.  You forget about that brilliant point that you were going to make.  You read through your essay and you get that horrible sick feeling that you haven’t answered the question properly.  You run out of time and realize that you needed to add something when it’s too late. The Solution  Spend 10 to 15 minutes planning your answer.  Remember that you need to represent both points of view and demonstrate an understanding of the argument.  You need to use quotes from BOTH passages as well. Steps to planning a Successful Essay  Spend 10 minutes brainstorming your ideas.  Spend at least 10 minutes organising the results of your brainstorm. Make sure that your answer is balanced.  Structure your essay with a clear introduction, main body and conclusion.  The main body should consist of around 3 or 4 paragraphs that weigh up the arguments to support your answer. How to Brainstorm an answer: Cross out any ideas that you know are not relevant Make sure that you have enough ideas for a balanced answer Draw up a list or a spider graph Brainstorming a Timed Essay Number your ideas in order to prioritise them Write down as many relevant facts that you can remember The Introduction Define the key words or phrases in the title.  Briefly state the argument you are going to follow in the main body, mentioning both positions.  Give a brief outline of what you are going to write about using the words of the title. Main Body of your Timed Essay  You must avoid superficial statements or trying to tell a story, although you need to use examples from your own life, from books that you have read, movies you have seen, class discussions you have had, and more.  Each paragraph needs a balance of evidence and analysis.  Remember to keep referring back to the words of the title and relate everything to the question set. Warning Avoid the phrase ‘I Think’ (Your essay is your point of view.) Make sure you use quotes. Make sure you demonstrate an understanding of both authors. Titles ARE GOOD TO USE! Conclusion  Restate your argument using the words of the authors.  Briefly summarise the main points again in one sentence.  Finish with a contemporary example or quote, but make sure you have tied it in to your overall ideas. Finally  Spend five minutes checking your answer.  Write a conclusion during the 30-min pre- writing phase. If you run out of time on the 60-minute writing phase, you can refer back to this idea to write a quick conclusion.  If you run out of time, refer to your brainstorm.