How should I structure my essays?

One of the biggest steps up from GCSE to A-Level is the way in which you structure your essays. A-Level examiners expect you to be able to lay out coherent arguments in order to achieve the top grades, as opposed to the more basic approach at GCSE of simply describing/explaing historical events. Essays will take 45 minutes to write and should begin with an introduction that provides context to the subject on which the question is asking - for example you might begin a question on the Great Depression by explaining the events of the Wall Street Crash - and gives a brief summary of what your overall argument will be. This intro should not be too long and requires about 5 minutes of writing time. Following this is the main body of your work. This should be about 3 or 4 paragraphs which support your argument, containing facts and evidence to back up your points. You should always look to end these paragraphs by linking back to the question and explaining how the point you just made links in to your overall argument. 10 minutes should be left for the end of the exam in order to write your conclusion. In this you should summerise your argument and how this answers the overall question of the exam. Refer back to the points you made in the main body of your work and explain why these have led you to make the conclusion that you have. Try to show as much origniality as you can through your answer to the question.