How can I use a plan to help me write an essay?

The first, and perhaps most important, step is to 'deconstruct' the essay question. Essentially what you need to do is find 'the heart' of the question, this will usually allude to a certain thesis that you will then need to answer in your essay. For example, in the question ''In Gothic writing, women are presented as either innocent victims, or sinister predators or are significantly absent.' Consider the place of women in Gothic writing in light of this comment.", the heart of the question would be 'the place of women in Gothic writing' as this is the central theme. Underline this so that it is easy to keep in mind when writing your essay. The second step would be to pick which texts you're going to explore, for the purpose of this answer, we're going to consider Frankenstein and The Bloody Chamber. Within the context of these novels, you should decide what your hypothesis is going to be; pick 2/3 points for one argument and 2/3 for the other- since this is a question regarding a group of people, it may be a good idea to split your essay up by dedicating a paragraph to a particular individual. Write down quotes that support/ contest the point you are making. A good quote would be one where you can pick out certain words for in-depth analysis. Make sure you state your thesis in your introduction and that your conclusion reiterates this, with the examples explored in your essay. To make sure that you stay focused on the essay question, start each paragraph with a sentence marker, making it very very clear to the examiner that you are effectively answering the question at hand.