How to structure an A-Level essay

An essay should comprise an introduction, three main points answering the essay question and a conclusion. Say the essay question was: ‘Discuss how Duffy presents pain as an intrinsic part of love in her anthology Rapture.’The introduction should summarise your argument: eg. Rapture charts the lifecycle of love through the discomfort of being apart at the relationships start, through its height and the painful awareness of the transience of love, and the ensuing agony of a breakup. The introduction should also outline your approach in answering the question: eg. This essay will explore Duffy’s portrayal of love as painful, at the start of the relationship in ‘Hour,’ at its climax in ‘Rapture’ and its aftermath in ‘Over.’ You should discuss your three main points and examples in three separate paragraphs. A topic sentence at the start of each paragraph, summarising the paragraph's contents and why it answers the essay question, makes the structure of your argument easily visible to the examiner. An example of a topic sentence would be: To a similar effect, in ‘Rapture’ Duffyportrays love as painfully reliant on time, through her choice of words connoting transience and mortality. The topic sentence here links this paragraph to the previous one, by using a phrase such as ‘to a similar effect’ or ‘contrastingly.’ It also refers back to the essay question, keeping the paragraph contents relevant. The topic sentences read back on their own shouldbe enough to outline each strand of your argument. The conclusion should reaffirm your original argument, perhaps with a slightly different perspective gained from your essay’s discussion. Eg. It is therefore clear that Duffy is greatly concerned with the antagonistic nature of love and pain, – then add a nuance – and although the knowledge of love’s inevitable transience is a great source of pain, it is also shown to enhance the value of love.