ESSAY WRITING

CHOOSING QUESTIONS

1. Thoroughly read the instructions on the paper before you do anything

Do not rely on the familiarity of past paper questions to predict what to write

2. Carefully read through the questions on the paper and pay particular attention to THEMES
your teacher emphasized and the section restrictions on the paper
 Be very careful to observe the section restrictions
 Browse through questions to get an overview of themes

3. Pay attention to key words

 List
 Outline
 Explain
 Describe
 Examine
 Discuss
 Account for

*be guided by the mark scheme

4. Read widely!
 To develop grammatical skills
 Question: when, why, how, where, who
 Think
 Talk
 Write

CHOOSE QUESTIONS YOU ARE ABLE TO COMPLETELY ANSWER AND BEST ABLE TO
RECALL INFORMATION!!!

PLANNING YOUR ANSWERS

1. Quickly make short notes on what you would like to write. Do this for all the questions
before you begin to write
2. Choose only information to answer the questions before you
3. Organize the information effectively before you begin to write
 EPICS – economical, political, ideological, cultural, social
 Social Class
 Colonial Empire (arrival of independence in parts of the Caribbean etc)
 Geography (Americas, Caribbean/West Indies, Mainland vs Island, Greater Antilles vs
Lesser Antilles, Europe, Africa, Asia)
 Time/Period/Chronology/Sequence
 Race/Ethnicity
 Colour
 Nationality/Place of Birth/Origin
 Gender
 Factors of Production – plantation society, sugar rev, amalgamation of estates, labour
consequences (capital to export, restrictions, need for pre-export processing as cane could
not reach mother country in time)

TIME MANAGEMENT

1. Divide your time wisely

2. Practice time trials with past papers
 SBA GUIDELINES
 Select a topic wisely
 Consult the syllabus and verify the content with teacher

WHAT DO I WANT TO FIND OUT?

 The effects of the event?

 The role/impact of an individual or an event.
 Why did an event occur?
 What factors influenced an event or a particular circumstance?

RESEARCH THE QUESTION:

 To what extent......?
 How does...?
 How effective was...?
 How significant was....?

*Must be time-bound and specific to place

THE RATIONALE

 The importance or significance of research

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 Primary – interviews, documents, monuments

 Secondary – books etc
 CONSULT LOCAL LIBRARY OR SCHOOL LIBRARY

Introduction : aim, rationale, definitions (only relevant)

Discussions: 2 or 3 points (begin each point with topic sentence, supporting evidence and
sub-headings)

Conclusion – summary of discussion, relate to research questions (DO NOT ADD NEW
POINTS)