Think of your reader as someone who needs your help. Your essay will serve as a tutorial:
Describe important concepts and lines of reasoning, e.g., ‘He says this, he argues that.’
Explain important concepts and lines of reasoning, e.g., ‘This is what he means by this and that.’
Connect important concepts and lines of reasoning to your thesis, e.g., ‘So, this is why…’
Be sure your essay is fully formed, i.e., introductory remarks, summaries, and analyses. When formulating your position, be sure to make your argument clear.
Organize your thoughts so they are expressed on paper as a coherent whole. Given the constraints of the exam format, you’ll probably write a minimum of four, and a maximum of six paragraphs. These should ‘hang together’ in a way that’s easy to follow; there is a clear progression of ideas.
Write intelligibly: sentences must be grammatical and cohesive.
Choose your words carefully. Remember, you’re constructing ideas for your reader.
Orient your essay around a single point you want to make, using your thinker(s) concepts and argument(s) as evidence.
Be sure to present, describe, and explain significant concepts and their relations:
In addition, do not use material from any outside (i.e., secondary) sources, and do not use quotes from the primary source material longer than several words; I want to read what you have to say about the text. When you do quote the text, however, be sure to enlist the appropriate punctuation.
Your essay should run between (no fewer than) 500 and (approximately) 800 words.